[Event "8th Sinquefield Cup 2021"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2021.08.17"] [Round "1"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2772"] [BlackElo "2782"] [PlyCount "100"] [EventDate "2021.08.16"] {[%evp 0,100,22,10,10,16,16,10,15,7,13,13,20,-6,4,4,62,26,14,19,18,-5,59,36,57, 43,50,-33,5,15,4,15,13,5,-11,-38,-20,-9,31,4,13,12,22,22,34,39,38,42,52,4,11, 16,16,24,43,57,49,65,120,125,120,123,121,141,143,114,138,85,116,158,163,158, 158,158,141,184,134,134,135,101,119,23,13,2,13,33,57,-43,-22,-26,-30,-4,0,0,0, 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,-13]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. h3 d6 7. c3 Ne7 8. Re1 Ng6 9. d4 Bb6 10. Bd3 d5 11. exd5 exd4 12. c4 c6 13. Qc2 cxd5 14. c5 Bc7 15. Nxd4 Re8 16. Rxe8+ Qxe8 17. Nc3 Qe1+ 18. Bf1 Bd7 19. Qe2 Qxe2 20. Ndxe2 Rc8 21. Be3 Ne7 22. Rd1 a6 23. g4 Bc6 24. f3 h6 25. b4 Re8 26. Kf2 Bd7 27. Bf4 Bxf4 28. Nxf4 d4 29. Rxd4 Nc6 30. Rd6 Nxb4 31. Rb6 a5 32. Rxb7 Bc6 33. Ra7 g5 34. Nd3 Rd8 35. Ne5 Rd2+ 36. Kg3 Rc2 37. a3 Nbd5 38. Nxd5 Nxd5 39. Bd3 Rxc5 40. Nxf7 Nf4 41. Bf5 Bd5 42. Ne5 Rc3 43. Rxa5 Re3 44. Nd3 Rxf3+ 45. Kh2 Rxh3+ 46. Kg1 Rg3+ 47. Kf2 Rf3+ 48. Kg1 Rg3+ 49. Kf2 Rf3+ 50. Kg1 Rg3+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "8th Sinquefield Cup 2021"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2021.08.17"] [Round "1"] [White "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Svidler, Peter"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E60"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2714"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2021.08.16"] {[%evp 0,61,20,22,27,-2,52,-14,-12,-12,17,-2,-2,-3,11,6,39,39,102,41,54,57,52, 52,59,65,76,58,58,49,27,27,52,35,62,70,89,60,29,23,4,4,12,22,47,37,34,35,58,51, 39,46,89,116,148,148,148,54,465,742,739,805,29983,829]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. h4 $5 {A cottage industry has grown up around this anti-Gruenfeld move in recent years.} Bg7 4. Nc3 O-O 5. e4 d6 6. Be2 c5 7. d5 b5 ({The Benoni-style approach with} 7... e6 {has been more popular than the Benko-style gambit chosen by Svidler; indeed, MVL himself used it as Black against Grischuk a couple of years ago. That's not to say it's necessarily better, and White may indeed be better after} 8. h5 exd5 9. exd5 {. After} Re8 {, both the unpinning 10.Kf1 and the AlphaZero-style} 10. h6 {look good for an edge in this sharp position.} Bh8 11. Bg5 Qb6 12. b3 Qa5 13. Bd2 Qd8 14. Kf1 Ne4 15. Nxe4 Rxe4 16. Rc1 Rh4 17. Rxh4 Qxh4 18. g3 Qd8 19. Kg2 Nd7 20. Nf3 Ne5 21. Nxe5 Bxe5 22. Bd3 Bd7 23. Qf3 f5 24. Re1 Qf6 25. b4 cxb4 26. Bxb4 b6 27. Bd2 Re8 28. Qd1 f4 29. Qf3 fxg3 30. Qxf6 Bxf6 31. Rxe8+ Bxe8 32. fxg3 Kf8 33. g4 Ke7 34. g5 Bd4 35. Kf3 Bd7 36. Be3 Bc3 37. Bc2 Kf7 38. Be4 Bb4 39. Bd4 Bc5 {1/2-1/2 (39) Grischuk, A (2766)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2775) Paris 2019}) 8. cxb5 a6 9. a4 $14 {Less common than the two available moves by the b5-pawn, but probably better.} axb5 10. Bxb5 Ba6 11. Bd2 Bxb5 12. axb5 Nbd7 13. Nf3 Rxa1 14. Qxa1 Qb6 15. O-O Rb8 16. Qa6 ({Other good options include} 16. Qa4 {and}) (16. Qe1 {, intending Qe2. }) 16... Ne8 17. Ra1 Kf8 18. h5 (18. Bg5) 18... Nc7 19. Qa4 Ra8 20. Qd1 Rxa1 ( 20... Rb8 $142 21. h6 Bf6 22. g4 Nxb5 23. g5 Bh8 24. Nxb5 Qxb5 25. Bc3 Bxc3 26. bxc3 Qb2 {equalizes, though the position is not accident-proof by any means.}) 21. Qxa1 $14 Ne5 (21... Bxc3 22. bxc3 Nxb5) 22. h6 (22. Bf4 $14) 22... Nxf3+ 23. gxf3 Bxc3 $5 24. Bxc3 Qxb5 25. b4 Ne8 $2 {Black hopes to build a fortress, but ends up creating a coffin for his king.} (25... Ke8 $1 $11) (25... cxb4 { is far more dangerous, but probably still good enough.} 26. Bxb4 Ke8 (26... Qxb4 $4 27. Qh8#) 27. Qh8+ Kd7 28. Qxh7 Nxd5 $1 {The only move.} 29. Qxf7 (29. exd5 Qxd5 $1 $11) 29... Nxb4 $8 30. Qxg6 (30. h7 Qg5+ 31. Kf1 Qc1+ 32. Kg2 Qg5+ $11) 30... Nd3 $8 {One only-move after another.} 31. h7 Qb1+ 32. Kh2 Nxf2 33. Kg2 Qb2 $8 34. Qg8 Nxe4+ 35. Kh3 Nf2+ 36. Kg3 Nh1+ $8 37. Kh3 Nf2+ $11) 26. bxc5 dxc5 27. Bg7+ Kg8 28. Qa8 c4 (28... Qd7 $142 29. e5 $1 e6 (29... c4 30. e6 fxe6 31. dxe6 Qb5 32. f4 $1 g5 33. f5 $1 {and the Qd8xe7 idea we'll see in the game still decides.}) 30. d6 c4 31. Bf6 $1 c3 32. Qd8 $1 Qxd8 33. Bxd8 c2 34. Bg5 {Just in the nick of time. Unfortunately for Black, he has no corresponding defense to the further advance of White's passed pawn, so that's that.} Nxd6 (34... f6 35. d7 Kf7 36. exf6 $18) 35. exd6 Kf8 36. d7 c1=Q+ 37. Bxc1 Ke7 38. Bg5+ Kxd7 39. f4 $18 {is an easy win for White, who doesn't have to worry about any h-pawn and wrong-bishop issues.