[Event "2nd UzChess Cup Masters"] [Site "Tashkent UZB"] [Date "2025.06.26"] [Round "8.1"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A10"] [WhiteElo "2767"] [BlackElo "2782"] [PlyCount "57"] [GameId "2193073432560655"] [EventDate "2025.06.19"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,57,16,-24,37,11,34,2,7,52,23,23,9,-9,-14,-9,24,10,13,10,5,4,16,37,26,4,-54,29,66,11,54,116,77,95,79,56,113,135,136,143,153,105,117,199,189,246,-36,222,15,202,41,247,225,235,288,218,289,362,354,425]} 1. c4 g6 2. e4 e5 3. Nf3 (3. d4 {is also very interesting.} Nf6 4. Nf3 (4. f3 {has done very well, and was played by Pragg himself last year against Abdusattorov. (That said, that was one of the few games White did not win in this line.)}) 4... exd4 5. e5 Bb4+ (5... Ne4 6. Qxd4 Bb4+ 7. Kd1 (7. Nbd2) 7... f5 8. exf6 Nxf6 9. Bh6 (9. Qh4)) 6. Bd2 Qe7 7. Bxb4 Qxb4+ 8. Qd2 (8. Nbd2 $5) 8... Qxd2+ 9. Nbxd2 Nh5 10. Nxd4 Nc6) 3... Nc6 (3... Bg7 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. Nc3 O-O) 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Bg7 6. Ne2 $146 (6. Be3 Qf6 7. Nxc6 dxc6 8. Nc3 Qe7) 6... d6 7. Nbc3 {Back to a few games, but only for one move.} f5 {Turning it into a sort of Averbakh Modern.} 8. exf5 Bxf5 9. Ng3 Be6 10. Be2 Nge7 11. O-O O-O 12. Bg5 h6 13. Be3 $11 {/?} d5 $2 {Often an equalizer, but Black's vulnerability on the a2-g8 diagonal gets him into serious trouble.} 14. cxd5 Nxd5 15. Bc4 Bxc3 16. bxc3 Kh7 {Covering h6 and getting out of the way of any checks on the diagonal helps, but the loose bishop on e6 is still a big problem.} 17. Bc5 $1 Rf4 (17... Nxc3 $4 18. Qxd8 Rfxd8 19. Bxe6 $18) (17... Re8 $142 18. Re1 Nf4 {It seems for a moment as if Black has escaped, but after} 19. Qa4 {his problems persist: now it's the knight that's loose.} Qf6 20. Bf1 a6 21. Rad1 Bf7 22. Qc2 $16 {/+- Black has avoided any immediate tactical problems, and yet he's still in trouble. The issue now is the f6 square in particular and the a1-h8 diagonal in general. White's knight will come to e4 and he'll reroute the bishop on c5 to the b2, c3, or d4 (whatever's safe and available) after which Black's problems will be obvious.}) 18. Bb3 $18 b6 19. Ba3 Na5 20. c4 $5 (20. Re1) 20... Nf6 (20... Nxc4 21. Bc1 Rh4 $2 (21... Qf6 22. Bxf4 Nxf4 23. Ne4 $18) 22. Qe2 $18) 21. Qc1 Rh4 22. Re1 Qg8 23. Qc3 Qf7 24. Rxe6 $1 {Time for the kill.} Qxe6 25. Re1 Ne4 (25... Qf7 $4 26. Re7 $18) (25... Qc6 26. Re7+ Kg8 27. Ba4 $1 Qxa4 28. Qxf6 $18) 26. Qc2 Re8 27. f3 {The end.} Qe5 28. Nxe4 $1 {The other captures are also winning, but Pragg chooses the best move, not afraid of a check.} Qxh2+ 29. Kf2 {Nf6+ is coming, and if it needs support there's Bb2 and Qc3 at the ready. An utter rout.