[Event "12th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.08.22"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Gukesh, D."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2725"] [BlackElo "2776"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "90"] [GameId "2214036822996294"] [EventDate "2025.08.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. e3 a6 {A useful waiting move (waiting on White to commit his pawns or move the f1-bishop) and intending ...dxc4 followed by ...b5 and ...Bb7, leaving the c-pawn to reach ...c5 (like Superman leaping tall buildings) in a single bound.} (5... c6 {is the most common move, switching to a Semi-Slav.}) 6. b3 {Taking ...b5 off the table, but White's bishop will not be amazing on b2.} b6 7. cxd5 {This looks wrong somehow with the dark-squared bishop stuck behind the center pawns, but the general idea of taking on d5 when Black has played ...b6 and committed himself to a queenside fianchetto is standard in many 1.d4 openings.} exd5 8. Bb2 Bb7 9. g3 {The combination of g3 and e3 usually makes a poor impression and leaves White with the problem of having too many light-squared diagonal to cover, but it's okay here.} (9. Bd3 {is another normal option, while}) (9. Ne5 {followed by f4 also makes sense.} Bd6 10. f4 O-O 11. Bd3 c5 12. O-O b5 $11 (12... cxd4 13. exd4 Ne4 {0-1 Amburgy,R (2179)-Huston,G (2279) New York Fischer IM 2022 (4) is at least as good.}) 13. Bf5 $6 c4 $15 {1-0 Nakamura,H (2736)-Bacrot,E (2672) Titled Tuesday intern op 17th Aug Chess.com INT blitz 2021 (4)}) 9... Bd6 10. Bg2 Qe7 $1 $15 ({After Caruana finished his game and was talking to the commentators he mentioned that he knew about the line in this game as well and had an embarrassing story about it. He was told by Eric Rosen that the thing to do was to play ...Qe7 and castle long, as in this game, but then when he had the position against Aronian he forgot and castled short. It should be said that this isn't bad for Black - it's equal; rather, it's that the plan chosen by Gukesh gives Black the advantage.} 10... O-O 11. O-O Re8 $11 (11... Ne4 $11) 12. Rc1 Rc8 13. Rc2 Ne4 14. Ne2 a5 15. Qc1 a4 16. Rd1 axb3 17. axb3 Ra8 18. Nf4 Ndf6 19. Ne5 c5 20. Ned3 cxd4 21. Bxd4 Nd7 22. b4 Qg5 23. Qb2 h5 24. h4 Qh6 25. Rdc1 Ndf6 26. Ne5 Rac8 27. Rxc8 Bxc8 28. Nxd5 Nxd5 29. Bxe4 Nxb4 30. Rc4 Na6 31. Qxb6 Qe6 32. Rxc8 Rxc8 33. Qxa6 Qh3 34. Bg2 Rc1+ 35. Bf1 Bf8 36. Qe2 Rb1 37. Nd3 Qf5 38. Nf4 g6 39. Qd3 Qxd3 40. Nxd3 Be7 41. Kg2 Bd6 42. Nf4 Rb7 43. Nd5 Kf8 44. e4 Rb8 45. Be3 Re8 46. Bd3 Ra8 47. Bh6+ Kg8 48. Nf6+ Kh8 49. Bc4 Be5 50. Nd7 Bd4 51. Bxf7 Ra7 52. Be6 Ra6 53. Bd5 Ra7 54. Nb8 Ra3 55. Nc6 Bc5 56. Bf4 Kh7 57. Ne5 Rc3 58. Nf3 Rc2 59. Ng5+ Kg7 60. Ne6+ {1-0 Aronian,L (2748)-Caruana,F (2783) American Cup Blitz Saint Louis 2025 (8)}) 11. a4 h5 12. Qc1 (12. h4 Ne4 13. Ne2 Bb4+ $17 14. Kf1 O-O-O 15. Nf4 Rhe8 (15... a5 $142 $17) 16. Nxh5 $4 (16. a5 $1) 16... Nxf2 $1 17. Kxf2 Qxe3+ 18. Kf1 a5 $1 {The end.