[Event "Sinquefield Cup 2022"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.09.02"] [Round "1"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A34"] [WhiteElo "2778"] [BlackElo "2776"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "68"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,68,23,-3,21,21,21,21,9,11,23,-10,-5,-5,-5,-33,-36,-23,0,-12,29,-46, -68,-36,-54,-39,-16,-16,-16,-16,-7,-7,-17,-9,-7,-10,0,-35,-20,-18,27,22,30,26, 26,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,3,-3,-3,-5,-19,-22,-22,-23,-22,-22,-22,-22,-22,-22,-22,-22, -22,-22,-22]} 1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. e3 e5 (4... e6 5. d4 d5 { would transpose to a Tarrasch/Semi-Tarrasch, but the text move is much more principled and fighting.}) 5. Qb3 $6 {This is a very unsual move which had only been played twice before.} d6 $5 ({The only \"master game\" went} 5... Be7 6. d3 O-O 7. Be2 d6 8. O-O {and draw agreed, ½-½, Paschall,W (2354)-Papp,T (2315) Budapest 2009. Not much of a game. Caruana's choice of move is endorsed by Stockfish and it soon becomes clear that White achieves nothing with his choice of opening.}) 6. d3 Be7 7. g3 O-O (7... Bf5 $5) 8. Bg2 Nb4 9. Qd1 d5 $5 {Caruana sacrifices a pawn for the initiative.} 10. Nxe5 dxc4 11. dxc4 Qxd1+ 12. Kxd1 Ng4 13. Nxg4 Bxg4+ 14. Kd2 Rad8+ 15. Nd5 Be6 16. e4 f5 17. Bh3 Bf6 18. Ke2 Rfe8 $6 ({According to my engine friends, Black should have played} 18... Nc2 19. Rb1 Nd4+ 20. Kf1 Bf7 {with full compensation for the sacrificed pawn.}) 19. Be3 Nc2 20. Rac1 $6 ({White had the option to play} 20. Rad1 $5 Nd4+ 21. Kf1 fxe4 22. Bxe6+ Nxe6 23. Kg2 {and White has the better chances.}) 20... Nxe3 $2 ({After} 20... Nd4+ $5 21. Bxd4 Bxd5 22. cxd5 Bxd4 {, the chances are close to equal.}) 21. fxe3 fxe4 22. Nxf6+ $2 {This decision to exchange the amazing knight for Black's dark-squared bishop makes no sense.} ({After} 22. Bxe6+ Rxe6 23. b3 Be5 24. Rcf1 {, White would have had a small, but clear advantage in the endgame.}) 22... gxf6 23. Bxe6+ Rxe6 24. Rhd1 {Now the players steer the game to an inevitable draw.} Red6 25. Rxd6 Rxd6 26. Rd1 Rxd1 27. Kxd1 Kf7 28. Ke2 Kg6 29. Kf2 Kg5 30. h3 f5 31. Kg2 Kh5 32. Kf2 Kg5 33. Kg2 Kh5 34. Kf2 Kg5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.09.02"] [Round "1"] [White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2754"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "143"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. f3 h5 {I still recall when this idea was first played. Now, it is considered one of the main lines and has been featured in nearly 10,000 games in my database $1} 9. Nd5 Bxd5 10. exd5 Nbd7 11. Qd2 g6 12. O-O-O (12. Be2 {is the main line, but the text move has been played several times by Dominguez, including quite recently.}) 12... Nb6 ({In his early games with the line, Dominguez faced} 12... Bg7 {a couple of times:} 13. Kb1 Qc7 14. Be2 O-O 15. g4 Rfc8 16. Rc1 hxg4 17. fxg4 a5 18. g5 a4 (18... Ne4 $6 19. Qd3 Nec5 20. Nxc5 Nxc5 21. Qd1 Qe7 $2 22. h4 {and White had a massive advantage in Dominguez Perez,L (2726)-Bacrot,E (2718) Beijing 2014}) 19. gxf6 Nxf6 20. h4 axb3 21. cxb3 {with a small plus for White in Dominguez Perez,L (2758)-Giri,A (2769) Moscow 2019.