} 1-0 [Event "2nd UzChess Cup Masters"] [Site "Tashkent UZB"] [Date "2025.06.26"] [Round "8.2"] [White "Aravindh, Chithambaram VR."] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B42"] [WhiteElo "2749"] [BlackElo "2714"] [PlyCount "88"] [GameId "2193073432560656"] [EventDate "2025.06.19"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,88,22,54,20,47,28,20,13,20,22,35,47,42,47,27,28,40,30,8,12,8,12,3,6,11,-20,6,0,-10,-28,-18,-29,-1,-33,7,8,-5,6,29,43,52,4,43,44,58,50,23,24,4,38,7,30,24,19,14,-14,-17,-105,-42,-105,-27,-63,-28,-70,-77,-125,-69,-45,-52,5,-120,-91,-8,-110,-103,-207,-68,-148,-151,-142,-117,-235,-244,-129,-361,-578,-583,-774,-754,-650] Rapport wins again! As for Aravindh, minus four?? Definitely a baptism by fire for him.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 {The Wrath of (the) Kan Sicilian...} 5. Bd3 Bc5 6. Nb3 Ba7 7. Qe2 Nc6 8. Be3 d6 9. N1d2 Nf6 10. O-O Bxe3 (10... O-O) (10... e5) 11. Qxe3 O-O 12. Rfd1 Qc7 13. c4 $146 {Finally a new move, but not a new idea as White often sets up the Maroczy Bind (pawns on c4 and e4 in the Open Sicilian pawn structure) against the Kan, which is at least one reason why the related Taimanov Variation tends to be more popular.} Nb4 14. Nf3 (14. Nd4 $142) 14... e5 $11 {White isn't well-equipped to use the hole on d5, and in the meantime Black takes d4 away from White's knights and makes room for his bishop to enter the game.} 15. a3 Nc6 (15... Nxd3 16. Qxd3 Rd8 $1 17. Nxe5 Be6 $1 {Maybe Rapport missed this idea?} 18. Nf3 Bxc4 19. Qc2 Rac8 $11) 16. h3 $14 Be6 17. Nbd2 (17. Nc1) 17... Nh5 (17... Nd7 $142) 18. Bf1 $14 Nf4 19. Rac1 Qe7 (19... f6 $142 $14) 20. g3 $14 {/?} (20. b4 $16) 20... Ng6 (20... Nxh3+ $1 21. Kh2 g5 $1 22. Bxh3 g4 23. Nh4 gxh3 {and now White remains better after either 24.Nf5 or 24.Ndf3.}) 21. b4 $16 Rad8 22. Bg2 (22. b5 $142) (22. Nb3 $142) 22... h6 23. Re1 $6 {I suppose this was played in anticipation of Black going for ...f5. At the very least, it seems to be too soon to worry about this.} (23. Qb6 $14) 23... Rd7 (23... Qc7 $11) (23... Qd7 $11) 24. Kh2 (24. Nf1 $14) 24... Qd8 $11 25. Bf1 Nge7 26. b5 axb5 27. cxb5 Na5 28. Nc4 f5 (28... Nxc4 29. Bxc4 Bxc4 30. Rxc4 f5 $15) 29. Nfd2 $2 (29. Nxa5 Qxa5 30. exf5 Nxf5 31. Qd3 $11) 29... Nxc4 30. Bxc4 Bxc4 31. Rxc4 Kh8 $17 {/-+ Black is well set up for his attack, which comes surprisingly quickly.} 32. Kg2 (32. Nf3) 32... d5 (32... f4 $1) 33. exd5 Nxd5 $2 (33... Rxd5) 34. Qe2 $4 (34. Qxe5 f4 35. Rd4 fxg3 36. Kxg3 $11 {White is completely back in the game.}) 34... e4 $19 35. Nf1 f4 $1 36. Qxe4 fxg3 37. fxg3 Re7 $1 {First driving the queen away from the defense of the kingside, and only then doubling on the f-file.} 38. Qb1 Ref7 39. Kg1 Qd7 $2 (39... Qf6 40. Rc2 Qd4+ 41. Kh1 Nc3 42. Qc1 Rf2 $1 43. Rd2 (43. Rxc3 $2 Qd5+ 44. Kg1 Qg2#) 43... Rxd2 44. Nxd2 Qd5+ $1 45. Kg1 Qd3 46. Kg2 Ne2 $19 {finishes White.