} 19. Bh3 Ba6+ 20. Kg2 Be2 {0-1 So,W (2772)-Nakamura,H (2736) Speed Chess Chess.com INT blitz 2021 (4.36)}) 12... Ne4 13. Nxe4 $2 $146 (13. h4 f5 $2 (13... O-O-O $142 $17) 14. O-O $14 O-O-O 15. Nxe4 $6 (15. Ne2 $1 g5 $1 16. Ba3 $1 $14) 15... fxe4 (15... dxe4 $142 $15) 16. Ng5 Kb8 17. Ba3 Nf6 18. Bxd6 Rxd6 $11 {Nakamura went on to win, but for now So is doing fine.} 19. a5 b5 20. Qc5 Nh7 21. Nxh7 Rxh7 22. f4 exf3 23. Rxf3 g5 24. hxg5 Qxg5 25. Raf1 Rd8 26. Rf8 Rhd7 27. R1f7 Rxf7 28. Rxf7 Qxg3 29. Qe7 Rg8 30. Rf8+ Rxf8 31. Qxf8+ Bc8 32. Qf3 Qe1+ 33. Kh2 Qh4+ 34. Kg1 Be6 35. Qf2 Qg5 36. Kh2 h4 37. b4 Qe7 38. Qe1 Qd6+ 39. Kh1 h3 40. Bf3 Qf8 41. Be2 Qf5 42. Kh2 Qc2 {0-1 So,W (2772)-Nakamura,H (2736) Speed Chess Chess.com INT blitz 2021 (4.21)}) 13... dxe4 $17 {/-+} 14. Nd2 h4 15. Ba3 Qe6 (15... Nf6 $142) (15... O-O-O $142) 16. Bxd6 cxd6 17. Qa3 (17. gxh4 {is the AlphaZero corollary, I suppose. Engines make a habit of shoving the h-pawn as far as possible, up to h3 in this case, so as structurally gruesome as it looks to make this capture the engine (Stockfish in this case) thinks it's the lesser of two evils.}) 17... Nf6 $2 (17... h3 $1 18. Bf1 O-O $1 $19 {Black's next ambitious idea is to play ...a5 and ...Ba6, swap off the bishops, and exploit White's light squared Swiss cheese.}) 18. Nc4 $11 {Thank you! White is back in the game.} Rd8 19. Nxb6 a5 20. gxh4 $1 Rxh4 $6 (20... Ba6 $1 21. b4 Bd3 22. bxa5 Qg4 23. Bf1 Qf5 $1 {followed by ...Ng4 gives Black enough compensation for his three(!) pawn deficit.}) 21. Rc1 $2 (21. b4 $14) (21. Bf1 $14) 21... Ba6 $1 $17 22. b4 Qg4 $6 (22... axb4 23. Qxb4 Bd3 24. Bf1 $1 $15) 23. Bf1 $8 $11 Qf3 $2 (23... Bd3 $1 24. Bxd3 exd3 25. Qxd3 axb4 $44 {Black will have enough counterplay for the pawn after, say, ...Kf8 and ...Re8.}) 24. b5 $1 $16 Ng4 $2 {This could have lost the game.} ({The obvious but sad} 24... Bb7 {was best, and equalizes unless White finds} 25. Qa2 $1 Nd7 $1 (25... Qxh1 $2 26. Rc7 Nd7 27. Nxd7 $1 Qf3 (27... Rxd7 $4 28. Rxd7 Kxd7 29. Qxf7+ Kd8 (29... Kc8 30. Qe8+ Kc7 31. Qe7+ Kb8 {and here White need not bother about the rook; mate is available:} 32. Qd8+ Bc8 (32... Ka7 33. b6#) 33. b6 $18 {and there's no defense to Qc7+ and Qa7#.