}) 13. Kb1 ({Or } 13. c4 Rc8 14. Na5 Nbxd5 15. Bg5 b6 16. Nb7 Qc7 17. Bxf6 Nxf6 18. Nxd6+ Bxd6 19. Qxd6 Qxd6 20. Rxd6 Nd7 {with approximately equal chances, Dominguez Perez, L (2758)-Grischuk,A (2777) Chess.com INT 2020.}) 13... Nbxd5 14. Bg5 Be7 15. a3 ({White has several alternatives at this juncture: a)} 15. Bd3 Qc7 16. Rhe1 Nb6 17. f4 O-O-O 18. Qe2 Nfd5 19. Bxe7 Qxe7 20. fxe5 dxe5 21. Qxe5 Qxe5 22. Rxe5 { with approximately equal chances in Dominguez Perez,L (2758)-Duda,J (2729) chess24.com INT 2021.}) ({b)} 15. c4 Nf4 (15... Nb6 $5) 16. Bxf4 exf4 17. Qxf4 O-O 18. h4 d5 19. g4 Bd6 20. Qc1 Rc8 {was seen in Inarkiev,E (2732)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2811) Germany 2017, and now} 21. c5 Bxc5 22. Nxc5 Qb6 23. Bd3 Rxc5 24. Qh6 d4 {would lead to sharp play and chances to both sides.}) 15... Qc7 16. g3 O-O-O ({In an earlier event on the Grand Chess Tour, the Superbet Chess Classic, which took place in Bucharest in May, Dominguez faced} 16... Rd8 17. Bd3 Nb6 18. Rhe1 d5 19. Qe2 Nbd7 20. c4 O-O 21. cxd5 Nxd5 22. Bh6 Rfe8 { thus far, Dominguez Perez,L (2753)-Deac,B (2671) Bucharest 2022, and now} 23. Qc2 {would have been a better option, leaving White with a tiny edge. Nevertheless, White managed to win the game in the end anyway, although Black also was winning along the way.}) 17. Qf2 Kb8 18. Rd3 Nd7 19. Bd2 N5f6 20. Ba5 b6 21. Bd2 Rc8 {At this point in the game, Vachier-Lagrave was down to just 35 minutes left on the clock, while Dominguez had actually won time, ringing in at 1 hour and 32 minutes left. Now, however, Dominguez went in the tank and spent about 45 minutes on his next move.} 22. Bg5 $1 Nc5 23. Nxc5 dxc5 24. Rb3 $6 ({A better continuation was} 24. Qe2 c4 25. Rd1 Ka7 26. Bg2 Rhd8 27. Rhe1 { and White would have excellent play for the sacrificed pawn.}) 24... Nd5 $6 ( 24... Ka7 $5) 25. Bxe7 Nxe7 26. Bxa6 Rcd8 27. Bc4 (27. a4 $5) 27... Nf5 28. Bxf7 Nd4 ({But not} 28... Qxf7 $4 29. Rxb6+ Ka8 30. Qxc5 {and White is winning. }) 29. Bxg6 $1 {White sacrifices the exchange for a couple of pawns and excellent play on the light squares. It is enough to give White some pressure, but not quite enough to truly threaten Black.} Nxb3 30. cxb3 Rd4 31. Qe2 Rhd8 32. Be4 c4 $1 33. bxc4 Qxc4 34. Qxc4 Rxc4 35. Rc1 Rc7 36. Rxc7 Kxc7 {The endgame should be difficult to lose and impossible to win for both sides. Nevertheless, they play on for another forty moves $1} 37. Kc2 b5 38. b4 Rg8 39. Kb3 Kb6 40. a4 bxa4+ 41. Kxa4 Rd8 42. Bg6 Rd2 43. Bxh5 Rxh2 44. Bg6 Rh3 45. Be4 Rxg3 46. Kb3 Rg8 47. Kc4 Rd8 48. Bd3 Rd6 49. Be4 Rd4+ 50. Kc3 Kb5 51. Bd3+ Ka4 52. Bc2+ Ka3 53. b5 Rb4 54. Bd3 Ka4 55. Kd2 Ka5 56. Ke3 Kb6 57. Be2 Kc5 58. Bd3 Rb3 59. Ke4 Kd6 60. Be2 Rb4+ 61. Ke3 Kd5 62. Bd3 Rb3 63. b6 Kc6 64. Ke4 Kd6 65. Ke3 Kc6 66. Ke4 Kxb6 67. Bf1 Rb1 68. Bh3 Re1+ 69. Kd5 Re3 70. Bf5 Rxf3 71. Kxe5 Rxf5+ 72. Kxf5 {and here, the referee blew his whistle to make the players stop.