}) 40. Qd3 $2 (40. Rg4 {lets White put up a fight, though he should still lose from here.}) 40... Rf3 $1 41. Qe2 Qxh3 42. Rd4 Rxg3+ $1 43. Nxg3 Qxg3+ 44. Kh1 Rf2 (44... Rf2 45. Qe8+ Kh7 46. Qe4+ g6 $19 {White has no good checks, so he will lose the queen or get mated.}) 0-1 [Event "2nd UzChess Cup Masters"] [Site "Tashkent UZB"] [Date "2025.06.26"] [Round "8.3"] [White "Yakubboev, Nodirbek"] [Black "Sindarov, Javokhir"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2659"] [BlackElo "2710"] [PlyCount "99"] [GameId "2193073432560657"] [EventDate "2025.06.19"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,99,16,30,17,19,19,14,20,24,21,24,29,36,36,36,27,14,37,55,42,38,38,57,-136,46,-61,39,31,31,35,49,45,28,29,-63,7,-46,-14,-120,-49,-57,-13,-89,-11,-14,-21,25,-114,12,17,-66,118,150,150,130,-63,86,-117,87,55,94,96,-27,-9,92,1,16,-142,-1,-1,-1,-148,-75,-55,-60,0,-34,-194,-27,-186,-72,-68,-84,-58,-71,-76,-52,4,-113,-101,-26,-10,9,-1,-1,46,-19,-1,-29,-30,-77]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. Qc2 dxc4 6. e4 Nb6 (6... c5) 7. Be3 Bd7 8. Be2 Bb4 9. O-O Bxc3 10. bxc3 Ba4 11. Qb1 Bc6 12. Nd2 Na4 13. Rc1 $146 (13. Qc2 b5 14. Rad1 Qe7 15. Rfe1 O-O 16. f3 h6 17. Qc1 a5 18. Nf1 Rfd8 19. Ng3 Be8 20. d5 Nd7 21. Bf1 Ndc5 22. e5 Rxd5 23. Nf5 exf5 24. Rxd5 Ne6 25. Bf2 Bc6 26. Rd2 f4 27. Rdd1 Qg5 28. Kh1 Qf5 29. h3 Re8 30. Rd2 Qg5 31. Qc2 Qe7 32. Qc1 Rd8 33. Rxd8+ Qxd8 34. Kh2 Qe7 {0-1 Ding,L (2791)-Kramnik,V (2753) Legends of Chess Prelim chess24.com INT rapid 2020 (5.2)}) 13... b5 $11 14. Bd1 Nb6 15. a4 a6 16. Bc2 h6 (16... O-O {was fine (arguably preferable), and if} 17. Bg5 {the ugly and greedy} Nxa4 18. Bxa4 bxa4 $11 {is fine. Now 19.Re1 or 19.f3, in both cases going the extra mile to secure the e-pawn, can be recommended, but the speculative} 19. Nxc4 {isn't bad either, e.g.} Bxe4 20. Bxf6 Qd5 $1 21. Ne3 Qc6 22. Qb2 gxf6 {when Black's slightly exposed king and suboptimal pawn structure gives White good compensation for the two pawns.}) 17. d5 $1 exd5 18. Bc5 $1 (18. e5 $1 Ne4 19. Nxe4 dxe4 20. Rd1 $1 Qc8 21. Qb4 Nxa4 22. Bxa4 bxa4 23. Qc5 $1 Qb7 $1 24. Rab1 Bb5 $8 25. e6 $1 Qc6 $8 26. exf7+ Kxf7 27. Rxb5 $1 Qxb5 28. Qxc7+ $44 {White has full compensation for his enormous material deficit; indeed, Black must be careful not to get mated over the next few moves.}) 18... Nbd7 $6 (18... Nfd7 $142 $11) 19. Ba3 Ne5 20. f4 Nd3 21. Bxd3 cxd3 22. e5 $14 Nh5 23. g3 $6 (23. Qb4 $1 $14) 23... d4 $1 {Black immediately seizes on the weaknesses created by White's last move, aiming to play ...Qd5 and invade on g2 and/or h1.} 24. Qb4 $1 {Stopping ...Qd5 and reminding Black of his own worries about king safety.} Nxf4 $3 25. gxf4 Qh4 26. Nf1 $8 d2 $1 {Both grandmasters are handling this part of the game extremely well.