[Event "12th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.08.18"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Sevian, Samuel"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E54"] [WhiteElo "2683"] [BlackElo "2745"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "112"] [GameId "2212575049475217"] [EventDate "2025.08.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,112,20,30,17,20,25,15,17,17,11,-33,12,1,4,14,21,12,-10,15,9,7,40,0,37,6,5,101,24,112,33,53,38,35,4,3,-3,-68,3,-68,0,31,56,61,89,46,84,100,22,124,95,94,122,116,58,124,116,36,168,92,115,134,183,298,189,76,62,66,64,72,71,71,61,211,74,65,54,70,94,69,196,71,131,72,106,96,77,89,73,75,91,84,222,20,180,51,13,0,1,-7,0,-11,-2,-2,0,0,0,0,0,-17,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. d4 (1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nf3 Bb4 7. Bd3 dxc4 8. Bxc4 O-O 9. O-O b6) 1... Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 c5 7. O-O cxd4 8. exd4 dxc4 9. Bxc4 b6 {This is the start of the Karpov Variation, which can also arise via the Panov-Botvinnik Attack against the Caro-Kann - see the note to move 1.} 10. Qa4 {A very rare move in a well-known position - there are only 19 previous games with this out of more than 5300. White generally goes for play on the kingside and the center, so this is a bit counter-intuitive for those of us who are familiar with the line as traditionally played.} (10. Bg5 {is the historic main line, while}) (10. Qe2 {is #2 overall while seeming to be the most common choice at the moment.}) 10... Bxc3 (10... Be7 {is also sensible.}) 11. bxc3 Bb7 12. Be2 $146 Nc6 13. Rd1 Na5 (13... a6 $1 {starts setting up the big light-squared clamp. It would seem that White could prevent it with} 14. c4 {, but tactics come to the rescue:} b5 $1 15. cxb5 axb5 16. Qxb5 Ba6 17. Qxc6 (17. Qb2 $2 Rb8 18. Qd2 $2 {is even worse:} (18. Qc2 Nb4 19. Qb2 Nbd5 20. Qxb8 $8 (20. Qc2 $2 Bxe2 21. Qxe2 Nc3 $19) 20... Qxb8 21. Bxa6 Nb4 22. Rb1 Qc7 $1 $17 23. Rxb4 $2 Qa5 $19) 18... Ne4 19. Qe1 Bxe2 20. Qxe2 Nc3 $19) 17... Bxe2 18. Re1 Ra6 19. Qc3 Bxf3 20. Qxf3 Qxd4 $11) (13... Rc8 {transposes to the game after} 14. c4 Na5 $11 {while avoiding White's 14th move option given below.}) 14. c4 (14. Ba3 $1 Re8 15. c4 Rc8 16. Rac1 $14 {lets White fully mobilize.}) 14... Rc8 $11 15. Ne5 (15. Ba3 {is too late to give White an advantage:} Bxf3 $1 {and because the rook isn't already on c1 White will have to surrender the c-pawn or recapture with the g-pawn. It's not the end of the world, but Black should be reasonably happy with} 16. gxf3 Re8 {despite White's bishop pair.}) 15... Ne4 $1 16. Qb4 f6 17. Nf3 (17. Ng4 {is good too, as the knight can be well-placed on e3 where it bolsters the c-pawn and supports the d4-d5 push.}) 17... Nd6 (17... Qc7 $142 18. Ba3 Nxc4 $1 19. Bxc4 Qxc4 20. Qxc4 Rxc4 21. Bxf8 Kxf8 $44) 18. d5 (18. Ba3 Naxc4 19. Bxc4 Nxc4 20. Qxf8+ Qxf8 21. Bxf8 Kxf8 (21... Bxf3 $2 {does mess up White's pawns, but it also allows d5 after all the captures, and that's more important in this case.} 22. gxf3 Kxf8 23. d5 e5 24. d6 Rd8 25. Rac1 $1 b5 26. Rd5 a6 27. Rcd1 $18 {White's d5-rook will start rooting around with Rc5-c6, sooner or later winning material.}) 22. Ne1 $14 {is a little better for White.}) 18... exd5 19. cxd5 Re8 20. Bd3 Nac4 ({Black can (and probably should) go after the d-pawn starting with} 20... Rc5 {, but White will have at least sufficient compensation after} 21. Qh4 f5 $1 22. Qxd8 Rxd8 23. Nd4 Rxd5 $1 24. Ne6 Rc8 25. Nf4 Rd4 26. Be3 Ra4 27. f3 $44) 21. Bf4 $14 Ne5 $6 (21... Rc5 {was still best.} 22. Rac1 Qc8 23. h3 $14) 22. Nxe5 fxe5 23. Be3 $16 {Between White's bishop pair, the cramping influence of his d-pawn and Black's potentially weak e-pawn White's advantage is getting significant.} Qf6 24. Qa4 $6 (24. Rac1 $142 $16) 24... Ra8 $6 (24... Bxd5 $1 25. Qxa7 Nc4 26. Bxc4 Bxc4 27. Qxb6 Qxb6 28. Bxb6 Re6 29. Be3 Ra8 30. a3 $14 {is now quite drawish. White's a-pawn isn't going anywhere, and the opposite-colored bishops should save the day, even with all the rooks remaining.}) 25. Rac1 $16 Qf7 26. Qh4 h6 27. Qg4 {Almost irresistible. White threatens both Bg6 and Bxh6, and since Black's light squares on the kingside seem terribly weak White is almost obliged to start pounding away on them. Surprisingly, there's better.} (27. Bc2 $1 $18 {is the engine's recommendation, with the remarkable idea of playing Bb3 - apparently forgetting all about Black's kingside weaknesses. What the engine "realizes" is that Black is weak everywhere, not just on the kingside, yet not *fatally* weak. So it wants to play all over the board, e.g. with Qb4 and/or a4-a5. That will leave Black with a pawn weakness on that flank; also, if the knight can't maintain the blockade on d6 White will have d6, opening a new light-squared diagonal while increasing the d-pawn's power. Pretty smart!}) 27... Qf6 (27... Bxd5 28. Bg6 Qe6 29. Qg3 Ne4 30. Bxe4 Bxe4 31. Rc7 Re7 32. Rxe7 Qxe7 33. Bxh6 $16) 28. Bb1 (28. Bc2 $16 {Same idea: Bb3, Qb4, etc.}) 28... Red8 29. Qe6+ Nf7 30. Bf5 Rd6 $2 (30... Bc8 $8 31. Qxf6 gxf6 32. Bc2 Kg7 33. Bb3 $16) 31. Qxf6 gxf6 32. Be6 $2 {Again a natural move, and again a mistake.} (32. Rc7 $1 Bxd5 33. Bg6 $1 Rf8 34. h4 $18 {Black is tied down everywhere. The bishop is pinned, the knight is stuck defending h6, one rook is stuck defending the knight while the other is tied to the bishop, etc. Black's extra pawn is meaningless.}) 32... Rad8 $8 33. Rc7 Rxe6 $14 34. Rxb7 Red6 35. Rxa7 Rxd5 36. Rxd5 Rxd5 37. g4 b5 {White is still a bit better, but the worst is behind Black. So easily copes with the remaining challenges to make a draw.} 38. Kg2 Kg7 (38... e4) 39. h4 (39. Kf3) 39... f5 40. gxf5 Kf6 41. h5 e4 42. Kg3 Rxf5 43. Ra6+ Ke7 44. Kg4 Rd5 45. a3 Ne5+ $1 46. Kf5 Nc4+ 47. Kxe4 Rxh5 48. Rxh6 Rxh6 49. Bxh6 Nxa3 50. Bc1 Nc4 51. Kd5 Kf6 52. Kc5 Kf5 53. Kxb5 Ne5 54. f4 Nd3 55. Bd2 Nxf4 56. Bxf4 Kxf4 1/2-1/2 [Event "12th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.08.18"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C70"] [WhiteElo "2736"] [BlackElo "2766"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "115"] [GameId "2212575049483410"] [EventDate "2025.08.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,115,19,28,24,24,24,11,13,7,14,11,33,23,37,42,29,3,-126,4,5,-159,15,19,18,-8,14,38,52,51,4,0,28,11,20,26,20,36,81,31,107,50,95,127,-6,112,94,89,185,45,67,74,48,73,73,35,37,56,103,56,122,-41,27,-28,59,62,52,63,44,65,58,49,62,139,61,50,76,51,47,9,50,54,37,57,49,50,63,44,69,58,54,36,46,0,0,22,5,0,1,0,1,0,0,0,107,90,125,68,66,71,58,70,66,36,65,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 b5 5. Bb3 Na5 {The Norwegian Defense - a rarity.} 6. O-O d6 7. d4 exd4 8. Re1 (8. Nxd4 {(the most common move) is playable, in case you're wondering about Noah's Ark traps:} c5 $6 9. Bd5 $16) ({Even} 8. Qxd4 {is Noah's Ark-safe:} c5 $4 9. Bxf7+ $1 (9. Qd5 $4 Be6 {followed by ...c4 would be a successful "arking" by Black.}) 9... Kxf7 10. Qd5+ Be6 11. Ng5+ $18 {and Black could reset the board for the next game.}) 8... Nxb3 9. axb3 c5 10. c3 Bb7 (10... dxc3 $2 11. Nxc3 $16 {/+- isn't worth the pawn. White has a huge lead in development - especially since Black hasn't got a single piece in play and his king is barely shielded by White's e-pawn.}) 11. cxd4 $14 Be7 12. Nc3 Nf6 13. Nh4 $1 {Going head-hunting. MVL had this very position last December as well, so Firouzja didn't just stumble into this line. Nevertheless, I wouldn't recommend that anyone follow in his footsteps.} b4 14. Nd5 {The only move tried in practice, and probably best. There are good alternatives, though:} (14. Nf5 $5 $146 bxc3 15. Nxg7+ Kd7 (15... Kf8 $6 16. Bh6 {is needlessly dangerous for Black.}) 16. d5 cxb2 17. Bxb2 $44 {White has only one pawn for the piece, but ideas like b4 on the queenside and f4 followed by e5 in the center give him tons of play.}) (14. Ne2 $5) (14. Na4 $5) 14... Nxd5 15. exd5 (15. Nf5 O-O $1 16. exd5 {transposes.