[Event "9th Norway Chess 2021"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2021.09.17"] [Round "10.2"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B30"] [WhiteElo "2754"] [BlackElo "2760"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "2021.09.07"] {[%evp 0,63,23,23,46,42,56,37,43,60,72,83,83,79,64,55,49,54,50,49,49,42,50, -121,-108,-92,-92,-99,-44,-36,-21,-44,-51,-71,-78,-84,-37,-29,-51,-8,-13,-88,5, 35,103,31,135,68,68,178,235,247,223,247,229,201,237,278,311,144,324,325,370, 380,377,377]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {To my knowledge, this has always had a lesser reputation than 3...g6 and 3...e6, but maybe Rapport felt that this was the best option in a must-win situation.} 4. Nc3 Nd4 5. e5 Nxb5 6. Nxb5 Nd5 7. O-O {Rarer, especially at the GM level, but it has been played plenty of times as well. Firouzja himself used it back in 2017, when he was "only" 2487.} (7. Ng5 {is the traditional main move here, with visions of Nxf7 and/or Qf3. White has a heavy plus, but perhaps Black has figured things out well enough to persuade Firouzja to look elsewhere.}) 7... a6 8. c4 $1 (8. Nc3 {has been more common, and was the move Firouzja himself employed.}) 8... Nb4 9. Nc3 d6 (9... Nd3 $2 {would be a lot more appealing if the knight could remain there. Instead, Black is spending a lot of time helping White develop his pieces, and after} 10. Qe2 Nxc1 11. Raxc1 {White is ready for the middlegame while Black seems as if he might still be adjusting his pieces and waiting for the round to start.}) 10. d4 $5 {Only played once before.} (10. exd6 {is usual, and after} Qxd6 {either} 11. Ne4 ({or} 11. d4 {looks pleasant for White.})) 10... cxd4 11. Qxd4 $146 {I don't know how much of this was prepared. Nowadays, it seems that everything is prepared to move 30, and even when a player loses it was in his analysis, too, but he forgot some fine point on move 27. It would be wonderful if this had been some sort of over the board inspiration, but the chances are pretty close to zero that that's the case.} ({ In the stem game, White found a tricky idea that worked very nicely.} 11. Qa4+ Nc6 $11 12. Nd5 $6 dxe5 13. Nxe5 Bd7 $2 ({Black had to find (and work out)} 13... b5 $1 {; against other moves - like the text - he is lost.} 14. Nxc6 (14. cxb5 Qxd5 15. Nxc6 Bb7 16. Qb3 $8 Qxb3 17. axb3 Bxc6 18. bxc6 e5 $17) 14... bxa4 15. Nxd8 Kxd8 $15) 14. Nxd7 $18 Kxd7 15. c5 Ke8 16. Nb6 Ra7 17. Bf4 e5 18. Bxe5 f6 19. Rfe1 fxe5 20. Rxe5+ Be7 21. Rae1 Kf8 22. Rd5 Qc7 23. Rd7 Qf4 24. g3 Qf5 25. Rexe7 Nxe7 26. Rd8+ Kf7 27. Qc4+ Kg6 28. Rxh8 Qb1+ 29. Kg2 Qe4+ 30. f3 Qe3 31. Rf8 Qd2+ 32. Kf1 d3 33. Qe6+ Kh5 34. Qxe7 Qd1+ 35. Kg2 Qd2+ 36. Kh3 Qf2 37. Rf5+ {1-0 (37) Whitehead,P-Rohde,M (2425) Memphis (U.S. Junior Championship) 1978}) 11... Nc2 {Not just greedy, but best.} 12. Qe4 Nxa1 13. Bf4 (13. exd6) 13... Be6 14. Rxa1 (14. Ng5 $5) 14... Rc8 15. Nd5 $5 (15. b3 { is normal and playable, but less interesting than the text.}) 15... dxe5 16. Nxe5 f6 ({I would be pretty tempted by} 16... Rxc4 17. Qxc4 Qxd5 {, when White has just about enough compensation after} 18. Qxd5 Bxd5 19. Rc1 Be6 20. Rc7 f6 21. Nd3 Bxa2 {, but not more. Black's king isn't going to get mated, and my feeling is that Black will have the sunnier side of a draw. Rapport's approach is more principled, and much more dangerous.}) 17. Nf3 Bxd5 $6 (17... Qd7 $142) (17... Kf7 $142) 18. cxd5 Rc5 19. d6 (19. Rd1 e5 20. b4 Rc6 21. Nxe5 fxe5 22. Qxe5+ Kf7 23. Qh5+ Rg6 24. d6 Qd7 $11 {is equal, which may mean that there's a repetition/perpetual coming somewhere.}) 19... Qd7 $1 20. b4 Rc6 $6 (20... Rc8 $142 $11 {was better, and we'll have to figure out how things go from here. Moves like Re1 and Nd4 are probably on White's agenda, and Black will likely play ...Kf7 and ...Re8. How White creates new fires and Black tries to put them all out will be something for future games to reveal.}) 21. Re1 Kf7 $2 ( 21... e5 $1 {was playable, provided that} 22. Bxe5 $1 {is not met by capturing the bishop but by the king's flight.} Kd8 $1 23. a4 $1 Bxd6 24. b5 Rc7 25. Bxd6 Qxd6 26. bxa6 Qxa6 27. Nd4 $14) 22. Nd4 $16 {/+-} e5 $2 (22... exd6 {had to be played.} 23. Qd5+ Kg6 24. Bd2 $16 {/+- may not be winning by force in the near future, but White's prospects are excellent.}) 23. Qd5+ Kg6 24. Bxe5 $1 $18 { Now it's over. The rest is just cashing in the chips.} Rxd6 (24... fxe5 25. Nf3 $1 Bxd6 26. Nxe5+ $18) 25. Bxd6 Bxd6 26. Qe4+ Kf7 27. Qd5+ Kg6 28. g3 h6 29. Rd1 Re8 30. Nf3 $1 Re6 31. Nh4+ Kh7 32. Qd3+ $1 (32. Qd3+ $1 Kh8 33. Nf5 { wins a piece for free.}) ({The immediate} 32. Nf5 $4 {was premature due to} Re5 $11) 1-0