[Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.21"] [Round "10.1"] [Board "1"] [White "Gukesh, D."] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E01"] [WhiteElo "2764"] [BlackElo "2798"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "91"] [GameId "2092451089120199"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "India"] [BlackTeam "United States of America"] [WhiteTeamCountry "IND"] {[%evp 0,91,24,13,24,-19,-16,-20,-18,-18,-6,3,6,2,8,7,10,3,13,16,2,2,22,27,18,12,35,11,17,16,37,33,16,41,55,40,86,75,78,32,25,34,71,114,89,76,85,122,119,116,116,90,81,81,92,66,23,-26,-26,-13,48,36,38,38,57,22,40,0,0,3,98,123,134,122,141,120,154,157,226,201,216,228,226,225,230,225,234,224,262,258,268,281,278,259]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Nc6 {This is new to me, and the next move is almost horrifying.} 5. Nf3 Rb8 {Obviously, appearances are deceiving. The last two moves look awful when played by beginners, but the method to the madness is that Black wants to play ...dxc4, when Qa4 is immediately thwarted by ...b5.} 6. cxd5 {That's one way of dealing with the threat; alternatively, White could have defended the pawn where it was.} Bb4+ $146 (6... exd5) 7. Nc3 exd5 8. Bg5 (8. Bf4) (8. O-O) 8... h6 9. Bxf6 Qxf6 10. O-O Bxc3 11. bxc3 O-O {Black's not bad. The bishop's not locked in, and White has no pressure down the c-file (a characteristic problem with playing ...Nc6 before pushing ...c5) because the file is closed. White has a mini-edge, but nothing to write home about.} 12. Nd2 Ne7 (12... Rd8 $142) 13. e3 ({There's nothing wrong with the immediate} 13. e4 $14 {, as far as I can tell.}) 13... Be6 14. Qa4 a6 15. e4 c5 $6 {Trying to solve all his problems at once.} (15... dxe4 16. Nxe4 Qg6 {followed by something-d5 was better, with rough/near equality.}) 16. Qa3 $1 b6 (16... cxd4 $2 17. e5 {wins the knight. Black gets some pawns, but it's not enough.} Qxe5 18. Qxe7 dxc3 19. Nf3 $18) 17. Rab1 (17. Rfe1) (17. Rac1) 17... Rfe8 18. dxc5 d4 $5 19. c4 (19. Rxb6 $142 $1 $14 {/?}) (19. cxd4 $142 Qxd4 20. Nb3 Bxb3 21. Rxb3 bxc5 22. Rc3 $14 {Black will suffer for hours.}) 19... Qg5 20. Rfd1 (20. Nb3 $142 Bxc4 21. Rfc1 Bxb3 22. Rxb3 bxc5 23. Rxc5 Rxb3 24. axb3 $14) 20... bxc5 (20... Qxc5 $142 $11) 21. f4 $14 Qh5 22. f5 Rxb1 23. Rxb1 Qe2 $1 (23... Bd7 24. Qxc5 $16 {/+-}) 24. fxe6 Qxd2 25. exf7+ Kxf7 26. Qxc5 Kg8 $44 {Black's strong d-pawn and White's three isolated pawns should give Caruana enough for the missing pawn.} 27. Rf1 $1 Kh7 $1 28. Qe5 Qe3+ $1 29. Kh1 d3 $1 {Caruana is defending perfectly.} 30. Bh3 d2 {Still good enough to hold, but 30...Qe2 was a little better.} (30... Qe2 $1 31. Rf7 Qd1+ $1 32. Kg2 Qc2+ $1 33. Kg1 (33. Rf2 $6 d2 34. Bg4 d1=Q 35. Bxd1 Qxd1 36. h4 $1 $11) 33... Qc1+ $1 34. Kg2 Qc2+ $1 $11) 31. Bg4 Qd3 (31... Rd8 $1 32. Qxe7 d1=Q $1 33. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 34. Bxd1 Qf2 35. h4 Qf1+ 36. Kh2 Qf2+ 37. Kh3 Qf1+ $11 {and it's completely equal whether White returns to h2 and allows the immediate perpetual or goes to g4 and allows ...Qxd1 to come with check.