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.09.02"] [Round "1"] [White "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2687"] [BlackElo "2775"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "100"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. a4 $5 ({This is a somewhat unusual idea. The main line is, of course,} 6. Nxe5 {, which Aronian has faced in countless games.}) 6... a6 ({As far as I could determine, in Aronian's only other game in this line, he played} 6... Be7 7. Nc3 O-O 8. d4 e4 $5 9. Nxe4 Nxe4 10. Rxe4 a6 11. Bd3 (11. Bf1 $5) 11... d5 12. Re3 Nb4 13. Bf1 Bf5 14. c3 Nc6 15. Bd3 (15. a5 $5) 15... Qd7 16. Qc2 Bxd3 17. Qxd3 Rfe8 { with equal chances in Nakamura,H (2776)-Aronian,L (2777) Zuerich 2015.}) 7. Nxe5 Be7 8. Bf1 Nxe5 ({Now, we are entering virgin territory. Previously, Black played} 8... O-O 9. Nf3 Nf5 10. d4 d5 11. g3 (11. c3 $5) 11... h6 12. c3 Nd6 13. Ne5 Nxe5 14. dxe5 Ne4 {as seen in Cornette,M (2555)-Van Foreest,J (2644) Chess.com INT 2020, and now} 15. Be3 {would have given White a minimal edge.}) 9. Rxe5 O-O 10. d4 Ne8 11. Nc3 Bf6 12. Re1 d5 13. a5 {White grabs space and has some pressure. Black, of course, has a solid position and with symmetrical pawn distribution and just one open file on the board, it will not take much to tip the balance back to equality.} c6 14. Bf4 Bg5 15. Be5 Bf6 16. Qd2 Bxe5 17. Rxe5 Nf6 18. f3 (18. h3 $5) 18... Be6 19. Na4 Qd6 20. b4 ({ Niemann decides to fix the pawns on the queenside but he could also have kept the option of putting pressure against Black's backward b7-pawn in reserve and instead opt for something like} 20. Rae1 Nd7 21. R5e3 {when White should have a clear advantage. The text move, however, is also rather unpleasant for Black. }) 20... Nd7 21. Re3 Rae8 22. Rae1 Re7 23. Bd3 Rfe8 24. R1e2 g6 25. c3 f6 26. Qe1 Kf7 27. Qh4 {White launches an attack against Black's greatest weakness: the kingside.} Nf8 28. Qh6 Bc8 29. Rxe7+ Rxe7 30. Rxe7+ Qxe7 31. Kf2 Qd6 32. g3 Kg8 33. Bf1 {The idea is to exchange the light-squared bishops and then target the b7-pawn.} Qc7 34. Nc5 Ne6 35. Nd3 ({The computer prefers} 35. Nxe6 { but after} Bxe6 36. Bd3 Qe7 {Black has decent chances of saving a draw, even if it is quite uncomfortable to go for this line.}) 35... Ng7 36. Qe3 Kf7 37. Qh6 Kg8 38. Nc5 Ne6 39. Na4 Ng7 40. Nb6 Be6 {With the time control reached and White not having made any discernable progress, Aronian may have started counting on saving this game. Niemann, however, keeps pressing.} 41. Qh4 $6 g5 $1 {Cooly played. Now, Black is okay according to the engine, even the h7-pawn now appears slightly vulnerable.} 42. Qh6 Qf7 $6 (42... Qe7 $5) 43. g4 f5 $5 { Playing for active counterplay.} 44. Qxg5 fxg4 45. Qd8+ Ne8 46. Be2 Kf8 47. Qg5 Nd6 48. Qd8+ Ne8 49. Qg5 Nd6 50. Qd8+ Ne8 {and the players agreed to a draw.