} 27. Rd1 ({The remarkable} 27. cxd4 {is also possible, e.g.} dxc1=Q 28. Rxc1 a5 29. Qc5 Bd7 30. axb5 Rb8 31. Rb1 {and the position is somehow equal after} (31. Ne3 Rxb5 32. Qxc7 Qxf4 33. Nc4 $1 Qxd4+ 34. Kh1 $11 {is also equal as Black must go for a perpetual before Nd6+ clobbers him.}) 31... Rb7 ({or} 31... Kd8 {.})) 27... O-O-O 28. axb5 axb5 29. cxd4 g5 $2 {Finally, a mistake from one of the players.} (29... Qg4+ $1 30. Ng3 $8 h5 $1 31. Rxd2 h4 32. Qc3 $8 Bb7 $8 33. Bd6 $8 Rd7 $8 34. Rda2 $8 hxg3 $8 35. Ra8+ Bxa8 36. Rxa8+ Kb7 {Now White can force a perpetual or take the rook and go for an equal ending.} 37. Ra7+ Kxa7 $8 38. Qa5+ Kb7 39. Qxb5+ Ka7 40. Qa5+ Kb7 41. Qb5+ Kc8 42. Qa6+ Kb8 $8 (42... Kd8 $4 43. Qa8#) 43. Qb6+ Kc8 44. Qa6+ $11) 30. Qc3 $16 {/+-} Bb7 31. Bd6 $2 (31. Be7 $1 b4 $1 (31... Rd7 $2 32. Bf6 Rg8 33. f5 $18) 32. Qxd2 Rd7 33. Qxb4 Qg4+ 34. Ng3 Qf3 35. d5 $8 Rxd5 36. Rxd5 Qxd5 (36... Bxd5 37. Qd2 $1 $18) 37. Kf2 $1 Re8 38. Bf6 $1 Qg2+ 39. Ke1 Qxh2 40. Ra3 gxf4 41. Qxf4 $18 {White hasn't completely consolidated once and for all, but it's close enough.}) 31... Rd7 $14 32. f5 b4 $1 33. Qxb4 (33. Qxd2 $142 cxd6 34. d5 Rc7 $1 $14) 33... Qe4 $11 34. d5 Qxd5 35. Rxd2 Qh1+ 36. Kf2 cxd6 37. Rc2+ (37. Rc1+ Kb8 38. Rxd6 $11) 37... Kb8 38. Rca2 Qg2+ 39. Ke1 Qe4+ 40. Qxe4 Bxe4 41. Ng3 Bb7 42. Re2 (42. Rd1 $11) (42. Rb1 $11) 42... dxe5 43. Rxe5 Rdd8 (43... Rc8) 44. Re7 Rhe8 45. f6 $8 Rxe7+ 46. fxe7 Re8 47. Nf5 Be4 (47... Bc8 48. Rd1 $1 Kc7 49. Rc1+ Kd7 50. Kf2 $11) 48. Ra5 Bxf5 49. Rxf5 Rxe7+ 50. Kf2 {It's unusual to draw a rook ending two pawns in arrears, but in fact White will regain a pawn shortly. His threat is to play Rf6 and to meet a subsequent ...h5 with Rf5. Black has no brilliant defense to this plan, or even a tricky one, so he agrees to call it a day rather than force White to hold with rook and one pawn against rook and two.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "2nd UzChess Cup Masters"] [Site "Tashkent UZB"] [Date "2025.06.26"] [Round "8.4"] [White "Maghsoodloo, Parham"] [Black "Vokhidov, Shamsiddin"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2691"] [BlackElo "2644"] [PlyCount "60"] [GameId "2193073432560658"] [EventDate "2025.06.19"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,60,9,12,20,9,0,8,20,4,1,2,7,-7,-9,0,-13,-29,-30,-45,-44,-54,-50,-63,-63,-36,-30,-23,-24,-10,-57,-50,-82,-68,-41,-23,-53,-54,-245,-36,-20,-97,-38,-32,-34,-27,-22,-254,-36,-140,-135,-193,-217,-186,-180,-272,-304,-410,-386,-401,-438,-382,-486]} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 {This has been surprisingly common in the tournament - a pleasant surprise at that.} 4. g3 Bb4 ({No} 4... d5 {today, when after} 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 {we've seen both} Bc5 ({and} 6... Nb6 {.