}) 32. Kg2 $14 Qxc4 33. a4 (33. a3 $142 $14) 33... Qc6 (33... Qxa4 {Why not?} 34. Rf7 Rg8 35. Rxe7 d1=Q $11) 34. Qd4 Qg6 $2 {Caruana's only mistake in the game, but it's fatal.} (34... Ng6 35. Qxd2 Ne5 (35... Qxe4+ 36. Bf3 (36. Kh3 Re5 $11) 36... Qxa4 $11) 36. Bd1 Qxe4+ 37. Kg1 g6 $11) 35. Rf4 $1 $18 Qg5 36. h4 $1 Qg6 37. Qxd2 {White is up a pawn, and safe, and has more active pieces.} Rb8 38. Qd7 {The knight can't move because of 39.Bf5, so this is very awkward for Black (and a reason Black's queen shouldn't have gone to g6).} h5 39. Be6 Rb6 40. Bf7 Qd6 41. Qxd6 Rxd6 {Black didn't lose the queen and didn't lose the knight, but after} 42. Bxh5 {he's down two pawns for absolutely nothing.} Nc6 43. Be2 a5 44. Bb5 Ne5 45. Rf5 Re6 46. Kf2 1-0 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.21"] [Round "10.1"] [Board "2"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2752"] [BlackElo "2750"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "81"] [GameId "2092451089124296"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "United States of America"] [BlackTeam "India"] [BlackTeamCountry "IND"] {[%evp 0,81,24,16,25,25,25,22,22,8,12,12,11,5,26,-3,7,21,32,9,29,15,22,3,3,10,20,22,55,44,39,20,13,1,11,-21,-8,-30,13,-26,34,2,34,14,14,-15,-3,2,4,-47,-65,-89,-36,-64,-64,-33,6,7,22,19,0,-32,41,88,97,32,159,70,88,15,61,12,57,80,144,152,213,216,218,231,219,243,380,369]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 a6 7. a4 Ba7 8. Nbd2 O-O 9. h3 Be6 {Rare, though not unknown.} (9... h6 {is the most common move, played in prior games by Pragg (and many others).}) (9... Ne7 {is the second-most popular move, also used by Pragg in at least one earlier game.}) 10. Bxe6 fxe6 11. b4 Qe8 12. Ra2 $1 $14 {A standard idea in similar positions. Once White moves the knight from d2 he can play b5 without worrying about ...axb5 axb5 Bxf2+ and ...Rxa1 (or here, with the knight still on d2, ...Rxa2) tricks. It also allows the rook to defend f2 for the pawn's sake, not just the rook's.} Nh5 13. Nc4 Nf4 14. b5 Nb8 15. Kh2 {Another standard idea, intending to chase the knight with g3.} Nd7 16. g3 Ng6 17. bxa6 $5 (17. Kg2) 17... bxa6 18. Kg2 d5 {Gaining some space at the possible expense of the e5-pawn's well-being.} 19. Ncd2 Nf6 20. Re1 Rd8 21. Qe2 Qc6 22. c4 Rf7 23. cxd5 (23. Ng5 $142 Rfd7 24. h4 $14) 23... exd5 $11 24. Nf1 h6 25. N1h2 Rfd7 (25... Qd6 $142 $11 {was better, hoping to play ...c5.}) 26. a5 dxe4 $6 {If Black's rooks could achieve something on the d-file, this would be justified. As it is, it underscores the loneliness of Black's c-pawn.} 27. dxe4 $14 {/?} Rd3 28. Rd2 $14 {While 28.Rc2 is a little better, swapping off one pair of rooks in a better position is a typical and generally good idea. With only one rook, Black will have a hard time whipping up play with the heavy pieces.} (28. Rc2 $142 $16) 28... Qb5 $6 (28... Rxd2 29. Bxd2 Qb5 $14 {was better, trying to promote a closer friendship between Black's a- and c-pawns.}) 29. Rxd3 Rxd3 30. Qc2 $16 Rd7 31. Qa2+ $1 Kh7 $2 (31... Kh8) 32. Qe6 $6 (32. Ng4 $1 $18 {was even better.