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.09.02"] [Round "1"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D50"] [WhiteElo "2758"] [BlackElo "2773"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "130"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 d5 4. Nc3 c5 5. cxd5 cxd4 6. Qxd4 exd5 7. Bg5 Be7 8. e3 O-O 9. Rd1 ({The previous theoretical battles between Mamedyarov and So in this line have primarily been focused around} 9. Be2 {such as in Mamedyarov,S (2759)-So,W (2776) Stavanger 2022. The text move has only really become popular within the last year or so.}) 9... Be6 10. Bd3 h6 11. Bh4 Nc6 12. Qa4 Qb6 13. Rd2 Rfd8 14. O-O Rac8 (14... Kf8 15. Bb1 Na5 16. Qb5 Nc4 17. Qxb6 axb6 18. Re2 Bg4 ({or} 18... g5 19. Bg3 Bg4 20. h3 Bxf3 21. gxf3 d4 22. exd4 Rxd4 { with about equal chances in Le,Q (2709)-Vidit,S (2723) Prague 2022}) 19. Rc2 Bf5 20. Re2 Bg4 21. h3 Bxf3 22. gxf3 d4 23. exd4 Rxd4 {with equal chances in Le,Q (2728)-Oparin,G (2683) Chess.com INT 2022.}) 15. Rfd1 ({A couple of other recent top games saw} 15. h3 Kf8 ({or} 15... a6 16. Rc1 Kf8 17. Bb1 Na5 18. Qd4 Qxd4 19. Nxd4 Nc4 20. Rdc2 {with a small but clear advantage for White, Wojtaszek,R (2705)-Van Foreest,J (2671) Wijk aan Zee 2021}) 16. Bb1 Na5 17. Qb5 Nc4 18. Qxb6 axb6 19. Re2 Nxb2 20. Rxb2 Rxc3 21. Rxb6 {with a marginal advantage for White in Praggnanandhaa,R (2642)-Ding,L (2806) chess24.com INT 2022.}) 15... Kf8 $1 ({In another recent game, Black instead went} 15... Qb4 $6 16. Qc2 d4 17. exd4 Bg4 18. Bf5 Bxf3 19. gxf3 Ra8 20. a3 Qb6 21. d5 {and White was already well on the way to winning in Bruzon Batista,L (2618)-Vazquez,G (2561) Dulles 2022.}) 16. Bb5 a6 17. Bxc6 Rxc6 18. Qd4 Rdc8 19. Qd3 $6 ({ White should have played} 19. h3 $5 {when he would still have maintained an edge. After the text move, Black is fully back in the game.}) 19... g5 $1 20. Bg3 Bb4 21. Be5 Ne4 {Now, Black is almost taking over the initiative.} 22. Rc2 Bxc3 23. Bxc3 Bf5 24. Bd4 Qb5 25. Qa3+ Kg8 26. Rxc6 bxc6 27. Qe7 Be6 $6 (27... Qe2 $1 {would have given Black the better chances, but with such a vulnerable king, it is understandable that So was a little reticent to send the queen to e2.}) 28. b4 a5 29. a3 axb4 30. axb4 Qb8 31. Be5 Re8 32. Bxb8 Rxe7 {The queens are off the board and a draw seems to be a likely result. But the players are far from done.} 33. Nd4 Rb7 34. Be5 Bd7 35. f3 f6 36. fxe4 fxe5 37. Nf3 Rxb4 38. exd5 cxd5 39. Rxd5 Bc6 40. Rxe5 Kf7 41. Kf2 Rb2+ 42. Kg3 Re2 43. Rc5 Be4 { White has won a pawn but it looks like it is impossible for him to make any progress. That, however, does not mean that Mamedyarov won't give it a shot.} 44. Rc3 Kf6 45. Ra3 h5 46. h4 g4 $6 ({It was better to play} 46... gxh4+ 47. Nxh4 Bc6 {and it seems unlikely that White will be able to make any meaningful progress.}) 47. Ra6+ Kg7 48. Nd4 Rxg2+ 49. Kf4 Bd3 50. Rd6 $6 (50. Ra3 Bh7 51. Ra5 {was a better winning try.