}) 29. Qd8 $1 {Threatening 30.Qxe7.} Qa4 30. Kg2 ({The more direct - or maybe more impatient -} 30. Qxe7 Nxg7 31. d6 $1 {also wins.}) 30... Qb5 31. Bb2 {With the idea of Ba3 and then Qxe7. As Black is paralyzed and will be mated soon, Svidler decided to call it a night.} 1-0 [Event "8th Sinquefield Cup 2021"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2021.08.17"] [Round "1"] [White "Xiong, Jeffery"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E38"] [WhiteElo "2710"] [BlackElo "2763"] [PlyCount "113"] [EventDate "2021.08.16"] {[%evp 0,113,30,24,28,-2,-2,9,4,-11,0,6,23,47,41,65,73,71,71,71,51,44,44,35,53, 53,47,39,42,36,46,48,43,41,25,29,60,35,31,31,50,17,23,31,14,14,21,25,27,30,33, 31,34,27,33,33,36,32,33,33,34,31,28,28,32,28,27,27,27,24,27,29,36,37,36,28,34, 28,28,23,30,23,26,29,29,34,30,14,30,24,36,28,38,28,33,26,33,33,28,24,24,31,38, 35,38,26,26,26,25,25,26,25,25,25,25,25]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 c5 5. dxc5 Qa5 6. Bd2 Qxc5 7. e3 d5 8. a3 Bxc3 9. Bxc3 dxc4 10. Bb4 Qc6 11. Qxc4 Qxc4 12. Bxc4 Nc6 13. Bc3 Ne4 14. Rc1 Nxc3 15. Rxc3 Bd7 16. Nf3 Rc8 17. Bd3 Ke7 18. Ke2 h6 19. Rhc1 Nb8 20. Ne5 Rxc3 21. Rxc3 Rc8 22. Kd2 Rxc3 23. Kxc3 Bc8 24. f4 Nd7 25. Nxd7 Bxd7 26. e4 f6 27. Kd4 Kd6 28. e5+ fxe5+ 29. fxe5+ Ke7 30. Be4 b6 31. Kc4 Kd8 32. Kd4 Ke7 33. h4 Bb5 34. g3 Kd7 35. Bc2 Be2 36. Ba4+ Kc7 37. Ke3 Bh5 38. Kf4 Be2 39. g4 Kd8 40. Bc6 Ke7 41. g5 Bh5 42. b4 Bd1 43. a4 Bh5 44. Bb5 Bd1 45. a5 Bh5 46. Bf1 Be8 47. Bg2 Bh5 48. Bc6 Bd1 49. gxh6 gxh6 50. Ke3 Bh5 51. Kd3 Kd8 52. axb6 axb6 53. Ke3 Ke7 54. Kd3 Kd8 55. Ke3 Ke7 56. Kd3 Kd8 57. Ke3 1/2-1/2 [Event "8th Sinquefield Cup 2021"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2021.08.17"] [Round "1"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Shankland, Sam"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A48"] [WhiteElo "2806"] [BlackElo "2709"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2021.08.16"] {[%evp 0,75,30,19,25,27,56,44,39,39,53,40,85,27,25,10,18,-17,42,10,34,30,18,17, 10,8,37,44,34,23,13,10,16,5,0,1,12,17,17,-72,17,34,46,43,43,43,18,-3,23,9,30, 30,22,49,30,39,72,-5,145,222,178,112,280,259,261,261,283,315,323,323,309,261, 371,441,407,556,586,653]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bf4 Bg7 4. e3 d6 5. h3 c5 6. Nbd2 cxd4 7. exd4 O-O 8. Be2 Qb6 9. Nc4 Qc7 10. Ne3 Nc6 11. c3 e5 12. Bh2 Qe7 $6 (12... exd4 $1 13. Nxd4 Nxd4 14. Qxd4 Ng4 15. Bxd6 Bxd4 16. Bxc7 Nxe3 17. cxd4 $5 (17. fxe3 Bxe3 $11) 17... Nc2+ 18. Kd2 Nxd4 $11 (18... Nxa1 19. Rxa1 Bd7 20. d5 $44)) 13. O-O e4 14. Ne1 d5 15. N1c2 Be6 16. Qe1 $1 Nd7 17. f3 f5 18. fxe4 fxe4 19. Bf4 $16 {Black's impressive-looking pawn center is blockaded, and between Black's center pawns and White's, Black's minor pieces are all restricted while White's do a nice job of working around the pawns. White intends Qg3 next, with a punishing grip on the dark squares.} Rf7 20. Qg3 Nf6 21. Rf2 ({White can also play in the center with} 21. c4) ({, or first} 21. Rad1 {, preparing c4.}) 21... Qd7 22. Raf1 Raf8 23. Qh4 Ne8 $6 (23... Kh8 $142) 24. Ng4 Nd6 25. Nce3 Ne7 26. Ne5 Bxe5 27. Bxe5 Ndf5 $2 (27... Rxf2 28. Rxf2 Rxf2 29. Qxf2 Nf7 {is still wonderful for White, but Black's resistance has not come to an end.}) 28. Ng4 $1 {Now it's over, and all Black can do is try to avoid losing a game for the anthologies.} h5 (28... Nxh4 $2 29. Nh6#) 29. Qg5 $1 hxg4 30. hxg4 Ng7 31. Qh6 $1 {Threatening 32.Bxg7, when a Black recapture hangs 33.Rxf8#.} Nef5 (31... Rxf2 32. Qxg7#) 32. gxf5 Rxf5 33. Rxf5 Rxf5 34. Rxf5 Bxf5 35. g4 $1 Be6 (35... Bxg4 36. Bxg7 Bxe2 (36... Qxg7 37. Qxg7+ Kxg7 38. Bxg4 $18) 37. Qh8+ Kf7 38. Qf8+ Ke6 39. Qf6#) 36. Qxg6 Qf7 37. Qh6 {If Black tries to wait here, White can win with g4-g5-g6, or if he wants to be a show-off there's Be2-b5-e8.} e3 38. Bf3 $1 {Preventing ...Qf2+ and leaving Black the same unpleasant problem. As there's no satisfactory way to deal with the intended g5-g6, Black resigned.