}) 32... Qxa5 $2 (32... Rd6 $1 33. Qf5 Qe8 $1 $16 {/+- is bad for Black, but not yet losing.}) 33. Qf5 $18 (33. Ng4 $18) 33... Qa2 34. Rf1 $2 (34. Nh4 $1 Qf7 35. N2f3 $1 Re7 {Here it might seem as if Black has managed to keep it all together, but there are more hammer blows to come.} 36. Bg5 $1 Bc5 37. Ra1 Bd6 38. Rxa6 $18 {Black is stuck, and will probably lose by zugzwang if nothing else.}) 34... Re7 $2 (34... Rd6 $1 35. Nxe5 Ng8 {Black will break the annoying pin momentarily, when White will be better but far from winning.} 36. Nxg6 $1 Rxg6 37. Nf3 Ne7 38. Qd7 Nc6 $14 {/?}) 35. Bxh6 $1 gxh6 (35... Kxh6 36. Ng4+ Kh7 (36... Nxg4 37. hxg4 {Threatening Qh5#.} Kh7 38. Ng5+ $1 Kg8 39. Qxg6 $18) 37. Ng5+ Kh8 38. Qxg6 $18) 36. Qxf6 $18 Qe6 $2 (36... Rf7 37. Qc6 Kg7) 37. Ng4 $1 a5 38. Qf5 $1 Kg7 39. Qh5 Nh8 40. Nh4 Kh7 41. Nxh6 {It's one power shot after another. Pragg has had enough.} 1-0 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.21"] [Round "10.1"] [Board "3"] [White "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Black "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D15"] [WhiteElo "2778"] [BlackElo "2748"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "119"] [GameId "2092451089165257"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "India"] [BlackTeam "United States of America"] [WhiteTeamCountry "IND"] {[%evp 0,119,24,24,23,-14,26,31,17,8,50,50,34,42,42,31,9,5,18,6,28,25,28,-9,42,46,38,39,39,45,35,47,52,58,29,27,49,52,75,78,75,83,117,98,127,117,117,116,116,115,172,148,168,120,85,102,107,145,146,149,149,163,149,154,145,133,135,135,124,121,117,100,122,133,127,135,144,146,171,149,150,150,199,170,143,165,141,141,141,86,192,141,200,200,200,165,165,193,154,193,193,185,183,195,204,185,191,196,196,214,252,237,326,329,385,626,992,1016,1016,1016,1016,1016]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 a6 {The Chebanenko Slav. I haven't seen that much of it lately, but Dominguez has trotted it out in a couple of recent games.} 5. c5 {Just one among many reasonable tries.} b6 {Currently Stockfish's top choice. In real life, Black prefers} (5... Bf5) ({and} 5... Nbd7 {.}) 6. cxb6 Nbd7 7. a3 Qxb6 8. Na4 (8. Qc2 $146) 8... Qc7 9. g3 e6 10. Bf4 Bd6 11. e3 (11. Bxd6 Qxd6 12. Rc1 O-O 13. Qc2 Bb7 14. e3 {is how the games have usually continued.}) 11... a5 $146 (11... e5 $142 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Bxe5 Bxe5 14. Bg2 Rb8 15. Nxe5 Qxe5 16. Rc1 h5 17. O-O h4 18. Qd4 Qxd4 19. exd4 O-O 20. Rfe1 a5 21. Bf3 h3 22. Bd1 Ne4 23. Re3 Nd6 24. g4 Nc4 25. Rxh3 Nxb2 26. Rb3 Rxb3 27. Bxb3 Nd3 28. Rxc6 Bxg4 29. Nc3 Bh3 30. Nxd5 Re8 31. Ne3 Rb8 32. Bc2 Nf4 33. Rc4 Ne2+ 34. Kh1 Rb2 35. d5 g5 36. Bf5 Bxf5 37. Nxf5 Nf4 38. h4 Nxd5 39. Kg2 Nf4+ 40. Kg3 Ng6 41. Rc8+ Kh7 42. hxg5 Rb3+ 43. Ne3 Rxa3 {½-½ Brzoza,M (2300)-Sulit,F (2254) POL-ch Clergy8 email ICCF email 2021}) 12. Rc1 $14 {The pressure down the c-file and Black's potential problems with the dark squares will be annoying for many moves to come.