})) 5. Nd5 (5. Bg2) 5... Bc5 (5... e4) 6. e3 {Very rare, and only played once at the GM level.} (6. Bg2 d6 7. O-O O-O {is usual, and now White generally plays 8.d3 or 8.e3, the latter move being more popular at the moment.}) 6... O-O ({Here's the one GM-GM game, a blitz battle.} 6... d6 7. Bg2 a5 8. O-O O-O 9. d3 Ba7 10. Nxf6+ Qxf6 11. Nd2 Qg6 12. Ne4 f5 13. Nc3 Be6 14. Nd5 Rf7 15. Bd2 Raf8 16. f4 Kh8 17. Qf3 Qh6 18. Rae1 Bc8 19. Bc3 Re8 20. h3 Qg6 21. Kh2 Qh6 22. b3 Kg8 23. a3 Kh8 24. b4 g5 25. b5 g4 26. Qf2 Nd8 27. Bxa5 Ne6 28. Bc3 Nc5 29. Qd2 Kg8 30. d4 Ne4 31. Qc2 c6 32. Nb4 exf4 33. exf4 cxb5 34. cxb5 Bd7 35. Qd3 Rc8 36. Bb2 gxh3 37. Bxh3 Rg7 38. Re3 Nf6 39. Kg2 Qg6 40. a4 Bb6 41. d5 Bxe3 42. Qxe3 Re8 43. Qf3 Rge7 44. Rf2 Re3 45. Bd4 Rxf3 46. Rxf3 Ng4 {0-1 Rustemov,A (2525)-Kamsky,G (2663) Titled Tuesday intern op 21st Mar Late Chess.com INT blitz 2023 (10)}) 7. a3 $146 e4 8. Nh4 {Maghsoodloo doesn't need any special occasion to play aggressive and risky chess, but having lost in the previous round and still hoping to fight for the top places he may have some extra motivation to push the envelope.} (8. Ng5 $142 Re8 (8... Nxd5 $143 9. Nxe4 $1 $11 {is the point.}) 9. Bg2 Nxd5 10. Nxe4 $1 Rxe4 11. cxd5 Re8 12. dxc6 dxc6 13. Qc2 (13. O-O Qd3 {is still equal but unpleasant. White's problem is that}) (13. d4 $4 {blunders the pawn because of the pin on the e-file.} Bxd4 $19) 13... Bf8 14. O-O c5 15. b3 $11) 8... d6 $6 (8... Ne5 $142 $15) 9. b4 $11 {/?} Bb6 10. Bb2 Nxd5 11. cxd5 Ne5 12. Qc2 f5 (12... g5 $1 13. Ng2 Bh3 14. Qxe4 Qd7 $44) 13. Be2 (13. a4 $1 a5 14. b5 $14) 13... Bd7 $6 (13... a5 $142) 14. O-O $6 (14. a4 $1 a5 15. b5 $16) 14... Qe7 $11 15. f4 $5 exf3 16. Nxf3 f4 17. gxf4 Rxf4 18. Nxe5 dxe5 {White is objectively find, but the breeze blowing through his kingside should make him nervous.} 19. Kh1 Rh4 20. Rf2 Qd6 21. Bc4 $6 (21. Raf1 {was better, offering the d-pawn. Black should refuse the offer, at least for now.} Re8 (21... Qxd5+ $143 22. Bf3 Qd6 23. Bxb7 $14) 22. Bf3 Bb5 23. Rg1 Rf8 $11) 21... Rf8 (21... Bh3 $142 22. Rg1 Rf8 23. Rxf8+ Qxf8 $1 24. d6+ Kh8 25. Bd5 $8 c6 26. Bxe5 $1 cxd5 27. Bxg7+ Qxg7 28. Rxg7 Kxg7 29. Qc3+ d4 30. exd4 Bxd4 31. Qc7+ Kg6 32. d7 Rg4 33. Qd6+ Kf7 34. Qd5+ Kg7 35. Qg8+ $3 Kxg8 36. d8=Q+ Kf7 37. Qd7+ $15 {White seems to survive here, but this is a ridiculous and long line. Practically speaking, White was in danger after his 21st move.}) 22. Raf1 Rf6 23. Rf3 $2 ({White had several satisfactory alternatives, including} 23. Rxf6 gxf6 24. a4 $11) 23... Be8 $2 {A reprieve from the warden, but it's short-lived.