}) 15... O-O 16. Nf5 Bf6 (16... Re8 17. Bf4 Bf8 18. dxc5 Rxe1+ 19. Qxe1 dxc5 20. Rd1 (20. d6 Qf6 21. Ne7+ Bxe7 22. Qxe7 Qxe7 23. dxe7 f6 24. Bd6 Kf7 25. Bxc5 a5 26. f3 Ke8 27. Kf2 Bd5 28. Ke3 Bxb3 29. Bxb4 Rb8 30. Bxa5 Kxe7 31. Bc3 Rb7 32. h4 h5 33. Ra5 Bf7 34. b4 Ke6 35. Rc5 Be8 36. Kd4 Kd6 37. Bd2 Ra7 38. Bf4+ Ke6 39. Rc2 Rd7+ 40. Kc3 Kf5 41. Bh2 Rd1 42. Ra2 Bb5 43. Ra5 Rd3+ 44. Kc2 Rd5 45. Bg3 Bd3+ 46. Kd2 Rxa5 47. bxa5 Bf1 48. Ke3 g5 49. Kf2 Ba6 50. Kg1 g4 51. Kf2 gxf3 52. gxf3 Ke6 53. Ke3 Kd5 54. Bc7 Kc6 55. Bd8 f5 56. Kf4 Be2 57. a6 Bxa6 58. Kxf5 Kd7 59. Bb6 Bd3+ 60. Kf6 Kc6 61. Ba5 Kd5 62. f4 Bh7 63. Bc7 Kc6 64. Ba5 Kd5 65. Bd2 Ke4 66. Kg5 Bg8 67. Kg6 Be6 68. Kxh5 Kf5 69. Bc1 Bf7+ 70. Kh6 Kg4 71. Kg7 Bc4 {½-½ Yaniv,Y (2415)-Kobo,O (2534) ISR-chT Israel 2025 (7.3)}) 20... Qd7 21. Ne3 Re8 22. f3 g6 23. Qd2 Bg7 24. Kh1 h5 25. d6 Bd4 26. Re1 h4 27. Ng4 Rxe1+ 28. Qxe1 h3 29. Nf2 hxg2+ 30. Kxg2 Qf5 31. Qd2 g5 32. d7 Qxd7 33. Bxg5 Qf5 34. Bf4 Bd5 35. h3 Bxb3 36. Kg3 Qg6+ 37. Ng4 f5 38. Qd3 Bf7 39. Qe2 fxg4 40. hxg4 Qe6 41. Qd2 Bg6 42. Kh3 a5 43. Qd1 Qd5 44. Qe2 Kf7 45. Kg3 c4 46. Qd2 c3 47. bxc3 bxc3 48. Qe2 c2 49. Qa6 Be5 50. Qa7+ Kg8 {0-1 Vachier Lagrave,M (2763)-Pichot,A (2591) Wch Rapid New York 2024 (6)}) 17. Bf4 cxd4 $146 (17... Bxd4 18. Bxd6 Re8 19. Rxe8+ Qxe8 20. Qg4 Bxb2 21. Rd1 Rd8 22. Bxc5 Bxd5 23. Bd4 Bxd4 24. Qxd4 Qf8 25. Ne3 Bxb3 26. Qxd8 Bxd1 27. Qxf8+ Kxf8 28. Nxd1 a5 29. Nb2 Ke7 30. Nc4 b3 31. Kf1 a4 32. Ke2 b2 33. Na3 Kd6 34. Kd3 Kd5 35. Kc3 Ke4 36. Nb1 h5 37. Nd2+ Kf4 38. Kxb2 h4 39. Ka3 h3 40. g3+ Ke5 41. Kxa4 Kd4 42. Nf3+ Kd3 43. Ng1 Kd2 44. Kb4 Ke1 45. Nxh3 Kf1 46. Kc4 Kg2 47. Ng5 f6 48. Ne6 g6 49. Nf4+ Kxh2 50. Kd4 g5 51. Nh5 Kg2 52. Nxf6 Kxf2 53. g4 Kg3 54. Ke5 Kh3 55. Kf5 Kh4 56. Ne4 {1-0 Cnejev,V (2330)-Dinesh,R (2131) Paracin op-A 18th 2025 (8)}) (17... Bc8 18. Nxd6 Bxd4 19. Qe2 a5 20. Rad1 Qf6 21. Bg3 h6 22. Nxc8 Rfxc8 23. d6 Rd8 24. h3 g6 25. Rd3 Qf5 26. Rd2 h5 27. h4 Kg7 28. Qb5 Rdb8 29. Qc6 Rc8 30. Qb6 Rcb8 31. Qc6 Rc8 32. Qb6 Rcb8 33. Qc7 Rc8 34. Qe7 Rd8 35. Qb7 Rdb8 36. Qe7 Rd8 37. Re5 Qd7 38. Re4 Qf5 39. Rf4 Qe6 40. Re4 Qxe7 41. Rxe7 Re8 42. Rc7 Kf6 43. Bf4 Re1+ 44. Kh2 Be5 45. Bxe5+ Rxe5 46. d7 Rd8 47. Kg3 Ke6 48. Kf4 Rf5+ 49. Ke3 {½-½ Tateo,I (2298)-Niese,P (2302) AUT-USA email ICCF email 2021}) 18. Qf3 Qd7 $6 (18... Re8 $142 19. Nxd6 Rxe1+ 20. Rxe1 Qd7 21. h4 Rd8 $1 22. Nxb7 Qxb7 23. Bg5 Bxg5 24. hxg5 Qc8 $1 25. g3 Qc5 26. Re5 Kf8 $1 27. Qe4 g6 $8 $11 {It was a narrow tightrope, but Black has safely reached the other side.}) 19. Nxd6 $14 {/?} a5 $2 (19... Rad8) 20. Rac1 $6 ({White's advantage is overwhelming. He just needs to do one thing before going about the business of finishing Black off: take care of the back rank.} 20. h3 $1 Rad8 (20... Rfd8 21. Rac1 Ra6 22. Nxb7 Qxb7 23. Rc5 $18) 21. Rxa5 $18) 20... Ra6 $2 (20... Rad8 $16) 21. Nxb7 Qxb7 22. Rc7 $18 (22. h3 $1 $18) 22... Qa8 23. Qd3 $2 (23. h3 $1 a4 24. bxa4 Rxa4 25. d6 Ra1 26. Rxa1 Qxa1+ 27. Kh2 $18 {Black can't muster any real counterplay with his d-pawn, so White will play d7, Qb7, and Rc8 with what should be a winning advantage. The pawn can't be dragged across the finish line yet, but Black will be so tied down that he will suffer elsewhere.}) 23... a4 $14 24. bxa4 Rxa4 25. d6 (25. Qd1 $142 {doesn't offer White much, but keeping control over the back rank maintains a (very) small plus.}) 25... Ra1 {Not being able to play Kh2 after swapping rooks really is that big a deal. White's advantage is just about gone.} 26. Rcc1 Rxc1 27. Rxc1 Qd5 {This was another important reason not to move the queen from f3 on move 23.} 28. Qc4 Qxc4 29. Rxc4 g5 $1 {It's important to go up two squares, not just for the tempo but to avoid back rank mates.} 30. Bd2 Rd8 31. Bxb4 d3 32. Kf1 Bxb2 33. Rc5 f6 34. Rd5 Rd7 35. h4 h6 36. Rxd3 Kf7 37. Ke2 Be5 {It will take a while before Black can safely take the d-pawn, but the draw is in the bag in any case.} 38. Kf3 f5 39. hxg5 hxg5 40. g4 Ke6 41. Bc5 Bf4 (41... Bxd6 $4 42. Rxd6+ $1 Rxd6 43. gxf5+ $18) 42. Ba3 Be5 43. Bb4 fxg4+ 44. Kxg4 Rh7 45. Bd2 (45. Kxg5 Bf6+) 45... Rh4+ 46. Kxg5 Bf6+ 47. Kg6 Rg4+ 48. Kh7 Rd4 49. Rxd4 Bxd4 50. f4 Kxd6 51. Kg6 Ke7 52. Bb4+ Ke8 53. f5 Be5 54. Bc5 Bc3 55. Be3 Kf8 56. Bg5 Kg8 57. f6 Bxf6 58. Bxf6 1/2-1/2 [Event "12th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.08.18"] [Round "1.3"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E46"] [WhiteElo "2771"] [BlackElo "2737"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "82"] [GameId "2212575049483411"] [EventDate "2025.08.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,82,21,0,21,19,9,13,18,10,16,3,-10,26,27,-23,-87,-14,0,-7,-16,-13,-9,-12,-13,-20,-5,-21,82,-10,-24,-4,-28,-102,-40,-32,-1,-30,-30,-42,-58,-23,-62,-39,-83,-59,-1,-51,-90,-30,30,35,54,48,48,-1,-81,-96,-110,-130,-47,-1,-51,-86,-130,-101,-91,-119,-208,-150,-190,-128,-155,-145,-106,-126,-185,-173,-221,-198,-195,-399,-279,-367,-498]} 1. d4 e6 {Inviting a French; bluffing the Dutch?} 2. c4 Nf6 {No Dutch.} 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Nge2 {Reshevsky's line. This hasn't been terribly popular for a long time - understandably, given that White has a minus score with it. It's not *bad* though, and probably a good option at the club level where one's opponents are much likelier to have spent much more time studying 5.Bd3.} c6 (5... d5 {is the most popular move, but Aronian wants to have his bishop retreat to the b8-h2 diagonal.}) 6. a3 Ba5 7. Bd2 d5 8. Ng3 Nbd7 {If White doesn't impede the plan one way or another, Black will play ...dxc4 followed by ...e5, with no problems at all.} 9. cxd5 (9. f4 {isn't crazy and does stop the aforementioned plan. Of course it has its risks, too, and Black should be fine after} Bc7 {, intending ...c5.}) 9... exd5 10. Bd3 Re8 11. O-O Bc7 (11... Nf8 {is a common alternative which can transpose.}) 12. Qc2 Nf8 13. f3 {White wants to go for the central pawn roller with e4, e5, f4 and so on (Botvinnik-Capablanca from AVRO 1938 is a classic example of that strategy), but thanks in part to his loose d-pawn (e4? dxe4 fxe4 Qxd4+) that's not easily achieved.} h5 $1 {A standard idea, looking to kick the knight from g3.} 14. Rae1 (14. Rf2 h4 15. Nge2 Ne6 16. Rd1 a6 17. Bc1 Qd6 18. g3 c5 19. dxc5 Nxc5 20. Nf4 hxg3 21. hxg3 Re5 22. Bc4 Be6 23. e4 Rg5 24. Nfe2 Rxg3+ 25. Nxg3 Qxg3+ 26. Rg2 Qxf3 27. Rf2 Qg3+ 28. Rg2 Qf3 29. Rf2 Qg3+ 30. Rg2 Qf3 31. Rf2 Qg3+ 32. Rg2 {½-½ Dubov,D (2594)-Andreikin,D (2715) RUS-ch 65th Moscow 2012 (9)}) 14... h4 15. Nh1 (15. Nf5 Nh5 16. e4 Bxf5 17. exf5 Qd6 18. f4 Rxe1 19. Bxe1 Nxf4 20. g3 Nxd3 21. Qxd3 Re8 22. Bf2 Nh7 23. Re1 Rxe1+ 24. Bxe1 Qe7 25. Qe2 Qxe2 26. Nxe2 Ng5 27. Kg2 h3+ 28. Kf2 Kf8 29. Bb4+ Ke8 30. Nf4 Bxf4 31. gxf4 Ne4+ 32. Kf3 b6 33. Be1 c5 34. dxc5 bxc5 35. b4 c4 36. Ke3 Nd6 37. Kd4 Nxf5+ 38. Kxd5 Ne3+ 39. Kc6 Nf1 40. Kb7 Nxh2 41. Kxa7 Nf3 42. b5 Nd4 43. b6 h2 {0-1 Citak,S (2237)-Galperin,P (2469) Mersin op 4th 2019 (2)}) 15... Ne6 $146 {?} (15... Qd6 16. f4 a5 17. Re2 Bg4 18. Ref2 Re7 19. h3 Bd7 20. Rf3 Rc8 21. Be1 Rce8 22. Nd1 g5 23. g4 Ne4 24. fxg5 Nxg5 25. Bxh4 Nxf3+ 26. Rxf3 Re6 27. Bg3 Qe7 28. Bxc7 Ng6 29. Bxg6 Rxg6 30. Be5 f5 31. Ng3 {1-0 Ries,B (2191)-Kueppers,T (2124) Oberliga NRW 1718 Germany 2017 (1.5)}) 16. Nf2 Qd6 $5 {Forcing White's next move, which takes pawn roller schemes off the table.} (16... a5 $1) (16... c5 $5 {This is a common reaction to f3 in the Carlsbad structure. White's push creates potentially weak dark squares, so Black looks to open those lines. Yes, it allows White to saddle him with an isolated d-pawn, but it's not weak at all as White's pieces are situated for an entirely different sort of middlegame.}) 17. f4 Bd7 (17... a5 $142) 18. Qd1 $1 a5 19. e4 $1 {An excellent pawn sac. Abdusattorov is playing this stage of the game very well.} dxe4 20. Nfxe4 Nxe4 21. Nxe4 Qxd4+ 22. Be3 Qd5 23. f5 Nf8 24. Qg4 Nh7 $1 {In fact, both players are handling this middlegame extremely well. White's attack looks very dangerous - *is* very dangerous! - and Aronian is rising to the occasion.} (24... Qxd3 $4 25. Nf6+ Kh8 26. Qxh4+ Nh7 27. Qxh7#) ({Taking the bishop, as we just saw, was an obvious error. But there were subtler mistakes to avoid as well, e.g.} 24... Be5 $2 25. Rd1 $1 Bxb2 $8 26. Rf2 $1 $16 {leaves Black in serious difficulties. If he tries to trade his way out of trouble with} Bd4 $2 27. Bxd4 Qxd4 {he will find himself in a lost ending after} 28. Bc2 Rxe4 29. Rxd4 Rxg4 30. Rxg4 $18) 25. Bb1 g6 $1 26. Qxh4 Bxf5 {A critical moment. Abdusattorov is attracted by a nice-looking exchange sacrifice, but it doesn't work.} 27. Ng5 $2 ({If White wanted something safe - which Abdusattorov rarely does - he could have gone for a drawish rook endgame after} 27. Qxh7+ Kxh7 28. Nf6+ Kg7 29. Nxd5 cxd5 30. Bd4+ f6 31. Rxe8 Rxe8 32. Bxf5 gxf5 33. Rxf5 Be5 34. Bxe5 fxe5 $11 {.}) ({A better way of keeping the game going was} 27. Nc3 Qe6 28. Bxf5 gxf5 $11 {when Black should be okay but White can keep the pieces on for a while if he wants to.}) 27... Nxg5 $19 28. Rxf5 $2 {The big idea, but it fails...if Aronian finds the right move.} Qd6 $2 {...which he doesn't, although he's not worse even after this mistake.