} 1-0 [Event "8th Sinquefield Cup 2021"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2021.08.17"] [Round "1"] [White "Swiercz, Dariusz"] [Black "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2655"] [BlackElo "2758"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "116"] [EventDate "2021.08.16"] {[%evp 0,116,30,10,10,16,33,-3,26,28,31,9,-10,-10,36,51,56,60,38,59,63,52,53, 39,43,33,33,22,22,4,-22,-8,-10,-14,8,3,21,0,0,-2,0,-10,-10,-13,-22,-22,-5,-24, -9,-23,-15,-6,0,-27,0,0,0,-25,9,6,0,0,0,9,7,0,0,-68,-89,-89,3,-20,-20,-22,-22, -74,-116,-102,-115,-195,-210,-205,-196,-195,-191,-161,-161,-219,-196,-226,-176, -180,-128,-125,-125,-125,-144,-135,-144,-161,-148,-164,-183,-191,-184,-256, -217,-277,-194,-277,-244,-258,-231,-239,-222,-261,-271,-273,-272]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. c4 c6 9. Nc3 Nxc3 10. bxc3 dxc4 11. Bxc4 Bf5 12. Re1 Nd7 13. Bg5 Qa5 14. Nh4 Rae8 15. Nxf5 Rxe1+ 16. Qxe1 Qxf5 17. Bh4 Qh5 18. Bg3 Bxg3 19. hxg3 Nf6 20. Be2 Qa5 21. Bf3 Re8 22. Qd2 h5 23. Rc1 Re7 24. Qc2 g6 25. Qb2 Kg7 26. Be2 Qg5 27. Bf3 Qa5 28. Be2 c5 29. Bf3 cxd4 30. cxd4 Re1+ 31. Rxe1 Qxe1+ 32. Kh2 b6 33. Qc2 Qb4 34. Qd3 a5 35. a3 Qd6 36. Kg1 b5 37. Bd1 $2 {The losing move. White is trying to create a blockade, but he has too many problems to deal with by purely passive defense, as we'll see.} (37. d5 b4 38. axb4 axb4 (38... Qxb4 39. d6 $11 { leaves Black too tied down by the d-pawn to achieve everything he wants to with his a-pawn.}) 39. Qd4 Kh7 40. Be2 $1 $11 {The bishop will park itself on c4 (and then b3), and that will suffice to hold the position.}) 37... b4 38. axb4 Qxb4 39. Bb3 a4 40. Bc4 a3 41. f3 Qb2 42. Qb3 Qxd4+ 43. Kh2 Qa7 44. Qc3 Qc7 45. Qd4 Qe7 46. Bb3 Kh7 47. Qf4 Kg7 48. Qd4 Kg8 49. Qd3 Kh7 50. Qd4 Ng8 51. Ba2 Nh6 52. Bb1 Qe1 53. Qb6 Qc3 54. Kg1 Qc1+ 55. Kh2 Qb2 56. Qxb2 axb2 57. Kg1 Nf5 58. Kf2 Nd4 0-1 [Event "8th Sinquefield Cup 2021"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2021.08.18"] [Round "2"] [White "Dominguez Perez, Lenier"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2758"] [BlackElo "2806"] [PlyCount "102"] [EventDate "2021.08.16"] {[%evp 0,102,25,15,15,16,16,16,10,10,10,1,19,19,36,2,6,-4,16,-2,31,19,35,4,31, -8,-16,-38,8,20,24,33,40,29,29,29,29,32,32,34,15,-22,28,41,25,7,15,22,0,23,16, 39,39,41,41,6,0,6,1,1,1,20,15,15,17,34,26,29,29,35,37,31,37,49,27,9,27,29,26,6, 2,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 d6 6. O-O h6 7. Re1 O-O 8. h3 Bb6 9. Nbd2 Ne7 10. a4 c6 11. d4 Ng6 12. Bf1 Re8 13. Qc2 d5 14. exd5 exd4 15. Rxe8+ Qxe8 16. a5 Bc7 17. dxc6 dxc3 18. cxb7 Bxb7 19. Qxc3 Nd5 20. Qc5 Ngf4 21. Nc4 Ne6 22. Qa3 Rd8 23. Bd2 Ndf4 24. a6 Ba8 25. Ba5 Bxa5 26. Nxa5 Qd7 27. Re1 Qd5 28. Re3 Qf5 29. Nb7 Rd1 30. Re1 Rxe1 31. Nxe1 Qe4 32. Nf3 Bxb7 33. axb7 Qxb7 34. g3 Nh5 35. Bc4 Qe4 36. Bxe6 fxe6 37. Nd2 Qd4 38. Nf3 Qd5 39. Nh2 a5 40. Ng4 Nf6 41. Nxf6+ gxf6 42. Qe7 Qe5 43. b3 h5 44. h4 Qe1+ 45. Kg2 Qe4+ 46. Kh2 Qf5 47. Qe8+ Kg7 48. Qe7+ Kg6 49. Qe8+ Kg7 50. Qe7+ Kg6 51. Qe8+ Kg7 1/2-1/2 [Event "8th Sinquefield Cup 2021"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2021.08.18"] [Round "2"] [White "Shankland, Sam"] [Black "Xiong, Jeffery"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B36"] [WhiteElo "2709"] [BlackElo "2710"] [PlyCount "126"] [EventDate "2021.08.16"] {[%evp 0,107,25,15,57,57,51,47,48,31,60,41,12,36,26,9,26,15,13,28,49,15,10,29, 35,30,63,42,33,22,19,10,18,15,53,69,69,59,141,76,76,76,95,46,76,31,25,17,17, -27,0,0,0,1,7,-14,0,0,17,25,23,39,42,32,13,19,15,0,20,0,10,26,61,55,53,55,62, 62,73,73,36,38,53,38,57,45,37,35,35,35,35,27,106,97,108,108,101,99,111,94,95, 103,103,97,81,45,44,45,40,6]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. c4 Nf6 6. Nc3 d6 7. f3 Bg7 8. Be3 O-O 9. Be2 Nh5 10. g3 Nf6 11. Qd2 Bd7 12. O-O-O a5 13. g4 a4 14. Nxc6 Bxc6 15. h4 Qa5 16. Bd4 Rfc8 17. h5 a3 18. b3 b5 19. hxg6 hxg6 20. Kb1 bxc4 21. Bxc4 Bb7 22. g5 Nh5 23. Bxg7 Kxg7 24. Nd5 Qxd2 25. Rxd2 Rab8 26. Rc1 Bxd5 27. Rxd5 Nf4 28. Ra5 Ra8 29. b4 f6 30. Rxa8 Rxa8 31. Kc2 fxg5 32. Kb3 Kf6 33. b5 Ke5 34. Kb4 g4 35. fxg4 Kxe4 36. Re1+ Kd4 37. Rxe7 Rc8 38. Bf7 Nd3+ 39. Kxa3 Ra8+ 40. Kb3 Nc5+ 41. Kb2 Nd3+ 42. Kb3 Nc5+ 43. Kc2 d5 44. Kb1 Na4 45. Kc1 Nc3 46. b6 Nxa2+ 47. Kd2 Rb8 48. b7 Nb4 49. Be6 Kc5 50. Bc8 Nc6 51. Rg7 g5 52. Ke3 Na5 53. Kd3 Kd6 54. Rd7+ Kc6 55. Kd4 Nxb7 56. Rxb7 Rxc8 57. Rg7 Kd6 58. Rg6+ Ke7 59. Rxg5 Kf6 60. Rxd5 Re8 61. g5+ Kg6 62. Re5 Rxe5 63. Kxe5 Kxg5 1/2-1/2 [Event "8th Sinquefield Cup 2021"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2021.08.18"] [Round "2"] [White "Swiercz, Darius"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2655"] [BlackElo "2772"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "90"] [EventDate "2021.08.16"] {[%evp 0,90,25,15,15,16,16,-3,26,17,44,32,73,52,62,68,78,61,65,48,83,100,87,65, 65,41,57,52,77,61,37,45,18,13,5,-2,2,1,1,1,3,-6,7,-14,-9,-11,-8,-51,-41,-68, -64,-57,-54,-50,-78,-61,-66,-104,-87,-80,-94,-91,-73,-68,-72,-70,-68,-60,-42, -34,-34,-42,-83,-76,-93,-108,-100,-158,-170,-194,-199,-195,-197,-194,-221,-432, -878,-815,-880,-880,-972,-982,-992]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Bd7 10. Rd1 Be7 11. g4 Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. Nd2 Kc8 14. Nf3 Be7 15. Bg5 Bc5 16. Rd3 Be6 17. Be3 Bxe3 18. Rxe3 Kd7 19. Nd4 Rad8 20. f4 Ke7 21. Nxe6 fxe6 22. Rf1 h5 23. f5 hxg4 24. hxg4 Rh4 25. f6+ Kf7 26. Re4 Rd2 27. fxg7+ Kxg7 28. Rf2 $6 (28. Rf6 Rhh2 29. Ref4 Rxc2 30. Rd4 Rhd2 {Else White has an immediate perpetual.