}) 30. Qf8+ Kd7 31. Qxg7+ $18 {White will win the rook with the appropriate checking sequence, after which converting with three extra pawns will be a snap.})) 26. Nc4 $1 Nf6 $1 27. Rg1 Rxh2 28. Nxa5 {which leaves White a pawn up but not yet on the home stretch after} Bd5 $1 $16) (24... Qxh1 $2 25. bxa6 Ng4 26. Kd2 $1 {Threatening to win Black's queen by Bb5+ and Rxh1.} Qxh2 27. Be2 Qxf2 28. Rf1 $1 Qg2 29. Qb3 $1 {Threatening mate on f7.} Nf6 {Now, finally, it's time:} 30. a7 Rh2 31. Re1 $18 {and White is ready to promote, after which he'll have an extra piece and what should be an easy win.}) 25. Qa2 $1 $18 Qxh1 (25... d5 $142) 26. Rc7 Qf3 27. bxa6 $2 (27. Bg2 $1 {isn't hard to spot, as the bishop can't be taken due to mate. The real point comes a little later:} Qf6 28. bxa6 Rxh2 {and now} 29. Qc2 $3 {is a beautiful indirect way to protect the bishop and avoid a catastrophe on f2.} Rxg2 30. Qxe4+ $18) 27... Rxh2 $11 {Black's counterplay comes just in the nick of time.} 28. Qe2 $8 Rxf2 $1 29. Qxf3 exf3 $8 {The pawn helps create mating nets - see the note to White's 32nd move for a very clear example.} 30. a7 Rb2 $1 31. Nc8 $8 (31. a8=Q $4 Rxa8 32. Nxa8 f2+ 33. Kd1 Rb1+ 34. Ke2 (34. Rc1 Nxe3+ $19) 34... Re1+ $19) 31... Nxe3 $1 32. Nxd6+ $1 (32. a8=Q $4 f2# $1) 32... Kf8 33. Rxf7+ Kg8 34. Rxf3 Nxf1 (34... Rb1+ 35. Ke2 Nxf1 $11 {also draws.}) 35. Kxf1 Ra8 36. Rf7 (36. Nb5 Rxb5 37. axb5 Rxa7 $11) 36... Rb4 {As usual, Gukesh tries his best to avoid a draw, taking almost every possible risk along the way.} (36... Rb6 37. Rd7 $8 Rxd6 38. Rxd6 Rxa7 $11) 37. Rc7 Kh7 (37... Rxa7 38. Rxa7 Rxd4 {is also drawn, as Black will win either the a-pawn or the knight, but White could in principle grind away endlessly trying to win rook and knight vs. rook. (He probably wouldn't try for very long as it's much easier to hold than rook vs. rook and bishop, but why should Gukesh bother defending it when it's not necessary?)}) 38. Nc8 Rxd4 39. Nb6 Rf8+ 40. Ke2 Re8+ 41. Kf3 Rd3+ 42. Kf2 Rd2+ 43. Kf3 Rd3+ 44. Kf2 (44. Kf4 Rd4+ 45. Kf5 {avoids the repetition, but Black retains plenty of moves that keep the draw including, at worst,} Rdd8) 44... Rd2+ 45. Kf3 Rd3+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "12th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.08.22"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B44"] [WhiteElo "2784"] [BlackElo "2745"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "97"] [GameId "2214036823000391"] [EventDate "2025.08.