} (28... Qb3 $1 {was correct, ganging up on e3. White can capture and defend with} 29. Qxg5 {, but the problem is} Rxe3 $1 30. Rxe3 Bb6 $19 {when Black doesn't only threaten the rook on e3 but the bishop (thanks to ...Qd1+) as well. White will wind up with a big material disadvantage and no attack to show for it.}) 29. Qxg5 Rxe3 30. Qxe3 (30. Rxe3 {was also possible.} Bb6 31. Rff3 $1 Re8 32. Ba2 Re5 $1 {An easy move to miss.} 33. Rxf7 $3 {Likewise!} Rxg5 34. Rf6+ Kg7 35. Rxd6 Bxe3+ 36. Kf1 Rb5 {Black enjoys a nominal edge, but the game will almost certainly finish peacefully due to the opposite-colored bishops.}) 30... gxf5 31. g3 (31. Qg5+ $142 Kf8 32. Kf1 $11) 31... f4 $1 $15 32. gxf4 Qh6 $1 33. Kh1 Bxf4 34. Qe2 $2 (34. Qg1+ $1 {An ugly move with a tactical justification.} Kf8 (34... Kh8 35. Ba2 $11) 35. Bh7 $3 $11 Qxh7 (35... Qg5 $142 36. Qd4 $1 Qd5+ 37. Qxd5 cxd5 38. Rd1 $15 {with a likely draw.}) 36. Qc5+ Kg7 $8 (36... Kg8 $4 37. Rg1+ $18) 37. Qd4+ (37. Rg1+ $2 Kf6 $1 $19) 37... Kg8 $1 38. Qxf4 Kh8 $1 $11) 34... Rd8 $19 35. Ba2 Qh4 (35... Kg7 $142) 36. Rf1 b5 37. a4 $2 (37. Qf2 $8 Qxf2 38. Rxf2 Rd4 $17 {/-+ Black has excellent winning chances, but the win isn't guaranteed.}) 37... Kf8 $1 38. Qc2 bxa4 $2 {Calling it a blunder is too harsh, but it does give White the chance to save himself from a lost position.} (38... Rd2 39. Qc5+ Rd6 40. Qf2 Qxf2 41. Rxf2 Rd4 42. axb5 cxb5 $19) 39. Qc5+ $2 (39. Bxf7 $3 Rd2 40. Qc5+ Kxf7 41. Qf5+ Ke7 42. Qxf4 Qxf4 43. Rxf4 Rxb2 44. Rxa4 {is drawn, slightly surprisingly given how distant White's king is from the queenside.}) 39... Rd6 $19 40. Qc2 Rf6 41. Rf2 Bxh2 $1 {A nice finishing touch.} (41... Bxh2 $1 42. Rxf6 Be5+ 43. Kg1 Qxf6 $19) 0-1 [Event "12th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.08.18"] [Round "1.4"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Gukesh, D."] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E51"] [WhiteElo "2779"] [BlackElo "2776"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "71"] [GameId "2212575049483412"] [EventDate "2025.08.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,71,15,13,-6,19,4,14,20,10,19,3,3,-13,-12,0,8,87,26,25,51,29,26,-19,23,50,4,49,50,69,94,-30,97,99,104,106,129,157,139,107,49,115,93,137,158,177,155,254,210,176,154,107,219,138,250,134,227,282,154,249,313,322,379,365,166,347,283,373,378,383,440,420,395,383]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 {No 5.Nge2, as in the Abdusattorov-Aronian game.} d5 6. a3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 Be7 (7... Bd6 {is the most common move, while the engine prefers}) (7... Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 c5 {. All three moves are well known to theory.}) 8. Nf3 c5 9. O-O a6 {It's officially a Nimzo-Indian, but it's really a sort of QGA, especially after White's next move.} 10. dxc5 Qxd1 11. Rxd1 Bxc5 12. Be2 {A standard idea from those QGA positions. White wants to switch the bishop to f3 and maneuver the knights to the loose squares on the queenside.} Nc6 13. b4 Ba7 $6 {Perhaps surprised by Pragg's opening choice, Gukesh doesn't respond in the best way. Deac handled the position better in a quick game earlier this year.} (13... Be7 $142 14. Na4 b5 15. Nb6 Rb8 16. Nxc8 Rfxc8 $11 17. Bb2 Nd5 18. Nd4 Nxd4 19. Bxd4 Nc3 20. Bxc3 Rxc3 21. a4 Bxb4 22. axb5 axb5 23. Rab1 Bf8 24. Rxb5 Rxb5 25. Bxb5 g6 26. g3 Rc7 27. h4 h5 28. Rd7 Rxd7 29. Bxd7 Kg7 30. Kg2 e5 31. Kf3 Bb4 32. Bc6 Be1 33. Ke2 Ba5 34. Bd5 f5 35. Bc4 Kf6 36. Bb5 f4 37. exf4 exf4 38. Kf3 fxg3 39. fxg3 g5 40. hxg5+ Kxg5 41. Be8 Bc7 42. Bxh5 Bxg3 {½-½ Lobanov,S (2508)-Deac,B (2692) Chessable Masters Play In Chess.com INT blitz 2025 (5)}) 14. Bb2 $14 {/?} Rd8 $6 (14... b5 {was necessary, expediting his queenside development.}) 15. Ne5 $1 $16 Bd7 $8 16. Nxd7 Nxd7 $6 (16... Rxd7 {was better, though no cure. White enjoys a substantial advantage after} 17. Rxd7 Nxd7 18. Ne4 $16 {with his greater control of the board and the bishop pair.}) 17. Ne4 $18 Nb6 18. Nc5 Rab8 19. Rxd8+ Nxd8 20. Be5 Ra8 21. e4 $1 {Dominating the b6-knight.} Bb8 22. Bd4 Nc8 {The position deserves a picture. All of Black's pieces are on the back rank! Pragg is making Gukesh look like an amateur in this game, which is an incredible thing to do to the World Champion.} 23. Rd1 Bd6 24. Be5 $1 Be7 25. Bc7 $1 Nc6 26. Nxb7 {White's attack finally bears fruit.} g5 27. Bf1 {The move looks strange at first sight, but the point is to play Rc1 without giving Black a tempo with ...Nd4.} g4 28. Rc1 Nd4 29. a4 $5 f6 (29... Bxb4 $1 30. Rc4 {This doesn't win a piece, but it will eventually win the game.} Be7 31. Rxd4 Ra7 32. Bf4 Rxb7 33. Bxa6 Rb1+ 34. Bf1 $18) 30. e5 $1 {More restriction.} Na7 31. Bd6 Nac6 32. b5 axb5 33. axb5 Bxd6 34. exd6 Ne5 35. Rd1 Rb8 36. Nc5 {What a massacre.} (36. Nc5 Nxb5 37. d7 {wins a piece, as Black's rook can't maintain protection of both b5 and d8.}) 1-0 [Event "12th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.08.18"] [Round "1.5"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2784"] [BlackElo "2725"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "114"] [GameId "2212575049483413"] [EventDate "2025.08.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,114,12,34,11,14,6,3,19,-65,21,6,10,5,0,-1,5,7,18,6,5,4,15,1,0,16,10,1,6,8,25,9,25,23,23,-7,17,15,18,15,31,21,-24,25,16,15,38,38,54,33,37,53,61,34,58,60,81,62,61,64,67,60,83,61,75,56,59,53,-1,47,40,48,79,77,48,24,49,42,54,67,17,46,76,-102,33,54,41,24,23,44,51,10,66,1,33,44,49,59,54,3,18,45,59,1,37,37,36,20,-1,11,-1,17,-1,17,-1,21,1]} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c3 a5 {As rare as you'd expect, but in the last few years it has been played by Nakamura, Abdusattorov, Yu, Andreikin, Oparin and other strong players.} 4. Bf4 Bf5 5. Nh4 Bd7 $146 6. Nd2 e6 7. Nhf3 c5 8. e3 Bc6 9. a4 Nbd7 10. h3 Be7 11. Be2 (11. Bd3 Ne4) 11... O-O 12. O-O Qb6 13. Qc2 (13. Qb1) 13... Rfc8 14. Bd3 Qd8 (14... c4 {isn't bad, and is the main point of 13.Qb1 - White would be able to meet this with 15.Bc2.}) 15. Ne5 Nf8 16. Bh2 N6d7 17. Ndf3 Nxe5 18. Nxe5 Be8 19. Qe2 {Now it's too late for ...c4, or at least for it to drive White's bishop off the b1-h7 diagonal. All the same, Black remains fine.} Bd6 $11 20. Rfd1 f6 21. Nf3 Bxh2+ 22. Nxh2 cxd4 {Not a great idea, as White's permanent pressure against e6 ties Black down somewhat.} (22... c4 $142 23. Bc2 f5 $11) 23. exd4 $14 Qd6 24. Re1 Rc7 25. Nf1 (25. h4) 25... Bf7 26. Ne3 Re8 27. Rad1 Ree7 28. g3 Bg6 29. Bxg6 hxg6 30. h4 $16 Qa6 31. Qc2 (31. Qxa6 $1 bxa6 32. Rd2 Kf7 33. Rde2 $16 {followed by Ng2-f4-d3 and f2-f4 is very uncomfortable for Black. His e- and a6-pawns are weak, and there's no effective pressure against b2.}) 31... b5 32. axb5 Qxb5 33. Ng2 (33. Ra1 $142 $16) 33... Rb7 34. Rd2 Qb3 35. Qd3 Qa2 36. Rb1 $6 $14 (36. Nf4 $142 $16) 36... Rb3 37. Qf1 {Threatening to win Black's queen with 38.Ra1.} Qa4 $8 38. Nf4 Qb5 39. Nd3 (39. Qxb5 Rxb5 40. Re1 Kf7 41. Rde2 a4 $11 {/?}) 39... Nd7 40. Qd1 a4 41. Ra1 {White is ready to play h5, with a serious advantage, but Black's counterplay comes just in time.} e5 $1 $11 42. Qe2 Nb6 43. Nc5 Qxe2 44. Rxe2 Rb5 45. Ra3 (45. Nxa4 Ra7 {and now it's White who must prove the draw. (It's not too difficult.)} 46. b3 $8 Rxb3 47. Rea2 Rxa4 48. Rxa4 Nxa4 49. Rxa4 Rxc3 50. Ra5 $11) 45... Kf7 46. Nxa4 {Essentially a draw offer. White will have an extra pawn in a rook ending, but without genuine winning chances.} exd4 47. Rxe7+ Kxe7 48. cxd4 Nxa4 49. Rxa4 Rxb2 50. Ra7+ Kf8 51. Ra5 Rb4 52. Rxd5 {The extra pawn is harmless to Black, as it's so close to the other pawns that Black's king can keep an eye on it while still safeguarding his pawns.} Ke7 53. Kg2 Ke6 54. Rd8 Ke7 55. Rd5 Ke6 56. Rd8 Ke7 57. Rd5 Ke6 1/2-1/2 [Event "12th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.08.19"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B31"] [WhiteElo "2779"] [BlackElo "2784"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "73"] [GameId "2212631378858323"] [EventDate "2025.08.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,73,18,12,18,10,20,17,28,28,24,14,39,12,28,31,29,23,3,28,12,37,34,30,38,37,180,51,146,-17,-17,-16,10,19,18,26,15,51,41,43,43,43,60,-8,-152,2,-3,-17,-10,-10,-9,-9,-14,-35,-12,-87,-19,-19,-17,-17,-9,-2,-173,4,13,31,8,60,14,12,11,13,11,21,13,12]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. Re1 Nf6 (5... e5 {is currently the rage.} 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. d3 Qe7 8. a4 Nf6 {etc.}) 6. Bxc6 (6. e5) ({and} 6. c3 {have been considerably more popular than the text.}) 6... bxc6 7. e5 Nd5 8. c4 {The usual move, though Dominguez played 8.b3 against Caruana last October.