} 31. Rxd2 Rxd2 32. Rxe6 Kf7 (32... Rc2 33. Re7+ Kg6 34. Rxc7 Rxb2 35. e6 Kf6 36. e7 Kf7 37. g5 Re2 38. Rxb7 Rxe7 39. Rxe7+ Kxe7 40. Kf2 Kf7 41. Ke3 Kg6 42. Kd4 Kxg5 43. Kc5 a5 44. Kxc6 a4 45. a3 Kf6 46. Kb5 Ke7 47. Kxa4 Kd8 $11) 33. Rf6+ Ke7 34. g5 Rxb2 35. g6 Rb4 36. Rf7+ Ke6 37. Rxc7 Kxe5 38. g7 Rg4+ 39. Kf2 Kf6 40. Rxb7 Rxg7 41. Rb4 {will be drawn.}) 28... Rxf2 29. Kxf2 Rh2+ 30. Kf3 Rxc2 31. Rd4 Rxb2 32. Rd7+ Kg6 33. Rxc7 (33. Re7 $142 Rxa2 34. Rxe6+ Kf7 35. Rf6+ $11 { followed by g4-g5 gives White sufficient counterplay to hold the draw.}) 33... c5 34. Re7 Rb6 35. Rc7 a6 36. Rxc5 Rc6 37. Ra5 $2 {Losing without a fight. Unfortunately for Swiercz, he didn't have time to realize that the pawn ending was a draw.} (37. Rxc6 $1 bxc6 38. Ke3 Kg5 39. Kd4 Kxg4 40. Kc5 Kf5 41. a4 a5 ( 41... Kxe5) 42. Kb6 $1 {Maybe Swiercz only considered 42.Kxc6, which does indeed lose.} (42. Kxc6 $2 Kxe5 43. Kb5 Kd5 44. Kxa5 Kc5 $1 45. Ka6 e5 $1 46. a5 e4 47. Kb7 e3 48. a6 e2 49. a7 e1=Q 50. a8=Q Qe7+ $1 51. Ka6 (51. Kb8 Kb6 $19) (51. Kc8 Qe8+ 52. Kb7 Qd7+ 53. Ka6 (53. Kb8 Kb6 $19) 53... Qb5+ 54. Ka7 Qb6#) 51... Qe6+ 52. Kb7 (52. Ka7 Qb6#) (52. Ka5 Qa2#) 52... Qd7+ 53. Ka6 (53. Kb8 Kb6 $19) 53... Qb5+ 54. Ka7 Qb6#) 42... c5 $5 43. Kxa5 $1 Kxe5 44. Kb5 $1 Kd4 45. a5 c4 46. a6 c3 47. a7 c2 48. a8=Q c1=Q {and the queen ending is a draw with accurate play by White.}) 37... Rc3+ 38. Ke4 Rc4+ 39. Kd3 Rxg4 40. Rc5 Kf5 41. Kc3 b5 42. Kb3 Rc4 $1 {A nice touch. White is forced into a pawn ending after all, but this one is dead lost.} 43. Rxc4 bxc4+ 44. Kxc4 Kxe5 45. a4 Kf4 0-1 [Event "8th Sinquefield Cup 2021"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2021.08.18"] [Round "2"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A04"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2751"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2021.08.16"] {[%evp 0,72,25,25,41,25,12,-3,8,8,19,19,19,29,29,8,46,11,16,-2,-7,-13,-5,-9,8, 2,3,-57,23,17,17,17,24,24,23,27,13,4,4,-29,12,10,10,-1,15,0,2,-11,30,22,22,7, 19,25,32,28,37,30,37,28,29,15,35,13,14,1,30,-49,-1,20,12,12,7,19,6]} 1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nf6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 O-O 7. Nc3 Qc7 8. Qd3 Nc6 9. O-O d6 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. Bf4 Nh5 12. Bg5 Rb8 13. b3 h6 14. Bd2 Nf6 15. Rac1 a5 16. h3 Rd8 17. e4 Nd7 18. Rfd1 Nc5 19. Qe2 e5 20. Kh2 Kh7 21. Qf1 h5 22. Bg5 Re8 23. Qe1 Ne6 24. Bd2 Ra8 25. Be3 h4 26. Na4 hxg3+ 27. fxg3 c5 28. Qd2 Nd4 29. Rf1 Be6 30. Rf2 Reb8 31. h4 Qd7 32. Rcf1 Ra7 33. Qd1 Bg4 34. Qd2 Be6 35. Qd1 Bg4 36. Qd2 Be6 1/2-1/2 [Event "8th Sinquefield Cup 2021"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2021.08.18"] [Round "2"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C53"] [WhiteElo "2714"] [BlackElo "2782"] [PlyCount "91"] [EventDate "2021.08.16"] {[%evp 0,91,25,16,16,16,16,16,61,39,-11,-11,2,-9,-9,-6,24,32,38,29,46,-18,36, -15,55,48,-40,-50,-38,-38,-27,-24,-24,-37,-39,-37,-49,-36,-51,-54,-35,-14,-64, -64,-77,-83,-94,-51,-34,-6,-29,-42,-13,-19,-2,-7,-6,26,0,9,15,0,-5,-13,72,83, 17,11,4,2,2,2,26,-25,-38,-34,-34,-47,-45,-45,-16,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. b4 Be7 7. O-O d5 8. exd5 Nxd5 9. Re1 Bf6 10. Ba3 Re8 11. Nbd2 Nxc3 12. Qb3 Be6 13. Bxe6 Rxe6 14. b5 Nd4 15. Nxd4 exd4 16. Rxe6 fxe6 17. Qxe6+ Kh8 18. Re1 Nxb5 19. Be7 Bxe7 20. Qxe7 Qxe7 21. Rxe7 b6 22. Ne4 c5 23. Kf1 Nc3 24. Nxc3 dxc3 25. Ke2 h6 26. Kd1 b5 27. Rc7 Rf8 28. f3 Rf5 29. Rxa7 Re5 30. a3 Re3 31. Rb7 Rxd3+ 32. Kc2 Rd2+ 33. Kxc3 Rxg2 34. Rxb5 Rxh2 35. Rxc5 Rf2 36. Rf5 g6 37. Rf4 Kg7 38. Kd3 g5 39. Ke3 Ra2 40. Ra4 h5 41. Ra7+ Kg6 42. Ra6+ Kf5 43. Ra5+ Kg6 44. Ra6+ Kf5 45. Ra5+ Kg6 46. Ra6+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "8th Sinquefield Cup 2021"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2021.08.19"] [Round "3"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Svidler, Peter"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A37"] [WhiteElo "2772"] [BlackElo "2714"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2021.08.16"] {[%evp 0,55,21,-7,44,61,49,-2,11,16,5,5,40,28,52,47,43,23,22,33,37,6,34,1,-6, -3,25,17,47,45,25,20,37,54,41,33,43,44,87,72,78,89,86,95,121,128,127,100,121, 102,126,115,115,115,230,230,247,251]} 1. c4 g6 2. Nc3 c5 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 Nc6 5. Nf3 e5 6. a3 a5 7. d3 Nge7 8. Nd2 d6 9. Nf1 O-O 10. Ne3 Rb8 11. Rb1 Nd4 12. Bd2 Bd7 13. O-O Bc6 (13... b5 $14) 14. b4 axb4 15. axb4 cxb4 16. Rxb4 Bxg2 17. Kxg2 Qd7 $2 (17... b5 $16 {is late, but better late than never in this case. After the text, White just steamrolls Black in typical fashion for this opening.