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,33,16,41,22,11,11,16,17,5,9,-3,16,16,16,18,16,12,34,16,75,18,29,24,44,68,53,53,47,60,79,50,50,93,92,83]} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 e6 4. e4 Nc6 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 {After various feints we end up with a Taimanov Sicilian.} Bb4 7. Nxc6 bxc6 8. Bd3 e5 9. O-O O-O 10. h3 Bxc3 11. bxc3 d5 (11... d6 {is usual, but So has played the text before.}) 12. exd5 (12. cxd5 cxd5 13. Ba3 Re8 14. exd5 Qxd5 15. Be2 Be6 16. Qxd5 Nxd5 17. Rfc1 e4 18. Bd6 Red8 19. Be5 f6 20. Bd4 Rac8 21. Bf1 Rc7 22. Rab1 Nf4 23. Re1 Bxa2 24. Ra1 Bd5 25. Rxa7 Rxa7 26. Bxa7 Rc8 27. c4 Bxc4 28. Rxe4 Bxf1 29. Rxf4 Rc4 30. Rxc4 Bxc4 31. f3 Bb5 32. Kf2 Bc4 33. Kg1 Bb5 34. Kf2 Bc4 35. Kg1 {½-½ Abdusattorov,N (2771)-So,W (2745) Zagreb Superbet Blitz 2025 (12)}) 12... cxd5 13. Bg5 dxc4 14. Bxc4 Qc7 $146 (14... Qxd1 15. Raxd1 (15. Rfxd1 Bf5 16. Rac1 Rac8 17. Ba6 Rc5 18. c4 Be4 19. Rd6 Rb8 20. Bb5 h6 21. Be3 Rc7 22. a4 Kh7 23. f4 Nh5 24. fxe5 Ng3 25. Re1 Nf5 26. Bf4 g5 27. Bh2 Re7 28. Rf6 Bc2 29. e6 Rf8 30. Rxf5 Bxf5 31. Bd6 Rfe8 32. Bxe8 Rxe8 33. exf7 {1-0 Svane,F (2521)-Herega,N (2160) EU-chT U18 Thessaloniki 2022 (3.4)}) 15... Bf5 16. Rfe1 Rac8 17. Rxe5 Rxc4 18. Bxf6 gxf6 19. Rxf5 Rxc3 20. Rxf6 Ra3 21. Rd2 Rb8 22. Kh2 Kg7 23. Rf5 Rb6 24. g4 Rba6 25. Rg5+ Rg6 26. Re5 Rga6 27. Ree2 Rf6 28. Kg2 Rff3 29. Rd7 Rxh3 30. Ree7 Rhf3 31. Rxa7 Rxa7 32. Rxa7 Rc3 33. Ra5 Kg6 34. f3 f6 35. Kg3 Rc4 36. a4 Rb4 37. Ra8 h5 38. gxh5+ Kxh5 39. a5 Ra4 40. a6 Kg6 41. Kf2 Ra3 42. a7 Kg7 43. Ke2 f5 44. f4 Ra6 {1-0 Vocaturo,D (2618)-Soltanici,R (2359) Bucharest Grand Prix rapid 2023 (9)}) 15. Bxf6 Qxc4 16. Bxe5 {After the sac White has a secure extra pawn, albeit one that won't be going anywhere for a very long time, and a bishop that will be beautifull centralized and anchored on d4. On the flip side Black has no weaknesses and an unchallenged grip on the light squares. So, who had obviously prepared this, assumed he'd be able to hold this, and ultimately he's right.} Bf5 17. Bd4 Rfe8 18. Qf3 Bg6 19. Rfe1 a6 20. Re7 Rad8 21. Qb7 Rxe7 22. Qxe7 Qc8 23. Re1 f6 {Not a move Black is excited to play, but unless White can crack up Black's structure with g4-g5 or h4-h5-h6 or can double his heavy pieces on the 7th rank it's not really a problem.} 24. Qe6+ {As evidenced by White's last move, which gives up on any attacking fantasies.} Bf7 25. Qxc8 Rxc8 26. a3 Rb8 27. Re7 Rb3 28. Ra7 {Threatening the pawn and to win a piece with 29.Ra8+.} Bc4 29. g4 {Intending to break up Black's kingside with g4-g5.} h6 30. f4 (30. h4 Rxa3 31. g5 hxg5 32. hxg5 fxg5 33. Rxg7+ Kf8 34. Rxg5 {keeps the extra pawn, but it's still completely drawn.