} Nc7 9. Nc3 (9. d4 {is more common. It can transpose to the game, but after} cxd4 10. Qxd4 Ne6 11. Qh4 {Black generally doesn't castle but immediately strikes at White's center with} d6 {.}) 9... O-O 10. d4 cxd4 11. Qxd4 Ne6 12. Qh4 f6 {Still following theory, though most of the games were played in the 2010s.} 13. exf6 (13. Ne4 {is the main move, though both this and the text are very well-represented in the database.} fxe5 ({The rarer} 13... d5 {may be better.}) 14. Nfg5 Nxg5 15. Bxg5 Qb6 {is sharp and entertaining.} (15... Qc7)) 13... exf6 14. Nd4 {Not the best reaction.} (14. Qg3) (14. b3) 14... f5 $1 15. Qxd8 Nxd8 $146 (15... Rxd8 16. Nxe6 dxe6 17. Be3 (17. Bf4 Rd4 18. Be5 Bxe5 19. Rxe5 Rxc4 $15 20. Rd1 $6 Kf7 (20... Rb8 $1 $17) 21. Rd8 $2 Rb8 $19 22. Nd1 Rc1 23. b3 Rb5 24. Rxb5 cxb5 25. f4 e5 26. g3 exf4 27. gxf4 Be6 28. Rd2 a5 29. Kf2 a4 30. bxa4 bxa4 31. Nb2 Rc3 32. Nd3 Bd5 33. Nb2 Bc6 34. Ke1 Ke6 35. Rd4 Re3+ 36. Kd1 Ra3 37. Nc4 Bf3+ 38. Kc1 Rxa2 39. Rd6+ Ke7 40. Ra6 Be4 {0-1 Mokshanov,A (2419)-Stukopin,A (2595) Samara Polugaevsky Memorial 6th 2016 (3)}) (17. Bg5 Rd4 18. Rad1 Rxc4 $17 19. Rd8+ Kf7 20. Red1 h6 21. Be3 f4 22. Bc1 Bf6 23. R8d3 Rb8 24. f3 Bxc3 25. Rxc3 Rxc3 26. bxc3 Rb1 27. Kf2 e5 28. g3 g5 29. h4 Be6 30. hxg5 hxg5 31. gxf4 gxf4 32. a3 Rb3 33. Re1 Rxc3 34. Bb2 Rc2+ 35. Re2 Rxe2+ 36. Kxe2 Kf6 37. Bc3 Bb3 38. Ba5 Ke6 39. Bc7 Kd5 40. Bb8 a5 41. Bc7 a4 42. Bb6 c5 43. Ba5 Bc2 44. Kd2 Bg6 {0-1 Sergienko,S (2402)-Khalifman,A (2617) Voronezh op-A 18th 2014 (5)}) ({The untested} 17. Na4 $1 $146 {= is White's best option, trying to limit the damage to his queenside structure.}) 17... Ba6 18. c5 Rab8 19. Rad1 Rd3 20. Rxd3 Bxd3 21. Rd1 Bc2 22. Rd2 Bxc3 23. Rxc2 Bxb2 24. g3 e5 25. Kf1 Rb4 26. Bd2 Rb7 27. Be3 Kf7 28. Ke2 Ba1 29. Rd2 Rb2 30. Rxb2 Bxb2 31. Kd3 Ke6 32. Kc4 e4 33. h3 Be5 34. Bd2 h5 35. Bg5 Bf6 36. Bf4 h4 {0-1 Amin,B (2652)-Safarli,E (2660) FIDE World Cup Tromsoe 2013 (1.2)}) 16. Rd1 Re8 17. Be3 d6 (17... Ba6 $142 $11) 18. Rac1 Rb8 19. Nb3 (19. b3) 19... Nf7 $5 (19... Be6 20. Bxa7 Rb4 21. Rxd6 Bxc4 {appears to give Black sufficient compensation for the pawn.}) 20. Bxa7 Rb4 21. Re1 (21. Bd4 $142) 21... Rxe1+ 22. Rxe1 Kf8 $1 23. Bd4 {Wisely bailing out before ...c5 locks in the bishop.} Bxd4 24. Nxd4 Rxb2 25. Nxc6 Rc2 26. Ne2 Rxa2 {Now the only "job" left is to swap the c- and d-pawns and then make a repetition. (One must keep up appearances - barely - for the sake of the arbiters.)} (26... Ne5 $5) 27. Ned4 Ra4 28. Rc1 Kg7 29. h3 Kf6 30. c5 dxc5 31. Rxc5 Bd7 32. Nf3 Bxc6 33. Rxc6+ Kg7 34. Rc7 Kf6 35. Rc6+ Kg7 36. Rc7 Kf6 37. Rc6+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "12th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.08.19"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Sevian, Samuel"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "2737"] [BlackElo "2683"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "106"] [GameId "2212631378866516"] [EventDate "2025.08.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,18,18,8,45,64,44,24,24,-15,0,0,-80,1,0,-10,-9,-14,5,9,-1]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Bd3 $5 {If this were an old-fashioned correspondence game one might suspect a typo or something like a spot of dyslexia. But no, Aronian is gambiting the d-pawn. It's rare, unpopular, hasn't been tried by someone rated over 2500, and last but not least the engine gives it a thumbs-down. But it's interesting and fun for the fans, so...approved!} (7. Be3 {is the main move by a very long way.}) 7... cxd4 $11 {/?} 8. Ne2 Bb4+ ({The simple and greedy} 8... Bc5 {is the engine's preference, followed by castling and busting up White's center with ...f6.}) 9. Bd2 Be7 $6 {Almost a novelty.} (9... Qb6) 10. Nexd4 $146 Nc5 11. Be3 $14 {The opening was a success. White has regained his pawn and enjoys a slight edge in a conventional sort of position.} Qa5+ 12. c3 Nxd4 13. Nxd4 (13. Bxd4 {is also good.}) 13... Nxd3+ 14. Qxd3 Bd7 15. O-O Qa6 $146 (15... O-O 16. f5 exf5 17. Nxf5 Bxf5 18. Rxf5 Bc5 19. Bd4 Bxd4+ 20. cxd4 Rac8 21. Rf4 Rc6 22. Qf3 Rc7 23. h4 Qb5 24. Rf1 Qd7 25. h5 Rc6 26. Qg3 Kh8 27. Qa3 Kg8 28. Qxa7 Ra6 29. Qc5 Rxa2 30. h6 g6 31. Qc2 Ra6 32. Qe2 Qe8 33. Qf3 Qd7 34. Rf6 Rc6 35. Rf2 Rc1+ 36. Kh2 Rc6 37. Rxc6 Qxc6 38. Rc2 Qe6 39. Rc7 b6 40. b4 Ra8 41. b5 Rb8 42. Qf6 Qxf6 43. exf6 Kf8 44. Rd7 Ke8 45. Re7+ Kf8 46. Kg3 Rd8 47. Kf4 Rb8 48. Ke5 Rd8 49. Rb7 Ke8 50. Rxb6 Kf8 51. Rb7 Ke8 52. Re7+ Kf8 53. b6 Rb8 54. b7 Rd8 55. Rc7 {1-0 Kuschfeldt,K-Waehner,M Team-ch L13K3-R(6-7) freechess.de 2015 Note: "Freestyle" back then wasn't a synonym for Chess960/Fischerrandom; it meant man + machine.}) 16. Qd2 O-O 17. Rf3 (17. f5 f6 $1 $11) 17... f6 18. exf6 Bxf6 19. Nb3 {White's dream is to swap the dark-squared bishops and then dominate on d4 and e5 (and maybe c5 for dessert). Black must not wait around for this to happen.} Be8 $1 {The bishop needs to be activated, and sending it to g6, ideally on the way to e4, is the way to do it.} 20. Bc5 $1 {Interfering with Black's plan, at least for the moment.} Rf7 21. Qe3 (21. Bd4 Bxd4+ 22. Nxd4 Rf6 23. Re1 Bg6 24. Re5 Be4 25. Rf2 Raf8 26. a3 Qd6 27. g3 h6 28. h4 $11 {is better for White is for anyone, but making progress with an airy kingside and that monster bishop on e4 will be very difficult.}) 21... Ba4 $1 22. Re1 (22. Nd4 Rc8 $1 $11 23. Nxe6 Re8 24. f5 Bd7 $11) 22... Bxb3 23. axb3 {No more bad bishop. It's still superficially better for White, but Black should hold with only the e-pawn to worry about.} Re8 24. Bxa7 Qa2 25. b4 Qxb2 26. Bd4 Qa2 27. h3 Qc4 28. Be5 h6 29. Kh2 Ref8 30. Qb6 Qc6 31. Qd4 Bxe5 32. Qxe5 Rf6 33. Rg3 $5 R8f7 34. Ra1 Rxf4 {Not afraid of ghosts. White gets enough play for a draw, not more.} 35. b5 Qc8 36. Rxg7+ Rxg7 37. Qxf4 Qxc3 38. Ra8+ Kh7 39. Qb8 ({Of course not} 39. Qf8 $4 Qg3+ 40. Kg1 Qxg2#) 39... Qc7+ 40. Qxc7 Rxc7 41. Re8 d4 (41... Rc5 42. Re7+ $11) 42. Rxe6 Rd7 43. Kg3 d3 44. Re1 d2 45. Rd1 Kg6 46. Kf4 Kh5 47. g3 Rd3 48. b6 Rd6 49. Ke3 Rg6 50. Kf2 Rf6+ 51. Ke3 Rg6 52. Kf2 Rf6+ 53. Ke3 Rg6 1/2-1/2 [Event "12th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.08.19"] [Round "2.3"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D85"] [WhiteElo "2745"] [BlackElo "2736"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "90"] [GameId "2212631378874709"] [EventDate "2025.08.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,34,18,16,-25,19,40,6,33,24,30,21,21,21,20,21,26,0,15,-1,16,16,10,36,3,4,3,37,27,13,56,42,21,-1,35,50,30]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Nf3 c5 8. h3 {Conceptually, White is choosing a less aggressive setup, hoping that his center pawns can remain happy and healthy if he "promises" not to put his pieces on particularly active squares.} O-O 9. Be2 cxd4 10. cxd4 Nc6 11. Be3 Qa5+ ({The more combative} 11... f5 {is also possible.}) 12. Bd2 Qa3 13. d5 Ne5 (13... Bxa1 $2 14. Qxa1 Nb4 {stops Bh6, but Black is just lost after} 15. O-O $18 {- White's initiative will be overwhelming.}) 14. Rb1 (14. O-O {has also been played plenty of times. Black can grab the exchange with} Nxf3+ 15. Bxf3 Bxa1 16. Qxa1 f6 {, when White has enough but maybe not more after} 17. Rb1 $44) (14. Nxe5 Bxe5 15. O-O {is a third option. Black's best is to decline the offer with} Bd7 $1) 14... Bd7 15. Nxe5 Bxe5 16. Rxb7 Ba4 17. Qc1 Qxa2 18. Bc4 Qc2 {Not only has all this been played before; it has been played by MVL before.} 19. Qxc2 (19. O-O Qxc1 (19... Bd6) (19... Rfc8) 20. Rxc1 Rfb8 21. Rxb8+ Rxb8 22. Ba6 Bb5 23. Bxb5 Rxb5 24. Kf1 f5 25. Bh6 Bg7 26. d6 Bxh6 27. d7 Bxc1 28. d8=Q+ Kf7 29. Qc8 Rb1 30. Qc4+ Kf8 31. Qc2 Ra1 32. exf5 Bg5+ 33. Ke2 Kg7 34. f4 Bh4 35. g3 Rg1 36. Qc3+ Bf6 37. Qe3 Rg2+ 38. Kf1 Rc2 39. g4 Rc3 40. Qd2 Rxh3 41. g5 Bxg5 42. Qg2 Rh5 43. fxg5 gxf5 44. Qe2 Rxg5 45. Qxe7+ Kg6 46. Qf8 a5 47. Qg8+ Kh6 48. Qf7 a4 49. Kf2 a3 50. Kf3 a2 51. Qxa2 Kg7 52. Qb2+ Kg8 53. Qb8+ Kg7 54. Qe5+ Kg8 55. Qe8+ Kg7 56. Qe7+ Kg6 57. Qf8 h6 58. Qg8+ Kf6 59. Qh7 Rg4 60. Qxh6+ Ke7 61. Qh8 Ke6 62. Qf8 Re4 63. Qh6+ Kf7 64. Qg5 Ke6 65. Qg6+ Ke5 66. Qf7 Rf4+ 67. Ke3 Re4+ 68. Kd3 Rd4+ 69. Kc3 Re4 70. Qe7+ Kf4 71. Qf6 Kg4 72. Kd3 Kf4 73. Kd2 Kg4 74. Qh6 Ra4 75. Qg7+ Kf4 76. Ke2 Ra2+ 77. Kf1 Rc2 78. Qd4+ Kg5 79. Qd3 Rc8 80. Kf2 Re8 81. Qd7 Re4 82. Qg7+ Kh5 83. Qf6 Rf4+ 84. Kg3 Rg4+ 85. Kf3 Rg5 86. Qe6 {1-0 Harikrishna,P (2717)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2747) EU-Cup 37th Mayrhofen 2022 (7.1)}) 19... Bxc2 20. Rxe7 Bf6 21. Rc7 Be5 {Somewhere around here MVL had forgotten his prep. Fortunately, he was able to reconstruct/figure it out anyway and made an easy draw.