}) 50... Rf2+ 51. Ke5 Kf7 52. e4 g3 53. Rd7+ Kg8 54. Rd8+ Rf8 55. Rxf8+ Kxf8 56. Kf4 g2 57. Nf3 Ke7 58. Kg3 Bxe4 59. Kxg2 Bxf3+ 60. Kxf3 Kf7 61. Kf4 Kf6 62. Ke4 Ke6 63. Kf4 Kf6 64. Ke4 Ke6 65. Kf4 Kf6 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.09.02"] [Round "1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2864"] [BlackElo "2792"] [Annotator "Rafael Leitão"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [TimeControl "5400+30"] {[%evp 0,85,29,25,27,13,13,13,6,-18,-15,-15,27,16,9,24,22,-1,38,19,26,11,11,13, 8,9,14,16,15,23,25,16,30,2,0,16,4,5,12,12,12,7,0,0,0,0,0,0,30,3,23,42,29,35,78, 61,89,85,74,82,82,94,86,88,96,90,113,93,106,72,109,99,163,144,201,173,233,217, 208,183,182,174,208,228,221,208,278,290]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. cxd5 {The first important moment. Nepomniachtchi has been confidently playing the line with 4. Nc3 c5, which sometimes leads to long forced draws. This system was played by So in this round. Instead of getting into a theoretical battle, Carlsen tries to take the game into his own turf.} exd5 5. Nc3 c6 {The problem for White in this line is that there is no way to prevent the black bishop from developing to f5. Usually in the Queen's Gambit exchange variation it's possible to avoid this by placing a bishop on d3 or the queen on c2. In this game's move order, Black can force the development of the bishop, even if he has to play g6 first.} 6. Bf4 {The third most popular move, simply ignoring 6.. .Bf5.} (6. Bg5 Be7 7. Qc2 g6 {is hugely theoretical.}) (6. Qc2 {is also popular. Now Black can choose between 6...Be7, 6...g6 or 6... Bd6.}) 6... Bf5 ( 6... Bd6 7. Bxd6 Qxd6 8. e3 {was played in Caruana-Karjakin, Wijk aan Zee 2022. }) 7. e3 Nbd7 8. h3 $5 {With this move White plans to play g2-g4 and create some annoyance for the f5-bishop.} Be7 (8... Qb6 {is a critical test.} 9. Bd3 { And now Black can choose between the bishop exchange or grabbing the b2-pawn.} (9. Qc1 {is also possible, but looks harmless.}) 9... Qxb2 $5 (9... Bxd3) 10. Bxf5 Qxc3+ 11. Kf1 {with a double-edged position.}) (8... h6 {also looks reasonable.} 9. g4 Bh7) 9. g4 Be4 $5 {Curiously this move was tried before by Carlsen himself in a blitz game against Anand.} (9... Bg6 {is the most popular move.}) 10. Be2 {The first new move.} (10. Bg2 O-O {was Anand-Carlsen, Moscow 2009 (blitz).}) 10... Qb6 (10... O-O {As I like to say my students: if you are in doubt, just castle. But I don't think this applies to 2790+ players as they don't have too many doubts.} 11. g5 {and now 11...Nh5, 11...Ne8 or 11...Bxf3 are possible, with equal play in all cases.} (11. O-O Bxf3 $5 {The idea is to exchange the knight before it starts to jump.} 12. Bxf3 Nb6 {followed by 12... Bd6 with an equal position.}) 11... Ne8 (11... Nh5) (11... Bxf3)) 11. Qb3 Qxb3 12. axb3 {White doesn't have any particular advantage, but Carlsen thrives in this type of position.} Bg6 (12... h6 {with the idea of going back with the bishop to h7, is interesting. A fine point is that after} 13. Nxe4 Nxe4 14. Bd3 {Black has the accurate} Bd6 $1 {with equality, since after} 15. Bxe4 {he has the intermediate check} Bb4+ $1 16. Ke2 dxe4) 13. Nh4 $1 {Going after the bishop. From now on, Nepomniachtchi starts to play small inaccuracies.