}) 30... Rxa3 31. g5 hxg5 32. fxg5 Bf7 (32... fxg5 {is possible here too, but one could argue (or at least pretend) that a passed h-pawn is more dangerous to Black after} 33. Rxg7+ Kf8 34. Rxg5 {as his king is cut off.}) 33. gxf6 gxf6 34. Kh2 (34. Bxf6 a5 {is equal too. Caruana is doing his job by continuing, but there's nothing to achieve against So's fine play.}) 34... Kg7 35. h4 Ra5 36. Rc7 Rf5 37. Kg3 Kg6 38. c4 a5 39. c5 Bd5 40. Rd7 Rf3+ 41. Kh2 Rh3+ 42. Kxh3 Be6+ 43. Kg3 Bxd7 44. Kf4 a4 45. Bb2 Bc6 46. Kg4 Bd7+ 47. Kf4 Bc6 48. Kg4 Bd7+ 49. Kf4 1/2-1/2 [Event "12th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.08.22"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Sevian, Samuel"] [Black "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2683"] [BlackElo "2771"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "107"] [GameId "2214036823004488"] [EventDate "2025.08.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,107,11,25,12,15,19,20,8,19,8,5,6,-27,27,14,33,6,42,-7,4,2,-5,-11,13,14,15,-23,13,28,30,89,44,-34,34,30,51,40,35,36,41,-96,42,42,49,39,26,32,70,29,25,192,44,49,29,1,28,16,31,-29,79,67,89,-29,86,62,-155,69,-13,40,-18,29,-95,35,30,25,-6,25,19,9,36,18,1,33,1,10,-84,7,7,-7,-158,-27,-142,-26,-7,-9,-3,-130,0,-12,0,-1,0,-2,1,0,13,33,127,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 {The first Italian Game of the tournament. (And hopefully the last.)} Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. Re1 a6 8. Nbd2 (8. a4) ({and} 8. Bb3 {are more common, preserving the bishop from a possible exchange by ...Na5.}) 8... Ba7 (8... Na5 9. b4 Nxc4 10. bxc5 Nxd2 {is also fine.}) 9. Nf1 Na5 10. Bb3 Nxb3 11. axb3 Ng4 12. d4 exd4 13. Nxd4 (13. h3 Ne5 14. Nxd4 Bxd4 15. cxd4 Ng6 16. Ng3 f5 17. exf5 Bxf5 18. Qf3 Qf6 19. Qxb7 Bxh3 20. Qd5+ Kh8 21. Ne4 Qf5 22. Qxf5 {½-½ Vidit,S (2721)-Abdusattorov,N (2766) Tashkent UzChess Masters 2024 (8)}) 13... Ne5 $146 (13... Bd7 14. f3 Ne5 15. Be3 Bxd4 16. Bxd4 Nc6 17. c4 Be6 18. Bf2 a5 19. Ne3 b6 20. f4 f6 21. Nd5 Qd7 22. Qd2 Rae8 23. Nc3 f5 24. h3 h6 25. exf5 Bxf5 26. Nd5 Qf7 27. Rxe8 Rxe8 28. Re1 Be6 29. Kh2 Kh8 30. f5 Bxd5 31. Qxd5 Qxd5 32. Rxe8+ Qg8 33. Rxg8+ Kxg8 34. Kg3 Ne5 35. Kf4 a4 36. bxa4 Nd3+ 37. Ke3 Nxb2 38. Kd4 Nxa4 39. Kd5 Kf7 40. Bd4 Nc5 41. Kc6 Nb3 42. Bc3 Na5+ 43. Kb5 h5 44. g4 hxg4 45. hxg4 c6+ 46. Kxb6 Nxc4+ 47. Kxc6 Ne3 48. Kxd6 Nxg4 49. Bxg7 Ne3 50. Bd4 Nxf5+ {½-½ So,W (2745)-Abdusattorov,N (2767) Zagreb Superbet Rapid 2025 (5)}) (13... Re8 14. Bf4 (14. f3 Ne5 15. Be3 d5 16. exd5 Qxd5 17. Nc2 Qxd1 18. Raxd1 Bf5 19. Nb4 c5 20. Nd5 Rac8 21. Rd2 f6 22. Ng3 Bg6 23. Red1 Bb8 24. c4 b5 25. Rc1 Nd3 26. Rcd1 