} 22. d6 Bxe4 23. O-O Bxd6 24. Rd7 Rfd8 (24... Rad8 25. Bxf7+ Kg7 26. Bc3+ Kh6 27. Rxa7 Bc5 28. Rc7 Bd6 29. Rc4 Rxf7 30. Rxe4 Bc5 31. g3 Rd3 32. Be5 Bd6 33. Bd4 Re7 34. Rh4+ Kg5 35. Rg4+ Kf5 36. Rb1 Ke6 37. Rb6 Rd7 38. Kg2 Kf7 39. Rh4 Kg8 40. Be3 Rd5 41. Ra6 Be7 42. Re4 Bg5 43. Bb6 Be7 44. Ra8+ Kg7 45. Rc8 Kf7 46. h4 Bd8 47. Be3 Bf6 48. Bc5 Rd8 49. Rc6 Be5 50. Be3 R8d7 51. Bh6 Bg7 52. Bg5 Bd4 53. Rf4+ Kg7 54. Rf3 R5d6 55. Rc8 Bf6 56. Bf4 Rd3 57. Be3 R3d5 58. Bf4 Rd3 59. Rxd3 Rxd3 60. Rc7+ Kg8 61. Bh6 Rd5 62. f4 Rd3 63. Kh3 Bc3 64. Re7 Bf6 65. Rb7 Rd5 66. Ra7 Rb5 67. Rd7 Ra5 68. Kg4 Rb5 69. Ra7 Rd5 70. Rb7 Ra5 71. Rb3 Kf7 72. Kf3 Rh5 73. Rb7+ Kg8 74. Rb8+ Kf7 75. Rb7+ Kg8 76. Rb8+ Kf7 77. Rf8+ Ke7 78. Rxf6 Rxh6 79. Ra6 Rh5 80. Kg4 Kf7 81. Ra7+ Kf8 82. Kf3 h6 83. Rd7 Ra5 84. g4 h5 85. g5 Ra4 86. Ke3 Kg8 87. Rd4 Ra1 88. f5 gxf5 89. Kf4 Rf1+ 90. Ke5 Kg7 91. Rd7+ Kg6 92. Rd6+ Kg7 93. Rh6 Ra1 94. Kxf5 Ra5+ 95. Kf4 Ra4+ 96. Kg3 Ra3+ 97. Kf2 Ra4 98. Rxh5 Ra6 {½-½ Jacobson,B (2538)-Zhang,P (2558) Hastings Masters op 97th 2023 (8)}) 25. Rxf7 Bd5 $1 $146 (25... Bh2+ 26. Kxh2 Bd5 27. Bxd5 Rxd5 28. Re7 Rxd2 29. Kg1 a5 {½-½ Bussoli,M (2238)-Javier,C (2204) FICGS rapid M 000141 email FICGS email 2023 (1)}) 26. Bxd5 Bh2+ 27. Kxh2 Rxd5 {Transposing to the game given in the last note.} 28. Rc7 $146 Rxd2 29. f3 Rdd8 $1 30. Ra1 (30. Re1 {will be met by} Rdc8 {, chasing White's rook until it gets swapped off or goes to e7, in which case White won't be able to double on the 7th.}) 30... a5 31. Rc5 a4 32. Rc4 a3 33. Rc3 Kg7 34. Raxa3 Rxa3 35. Rxa3 h5 {With a routine theoretical draw.} 36. Kg3 Rd4 37. f4 Rb4 38. Ra7+ Kf6 39. Ra6+ Kg7 40. Ra5 Kf6 41. Rg5 Ra4 42. Rb5 Rc4 43. Rg5 Ra4 44. Rb5 Rc4 45. Rg5 Ra4 1/2-1/2 [Event "12th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.08.19"] [Round "2.4"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C82"] [WhiteElo "2766"] [BlackElo "2725"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "199"] [GameId "2212631378874710"] [EventDate "2025.08.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 {Firouzja "thought" for quite a while here, possibly waiting to see how the Gukesh-Abdusattorov game transpired before deciding on a line. I think it was only after Gukesh's 13.Re1 that he finally moved.} 9. c3 Bc5 10. Nbd2 O-O 11. Bc2 Nxf2 {The ancient Dilworth variation has become very popular in recent years. For a while it seemed to be a solution for Black against 9.c3, but White has won some recent games.} 12. Rxf2 Bxf2+ 13. Kxf2 f6 14. Nf1 fxe5 15. Kg1 Bg4 16. Ne3 Be6 17. b4 (17. Nf1 {is a tacit draw offer -} Bg4 18. Ne3 Be6 {etc.}) (17. b3 {has been White's usual choice, which is generally but by no means always met by} d4 {.}) 17... a5 18. Bb3 $146 {Firouzja probably forgot his prep at this point. From here he started burning insane amounts of time, going from nearly the full 90 minutes he started with to around five minutes left by move 21 or 22. (Fortunately, there was a 30-second increment after each move, but it's still extreme time pressure.)} (18. bxa5 Rxa5 19. Bb3 {is probably what Firouzja had in mind.} e4 $6 (19... h6 $1 $146 {is better, keeping White out of g5. White can take on d5 but it doesn't seem dangerous:} 20. Bxd5 Bxd5 21. Qxd5+ Qxd5 22. Nxd5 Rd8 23. Nb4 Nxb4 24. cxb4 Ra4 25. a3 c5 26. bxc5 e4 27. Ne1 Rd1 28. Kf1 Rc4 29. Bb2 Rd2 30. Bc1 Rd1 31. Bb2 Rd2 $11 {is one possible line.}) 20. Nd4 $14 {/? White has a nice advantage thanks to his grip on the dark squares.} Nxd4 21. cxd4 c6 22. Bd2 Ra8 23. Bb4 Rf7 24. Rc1 Rc8 25. Qe1 Qf6 26. Bc5 h6 27. Qg3 Kh7 28. h3 Qf4 29. Kh2 Qf6 30. Rf1 Qg6 31. Qxg6+ Kxg6 32. Rc1 h5 33. Kg3 Kg5 34. h4+ Kg6 35. Bd6 Kh7 36. Bf4 g6 37. Rc5 Kg8 38. Nc2 Kh7 39. Nb4 Bd7 40. Rc3 Rcf8 41. Bg5 Rc8 42. Rc1 Kg7 43. Na6 Kh7 44. Nc5 Bf5 45. a4 bxa4 46. Bxa4 Bg4 47. Rc3 Ra7 48. Bf4 Rf7 49. Rb3 Bd1 50. Rb4 Bxa4 51. Rxa4 Rcf8 52. Ne6 Rxf4 53. Nxf4 Rb8 54. Ra7+ Kh6 55. Rc7 Rb4 56. Ne6 g5 57. hxg5+ Kg6 58. Kf4 {1-0 Vachier Lagrave,M (2722)-Deac,B (2668) Warsaw Superbet Blitz 2025 (15)}) 18... axb4 19. Nxd5 Kh8 20. Be3 bxc3 21. Ng5 $6 {Trying to make something happen, but it's not justified.} (21. Nxc3 Bxb3 22. Qxb3 Nd4 $11 (22... Qd3 $11) (22... b4 $11)) 21... Bg8 22. Qh5 $2 {This should lose.} (22. Nxc3 $15 {is forced, though undesirable.}) 22... h6 $19 (22... Nd4 $1 23. Bxd4 exd4 24. Nxh7 {No worse than anything else.} g6 $1 (24... Bxh7 $4 25. Bc2 $18 {is probably a line White had in mind.}) 25. Qh6 Bxh7 $19) 23. Ne4 Bxd5 $2 (23... c2 $1 24. Bxh6 Qe8 $1 25. Qh4 gxh6 26. Qxh6+ Bh7 $19 {Black continues with ...Qg6, and White's attack...doesn't continue.}) (23... b4 {is also winning.} 24. Re1 c2 $1 25. Bxh6 Qe8 $1 26. Qh4 gxh6 27. Qxh6+ Bh7 $19 {It's the same idea: ...Qg6 next brings an end to White's attack.}) 24. Bxh6 Qe8 25. Qg5 Qe7 26. Bxd5 $11 Rad8 $4 {If I recall correctly, Duda spent around 20 minutes on this lemon, and then was crestfallen after Firouzja's reply which apparently escaped his attention.} (26... Qxg5 27. Bxg5 Nd4 $1 28. Bxa8 Ne2+ 29. Kh1 Rxa8 30. h4 {is a complicated mess.}) 27. Qh5 $1 $18 {Winning.} gxh6 28. Qxh6+ Qh7 29. Qxc6 {Black has no material advantage, and White's minor pieces are worth more than a rook. If the c-pawn could survive there would be something to talk about, but it's a goner.} c2 30. Bb3 $1 Rd4 31. Re1 $1 (31. Bxc2 $4 Rc4 32. Qxb5 Rxc2 33. Qxe5+ Qg7 34. Qh5+ $11) 31... Qh4 32. g3 Qh3 33. Qxc2 {White must take care - and must make the time control - but once he does the win ought to be inevitable.} Qf5 34. Qe2 b4 35. Nc5 Rf6 36. Bc2 Qf3 {A sad necessity. Now only two results are possible.} 37. Qxf3 Rxf3 38. Re2 Rc3 39. Ne6 Rd6 40. Ng5 Rd7 41. Bb3 Kg7 42. Re1 (42. Kf2) 42... Rdd3 43. Rf1 (43. Rxe5 Kf6 44. Rb5) 43... c5 44. Bf7 (44. Be6) 44... Kh6 45. Ne4 $8 Rc2 46. Bb3 $8 Rb2 47. Rf6+ Kg7 48. Rf7+ $8 Kh6 49. Rf6+ Kg7 50. Rf7+ Kh6 51. Nxc5 Rdd2 52. Ne4 Rg2+ 53. Kf1 Rxh2 54. Rf2 $2 (54. Nf2 $18) 54... Kg6 $2 (54... Rhxf2+ 55. Nxf2 Kg6 56. Nd3 Rd2 {Strangely, Black seems to hold no matter which pawn White captures. (Indeed, it may be better if he doesn't capture either pawn but plays 57.Nf2.)} 57. Nf2 {The only move that doesn't register 0.00, but the advantage the engine claims for White still implies a draw.} (57. Nc5 Kf5 58. Be6+ Kg6 59. Ne4 Rb2 $1 60. Bd5 Kg7 $1 61. Ke1 Rg2 $1 62. Bb3 Kg6 $1 63. Kf1 Rb2 $11) (57. Nxe5+ Kf5 $1 58. Nf3 Rb2 $1 59. Ke1 Ke4 $1 60. Nh4 Rh2 61. Bg8 Rb2 62. Kf1 Ke3 $11 {White is unable to make progress against this setup.}) (57. Nxb4 Kf5 58. Bc2+ Kg4 59. Ke1 Rh2 60. a4 Kxg3 61. a5 Kf3 62. a6 e4 $11) 57... Rb2 58. Ke1 Kg7 $1 59. Bd5 Rc2 60. Be6 Rc3 61. g4 Rg3 62. Kd2 Rg1 63. Ne4 Rf1 64. Kc2 Rf3 $1 65. Bd5 Rh3 66. Kd2 Kh6 67. Bc4 Rh1 68. Ke2 Rg1 69. Kf3 Re1 70. Be6 Kg7 71. Nd2 Rd1 72. Ke3 Re1+ 73. Kf2 Rh1 74. Ne4 Rc1 75. Ke3 Re1+ 76. Kd3 Rc1 $11 {etc. It's Black who must suffer, but it's objectively drawn.}) 55. Rxh2 Rxh2 56. Nf2 $18 {Black's rook is poorly placed and his king can't get in either, so White should be able to make progress, step by step, to the win.} Kf5 57. Ke2 Rh8 58. Ke3 Rd8 59. g4+ Kf6 60. Ne4+ Kg6 61. Be6 Kg7 62. Bb3 Kg6 63. Nf2 Kf6 64. Nd3 Rd4 65. g5+ $1 Kxg5 66. Nxe5 Rf4 {Remarkably, the only safe square for the rook.} 67. Nf3+ Kg4 68. Be6+ Kg3 69. Ne5 Rf6 70. Bd5 Rf4 71. Nd3 Rh4 72. Be4 Rh2 73. Bd5 $1 (73. Nxb4 $4 Rb2 74. a3 Rb3+ $11) 73... Rh4 74. Ne5 Rf4 75. Nc6 Rh4 76. Kd3 Rf4 77. Bc4 Kg4 78. Nxb4 Kf5 79. Nc6 {The knight and bishop create an effective barrier against the Black king, which needs to get to the queenside ASAP.} Rf3+ 80. Kd4 Ra3 81. Kc5 {White is ready to play Kb4 followed by a4, a5, a6, and a7. From there promoting the pawn will take several moves, but they'll be easy to find and play. So Duda takes his last, exceedingly slim chance.} Rxa2 82. Bxa2 {There have been GMs who have failed to win this, especially (but, embarrassingly, not only) in blitz. Thankfully for everyone (but Duda), Firouzja knows what to do.} Ke4 83. Bb1+ Ke3 84. Kd5 Kf3 85. Ke5 Ke3 86. Be4 Ke2 87. Kd4 Kf2 88. Ne5 Ke2 89. Nd3 Kd1 90. Nf4 Kd2 91. Bd3 Kd1 92. Ne2 Kd2 93. Ke4 Ke1 94. Ke3 Kf1 95. Nf4+ Ke1 96. Bc2 Kf1 97. Bb3 Ke1 98. Ng2+ Kf1 99. Kf3 Kg1 100. Kg3 (100. Kg3 Kf1 101. Bc4+ Kg1 102. Nf4 Kh1 103. Be2 Kg1 104. Nh3+ Kh1 105. Bf3#) 1-0 [Event "12th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.08.19"] [Round "2.5"] [White "Gukesh, D."] [Black "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C80"] [WhiteElo "2776"] [BlackElo "2771"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "99"] [GameId "2212631378874711"] [EventDate "2025.08.