}) 18. Ned5 $18 Nec6 19. Rb6 f5 20. f3 Rf7 21. Be3 h5 22. Qd2 Ne6 23. Rfb1 Kh7 24. h4 f4 25. gxf4 exf4 26. Bf2 Ncd4 $2 27. Bxd4 Bxd4 28. Ne4 $1 { The rook is immune from capture due to (either) knight going to f6, but if Black can't take, what is he to do? The d-pawn is threatened, and it can't be defended by ...Be5 for the same reason that he can't take on b6: 28...Be5 29. Rxd6! Bxd6 and once again a knight lands on f6, winning Black's queen.} 1-0 [Event "8th Sinquefield Cup 2021"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2021.08.19"] [Round "3"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D49"] [WhiteElo "2782"] [BlackElo "2763"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "107"] [EventDate "2021.08.16"] {[%evp 0,107,21,21,25,-10,-14,-2,-3,9,16,36,32,47,52,37,34,16,32,-9,-2,-15,2, -44,-6,-6,-6,-13,25,15,30,11,11,6,6,17,18,20,0,-29,-31,-52,0,0,0,0,80,21,11,-1, 26,33,55,0,14,14,79,1,70,28,43,41,21,13,58,37,61,51,35,53,53,1,55,-57,-52,-55, -31,-31,47,4,120,26,158,42,42,109,109,43,60,80,370,740,653,653,653,653,674,668, 863,1002,1130,1192,1206,1206,1252,1252,1397,1285,1285,1076]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3 a6 9. e4 c5 { It has been a while since the Meran was a common sight in top-level play. Its absence is a pity, as it leads to magnificent complications, as we will see in this game.} 10. e5 cxd4 11. Nxb5 axb5 12. exf6 Qb6 {This position goes all the way back to the 1920s, believe it or not, and it still hasn't been solved. Good!} 13. O-O (13. fxg7 {is the most common move.} Bxg7 14. O-O Bb7 {and now White chooses between 15.Bf4, 15.Re1, and 15.Qe2. Happy exploring, friends.}) 13... Nxf6 {Not a novelty, but new to top-level chess.} (13... gxf6 {is more common, and may be most familiar to the readers for the two thrilling Kramnik-Anand games from their world championship match back in 2008.} 14. Qe2 Bb7 15. Bxb5 Bd6 (15... Rg8 16. Bf4 Bd6 17. Bg3 f5 18. Rfc1 f4 19. Bh4 Be7 20. a4 Bxh4 21. Nxh4 Ke7 22. Ra3 Rac8 23. Rxc8 Rxc8 24. Ra1 Qc5 25. Qg4 Qe5 26. Nf3 Qf6 27. Re1 Rc5 28. b4 Rc3 29. Nxd4 Qxd4 30. Rd1 Nf6 31. Rxd4 Nxg4 32. Rd7+ Kf6 33. Rxb7 Rc1+ 34. Bf1 Ne3 35. fxe3 fxe3 {0-1 (35) Kramnik,V (2772)-Anand,V (2783) Bonn 2008}) 16. Rd1 Rg8 17. g3 Rg4 18. Bf4 Bxf4 19. Nxd4 h5 20. Nxe6 fxe6 21. Rxd7 Kf8 22. Qd3 Rg7 23. Rxg7 Kxg7 24. gxf4 Rd8 25. Qe2 Kh6 26. Kf1 Rg8 27. a4 Bg2+ 28. Ke1 Bh3 29. Ra3 Rg1+ 30. Kd2 Qd4+ 31. Kc2 Bg4 32. f3 Bf5+ 33. Bd3 Bh3 34. a5 Rg2 35. a6 Rxe2+ 36. Bxe2 Bf5+ 37. Kb3 Qe3+ 38. Ka2 Qxe2 39. a7 Qc4+ 40. Ka1 Qf1+ 41. Ka2 Bb1+ {0-1 (41) Kramnik,V (2772)-Anand,V (2783) Bonn 2008}) 14. Nxd4 Bd7 {Now the knight is threatened.} ({For the newbies - and we were all newbies once - Black can't take the knight as} 14... Qxd4 $4 { loses the queen:} 15. Bxb5+ Bd7 16. Qxd4 $18) 15. Nf3 Bd6 16. Be3 Qb8 17. Bd4 O-O {Not afraid of Bxf6. White's bishop on d3 is beautiful, but as neither the knight nor White's rooks can quickly enter the attack he has nothing more than a draw in that way.} 18. Re1 (18. Bxf6 gxf6 19. Bxh7+ Kxh7 20. Ne5 Bxe5 21. Qh5+ Kg7 22. Qg4+ Kh7 23. Qh5+ $11) 18... Rd8 19. Rc1 $5 (19. Bxf6 {You might suspect that the idea in the last note might be more potent now that White's rook is closer to the action. Unfortunately for our attacking dreams, the idea is even less effective as Black's king can skedaddle back to safety in the center.} gxf6 20. Bxh7+ $4 Kxh7 21. Re4 Kg7 (21... Ra4 $19 {is good, too.}) 22. Rh4 Ra4 23. Rh5 Kf8 $19) (19. Qe2 {followed by Rad1 is a good alternative.}) 19... Rxa2 $1 {Appropriate greed.} 20. Bb1 $5 (20. Ng5 {Objectively best, perhaps, but White has no more than a draw here.} Bxh2+ 21. Kh1 Bf4 22. Bxf6 gxf6 23. Qh5 Bxg5 24. Qxh7+ Kf8 25. Bg6 $1 Be8 (25... fxg6 26. Qh8+ Ke7 27. Qg7+ Ke8 $8 28. Qg8+ $11) 26. Rxe6 $1 fxe6 27. Bxe8 Kxe8 28. Qg8+ Kd7 29. Qh7+ $1 Kd6 30. Qd3+ Ke5 $5 31. Re1+ Be3 32. Rxe3+ Kf4 33. Rf3+ $1 {Otherwise Black wins!} Kg5 34. Rg3+ Kf4 (34... Qxg3 35. Qxg3+ Kf5 $11) 35. Rf3+ Kg5 $11) 20... Ra6 (20... Ra4 $1 21. b3 Rb4 $1 {looks odd, practically self-mating the rook. But it's not so easy to grab it, and it's effective on the 4th rank.