} O-O 13. Qc2 (13. Bb5) 13... Bb7 14. Bd3 h6 15. O-O Rfe8 (15... e5 $142) 16. Rfd1 e5 17. dxe5 Nxe5 18. Nd4 $14 Nxd3 $6 (18... Rab8 $142) 19. Bxd6 Qxd6 20. Rxd3 $16 Ba6 21. Rb3 $6 (21. Rdd1 $1) 21... Nd7 $8 {White's last move may not have been best, but as a practical matter it's very good, as Black is only okay(-ish) if he sacs the exchange. He will then be forced to prove compensation continually, as there's nothing tangible, just pressure.} 22. Nb6 c5 $1 23. Nxa8 Rxa8 24. Nb5 Qc6 $6 (24... Qb6 $142 25. a4 c4 {Here it actually threatens something, which is not the case with the queen on c6.} 26. Rc3 Nc5 27. Rd1 Rd8 $44) 25. a4 $14 {/?} g6 $2 (25... c4 $142) 26. Rc3 (26. e4 $1 {is even better, taking advantage in yet another way of the pinned c-pawn - 26...d4? 27.Nxd4.} dxe4 27. Rd1 $18 {followed by Rd6. With White's rooks breaking in, he's clearly winning.}) 26... Bxb5 $6 (26... Rb8 $142) 27. axb5 Qxb5 28. Rd1 $18 Qc6 29. Rcd3 Nf6 30. e4 $1 Nxe4 (30... dxe4 $4 31. Rd6 $18 {wins the knight.}) 31. Rxd5 Re8 32. Rd8 Ng5 33. Rxe8+ Qxe8 34. Qd3 $6 (34. Qc3 $142 {was better, hitting Black's queenside pawns while restricting his queen on account of a possible Rd8+, Q/Rh8# tactic.}) 34... Ne6 35. Qe3 h5 36. Rd6 $2 (36. h4 $18) 36... Qb5 $2 (36... h4 $1 {lets the game become messier than Black had any right to hope for.}) 37. Qe5 h4 $2 {Too late now.} 38. gxh4 Qc4 39. h5 (39. h3 $1 Qxh4 40. Rb6 $18) 39... Qg4+ 40. Kf1 g5 41. h6 $1 Kh7 42. Rd7 (42. Qc3 $1) 42... Qc4+ 43. Ke1 $2 (43. Qe2 Qc1+ 44. Qd1 Qxb2 45. Rxf7+ Kxh6 46. h4 $18) 43... Qb4+ 44. Rd2 Qg4 $2 (44... Kg6 $1 $16 {/+-}) 45. Re2 (45. Rd8 $1 $18 {takes advantage of Black's overloaded knight.}) 45... Qg1+ 46. Kd2 Kg6 $1 47. h4 $1 {This is excellent. If Black doesn't take, it's hopeless; if he does, then White trades rooks and reaches an easily won ending.} gxh4 48. Qe4+ Kxh6 49. Qxh4+ Kg6 50. Qg3+ Qxg3 51. fxg3 Kg5 52. Re3 Kg4 53. Ke2 (53. Re5 $1 Kxg3 54. Rf5 $18) 53... Ng5 54. Re5 f5 55. Rxc5 a4 56. Ra5 Nh3 57. Rxa4+ Kxg3 {What else? But now White brings the game to an immediate conclusion.} 58. Ra3+ Kg2 59. Rxh3 $1 Kxh3 60. Kf3 {Black's pawn goes nowhere, and his king can't stop White's pawn. That brought the game, the match, and the U.S.'s hopes of winning the gold to a painful and simultaneous finish.} 1-0 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.21"] [Round "10.1"] [Board "4"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2729"] [BlackElo "2720"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "126"] [GameId "2092451089169354"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "United States of America"] [BlackTeam "India"] [BlackTeamCountry "IND"] {[%evp 0,126,24,16,25,25,25,16,16,12,12,7,7,21,19,-1,19,14,13,1,8,-10,12,0,16,-6,19,7,17,13,14,20,51,18,13,-4,-6,-11,1,12,9,1,1,-3,22,18,23,19,24,9,6,-24,21,11,18,22,16,24,23,4,20,-4,2,4,4,2,2,-4,0,0,0,-10,0,-10,11,13,13,9,9,13,13,38,26,17,22,14,10,0,0,-26,-12,-5,-12,8,29,30,31,30,36,36,36,40,45,37,35,33,43,43,45,44,60,49,63,55,63,53,61,44,39,16,18,16,16,0,0,0,0,0,0] A correct, well-played draw. Aronian did his best to draw blood from a stone; unfortunately - little-known fact - stones have no blood to begin with, and the game finished peacefully.