} (23... e4 $1 24. R3f2 Bg4 $3 $19 25. Bxf6 $2 Bf3+ 26. Kg1 (26. Rxf3 Qxh2#) 26... Qg3+ $1 27. hxg3 Rh1#) 24. Qc1 $2 (24. Rf5 $1 $11) 24... Bg6 $19 25. Rg3 $2 (25. Rxf6 $142 gxf6 26. Rg1) 25... Be4+ 26. Kg1 Rg6 $1 {Too many white pieces are stuck on the queenside for him to mount a successful defense.} 27. Qe1 Rh3 $1 {Threatening to take with the g-rook, followed by 29...Rh1+, 30...Rh2+, and 31...Rg2+ (and then 32...Qh6#).} 28. Bxe5 {Desperation.} Qxe5 29. d6+ Bd5 30. Bxd5+ Qxd5 0-1 [Event "2nd UzChess Cup Masters"] [Site "Tashkent UZB"] [Date "2025.06.26"] [Round "8.5"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C78"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2767"] [PlyCount "56"] [GameId "2193073432560659"] [EventDate "2025.06.19"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,56,19,19,28,29,22,13,11,10,9,9,35,34,19,34,35,26,-10,16,21,21,40,21,33,38,33,17,21,-57,40,46,54,39,43,-31,38,66,40,1,-168,0,0,-76,1,-18,16,7,10,-28,10,17,7,9,6,21,9,9,1]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Bc5 6. c3 O-O (6... b5) 7. d4 Ba7 8. Re1 (8. Bg5) (8. dxe5) 8... d6 9. h3 (9. Bxc6 bxc6 10. Bg5 (10. h3)) 9... b5 10. Bc2 Bb7 11. Be3 exd4 12. cxd4 Nb4 13. Nbd2 Nxc2 14. Qxc2 Qd7 15. d5 Bxe3 16. Rxe3 Rac8 17. Nd4 c6 18. dxc6 Bxc6 19. Nxc6 $146 {New, but it doesn't seem dangerous.} (19. Qd3 Rfe8 20. Rd1 (20. Rae1 g6 21. Nf1 Nh5 22. Ng3 Nxg3 23. Rxg3 Qb7 24. Rge3 Re7 25. f3 Qb6 26. Kh1 Bb7 27. Qd2 Rce8 28. Nc2 Re5 29. Rd3 R5e6 30. Ne3 h5 31. Rd1 a5 32. Nd5 Bxd5 33. Rxd5 Rc8 34. a3 b4 35. axb4 axb4 36. Qd4 Rc5 37. b3 Kh7 38. Ra1 Qc6 39. Kh2 Re7 40. Rxd6 Qc7 41. Kh1 Rc1+ 42. Rxc1 Qxc1+ 43. Qd1 Qf4 44. Qd2 Qg3 45. Rd7 Rxd7 46. Qxd7 Qe1+ 47. Kh2 Kg7 48. Qd4+ Kg8 49. Qd8+ Kg7 50. h4 Qe3 51. Qd5 Qe1 52. Qd4+ Kg8 53. e5 Qc3 54. Qd8+ Kg7 55. Qd5 Qe1 56. Qe4 Qxe4 57. fxe4 Kf8 58. Kg3 Ke7 59. Kf3 g5 60. hxg5 Ke6 61. g3 Kxe5 62. Ke3 Kd6 63. Kd4 Ke6 64. Kc4 Ke5 65. Kxb4 Kxe4 66. Kc5 Kf3 67. b4 Kxg3 68. b5 h4 69. b6 h3 70. b7 h2 71. b8=Q+ Kg2 72. Qb2+ {1-0 Muzychuk,A (2526)-Koneru,H (2543) Norway Chess (Women) 13th Stavanger 2025 (2)}) 20... g6 21. a3 Qd8 22. Nxc6 Rxc6 23. Nf3 Qc7 24. Ree1 Qb7 25. Qd4 Qe7 26. b3 Rec8 27. Qd2 Kg7 28. Re3 Qc7 29. Ree1 Qe7 30. a4 bxa4 31. bxa4 Rc4 32. Qxd6 Qxd6 33. Rxd6 Nxe4 34. Rxa6 Nc5 35. Ra7 Rxa4 36. Rae7 Kf6 37. R7e3 Rca8 38. Rc3 Ne4 39. Rce3 Nc5 40. Rc3 Ne4 {½-½ Harikrishna,P (2716)-Nihal,S (2652) Bundesliga 2122 Germany 2022 (6.4)}) 19... Rxc6 20. Qd3 Qc7 21. Nf3 Re8 $11 {Black's possession of the c-file and pressure against e4 balances the weakness of d6.} 22. Rae1 g6 23. b3 Rc1 24. Qd4 Re6 25. Ng5 Re5 26. Nf3 Re6 27. Ng5 Re5 28. Nf3 Re6 {I've had the impression for several rounds that Nepo has essentially checked out of the tournament, and nothing in this game shakes that belief. It's too bad, because everyone else has been playing fierce, dynamic chess - which is customarily true of Nepo as well.} 1/2-1/2