Nb4 27. Bf2 Nxd5 28. Rxd5 Bc2 29. Ra1 Bxb3 30. Rxc5 Rxc5 31. Bxc5 Rc8 32. Be3 bxc4 33. Nf5 Re8 34. Rxa6 Bc2 35. Nd4 Bd3 36. Re6 Rxe6 37. Nxe6 Kf7 38. Nc5 Bc2 39. Bd4 h5 40. g3 g5 41. Kf2 h4 42. Nd7 hxg3+ 43. hxg3 Bd6 44. Nxf6 Bc5 45. Bxc5 Kxf6 46. Bd4+ Kg6 47. Ke3 Bd1 48. Bc3 Bb3 49. Kd4 Kf5 50. Bd2 Kg6 51. Be3 Kf5 52. Bd2 Kg6 53. Kc3 Kf5 54. Be3 Kg6 55. Kd2 Kf5 56. Bb6 Kg6 57. Bd8 Kf5 58. Ke3 Kg6 59. Ke4 Bc2+ 60. Kd4 Bb3 61. Be7 Kf5 62. Bd8 Kg6 63. Kc5 Kf5 64. Kb4 Kg6 65. Bb6 Kf5 66. Be3 Kg6 67. Bd2 Kf5 68. Kc5 Kg6 69. Kd4 Kf5 70. Be3 Kg6 71. Ke5 Bd1 72. Ke4 Bc2+ 73. Kd5 Bb3 74. Ke5 Bd1 75. f4 gxf4 76. gxf4 Kf7 77. f5 Bb3 78. f6 Ba2 79. Bd4 Bb3 80. Bc3 Ba2 81. Kd5 Bb3 82. Kd6 Ba2 83. Ke5 Bb3 84. Kd5 Ba2 85. Kc5 Bb3 86. Kb4 Ke6 87. Be5 Kf7 88. Kc3 Ke6 89. Bd4 Kf7 90. Kb4 Ke6 91. Ka3 Kf7 92. Bc3 Ke6 93. Kb4 Kf7 94. Kc5 Ke6 95. Kc6 Ba4+ 96. Kc7 Bb3 97. Kd8 Kf7 98. Kd7 Ba2 99. Kd6 Bb3 100. Kc5 Ke6 101. Kc6 Kf7 102. Kd6 Ba2 103. Ke5 Bb3 104. Kf5 Ba2 105. Ke5 {½-½ So,W (2769)-Lazavik,D (2560) Julius Baer Rapid Div 1 L Chess.com INT 2023 (2.1)}) 14... Qf6 15. Bg3 h5 16. Nf3 h4 17. Bxh4 Qxh4 18. Nxh4 Nxf2 19. Qf3 Nh3+ 20. Kh1 Nf2+ 21. Kg1 Nh3+ 22. Kh1 Nf2+ 23. Kg1 Nh3+ {½-½ Giri,A (2746)-Ding,L (2745) Sinquefield Cup 11th Saint Louis 2024 (2)}) 14. Be3 Bxd4 ({Black could also try} 14... Re8 15. Nc2 Bxe3 16. Ncxe3 Ng6 {, but I think that after} 17. Ng3 {followed by Ra4-d4 and Ngf5 White's position is pleasant even if the engine assures us that it's equal.}) 15. Bxd4 Nc6 16. b4 Be6 17. f4 f6 (17... f5) 18. Ng3 Qd7 19. h3 Rae8 20. Re3 Bf7 (20... Qf7) 21. Kh2 Kh8 22. Qd2 Bg6 23. Rae1 Re7 {White has more space, but it's hard to see what he can do with it, especially with Black loading up against the e-pawn.} 24. b3 Rfe8 25. c4 {White is ready to retreat the bishop while keeping it on the long diagonal, so it's time to swap it off.} Nxd4 26. Qxd4 h6 27. Qd5 {A nice "tickle", inducing one concession or another out of Black to save the b-pawn.} b6 {Now a6 is weak.} 28. Qd2 (28. Qb7 {can be met by 28...Qc8, but Black can also go on the counterattack with} f5 $1 29. Qxa6 fxe4 30. Qb7 Qe6 $11 {and it's still equal.}) 28... Bh7 (28... b5) 29. Qd4 Re6 $6 (29... b5) (29... Bg6) (29... f5 $5) 30. R3e2 (30. f5 $1 $14 {followed by Nh5-f4 finally gives White a small but usable advantage.}) 30... R8e7 (30... R6e7 $142) 31. Qa1 (31. Ra1 $142 $14) 31... f5 (31... Qe8 $142 32. f5 Re5 33. Qxa6 (33. Rf1 a5 $11) 33... h5 34. h4 Bxf5 $1 35. Nxf5 Rxf5 36. exf5 Rxe2 37. Rxe2 Qxe2 38. Qc8+ Kh7 39. Qxc7 Qe5+ $11) 32. e5 Bg6 $6 (32... dxe5 33. Rxe5 Rxe5 34. Rxe5 Bg6 35. Rd5 Qc8 36. Qd4 $14 {is still basically okay for Black, though White's beautiful centralization at least hints that he has progressed.