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,27,19,27,26,16,19,7,19,15,17,0,0,21,29,23,22,22,23,11,0,13,29,-20,-74,-20,-23,-36,-27,-84]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. Nbd2 Nc5 10. c3 d4 11. Bc2 {A rare move, though if Black plays 11...Be7 it transposes to a well-known line that's probably slightly in White's favor.} (11. Bxe6 {is the historic main line, still played today, while the gloriously flashy}) (11. Ng5 {seems to have been worked out to a a dead equality, provided everyone remembers the theory.}) 11... d3 12. Bb1 Qd5 13. Re1 O-O-O (13... Be7 {is fine here. White has played 14.Nb3 in nine out of ten games, but the exception was the highest-rated game:} 14. Re3 O-O-O 15. b4 Na4 16. c4 bxc4 17. Qxa4 Qb5 18. Qxb5 axb5 19. a3 g5 20. Ne4 g4 21. Nfd2 Nd4 22. Bb2 h6 23. Re1 Bg5 24. Kf1 Ne2 25. Rxe2 dxe2+ 26. Kxe2 Be7 27. Bc2 Kb7 28. Bc3 Ra8 29. a4 bxa4 30. Rxa4 Rxa4 31. Bxa4 Ra8 32. Bb5 Ra2 33. Ke3 Kb6 34. Bd4+ Kxb5 35. Nc3+ Kxb4 36. Nxa2+ Ka3 37. Nc1 Kb4 38. Na2+ Ka3 39. Nc1 Kb4 40. Ne4 Bf5 41. Bc3+ Ka3 42. f4 gxf3 43. gxf3 c5 44. f4 h5 45. Nd6 Be6 46. Nb5+ Ka4 47. Nd6 Bh4 48. Ke4 Bf2 49. f5 Bd7 50. Nxf7 Bc6+ 51. Kf4 Bg1 52. e6 Bxh2+ 53. Kg5 h4 54. Kxh4 Bf4 55. Ne2 Bc7 56. Ne5 Be8 57. f6 Bd8 58. Kg5 Kb3 59. Kf5 Bh5 60. e7 Bxe7 61. fxe7 Kc2 62. Nf4 Be8 63. Nd5 Kb3 64. Ke6 Ba4 65. Kd6 Be8 66. Kxc5 Kc2 67. Kd4 {1-0 So,W (2772)-Van Foreest,J (2702) Chess.com Rapid Wk1 Swiss Chess.com INT 2022 (6)}) 14. Ng5 $146 {Best.} Nxe5 {Likewise best, not getting bluffed.} 15. a4 $1 {Otherwise White is lost. Missing a pawn and facing Black's magnificently centralized army, White had better get some playing going - and fast.} Bd6 (15... Bg4 16. f3 Bh5 17. axb5 axb5 18. Ba2 Qd6 $11 {is another possibility.}) 16. axb5 axb5 17. Ba2 Nc4 $2 (17... Qc6 {is best - surprisingly.} 18. Bxe6+ Nxe6 19. Rxe5 $1 Bxe5 20. Nxf7 Bf4 21. Nxh8 Rxh8 22. Nb3 {It seems that White should have a serious advantage here as he's about to pick up the d-pawn and Black's king looks exposed, but Black's pieces are so active that White's advantage is minimal at best.}) 18. b4 $18 Nd7 19. Bxc4 bxc4 20. Ra5 Qc6 21. Ndf3 $2 {Wrongly allowing Black's light-squared bishop to live.} (21. Nxe6 fxe6 22. Qg4 {is winning or nearly winning for White, who has targets everwyhere: e6, c4 (and then d3), and especially the Black king.}) 21... Bd5 $8 $11 22. Nd4 Qb7 23. Be3 h6 24. Ngf3 Nb6 (24... Rhe8 $142 25. Qa1 Ne5 {Black's king will be safe enough if driven to d7, and the rest of Black's army is beautifully coordinated and centralized. White probably has nothing better than to force a draw by giving "perpetual" to Black's queen:} 26. Rb5 Qa8 27. Ra5 Qb7 28. Rb5 $11) 25. Nd2 $6 (25. Qa1 $142 Kd7 26. Nb5 Ra8 27. Nxd6 Kxd6 $1 {Black's king is safe - somehow.} 28. Bc5+ Kd7 29. Re7+ Kd8 $8 30. Ne5 Rxa5 31. bxa5 Na4 32. Rd7+ Kc8 33. Bb6 Nxb6 34. axb6 Re8 $1 35. Rxc7+ (35. Qa8+ Qxa8 36. Rxc7+ Kd8 (36... Kb8 $4 37. Nd7#) 37. Rd7+ Kc8 38. Rc7+ Kd8 $11) 35... Qxc7 36. bxc7 Rxe5 37. f4 $8 Re2 38. Qa7 Rxg2+ 39. Kf1 Rb2 $11) 25... h5 $6 {Presumably to take g4 away from White's queen?} (25... Rhe8 $17) 26. Nb5 $11 Bc6 $2 (26... Kb8 27. Bxb6 cxb6 28. Ra7 Qc6 29. Nd4 Bxh2+ $1 30. Kxh2 Qg6 31. N2f3 $8 Kxa7 32. Qa4+ Kb8 $8 33. Re7 Bb7 34. Nb5 Qc6 $8 {White can force a draw, and that's all:} 35. Qa7+ Kc8 36. Qa4 Kb8 37. Qa7+ $11) 27. Na7+ $2 (27. Nxd6+ Rxd6 28. Rxh5 $16 {reestablishes material equality while also giving White's queen access to the useful g4 square (not incidentally preventing ...Bxg2 ideas).}) 27... Kb8 28. Nxc6+ Qxc6 $11 29. Nf3 Rhe8 30. Nd4 Qe4 (30... Qb7 31. b5 Qd5 $3 $11) 31. b5 Kb7 (31... Qd5 $3 32. Nc6+ Kc8 33. Bxb6 Rxe1+ $1 34. Qxe1 d2 $1 35. Qd1 (35. Ra8+ Kb7 36. Nxd8+ Kxa8 37. Qa1+ Kb8 38. Nc6+ Kc8 $8 39. Bd4 $8 Kd7 $8 40. Nb8+ $1 Ke7 41. Nc6+ Ke6 (41... Kd7 42. Nb8+ Kc8 43. Nc6 Kd7 $11) 42. Qd1 Qxb5 43. Bxg7 (43. Nb4 Bxb4 44. cxb4 $2 Qxb4 45. Bxg7 c3 $19) 43... Qxc6 44. Qxd2 $11) 35... cxb6 36. Ra8+ Kc7 37. Rxd8 Qe4 38. Kf1 Qd3+ 39. Kg1 Qxc3 (39... Qe4 40. Kf1 Qd3+ $11) 40. Ra8 $8 Ba3 $1 41. Ra7+ Kc8 42. Ra8+ Kc7 43. Ra7+ Kc8 $11) 32. Nc6 $14 Qd5 $1 33. Nxd8+ (33. Bxb6 $1 Kxb6 34. Ra6+ Kb7 35. Ra7+ Kc8 36. Ra8+ Kd7 37. Rxd8+ Rxd8 38. Nxd8 Kxd8 39. Qd2 $14) 33... Rxd8 $11 34. Qa1 Kb8 35. Qa2 $6 Re8 (35... Bc5 $142 $15 {/?}) 36. Qd2 $11 {/?} Re4 ({After} 36... Qe5 $142 $1 {White will be completely fine...if he can find ten only-moves in a row, many of them unobvious.} 37. f4 $1 Qxe3+ $1 38. Rxe3 Bc5 39. Kf2 $1 Nd5 40. Qa2 $1 Bxe3+ $8 41. Kg3 $8 Bxf4+ $8 42. Kh3 $8 Nb6 43. Ra7 $8 {To play Qa6 and mate on b7.} Kc8 44. Ra8+ $8 Kd7 $1 45. Rxe8 $8 Kxe8 46. Qf2 $8 Be5 $11) 37. Raa1 h4 $4 {Black would love to get in ...h3, or to play ...Qe5 and have White's g-pawn especially tender after g3, but he doesn't have time for this.} (37... Re6 $11) (37... Qe5 38. g3 Bc5 39. Bxc5 Rxe1+ 40. Qxe1 (40. Rxe1 Qxc5 $11) 40... Qxc5 $11) (37... Bc5 $11) 38. Bxb6 cxb6 39. Rxe4 Qxe4 40. Qa2 $2 $16 (40. Qe1 $1 $18 {forces the queens off the board.}) 40... Kc8 $2 (40... Qd5 $142) 41. Qa6+ Kd7 42. Qxb6 Qe5 (42... g5 $142) 43. Qc6+ Ke7 44. g3 d2 45. Qxc4 Qe1+ 46. Qf1 Qe5 47. Rd1 hxg3 48. hxg3 Bc5 49. Rxd2 {Finally getting rid of the pawn that has been causing him misery for almost the entire game.} Qxg3+ 50. Qg2 1-0 [Event "12th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.08.20"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Sevian, Samuel"] [Black "Gukesh, D."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B31"] [WhiteElo "2683"] [BlackElo "2776"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "88"] [GameId "2213055256427417"] [EventDate "2025.08.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,88,11,24,-7,21,13,19,14,19,19,28,32,36,36,7,28,0,41,41,43,34,45,45,25,-9,24,-64,17,55,113,32,65,51,31,34,44,50,32,49,44,43,15,83,44,34,29,-21,-1,1,-12,-1,1,-8,-1,-1,-50,-11,-24,-5,-7,-17,135,4,-28,-28,-39,-39,-26,-40,-9,-14,-6,-7,26,-119,1,-35,-225,-31,-212,-28,0,-275,-42,-145,-286,-303,-63,-113,0]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. c3 Nf6 6. Re1 O-O 7. d4 a6 {Much rarer than ...cxd4 and ...d5, but when Stockfish says "jump!" we all (usually) say "how high?"} 8. Bxc6 dxc6 9. h3 cxd4 10. cxd4 c5 11. d5 b5 12. Nc3 Bb7 13. Bf4 c4 14. Be5 e6 15. dxe6 fxe6 16. Bd6 Re8 17. a4 (17. e5 Nd5 18. Ne4 Nf4 19. Qd4 Nd3 20. Re3 Bxe4 21. Rxe4 Nxb2 22. Rg4 Nd3 23. Ng5 Qd7 24. h4 Qa7 25. Nf3 Qxd4 26. Rxd4 Rac8 27. a4 b4 28. a5 b3 29. Rb1 Bh6 30. g4 b2 31. Rxd3 cxd3 32. Rxb2 Rc2 {0-1 Sokolovsky,Y (2516)-Vocaturo,D (2603) Benasque op 43rd 2024 (10)}) 17... Qb6 $146 (17... Bf8 $11 {is the engine's recommendation even five years later.} 18. Bxf8 Qxd1 19. Raxd1 Rxf8 20. axb5 axb5 21. Nxb5 Bxe4 22. Nd2 Bd3 23. Nd6 Ra4 24. Rxe6 Rb4 25. Rde1 Nd5 26. R1e5 Rxb2 27. N2xc4 Rc2 28. Rxd5 Bxc4 29. Nxc4 Rxc4 30. f3 Kg7 31. Rb6 Rf6 32. Rd7+ Rf7 33. Rdd6 Rcc7 34. Rb2 Rb7 35. Rbd2 h5 36. Kh2 Rf6 37. Rd8 Rf8 38. R8d5 Rf4 39. Kg3 Rbf7 40. h4 {½-½ Fleetwood,D (2570)-Gusan,B (2555) W-ch40 q02 email ICCF email 2020}) 18. axb5 (18. e5 Nd5 19. axb5 Nf4 $1 (19... axb5 20. Rxa8 Bxa8 $8 21. Ng5 $1 b4 22. Qf3 $1 Qa7 $8 23. Nb5 Qd7 24. Nd4 $14) 20. bxa6 Rxa6 21. Rxa6 Qxa6 $44 {With two active bishops (at least once the dark-squared bishop reaches h6) and a knight coming to d3 next move Black has full compensation for the pawn.}) 18... axb5 19. Rxa8 Rxa8 20. e5 Ne8 {This resource is why 18.e5 was an interesting try.} 21. Bb4 Rd8 22. Qe2 Qc6 (22... Rd3 $142) 23. Rd1 $6 {This surrenders the advantage.} (23. Qe3 $1 Rd3 24. Qf4 $14) 23... Rxd1+ 24. Nxd1 Nc7 25. Bd6 Ne8 26. Bb4 Qc7 {Refusing a repetition, something we've seen from Gukesh time and time again - most famously in his World Championship match with Ding Liren. Nevertheless the position remains equal and Sevian doesn't crack.} 27. Nc3 Bxf3 28. Qxf3 Qxe5 {Black has won a pawn, but with the weaknesses on b5 and e6 and a slightly exposed king the chances remain equal.} 29. g3 Nc7 30. Qc6 h5 31. Kg2 Nd5 32. Qxb5 h4 33. Qxc4 hxg3 34. Nxd5 exd5 35. Qc8+ Kh7 36. Qg4 $1 g5 37. Bc3 d4 38. Qxd4 {A fun way to force the draw.} Qxd4 39. Bxd4 Bxd4 40. Kxg3 Kg6 (40... Be5+ {stops f4, but} 41. Kg4 {will get rid of Black's remaining pawn all the same. White threatens to play h4, and if Black plays ...Bf6 White can play f4 or be a smart aleck and play h4 anyway (h-pawn and wrong-colored bishop).}) 41. f4 gxf4+ 42. Kxf4 Bxb2 43. h4 Bf6 44. Ke4 Bxh4 1/2-1/2 [Event "12th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.08.20"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A13"] [WhiteElo "2771"] [BlackElo "2779"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "92"] [GameId "2213055256427418"] [EventDate "2025.08.