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 O-O 7. h3 Bb6 8. a4 a5 9. Re1 h6 10. Bb3 Re8 11. Nbd2 Be6 12. Nc4 Ba7 13. Be3 Bxe3 14. Nxe3 d5 15. exd5 Nxd5 16. Nxd5 Bxd5 17. Re3 Re6 18. Nd2 Rg6 19. Bxd5 Qxd5 20. Qf3 Rd8 21. Nc4 f5 22. Qxd5+ Rxd5 23. Rd1 Rf6 24. Kf1 Rf8 25. Ke2 g5 26. Kd2 e4 27. Kc2 exd3+ 28. Rdxd3 Rxd3 29. Rxd3 b6 30. f4 gxf4 31. Rf3 Re8 32. Rxf4 Re2+ 33. Kb3 Ne7 34. g4 fxg4 35. Rxg4+ Kf7 36. Na3 Nf5 37. Rc4 c5 38. Rf4 Kf6 39. Nc4 Re6 40. Kc2 h5 41. Kd3 Kg5 42. Re4 Rf6 43. Nd2 Ng3 44. Rc4 Rd6+ 45. Kc2 Re6 46. b4 cxb4 47. cxb4 Nf5 48. Ne4+ Kg6 49. Kd3 axb4 50. Rxb4 h4 51. Rb5 Ne7 52. Nd2 Rd6+ 53. Kc2 Nf5 54. Nf3 Kf6 55. Rb4 Ne3+ 56. Kb2 Nd1+ 57. Kc1 Nf2 58. Rxh4 Kf5 59. Nd2 Nd3+ 60. Kb1 Nf4 61. Kc2 Rd4 62. Rh6 Rxa4 63. Rxb6 Nxh3 1/2-1/2 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.21"] [Round "10.3"] [Board "1"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D04"] [WhiteElo "2766"] [BlackElo "2736"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "68"] [GameId "2092451089214412"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "Uzbekistan"] [BlackTeam "China"] [WhiteTeamCountry "UZB"] [BlackTeamCountry "CHN"] {[%evp 0,68,24,27,24,24,22,19,33,26,24,-22,-19,-19,-19,-9,-10,-41,-50,-52,-40,-38,-40,-40,-32,-40,8,-53,-53,-80,-80,-76,-81,-99,-120,-112,-43,-70,-30,-65,-48,-55,-55,-57,-55,-55,-57,-46,-44,-44,-44,-78,-57,-132,-142,-111,-120,-119,-20,-20,-29,-18,-12,-12,-5,-12,-16,-14,0,0,0]} 1. d4 Nf6 (1... d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 e6 4. Nf3 dxc4 5. e3 b5 6. a4 Bb4 7. axb5 cxb5 8. Bd2 Bxc3 9. Bxc3 a5 10. b3 Bb7 11. bxc4 b4 12. Bb2 Nf6 {is more or less the starting position for the Noteboom Variation. Play almost always continues} 13. Bd3 ({The analogy stops with the idea of} 13. g4 $2 {, which is just terrible.} a4 14. g5 Ne4 $19) 13... O-O 14. O-O (14. g4 $2 {is awful here as well.} a4 15. g5 a3 $19 (15... Ne4 $19)) 14... Nbd7 {and the possibilities fan out from here.}) 2. Nf3 d5 3. e3 c5 4. dxc5 e6 5. b4 a5 6. c3 axb4 7. cxb4 b6 8. Bb5+ Bd7 9. Bxd7+ Nbxd7 10. a4 bxc5 11. b5 {A kind of reversed Noteboom Variation. (See the note to move 3.) I wouldn't call this a popular line, but there are 165 games with this in the database, some involving super-GMs like Gukesh, Firouzja, So, Pragg, Kramnik, Grischuk, Vidit, Dominguez, etc. So you'd expect both players to have some ideas about this position.} Bd6 12. Bb2 g5 (12... O-O {is more common, but the text has also established itself on the map.}) 13. g3 $6 $146 {My assumption about Abdusattorov was apparently in error. Since he chose to play this variation I assumed he'd have all sorts of good ideas about how to handle it. Instead, he reacts dubiously in a still-standard position, so it seems that he was just winging it. (The "four-dimensional chess" argument might be that he's not *that* much worse, and thought that the sharpness of the position together with Ding's psychological fragility made this a good risk. That's possible, but I don't buy it.)} (13. Qe2 {is probably best.