}) 21. Bxf6 gxf6 22. Qd4 Kg7 23. Qg4+ Kf8 24. Qh4 Ke7 25. g3 $44 Ra4 26. Qxh7 { Double-edged. Maybe someday White can use his h-pawn, but right now opening the h-file gives Black his own attacking chances.} (26. Qh6) (26. Qh5) 26... Rh8 27. Qd3 Qb6 28. Rcd1 Bc8 {Hoping to reroute the bishop to the long diagonal. White's position is looking scary.} (28... Be8 29. Nd4 {is another crazy option.}) 29. Bc2 (29. Nd4 Be5 30. Nxb5 Rd8 31. Qxd8+ Qxd8 32. Rxd8 Kxd8 $44) 29... Rg4 (29... Bc5 $1 30. Bxa4 Bxf2+ 31. Kf1 bxa4 32. Qa3+ Bc5 33. Qxa4 Kf8 34. h4 Rg8 35. Kg2 Bb7 $44 {/=/+}) 30. Nd4 Be5 31. Nxb5 Qc5 (31... Rb4 32. Rxe5 fxe5 33. Qd2 Rg4 34. Qe2 Rb4 (34... Rxg3+ 35. hxg3 Bb7 36. Be4 Bxe4 37. Qxe4 Qxb5 $11) 35. Qd2 $11) 32. Nc3 Kf8 {Getting out of the way of White's possible mating threats along the d-file is good for his king's safety, but it also gives White a very useful defense for his own defensive aims.} (32... Rd4 $11) 33. Ne4 (33. Re4 Rxe4 34. Nxe4 Qc6 35. Nd6 Bb7 36. Nxb7 Qxb7 {looks safe for both sides--a draw looks likeliest from here.}) 33... Qc6 34. b4 (34. f4 Bc7 $8 (34... Bxf4 $4 35. Qd8+ $18) 35. Qc3 Bb7 36. Qxf6 Bb6+ 37. Kf1 Rxh2 38. Rd8+ Bxd8 39. Qxd8+ Kg7 40. Qf6+ $11) 34... Ba6 $6 (34... Kg7) 35. Qf3 $6 (35. Qa3 $1 {suddenly poses problems, thanks to the very concrete threat of b5+. Black has various ways to avoid it, but then comes Nc5. The knight is a boss on that square, and Black cannot set up his battery along the a8-h1 diagonal.}) 35... f5 36. Nd2 (36. Rd8+ Kg7 37. Rxh8 Kxh8 38. h3 Rg7 39. Qh5+ Rh7 40. Qg5 Qxc2 41. Qd8+ Kg7 42. Qg5+ Kf8 43. Qd8+ $11) 36... Qxc2 37. Rxe5 Bb7 38. Qb3 Qc7 $5 (38... Qxb3 39. Nxb3 Rxb4 {would give Black the marginally better half of a drawn position. But Rapport, who had been on a very long undefeated streak prior to this game, wanted more.}) (38... Qc6 39. f3 Qb6+ 40. Rc5 Qxb4 41. Qxb4 Rxb4 $11) 39. Qb2 (39. Rc5 Qf4 $8 $11) 39... Rgg8 $2 (39... Qd8 $3 40. Re4 $3 Rh5 41. Rxg4 fxg4 42. Qc3 $1 Qd5 43. Qc5+ Qxc5 44. bxc5 Rxc5 $15 { Black's bishop is great, but it's not enough to win.}) 40. f3 $2 (40. Rc5 $1 { wins, despite all the evil-looking rook captures Black seems to have on the kingside.} Rxh2 $2 (40... Rxg3+ 41. fxg3 {is also nothing for Black. (Except a missing rook, with more, heavy material losses on the way.)}) 41. Kxh2 Rh8+ $4 {would be wonderful, except for the not-so-little detail of} 42. Qxh8+ $18) 40... f6 $2 {A second straight error, this one coming on the last move of the time control, proves fatal.} (40... f4 $1 41. g4 Qd8 $1 42. Qc3 Bxf3 $1 43. Qc5+ Ke8 $8 44. Qb5+ $8 Kf8 45. Qc5+ $8 $11) 41. Rxe6 Rxg3+ 42. Kf1 $1 { It looks scary, but Black has nothing. Or more precisely, White will get what *he* wants even faster.} Rxh2 43. Qxf6+ Qf7 {Only one move wins here. Mamedyarov took his time, and found it.} 44. Qe5 $1 {A beautiful centralizing move does the trick. White threatens the rook on g3 (and then the rook on h2) while also threatening Rf6 and keeping the queen in range of several other potentially useful squares.} (44. Qd8+ $2 Kg7 45. Re7 $4 Ba6+ $1 {mates.}) 44... f4 (44... Rh1+ 45. Kf2 Rg2+ 46. Kxg2 Rxd1 47. Rf6 $18) 45. Rf6 Ba6+ 46. Rxa6 Rh1+ 47. Kf2 Rh2+ 48. Ke1 Rh1+ 49. Nf1 Rxf1+ 50. Kxf1 Qc4+ 51. Ke1 Rg1+ ( 51... Qxa6 52. Rd8+ Kf7 53. Rd7+ Kg6 54. Qg7+ Kf5 55. Qf7+ Kg5 56. Rd5+ Kh4 57. Rh5#) 52. Kf2 Qc2+ 53. Kxg1 Qxd1+ 54. Kf2 {The checks run out soon, as you can quickly confirm for yourself, so Black has no reason to continue a rook down.} 1-0 [Event "8th Sinquefield Cup 2021"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2021.08.19"] [Round "3"] [White "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Shankland, Sam"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C53"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2709"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2021.08.16"] {[%evp 0,93,15,11,16,9,16,16,15,21,61,-11,19,19,28,28,37,-1,5,9,0,9,3,-5,12, -12,1,-7,-11,-11,-6,-2,-2,-10,-10,-3,-3,0,20,7,7,-7,-3,-22,47,47,31,31,22,21, 22,31,32,25,0,16,0,0,0,5,5,12,0,0,93,93,115,116,117,90,90,179,179,198,198,206, 206,206,206,198,192,192,192,192,200,172,316,362,362,357,469,469,758,679,693, 797]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. O-O a6 7. a4 h6 8. Re1 Ba7 9. Nbd2 Be6 {My recollection is that the commentators were surprised to see Black play this before castling. Initially they suspected that it was nothing more than a harmless transposition, but we'll see that Shankland has a more interesting plan in mind.