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,92,24,0,-2,10,26,23,28,39,44,14,-20,21,12,20,20,20,10,11,12,3,15,12,47,15,48,39,60,33,41,43,62,81,84,-11,70,-3,67,62,60,49,88,39,75,94,41,74,75,79,0,29,95,91,86,88,64,63,63,186,72,53,56,56,56,56,25,1,1,20,14,26,12,11,13,4,-1,8,18,4,13,-1,19,-12,0,54,16,3,15,4,-3,-3,9,-2,25]} 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 Bb4 {Already a mystery: what is the name of this opening? I have no idea - please help!} 3. e4 (3. d4 {invites a Nimzo-Indian, but why not grab the full center instead?}) (3. Qb3 {is apparently the most common move, avoiding doubled pawns.}) 3... d6 (3... Ne7) (3... c5) 4. d4 c5 5. Nge2 $146 (5. d5 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 e5 (6... Qe7 $5 $146) 7. Bd3 {has a Nimzo-like feel to it.}) 5... cxd4 6. Nxd4 Nc6 {Now it's a peculiar sort of Sicilian.} 7. Nxc6 bxc6 8. Bd3 Nf6 {Voila - a transposition has finally happened, and to - yes, a Sicilian.} 9. O-O O-O 10. Qc2 (10. Bg5 {is the most common move (not that any move is especially common here), while}) (10. Na4 {is the engine's suggestion (and a familiar idea in such structures).}) 10... e5 11. Na4 (11. a3) (11. Rb1) 11... Ba5 ({This game came about through a Symmetrical English move order.} 11... d5 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bxf6 Qxf6 14. a3 dxc4 15. axb4 cxd3 16. Qxd3 Rd8 17. Qc3 Ba6 18. Rfd1 Be2 19. Rd2 Bb5 20. Nc5 Rxd2 21. Qxd2 Rd8 22. Qe1 Rd4 23. Rxa7 Qg5 24. Rd7 Rc4 25. h3 Rc2 26. b3 Re2 27. Qd1 Qf4 28. Rd8+ Kh7 29. Qf1 Rd2 30. Nd3 Qxe4 31. Nc5 Bxf1 32. Nxe4 Rxd8 33. Kxf1 Rd4 34. Nc5 Rxb4 35. Ke2 Rd4 36. Ke3 Kg6 37. g3 Kf6 38. f4 Rd5 39. Ne4+ Ke6 40. Nc3 exf4+ 41. gxf4 Rh5 {0-1 Anton Guijarro,D (2642)-Vidit,S (2720) WchT Blitz Final London 2025 (2.2)}) 12. Rb1 $146 Rb8 13. a3 c5 14. Rd1 Qe7 15. Nc3 Bxc3 $6 (15... h6) 16. Qxc3 $14 {/? This doesn't look good for Black. Sure, White's light-squared bishop isn't very good, but the extra one - the dark-squared bishop - does look promising. White also has more control over the pawn breaks in the position, so it will be Abdusattorov who gets to have the fun.} Be6 17. f3 ({Get on with it:} 17. b4) 17... Rfc8 18. Be3 Qc7 (18... h6) 19. Rd2 h6 20. Bc2 Qc6 (20... Nh5 $142) (20... Rb6 $142) 21. Rbd1 $16 Rd8 22. b3 Rd7 {To make progress White needs a pawn break. But which one, and how should it be set up?} 23. h4 (23. h3 $142 $16 {doesn't answer the question yet, but it's a useful move (in conjunction with Kh2) for whatever comes next. Maybe g3 and f4 (provided the e-pawn is secure), maybe g4, h4, and g5. It's always possible to consider b4 as well, but that could give Black some play, too.}) 23... Rbd8 (23... Qc7 {isn't bad, with ideas like ...Qd8 (to help protect the kingside) and ...a5 (to stop b4 and perhaps push on with ...a4.}) 24. b4 $2 {Abdusattorov is overestimating his chances on the queenside. Now Black will have nothing to worry about on the kingside thanks to the coming trades; White either has something on the queenside or it's a draw.} (24. g4 $1) 24... cxb4 25. Qxb4 Qxc4 26. Qxc4 Bxc4 27. Ba4 Rb7 28. Rxd6 Rxd6 29. Rxd6 {Black is now mostly off the hook. White keeps a little plus thanks to the bishop pair, but unless White wins the a-pawn the endings are pretty drawish.} Nh5 $11 {White was threatening to win a pawn with 30.Bxh6.} 30. Rc6 Be6 31. Rc5 Rb1+ 32. Rc1 Rb7 33. Bd1 Rb2 34. Kh2 Nf4 35. Rc2 Rb1 (35... Rxc2 $2 36. Bxc2 $16 {would be dangerous as the a7-pawn will be harder to safeguard.}) 36. Rd2 a6 37. g3 Bb3 $1 38. gxf4 Bxd1 {With opposite-colored bishops this is a dead draw.} 39. Kg3 exf4+ 40. Kxf4 Bb3 41. Bd4 Rd1 42. Rxd1 Bxd1 43. Bc3 Be2 44. Bd4 Bd1 45. Bc3 Be2 46. Bd4 Bd1 1/2-1/2 [Event "12th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.08.20"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E21"] [WhiteElo "2784"] [BlackElo "2766"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "91"] [GameId "2213055256427419"] [EventDate "2025.08.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,91,26,-4,15,17,17,14,18,17,21,17,22,17,33,31,22,25,28,20,3,21,28,17,-50,-6,-4,1,-16,0,27,17,25,46,19,7,57,159,43,-48,109,80,-17,82,119,42,58,162,75,56,78,78,82,79,95,69,84,100,84,78,107,79,96,66,53,74,140,169,152,152,190,225,174,174,169,227,76,173,180,180,177,174,196,196,205,241,227,221,244,244,243,152,169,160]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 {An actual Nimzo-Indian, unlike the ersatz version in the Abdusattorov-Praggnanandhaa game.} 4. Nf3 b6 5. Bd2 {This has become relatively popular in the 4.e3 lines; less so here, I think, though it's no longer a surprise in the Nimzo.} Bb7 6. g3 Bxc3 7. Bxc3 Ne4 8. Rc1 d6 9. Bg2 O-O 10. O-O Nd7 11. d5 Nxc3 $146 12. Rxc3 e5 (12... Nf6 13. Ne1 exd5 14. cxd5 Re8 15. Nc2 Qd7 16. Ne3 Re7 17. Qc2 g6 18. Rc1 Rc8 19. Qd3 Ng4 20. Nxg4 Qxg4 21. e3 Qd7 22. Qd4 f5 23. h4 Qe8 24. e4 fxe4 25. Bh3 c5 26. dxc6 Rxc6 27. Qd5+ {1-0 Carlsen,M (2882)-Mamedyarov,S (2764) Saint Louis Blitz 2019 (3)}) 13. e4 (13. b4 a5 14. a3 Qe7 15. Nd2 f5 16. Nb3 axb4 17. axb4 Ra3 18. Qc1 Rfa8 19. c5 bxc5 20. bxc5 Rxb3 21. Rxb3 Nxc5 22. Ra3 Rf8 23. Ra7 f4 24. Qb2 Bc8 25. Qb8 Bb7 26. Rxb7 Rxb8 27. Rxb8+ Kf7 28. Bh3 Kg6 29. Rc8 Kh6 30. Ra1 e4 31. Ra7 e3 32. Rcxc7 exf2+ 33. Kf1 Qf6 34. Rxg7 fxg3 35. Rxh7+ Kg6 36. Bf5+ Kxf5 37. Raf7 Qxf7 38. Rxf7+ Kg6 39. Rf3 gxh2 40. Rh3 Ne4 41. Rxh2 Nf6 42. Rh3 Kf5 43. Kxf2 Nxd5 44. Kf3 Ke6 45. Ke4 Nf6+ 46. Kd4 Ke7 47. Re3+ Kd7 48. Rf3 Ke6 49. Rh3 Ke7 50. e4 Ke6 51. Rh6 Ke7 52. Rg6 Kf7 53. Rg1 Ke6 54. Ra1 Ke7 55. Ra6 Nd7 56. Ra7 Ke6 57. Ra8 Ke7 58. Ra7 Ke6 59. Ra5 Nf6 60. Rb5 Ke7 61. Rb7+ Ke6 62. Rb8 Ke7 63. Ra8 Ke6 64. Ra5 Ke7 65. Ke3 Ke6 66. Kf4 Nd7 67. Rh5 Nc5 68. Rh6+ Kd7 69. Kf5 Kc7 70. Rg6 Kd7 71. Rg7+ Kc6 72. Ra7 Kb6 73. Ra1 Kc6 74. Rd1 Kc7 75. Rd4 Kc6 76. Kf6 Kc7 77. Ke7 Nb7 78. Rc4+ Kb6 79. Ke6 Kb5 80. Kd5 Kb6 81. Rc6+ Kb5 82. Rxd6 {1-0 Grandelius,N (2663)-Svane,R (2613) Titled Tuesday intern op 02nd Mar Chess.com INT blitz 2021 (8)}) 13... a5 (13... Qe7 14. Qc2 g6 15. b4 a5 16. a3 axb4 17. axb4 f5 18. exf5 gxf5 19. Nd2 Kh8 20. Rb1 Nf6 21. Re1 Qg7 22. Qb3 e4 23. f3 b5 24. Rc2 Rae8 25. fxe4 fxe4 26. Nf1 bxc4 27. Qxc4 Nxd5 28. b5 Nb6 29. Qxc7 Qd4+ 30. Kh1 Ba8 31. Rd2 Rxf1+ 32. Rxf1 Qxd2 33. Qf7 Rc8 34. Qf6+ Kg8 35. Bh3 Bd5 36. Be6+ Bxe6 37. Qxe6+ Kh8 38. Qf6+ Kg8 39. Qe6+ Kh8 {½-½ Bruzon Batista,L (2659)-Del Rio de Angelis,S (2512) Iberoamerican-ch 6th Bilbao 2015 (8)}) 14. Nd2 $146 (14. Nh4 g6 15. Qd2 Qe7 16. Bh3 Nf6 17. f3 Bc8 18. Bxc8 Raxc8 19. Ng2 Nh5 20. Re3 f5 21. exf5 gxf5 22. f4 e4 23. Rc3 Qf6 24. Ne3 Ng7 25. Nc2 h5 26. Nd4 h4 27. Rd1 Kf7 28. Qe2 hxg3 29. Rxg3 Rh8 30. Qf2 Rh6 31. Qe3 Rch8 32. Rd2 Rg6 33. Rdg2 Rxg3 34. Rxg3 Rh4 35. Rg5 Rxf4 36. Qxf4 Qxd4+ 37. Kh1 Qxc4 38. Rg2 Qxd5 39. h4 Qe5 40. Qg5 e3 41. Re2 f4 42. Qg4 Nf5 43. Kg2 Qe4+ 44. Kh2 Qe5 45. Kh3 Nd4 46. Rg2 Qe6 47. Qxe6+ Kxe6 48. h5 f3 49. Rg8 e2 50. h6 Kf7 51. Rg7+ Kf6 52. Rg1 f2 {0-1 Gelfand,B (2733)-Leko,P (2749) World Cup ACP 1st Odessa rapid 2007 (3.5)}) 14... c6 15. Re1 {Clearing f1 for the knight on its way to e3.} cxd5 16. cxd5 Nc5 17. Qe2 f5 (17... Bc8 $11 {first looks better, to recapture on f5 with the bishop.}) 18. exf5 Rxf5 19. Ne4 (19. h4) 19... Qe7 $6 (19... Bc8 $11) 20. Qb5 $6 (20. Qd2 $1 $16 {threatens a quick f4, which is surprisingly effective here.}) 20... Qc7 (20... Raf8 $142) 21. b3 $14 Raf8 $2 22. a3 $2 (22. Bh3 $1 R5f7 (22... Rh5 $2 {is even worse:} 23. Be6+ Kh8 24. Nxc5 bxc5 25. Rf3 $1 Rb8 26. Rf7 $18) 23. Be6 $18) 22... Qd8 $2 (22... Qe7 $14) 23. Nxc5 dxc5 24. Rc2 $16 {/+- Black has several weaknesses, and his pressure on f2 isn't nearly enough to compensate for them.} Qd6 (24... Bxd5 $4 25. Rd2 e4 26. Bxe4 Rg5 27. Rxd5 Rxd5 28. Qc4 $18) 25. Rd2 Kh8 26. Be4 $6 (26. Qc4 $142 $18) 26... R5f6 $16 27. Bg2 Rf5 $2 28. Re3 (28. Qc4 $142 $18) 28... h6 (28... R5f7 $142) 29. a4 $18 Qf6 30. Ree2 (30. Qe2 $142 $18) 30... Qd6 31. h4 (31. Re3) 31... R5f6 (31... R5f7 {[%CAl Bf7e7]}) 32. Qd3 Bc8 33. Qe4 Ba6 34. Re3 c4 $5 35. bxc4 Qb4 36. Qc2 Qxc4 $6 37. Qxc4 Bxc4 38. d6 Rd8 39. d7 Kg8 40. Rxe5 Kf7 41. Rd4 Ba2 42. Re2 Bb3 43. Re3 Ba2 44. Bf1 Kf8 45. Bb5 Re6 46. Rd2 (46. Rd2 Rxe3 47. fxe3 {White continues with Rd6xb6.}) 1-0 [Event "12th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.08.20"] [Round "3.4"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "2736"] [BlackElo "2737"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "146"] [GameId "2213055256427420"] [EventDate "2025.08.