} g4 14. Nfd2 Qc7 15. e4 Be5 16. Bxe5 Qxe5 17. Ra3 $11 {This has happened in five games, with one win for each side and three draws. Here's White's win, in a super-GM game.} c4 18. O-O O-O 19. a5 Qb2 20. b6 Kh8 21. Re1 Nxb6 22. axb6 Rxa3 23. Nxa3 Qxa3 24. exd5 Qb2 25. dxe6 c3 26. e7 Rc8 27. Nc4 Qxe2 28. Rxe2 Ne8 29. b7 Rb8 30. Na5 Nd6 31. Rc2 Kg7 32. Rxc3 Re8 33. Kf1 Nxb7 34. Nxb7 Rxe7 35. Nd6 Re6 36. Nf5+ Kg6 37. Rc5 h6 38. Ne3 h5 39. g3 Ra6 40. Nd5 f5 41. Ne7+ {1-0 Le,Q (2709)-Vidit,S (2727) Tata Steel India Blitz Kolkata 2021 (3)}) 13... g4 14. Nh4 Be5 $15 15. Qc2 $2 {This certainly disproves the "four-dimensional chess" hypothesis. [For those unfamiliar with that expression, I'm not talking about some actual chess-based detail of that variant; rather, it's sometimes used to suggest that someone's thinking is so profound and outside the norm that they're playing a presumably far more complicated game than the rest of us.] This is simply a bad move, and Ding already enjoys a winning advantage.} Qa5+ $1 $19 16. Kf1 Bxb2 (16... Ne4 $142) 17. Qxb2 Qb4 (17... O-O $142 $19) 18. Qxb4 cxb4 19. Nd2 Ke7 $2 $17 (19... Ne4 $19) (19... Nc5 $19) 20. h3 $2 (20. Kg2 $17 {had to be played, for the sake of 21.Rhb1.}) 20... Nc5 $2 (20... Ne4 $1 21. Nxe4 dxe4 22. hxg4 (22. Kg2 $142 {is better, but it's still too late as Black defends the b-pawn in time.} Rhc8 23. Rhb1 Rc4 $19) 22... Rhc8 23. Kg2 Rc4 $19 {Black will play ...Ra5 and ...Nc5, gobble up White's queenside pawns, and then win the game with the b-pawn.}) 21. hxg4 Rxa4 $6 (21... b3 $1 $17) 22. Rxa4 Nxa4 23. g5 $1 Ne4 24. Nhf3 $1 $15 {White is just in time to save the game.} Nac5 25. Kg2 b3 26. b6 $4 {But what is this? It's as if Abdusattorov saved up all his blunders in the tournament for this one game...and it didn't matter: Ding can't seem to win any games at all, no matter what. If this continues in the World Championship match, it might end up even more lopsided than Carlsen vs. Nepo.} (26. Rb1 {is obvious and good.} Nxd2 27. Nxd2 Rb8 28. Nxb3 Rxb5 29. Nd2 $11 {and the game is as good as over.}) 26... Nxd2 27. Nxd2 b2 $1 28. f3 Na4 $4 (28... Rc8 $1 $19 {First wait and see what White does, then play ...Rc6 or ...Na4/d7 as circumstances warrant.}) 29. Rh4 $1 Nxb6 30. Rb4 Nd7 (30... Na4 $1 31. Rxa4 Rc8 32. Kh3 Rc2 33. Nb1 Rc1 34. Na3 Ra1 35. Rb4 Rxa3 36. Rxb2 Rxe3 {should still be drawn, but Black has something to work with this time.}) 31. Rxb2 $11 {The contest is over.} h6 32. gxh6 Rxh6 33. Rb7 e5 34. f4 Rb6 1/2-1/2 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.21"] [Round "10.3"] [Board "2"] [White "Wei, Yi"] [Black "Yakubboev, Nodirbek"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E46"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2666"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "119"] [GameId "2092451089222605"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "China"] [BlackTeam "Uzbekistan"] [WhiteTeamCountry "CHN"] [BlackTeamCountry "UZB"] {[%evp 