} 10. Bxe6 fxe6 11. Nf1 a5 {It seems a bit odd to play ...a6 and then ...a5, but maybe this is the latest and greatest micro-finesse in the Giuoco. The initial ...a6 did one job, but now he may be rightly concerned about b4-b5.} 12. Ng3 Qd7 13. Be3 Bxe3 14. Rxe3 g5 $1 15. d4 O-O-O $1 {Now we understand! Black has kingside ambitions (no sense in castling kingside), and while the a-pawn is a hook on a5 it's less dangerous having it there rather than on a6.} 16. d5 exd5 17. exd5 Ne7 ({The engine prefers the surprising} 17... Nb8 $1 $15 {, aiming to batten the hatches on the queenside while trusting the other pieces to (hopefully) carry the day on the kingside.}) 18. c4 Ng4 $2 {This is also surprising, but this time the more standard idea was the right one. Shankland has a concrete idea in mind, but it was better to shove the pawns.} (18... g4 19. Nh4 c6 (19... h5) 20. dxc6 Nxc6 21. Rd3 h5 22. Qe1 d5 23. cxd5 Nxd5 $11 {is unclear, and it's hard to even decide which player will have the harder time figuring out what to do.}) 19. Rb3 (19. Re2 $142 $16) 19... Rdf8 20. Qe1 b6 21. Rb5 $2 {White's play is very straightforward, but it was better to engage in prophylaxis against Black's idea before looking to break through on the queenside.} (21. Qe2 $142) 21... Nxf2 $1 22. Qxf2 g4 23. Nxe5 Qxb5 24. axb5 Rxf2 25. Kxf2 dxe5 {Black's position is harder to play, but it's objectively equal.} 26. Ke3 Rf8 27. Rf1 Rxf1 28. Nxf1 Nf5+ $1 29. Kd3 Kd7 30. Nd2 Nd6 $6 (30... Kd6 31. Ne4+ Ke7 $11) ( 30... g3 31. hxg3 Nxg3 $11) (30... Ke7 31. Ke4 Kf6 $11) 31. Ne4 Ke7 $2 { Unfortunately, Shankland miscalculated here. Perhaps he didn't have enough time to work out all the details, or missed a fine point in the ensuing queen endings. Whatever the explanation, the move costs Shankland the game.} (31... Ne8 $8) 32. Nxd6 cxd6 (32... Kxd6 33. b3 $8 (33. Ke4 $4 a4 $19) 33... Kc5 34. Ke4 Kb4 35. g3 h5 36. Kf5 $1 {Most precise, though taking on e5 also wins.} Kxb3 37. c5 e4 (37... a4 38. d6 cxd6 39. cxb6 a3 40. b7 a2 41. b8=Q a1=Q 42. b6 Qf1+ 43. Kg6 {makes White's life even easier, as Black's pawns help shield White's king.}) 38. Kxe4 a4 39. d6 cxd6 40. cxd6 a3 41. d7 a2 42. d8=Q a1=Q 43. Qxb6 $18) 33. Ke4 Kf6 34. b3 $1 Kg6 (34... h5 35. g3 {changes nothing of significance. Here too Black is in zugzwang: either he allows White's king into f5, or he allows the winning break with c4-c5.}) 35. c5 $1 dxc5 36. d6 Kf7 (36... Kf6 $2 37. Kd5 e4 38. Kc6 e3 39. d7 $18) 37. Kd5 (37. Kxe5 {also wins.}) 37... e4 38. Kc6 $1 e3 39. d7 e2 40. d8=Q e1=Q 41. Kxb6 Qe6+ 42. Ka7 c4 43. bxc4 a4 44. b6 a3 45. b7 a2 46. Qc7+ Kg6 47. Qa5 1-0 [Event "8th Sinquefield Cup 2021"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2021.08.19"] [Round "3"] [White "Xiong, Jeffery"] [Black "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C47"] [WhiteElo "2710"] [BlackElo "2758"] [PlyCount "68"] [EventDate "2021.08.16"] {[%evp 0,68,30,22,11,11,33,9,16,16,-1,0,0,8,3,-1,2,-6,15,9,7,-1,5,4,10,-6,12,9, -1,1,-5,0,3,13,13,12,19,6,6,0,31,13,1,-3,12,-30,-9,-19,-9,-7,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0, 0,0,0,0,0,8,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Bb4 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. O-O d5 9. exd5 cxd5 10. h3 c6 11. Qf3 Bd6 12. Re1 Re8 13. Rxe8+ Qxe8 14. Bf4 Qe7 15. Na4 c5 16. Bxd6 Qxd6 17. c4 Bd7 18. Nc3 Rb8 19. Nxd5 Nxd5 20. Rd1 Rxb2 21. Be4 Bc6 22. g3 g6 23. Bxd5 Bxd5 24. Qxd5 Qxd5 25. Rxd5 Rxa2 26. Rxc5 a5 27. Rc7 Rc2 28. Ra7 Rxc4 29. Rxa5 Kg7 30. h4 h5 31. Kg2 Kg8 32. Kg1 Kg7 33. Kg2 Kg8 34. Kg1 Kg7 1/2-1/2 [Event "8th Sinquefield Cup 2021"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2021.08.19"] [Round "3"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Swiercz, Dariusz"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B30"] [WhiteElo "2806"] [BlackElo "2655"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2021.08.16"] {[%evp 0,93,19,38,40,41,51,32,66,38,46,23,31,30,30,29,51,43,29,29,36,23,16,17, 19,28,40,40,40,42,56,46,56,38,33,28,29,22,21,14,-2,-4,2,9,45,24,31,-20,-13,-17, 59,52,52,46,46,46,61,59,86,102,100,98,89,89,94,91,82,106,152,53,219,219,246, 275,275,273,210,220,313,251,371,475,475,603,769,769,799,830,833,833,1003,1044, 2602,29986,29993,1728]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 e6 4. O-O Nge7 5. d4 { Trendy.} (5. Re1) ({and} 5. c3 {are both more common, to preserve the Bb5 from exchange.