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,146,26,17,29,29,27,23,19,9,14,-15,-60,5,6,8,29,32,76,72,77,55,65,0,-3,-20,31,100,66,61,36,19,19,180,4,40,0,36,73,65,54,54,50,54,49,91,40,1,85,199,56,48,204,41,37,45,76,40,58,42,27,46,61,172,114,112,71,49,88,49,23,94,143,182,197,195,203,215,324,265,255,221,279,273,176,278,238,264,244,246,251,283,247,247,249,229,233,231,422,254,285,255,260,259,287,235,272,245,369,256,316,292,116,84,77,329,90,73,60,58,71,134,40,494,58,344,70,394,98,378,104,397,101,391,115,169,527,113,311,74,167,116,371,76,416,137,388,0,0]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Qb6 9. Qd2 Qxb2 10. Rb1 Qa3 11. Bb5 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 a6 13. Bxd7+ Bxd7 14. Rb3 Qe7 15. Rxb7 Qd8 (15... Rc8) 16. O-O Qc8 17. Rb3 Qc4 $6 {This is all mysterious. MVL has done nothing but play the main line, but Aronian is choosing moves that have been played before and that leave White with a significant advantage.} (17... Bc5 $142) 18. Nd1 $1 $16 Bc5 19. c3 Be7 20. Ne3 Qc8 21. f5 (21. h3 $1 $146 {?/+-}) 21... exf5 $146 (21... Bg5 22. Qf2 Bb5 23. Re1 h5 24. Qg3 Bh6 25. Qf3 Qd7 26. a4 Bxa4 27. Rb6 Bc6 28. fxe6 Bxe3+ 29. Rxe3 Qxe6 30. Bc5 Rh6 31. Qe2 Qg4 32. Qd2 Qc4 33. Bd6 d4 34. Rd3 Rc8 35. Rxd4 Qe6 36. Bb4 Rg6 37. Rd6 Qc4 38. Rbxc6 {1-0 Stefansson,H (2471)-Fus,J (2455) Przeworsk 2024 (2)}) 22. Nxd5 Bd8 23. e6 $5 {Lively, interesting, and dangerous for Black--but ultimately allowing him to equalize.} (23. c4 $1 Be6 $1 24. Rc1 $14 {/?}) 23... fxe6 (23... Bxe6 $142 $11) 24. Bxg7 Rg8 25. Nf6+ (25. Bd4 $1 {doesn't make it easy for Black, but with very precise play he can maintain equality.} Bc6 $1 (25... exd5 $2 26. Re1+ Be7 (26... Kf7 $2 27. Qh6 $18) 27. Qe3 Be6 28. Qxe6 Qxe6 29. Rxe6 $18) 26. c4 $1 Qd7 $1 (26... exd5 $2 27. Re1+ $18) 27. Bb2 $1 Be7 $1 28. Re1 Rd8 29. Rd3 (29. Rg3 Rxg3 30. hxg3 Bxd5 31. cxd5 Qxd5 $11) 29... Rg6 $1 $11) 25... Bxf6 26. Bxf6 $11 {Here too White has the easier time of things, as the opposite colored bishops generally work in his favor due to the porous state of Black's pawn structure. Still, it is objectively equal.} Bc6 27. g3 Rg6 (27... Rg4 $142) 28. Be5 $14 Bb5 29. Re1 (29. Rfb1 $142) 29... Qc5+ (29... Qc4) 30. Bd4 Rd8 $1 31. Qf4 Qd5 $1 32. Re5 Qc4 {Only now, now that White's rook no longer guards the first rank.} 33. Rb2 (33. Rb4 Qxa2 34. Qxf5 Bc6 35. Qf2 Qxf2+ 36. Kxf2 Rh6 $1 {The first move of another two-step (like 31...Qd5 and then 32...Qc4).} 37. h4 Rf6+ $11) 33... Rd5 $1 $11 (33... Rg4 $1 34. Qxf5 Rdxd4 $1 {It may be hard to believe, but White has no more than a draw here.} 35. Rxe6+ Kd8 36. cxd4 Qc1+ 37. Kg2 Qxb2+ 38. Kh3 Rxd4 39. Qf8+ Kc7 40. Qc5+ Kd8 41. Qf8+ $11) 34. Rxd5 Qxd5 35. Qb8+ Qd8 $2 (35... Kf7 $8 36. a4 $1 Bd7 $1 37. Qh8 e5 $1 {It's hard to believe that Black is surviving this, but the engine confirms it in variation after variation. Easy for the engine, not for us.}) 36. Qe5 $18 Qg5 37. Rb1 f4 38. Qb8+ Ke7 39. Qc7+ Ke8 40. Qb8+ Ke7 41. Qc7+ Ke8 42. c4 $1 fxg3 43. Qc8+ $2 (43. h3 $1 Qd2 44. Qb8+ Kd7 45. Qb7+ Kd8 46. Bb6+ Ke8 47. Qc8+ Kf7 48. Rf1+ Rf6 49. Rxf6+ Kxf6 50. Qd8+ Qxd8 51. Bxd8+ Ke5 52. cxb5 axb5 53. Kg2 $18 {White will eventually queen the h-pawn.}) 43... Qd8 44. Qxd8+ Kxd8 45. cxb5 gxh2+ 46. Kxh2 axb5 47. Rxb5 {It's a funny endgame, in that rook and bishop vs. rook would be drawn, and likewise if the rooks are traded even if Black loses both his pawns. But with rooks on the board, and with the a-pawn, I believe White is *probably* winning - but I'm not completely sure. It is a win if the Black pawns are captured, so the question is if that can be done without White losing the a-pawn along the way.} Rg4 48. Bb2 Kc7 49. Kh3 Re4 50. Kg3 Kc6 51. Ra5 h5 52. Kf3 (52. Rxh5 $2 Re2 {is an immediate draw, as Black either wins the a-pawn or swaps the rooks.}) 52... Rc4 53. Bf6 $2 {Allowing an immediate draw (or rather, immediate transposition to a theoretical draw).} Rc5 $1 {Oops. Black threatens ...Rf5+. White manages to avoid both the rook trade and the loss of the bishop, but it comes at the cost of the a-pawn.} 54. Ra6+ Kb7 $1 55. Rxe6 Ra5 56. Bd4 (56. Re2 Rf5+) 56... Rxa2 {MVL tries for a bit, but Aronian is up to the task of holding rook vs. rook and bishop.} 57. Rb6+ Kc7 58. Ke4 Ra5 59. Rh6 Kb7 60. Kd3 Ra6 61. Rxh5 Kc6 62. Ke4 Ra4 63. Rh6+ Kb5 64. Kd5 Rb4 {Black goes for the second-rank defense (in this case, the b-file defense). It's a less comfortable option than the Cochrane method, when that is available, and here it's not.} 65. Rh8 Rb3 66. Ra8 Rb4 67. Bc3 Rb3 68. Rb8+ Ka4 69. Rc8 Kb5 70. Rc6 Ka4 71. Kc4 {Only one move draws, but it's a well-known idea in this ending.} Rb4+ $1 72. Kd3 (72. Bxb4 {is stalemate.}) 72... Kb5 73. Bxb4 Kxc6 {A narrow escape for Aronian.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "12th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.08.20"] [Round "3.5"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2725"] [BlackElo "2745"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "64"] [GameId "2213055256427421"] [EventDate "2025.08.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,64,15,30,26,14,-4,21,20,16,26,13,17,25,26,20,77,36,36,48,40,6,12,12,12,15,16,11,31,29,36,14,4,12,14,16,-36,3,10,87,29,17,19,-14,37,34,4,16,13,41,22,-6,-1,1,125,17,100,11,15,12,144,30,223,129,131,32,52]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Qb3 (8. Rc1 {is the main line, but Duda's move isn't exactly obscure with 470 games in the database.}) 8... c5 9. cxd5 exd5 10. dxc5 Bxc3+ 11. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 12. bxc3 Nd7 13. Rd1 Nf6 14. Nd4 Bd7 15. f3 Rfc8 16. Nb3 {Still following dozens of games, almost all of which finished in a draw. So is generally content to make draws with Black (and sometimes with White, as yesterday with MVL), while Duda may not have had much of a heart for a fight after his 100-move loss (from a winning position) against Firouzja in the previous round.} Ba4 17. Rd4 Bxb3 18. axb3 Rxc5 19. Kd2 Rac8 20. Bd3 Ra5 ({Other "exciting" draws in this line:} 20... Kf8 21. Rc1 h5 22. Ra4 a6 23. b4 R5c6 24. Ra5 Ke7 25. Ra3 Ne8 {½-½ Pechac,J (2598)-Navara,D (2688) POL-chT Ekstraliga Lublin 2023 (7.2)} 26. b5 axb5 27. Bxb5 Rg6 28. g3 Nd6 29. Rb1 Rc7 30. Bd3 Rf6 31. Ke2 Re6 32. Rb4 g6 33. Rab3 Rc5 34. Ra4 Kf6 35. Rf4+ Kg7 36. Rd4 Re8 37. Ra3 Kf6 38. Kd2 Ke6 39. Rb4 Rec8 40. Rb6 Ke7 41. Rb4 R8c7 42. Rd4 b5 43. Kc2 Rb7 44. Rb4 Rd7 45. Rd4 Rdc7 46. Kd2 Rb7 47. Ra2 Ke6 48. Ra6 Ke7 49. e4 dxe4 50. Rdxd6 exd3 51. Rxd3 b4 52. cxb4 Rxb4 53. Ra2 Rb1 54. Ke3 Rh1 55. Rd4 Rc3+ 56. Rd3 Rc6 57. Rd4 Re6+ 58. Re4 Re1+ 59. Kf4 R6xe4+ {½-½ Kuzubov,Y (2618)-Van Foreest,J (2690) Braila GP RO Stage 5 rapid 2022 (8)}) (20... a5 21. Rc1 Kf8 22. g4 (22. b4 axb4 23. Rxb4 R8c7 24. Bb5 Ke7 25. Rb3 Ne8 26. Bxe8 Kxe8 27. Ra1 Kd7 28. g4 Kc6 29. Ra8 Rb5 30. Rxb5 Kxb5 31. Kd3 Kc5 32. Rg8 f6 33. Rd8 b5 34. h4 Ra7 35. h5 Rc7 36. Ra8 Kd6 37. Rb8 Kc5 38. Rd8 Ra7 39. Re8 Rc7 40. f4 Rb7 41. Re6 Rc7 42. Ra6 Re7 43. Ra8 Kd6 44. Rc8 Re4 45. Rb8 Kc6 46. Rg8 Re7 47. Rc8+ Kd6 48. Ra8 Kc6 49. Rc8+ Kd6 50. Ra8 {½-½ Kuzubov,Y (2612)-Wojtaszek,R (2693) EU-Cup 37th Mayrhofen 2022 (6.3)}) 22... Ke7 23. h4 g6 24. b4 axb4 25. Rxb4 R8c7 26. Rcb1 Rxc3 27. Rxb7 h5 28. g5 Nd7 29. Rxc7 Rxc7 30. f4 Ra7 31. Bc2 Kd6 32. e4 dxe4 33. Bxe4 Ra4 34. Ke3 Ra3+ 35. Kd4 Rh3 36. Rh1 Rg3 37. Rd1 Nf8 38. f5 Rh3 39. Ra1 gxf5 40. Ra6+ Ke7 41. Ra7+ Kd6 42. Ra6+ Ke7 43. Ra7+ {½-½ Swiercz,D (2647)-Caruana,F (2800) FIDE Grand Swiss Riga 2021 (4)}) 21. Rb1 $146 {Finally something new, but don't worry - it's not interesting, and the game will safely ease its way to a draw.} (21. Bc2 g6 22. Rb1 h5 23. Ra4 Rac5 24. Rxa7 Rxc3 25. Bd3 R3c7 26. Rba1 Nd7 27. Ra8 Nc5 28. Rxc8+ Rxc8 29. Bc2 Ne6 30. Ra4 Rc6 31. g3 Kg7 32. f4 Kf6 33. Rb4 b6 34. Ra4 Nc7 35. Bd3 Ke7 36. Ra7 Kd8 37. b4 Kc8 38. h3 Rd6 39. Ra1 Kd7 40. g4 hxg4 41. hxg4 Ke7 42. Ra7 Rd7 43. f5 gxf5 44. gxf5 f6 45. Bc2 Ne8 46. Ra6 Nd6 47. Bd3 Nc4+ 48. Kc3 Nxe3 49. Kd4 Nc4 50. Bxc4 dxc4+ 51. Kxc4 Rd6 52. Ra7+ Kd8 53. Rf7 Ke8 54. Rb7 Kd8 55. Ra7 Rd1 56. Rf7 Rd6 57. Kb5 Ke8 58. Rh7 Kd8 59. Ka6 Rd5 60. Kxb6 Rxf5 61. b5 Rf1 62. Kc6 Rc1+ 63. Kb7 f5 64. b6 f4 65. Rc7 Rf1 66. Kb8 f3 67. Rc2 Ra1 68. b7 Kd7 69. Rc7+ Ke6 70. Rc6+ Kd5 71. Kc7 Rb1 72. Rf6 Ke4 73. b8=Q Rxb8 74. Kxb8 Ke3 75. Rxf3+ Kxf3 {½-½ Harikrishna,P (2688)-Yu,Y (2717) EU-Cup 39th Vrnjacka Banja 2024 (6.3)}) 21... Rc7 (21... Ra2+ 22. Bc2 b5 {was the best way to try to cause a modicum of trouble.}) 22. Bc2 Kf8 23. Ra4 Rxa4 24. bxa4 Nd7 25. Bb3 Rc5 26. Ba2 b6 27. Rb5 a6 28. Rb4 Ke7 29. Rd4 Nf6 30. Rb4 Nd7 31. Rd4 Nf6 32. Rb4 Nd7 {Well done.} 1/2-1/2