0,119,24,24,24,-16,4,-5,23,19,28,13,48,31,48,34,48,42,75,0,32,17,13,13,-20,-49,-21,-116,-61,-61,-51,-19,-13,-81,-13,-13,-15,-15,-49,-49,-19,-81,-83,-83,2,-87,-132,-147,-131,-90,-95,-149,-13,-13,-53,-53,-53,-73,95,0,42,0,178,178,195,303,317,163,139,120,139,157,157,157,157,157,150,150,122,122,122,41,104,27,106,109,116,44,28,39,119,119,267,268,296,156,183,171,171,161,170,205,205,222,267,253,297,197,416,434,448,487,637,704,1030,1069,1075,1147,1199,1251,1355,1469] Despite Ding's failure to convert several winning positions against Abdusattorov, China won the match all the same. Here's Wei Yi's win on board 2.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Nge2 Re8 6. a3 Bf8 7. e4 d5 8. e5 Nfd7 {White has a minus score in this line and the engine initially favors Black. If you let it run a while and go down some lines, however, it ends up equal and in some cases favorable for White. This might be a good find by Wei Yi.} 9. h4 $5 c5 10. Bg5 f6 (10... Qb6 11. cxd5 cxd4 12. Nxd4 exd5 {is a good alternative.}) 11. exf6 gxf6 12. Bd2 Nc6 $11 13. dxc5 Nxc5 14. Be3 dxc4 15. Nf4 Ne5 $1 $146 16. Rh3 $1 b6 17. Rg3+ Kh8 18. Qh5 Ba6 19. Rd1 Qc7 20. b4 Ncd3+ 21. Bxd3 cxd3 {I'm not sure when the prep ended and the play began for either side, but so far they've both played essentially perfectly. White's next move seems to be the first significant inaccuracy for either side.} 22. Ne4 $6 (22. Bd4 $1 $11) 22... Bg7 $15 23. Kf1 (23. f3 {, looking to (sometimes) put the king on f2, is also good.}) 23... Qd7 $2 {And this one error turns the tables.} (23... Bb7 $1 $15) 24. Kg1 $16 {/+-} Rad8 $2 25. Bc1 $1 Qd4 {If Black's king were secure this aggressive and attractive centralizing move would be great. "If"...} 26. Rxg7 $1 Kxg7 27. Nxf6 $1 Kxf6 28. Qxh7 {Threatening 29.Nh5#.} Nf3+ (28... Nf7 29. Nh5+ Ke7 30. Bg5+ Kd6 31. Qxf7 $18 {nearly reestablishes material equality while leaving Black's king in a world of trouble.}) 29. gxf3 Rg8+ 30. Kh1 e5 31. Qh6+ $1 Ke7 32. Qe6+ Kf8 33. Re1 $6 (33. Ng6+ $1 {pretty much wins on the spot.} Rxg6 $8 (33... Kg7 34. Qe7+ Kxg6 35. h5+ Kf5 36. Qf7#) 34. Qxg6 $18) 33... Bb7 $1 34. Qf6+ (34. Ng2 $1 d2 35. Bxd2 Qxd2 36. Rxe5 $18) 34... Ke8 35. Rxe5+ $6 Kd7 36. Qf5+ Kd6 37. Qf6+ Kd7 38. Rd5+ $1 Qxd5 39. Nxd5 Bxd5 40. Qf5+ (40. Kh2 $1 $18) 40... Kc6 41. Qxd3 $2 {The first move after the time control, and it's a serious error. Now Black is only slightly worse if he makes the right move in reply.} (41. Kh2) 41... Rgf8 $2 {The wrong rook - and a surprising error, considering the effectiveness of the rook on the g-file.} (41... Rdf8 $1 42. Kh2 Rxf3 43. Qe2 a6 $1 44. a4 Rg2+ $1 45. Kxg2 Re3+ 46. Kf1 Bg2+ $1 47. Ke1 Rxe2+ 48. Kxe2 Kd5 $1 $11 {Black's king is just in time to neutralize White's kingside play, and White won't be able to switch over to the queenside to win.}) 42. Kh2 Rxf3 43. b5+ (43. Qg6+ $142 Kb7 44. Be3 $18) 43... Kb7 44. Qd4 $4 {The players are tired - it's a long and stressful event.} (44. Qd2 $1 $16 {/+-}) 44... Rd7 $4 (44... Rh3+ $1 45. Kxh3 (45. Kg1 $4 Rh1#) 45... Be6+ (45... Bg2+ 46. Kxg2 Rxd4 $11) 46. Qg4 Rd3+ 47. Be3 Bxg4+ 48. Kxg4 Kc7 $1 49. Kf5 Kd7 $1 50. h5 Ke8 $1 51. Kg6 Rd6+ $1 52. Kg7 Rd7+ 53. Kg8 Rd5 $1 54. h6 Rd6 $1 55. Kg7 $1 Rd7+ $1 56. Kf6 Rd6+ $1 $11) 45. Be3 $18 {White is winning, and Yakubboev gets no further chances to save the game.