}) 5... cxd4 6. Nxd4 Qb6 7. Nxc6 bxc6 (7... dxc6 8. Bc4 Ng6 9. a4 (9. Nd2 Qc7 10. a4 Bd6 11. Nf3 O-O 12. h3 b6 13. Qe2 a6 14. Re1 Ne5 15. Nxe5 Bxe5 16. c3 Bb7 17. Be3 c5 18. Qg4 Kh8 19. Bd3 Qc6 20. Bf4 Bxf4 21. Qxf4 Rad8 22. Qe3 Rd7 23. Qe2 Qc8 24. Qf1 Rfd8 25. Re3 a5 26. b3 Bc6 27. Qe2 e5 28. Rf1 Qc7 29. h4 Rd6 30. h5 Bd7 31. Bc4 Be6 32. h6 gxh6 33. Bxe6 Rxe6 34. Rf3 Qe7 35. Rd1 {1/2-1/2 (35) Caruana,F (2807)-Lenic,L (2646) Tbilisi 2017}) 9... Be7 10. Bb3 O-O 11. Be3 Qc7 12. f4 b6 13. Qe2 Bf6 14. c3 Bb7 15. a5 c5 16. Nd2 Rad8 17. g3 Rfe8 18. h4 h6 19. Bc4 Bc6 20. Bb5 Ne7 21. Rfd1 Nc8 22. Bd3 Rd7 23. axb6 axb6 24. Bc2 Red8 25. e5 Be7 26. Ne4 Bf8 27. Bf2 Bb7 28. Rxd7 Rxd7 29. Rd1 Rxd1+ 30. Qxd1 c4 31. g4 Qc6 32. h5 Ne7 33. Kh2 Nd5 34. Qf3 Qb5 35. Nd6 Qxb2 36. Be4 Bxd6 37. exd6 Qb5 38. f5 Qd7 39. Bg3 b5 40. fxe6 Qxe6 41. Bf5 Qe8 42. d7 Qd8 43. Qe4 Bc6 44. Bd6 Bxd7 45. Qxd5 Bxf5 46. gxf5 Qh4+ 47. Kg2 Qxh5 48. Qa8+ Kh7 49. Qe4 f6 50. Bc5 Qd1 51. Qf3 Qd2+ 52. Kh3 Qc2 53. Kg4 Qh2 54. Qf2 h5+ 55. Kf3 Qe5 56. Kg2 Qxc3 57. Qe2 Qe5 58. Qxh5+ Kg8 59. Bd4 Qe4+ 60. Kg3 Qe1+ 61. Kg2 Qe4+ 62. Kg3 c3 63. Bxc3 b4 64. Bb2 Qd3+ 65. Qf3 Qxf3+ 66. Kxf3 Kf7 {1/2-1/2 (66) Caruana,F (2807)-Lenic,L (2646) Tbilisi 2017}) 8. Be2 {Not a new move, but a new move for Caruana.} (8. Bd3 Ng6 9. c4 Be7 10. Nc3 O-O 11. Na4 (11. Rb1 Qc7 12. Be3 e5 13. g3 d6 14. b4 Be6 15. Qd2 Rac8 16. b5 Bd8 17. Rfc1 Qd7 18. bxc6 Rxc6 19. Nd5 Bb6 20. Nxb6 axb6 21. Bxb6 Ra8 22. Bf1 Qc8 23. Rb4 Nf8 24. a4 Nd7 25. a5 h6 26. h4 Kh7 27. Qe3 Nc5 28. f4 exf4 29. gxf4 f5 30. exf5 Bxf5 31. Re1 d5 32. cxd5 Rg6+ 33. Kf2 Nd7 34. h5 Rg4 35. Bh3 Nf6 36. Qc1 Qf8 37. Rc4 Qf7 38. Bxg4 Nxg4+ 39. Kg1 Qxh5 40. Qd2 Qh4 41. Re2 Rf8 42. Rc3 Qh5 43. d6 Rf6 44. d7 Rg6 45. Rg2 {1-0 (45) Caruana,F (2779)-Gelfand,B (2764) Elancourt 2013 CBM 157 [Caruana,F]}) 11... Qc7 12. c5 d5 13. cxd6 Bxd6 14. g3 c5 15. Be3 Ne5 16. Be2 Bb7 17. Rc1 Bxe4 18. Nxc5 Bc6 19. f4 Ng6 20. Ne4 Rfd8 21. Qc2 Bxe4 22. Qxe4 Qa5 23. f5 Qe5 24. Bf3 Qxb2 25. fxg6 hxg6 26. Qc2 Qa3 27. Qc3 {1-0 (27) Caruana,F (2811)-Lenic,L (2662) chess.com INT 2018}) 8... Ng6 9. c4 Be7 10. Nc3 O-O 11. Rb1 c5 12. Be3 Qc7 (12... Qb8 13. Qd2 d6 14. f4 Rd8 15. g3 Bd7 16. a3 a5 17. a4 Bc6 18. Bf3 Qb7 19. Qg2 Qb4 20. Qe2 Qb7 21. Qf2 Nf8 22. Rfe1 Nd7 23. Nb5 Nb6 24. b3 Bf8 25. Rbc1 Rac8 26. Qd2 Qa8 27. Qe2 Qb7 28. Qd3 d5 29. cxd5 exd5 30. e5 c4 31. Qd4 Nd7 32. bxc4 Bc5 33. Qd2 Bb4 34. Qa2 Bxe1 35. Rxe1 dxc4 36. Nd6 Qb4 {1-0 (36) Ankit,R (2407)-Xu,H (2177) New Delhi 2013}) 13. f4 $14 (13. Qd2 a6 14. Rbd1 d6 15. f4 Bb7 16. Qe1 Bh4 17. Qd2 Rad8 18. Bf3 Bc6 19. Qc2 Bf6 20. Ne2 Qb7 21. b3 Nh4 22. Ng3 Nxf3+ 23. gxf3 g6 24. Qg2 Bg7 25. f5 Qe7 26. Rfe1 Kh8 27. Bf4 e5 28. Bd2 Bf6 29. Ba5 Rd7 30. Kh1 Rg8 31. Qh3 Bg5 32. Bd2 Bf4 33. Bxf4 exf4 34. Ne2 Qe5 35. Qh4 g5 36. Qh5 g4 37. Ng1 f6 38. Rd2 Qc3 39. Rde2 Rdg7 40. Rg2 Qxe1 {0-1 (40) Stetsko,L (2164)-Badelka,O (2375) Stary Smokovec 2018}) 13... Bb7 14. g3 Rfe8 {A novelty, according to the commentators. They weren't surprised that the rook moved - the knight is likely to need the f8 square soon - but they were surprised that it went here rather than d8.} (14... Rfd8) (14... d6) 15. h4 Nf8 16. Bf3 (16. e5 $142) 16... d6 17. Qd2 a6 18. b3 Rad8 19. Qf2 Nd7 20. Rbd1 Bf6 21. Ne2 Nb6 $6 22. g4 $6 (22. Bd2 $1 d5 23. cxd5 exd5 24. e5 Be7 25. Ba5 $1 d4 26. Nc1 $16) 22... d5 23. g5 Be7 24. f5 exf5 $2 ( 24... Bd6 $142 25. fxe6 fxe6 26. g6 Rf8 27. Qg2 h6 28. Bg4 Bc8 29. Qh3 d4 30. Bd2 $16) 25. Bf4 $1 Bd6 26. Bxd6 Qxd6 27. exd5 {Black is positionally busted. His minor pieces are bad, as they are dominated by the white pawn chain from a2 to d5, and his own kingside majority is useless - pushing pawns would only open his king's position. From here it's a matter of waiting for the axe to fall - and fall it will.} Nd7 28. Bg2 Bc8 {Black's last two moves are an attempt to reactivate the minors, or at least to start on that process. But as they depart the queenside, White will look for a breakthrough with b4 and c5.} 29. Nf4 Ne5 {Now comes the thematic breakthrough, after which Black's position is hopeless.} 30. b4 $1 $18 cxb4 31. c5 {Sooner or later these pawns will cost Black the game. One can nitpick about this move or that, but nothing that happens the rest of the way makes a meaningful difference to the outcome.} Qb8 32. Rfe1 (32. d6 $142) (32. Qd4 $142) 32... b3 33. axb3 Qb4 (33... Qxb3 $142) 34. Re2 Ng4 $2 (34... Bd7 $142 {was better, but it's too late to save the game. }) 35. Qd4 Qxb3 36. Nh5 {Now Black has to worry about a new set of problems.} f6 37. Rxe8+ Rxe8 38. gxf6 gxf6 39. d6 Be6 40. d7 Rd8 41. c6 Qc2 42. Re1 Kf7 43. Nf4 Bb3 44. c7 Qxc7 45. Bd5+ Bxd5 46. Qxd5+ Kg7 47. Ne6+ 1-0