} Bb4 $6 {White gets a small plus after this move. 13...Ne4 or 13...Bc2 are more dynamic moves.} (13... Bc2 $5 14. Nf5 (14. Kd2 $5 {this pawn sacrifice is also interesting.} Bxb3 15. Nf5 Bf8) 14... Bxf5 15. gxf5 g6 {is close to equality, althought White looks a bit more comfortable.}) (13... Ne4 14. Nxg6 hxg6 15. f3 Bh4+ 16. Kf1 Ng3+ 17. Bxg3 Bxg3 18. b4 $1 {And again the position is close to equal, but White can try to press with the plan of b4-b5.}) 14. Nxg6 (14. Rc1 { Delaying the bishop's capture is also possible.}) 14... hxg6 15. f3 $1 { Taking the e4-square from the knight and preparing Kf2-g2.} Nf8 16. Kf2 Ne6 17. Bg3 {White has the bishop pair and a small advantage in this endgame.} Ke7 18. h4 a6 19. Kg2 Rad8 20. Bf2 {The problem with Black's position is that he has no active plan. I suspect this is particulartly difficult for Nepomniachtchi, being such an agressive player that thrives in positions where he has the initiative.} Bd6 {The computer suggests the strange 20...Kd7 followed by a plan with Ng8-e7. This is simply unintelligible for humans. With this retreat, Nepomniachtchi wants, I suppose, to prepare c6-c5 in some way, as this is his only active attempt. But Carlsen is going to neutralize this idea.} (20... c5 $2 21. Na2 {and the bishop is badly placed on b4.}) 21. Bd3 Bb8 (21... c5 $2 22. g5 $1 {and the d-pawn falls.}) 22. Na4 $1 Bd6 23. Be1 $1 {[%CAl Gb3b4] White wants to play b4, as this will shut the c5 break forever. Maybe Black should accept this fate, but he decides to act.} c5 $6 24. Nxc5 Nxc5 25. dxc5 Bxc5 26. Bd2 Rhe8 27. b4 Bb6 28. b5 $1 {Chess looks simple in the hands of such a magnificent player. White not only improves the pawn structure, but actually might start an attack on Black's king.} a5 {Black decides to sacrifice a pawn.} (28... axb5 29. Bxb5 {and Black's king is now shaky in the center of the board. White has plans with Bb4+, g5 and then trying to open the center and attack the king.}) 29. Bxa5 Bxa5 30. Rxa5 Kd6 31. Kf2 Re7 (31... Ra8 32. b4 Nd7 {is the lesser evil.}) (31... Nd7 32. Ra7 $1 Nc5 33. Rd1 Nxd3+ 34. Rxd3 {and the rook endgame is very unpleasant for Black.}) 32. Rd1 Rh8 33. g5 $1 Nd7 34. Ra4 Nc5 (34... Nb6 35. Rd4 {and White is ready to open the position with e4, with a decisive advantage.}) 35. Rg4 {The threat now is 36.Bc4.} Kc7 ( 35... Nxd3+ 36. Rxd3 {and the rook endgame is easily winning, for instance:} Rd7 37. Rgd4 Kc5 38. b4+ Kxb5 39. Rxd5+ Rxd5 40. Rxd5+ Kxb4 41. Rd7 b5 42. Rxf7 {and the kingside pawns decide the game.}) 36. Bb1 $1 Re5 37. Ba2 {Now the d5-pawn is lost.} f6 38. gxf6 gxf6 39. Rxd5 Rxd5 40. Bxd5 Nd3+ 41. Kg3 Ne5 42. Rf4 Rd8 43. b6+ {The kingside pawns are about to fall and it's time to resign. As in Karpov's best games, it's even hard to point out exactly where the losing side went wrong. The advantage grew steadily until it was impossible to defend. A textbook victory by Carlsen.} 1-0
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