} Be6 46. Qe5 Bd5 47. h5 Rf8 48. h6 Bf3 49. Kg3 Ka8 50. Bg5 Bb7 51. f4 Rdf7 52. Kh4 a5 53. Kh5 Bc8 54. Qd6 Ka7 55. Bd8 Rf5+ 56. Kg6 R5f7 57. Qxb6+ Ka8 58. Bc7 Bf5+ 59. Kh5 Rf6 60. Bd6 1-0 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.21"] [Round "10.10"] [Board "1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Schitco, Ivan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D12"] [WhiteElo "2832"] [BlackElo "2527"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "83"] [GameId "2092451089349583"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "Norway"] [BlackTeam "Moldova"] [WhiteTeamCountry "NOR"] [BlackTeamCountry "MDA"] {[%evp 0,83,24,24,26,22,27,19,26,6,11,15,3,12,21,15,16,26,67,4,62,38,36,2,23,37,31,26,76,-2,31,41,44,29,41,43,70,49,49,51,78,57,49,29,54,-1,75,75,66,69,43,43,85,114,148,114,110,100,139,95,192,175,187,164,164,206,251,221,244,244,244,291,244,216,226,252,223,176,172,179,207,181,190,156,159,196] Carlsen bounces back from yesterday's loss to resume his winning ways.} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 Bf5 4. c4 c6 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Be4 (6... Bg6) 7. f3 Bg6 8. Qb3 Qc7 (8... Qb6) 9. Bd2 a5 (9... Be7) 10. cxd5 Nxd5 11. g3 $14 {White's position looks better because it is better. I'm not sure Black should want this position against anyone, and all the more so against Carlsen.} Nd7 $146 12. e4 Nxc3 13. bxc3 b5 14. a3 $6 (14. Nxg6 $142 hxg6 15. Kf2 $14) 14... Be7 (14... a4 $11) 15. Nxg6 hxg6 16. Kf2 Rb8 17. Be2 g5 (17... a4 $142 {first, then ...g5.}) 18. Be3 (18. a4 $142 $14) 18... Nb6 (18... a4 $11) 19. Kg2 Kf8 $6 {In addition to its not being ...a4, it's also mistaken as Black should retain the option of castling. (It's appealing to leave the rook on h8 due to the half-open file, but it may have more prospects operating in tandem with the other rook once a more central file has opened.} (19... e5 $11) (19... a4 20. Qc2 Qd7 $11) 20. Rhf1 $14 (20. Rab1 $14) 20... Kg8 21. Rf2 Nd7 $2 (21... a4) 22. f4 $16 {/+- The board opens up and it's entirely in White's favor. There's the f-file, White's big center, his extra space, bishop pair, safer king, etc.} gxf4 23. Bxf4 $18 Bd6 24. e5 Be7 25. Bg4 a4 26. Qa2 Nf8 27. Raf1 Rh7 28. h4 {Black has no play and no space, but what he does have are weaknesses.} Qd8 29. Be3 g5 $6 30. h5 Qd5+ 31. Bf3 Qxa2 32. Rxa2 Rc8 33. g4 f5 $6 {This attempt to get a little breathing room speeds up Black's demise - not that there was any saving the game.} 34. exf6 Bxf6 35. Be4 Rh6 36. Raf2 (36. Rc2 {followed by c4 was even better.}) 36... Kg7 37. Kg3 (37. Bxc6 $1 Rxc6 38. Bxg5 $1 Bxg5 39. Rf7+ Kg8 40. Rxf8+ Kg7 41. R1f7#) 37... Rc7 38. Bxg5 $1 Bxg5 39. Rxf8 Rh8 40. Rxh8 Kxh8 {Carlsen finishes in style:} 41. h6 $1 Be7 (41... Bxh6 42. Rh1 $1 {wins the bishop, as} Kg7 43. g5 Bxg5 44. Rh7+ $18 {is even more expensive.}) 42. g5 $1 (42. g5 $1 {Allowing the pawn to reach g6 is obviously hopeless, but} Bxg5 43. Rf8# {is mate. Black has had enough.}) 1-0