}) 33. exd6 $6 {This lets Black off the hook.} (33. Rd2 $1 Qc6 $8 {Black is losing after any other move.} 34. Rd5 $16) 33... Rxe2 34. dxe7 Rxe7 35. Rxe7 Qxe7 36. Qxa6 Qxb4 37. Qc8+ Kh7 38. Qxc7 Qxb3 $11 {Black's bishop looks bad, but there's nothing to do about it. The draw is inevitable at this point.} 39. h4 Qb2 {Defending g7 so that h5 won't win a pawn.} 40. h5 Be8 41. Qc8 (41. Nxf5 Bxh5 {is the point of the last note - White doesn't have 42.Qxg7#.}) 41... Qf6 42. Qxf5+ Qxf5 43. Nxf5 Bxh5 {all that's left is trading everything off or making a repetition.} 44. Ne7 Bf7 45. Nc8 Bxc4 46. Nxb6 Bb3 47. Nd7 Kg6 48. g4 Be6 49. Ne5+ Kf6 50. Kg3 g5 51. Nf3 Bxg4 52. fxg5+ hxg5 53. Kxg4 Ke6 54. Kxg5 1/2-1/2 [Event "12th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.08.22"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "2766"] [BlackElo "2737"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "49"] [GameId "2214036823004489"] [EventDate "2025.08.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,49,11,25,30,7,27,-59,21,10,-45,2,-30,13,13,14,15,9,23,11,0,-52,-20,-65,-98,-84,-45,-20,-19,-14,-166,-62,-173,-20,-22,-76,-47,-39,1,-1,-150,1,-1,-1,1,1,1,1,1,1,-1,-1]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Nce2 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. Nf3 (7. f4 {is the most common move over all, most notably seen in recent times in the first game of the Gukesh-Ding World Championship match last November.}) (7. a3 {is a distant third-place move, after 7.Nf3 and 7.f4, but it was also played in the Gukesh-Ding match and then in a pair of Carlsen-Nepo games.}) 7... Be7 8. a3 O-O (8... a5 $6 {followed by ...a4 and only then ...Qa5 is sometimes played as well, but it may be too slow.}) 9. Nf4 Qa5 10. b4 $5 {Sacrificing two pawns. This has been played before.} cxb4 11. Bd3 bxc3 12. Qc2 (12. O-O {has also been played, but only in games between Demchenko and Bluebaum, who seem to be contesting a private grudge match in this variation.}) 12... b6 (12... h6 13. Rb1 Nxd4 14. Nxd4 Nxe5 15. Be2 Nc6 16. Nb3 Qd8 17. Qd3 d4 18. Nh5 e5 19. O-O g6 20. Ng3 h5 21. f4 exf4 22. Bxf4 h4 23. Ne4 Bf5 24. g4 hxg3 25. Bxg3 Qd5 26. Bf3 Ne5 27. Nf6+ Bxf6 28. Qxf5 Nxf3+ 29. Qxf3 Qxf3 30. Rxf3 Bg7 31. Na1 Rfe8 32. Kf1 Rad8 33. Rd1 b5 34. Nc2 a5 35. Bf2 Rb8 36. Bxd4 b4 37. axb4 axb4 38. Bxg7 Kxg7 39. Na1 Ra8 40. Rf2 f5 41. Nb3 Re3 42. Rb1 Rc8 43. Nd4 Rc4 44. Nc2 Ree4 45. Re2 Rh4 46. Kg2 Kf6 47. h3 Kg5 48. Kh2 Kf6 49. Kg3 g5 50. Rbe1 Rc6 51. Rb1 Rb6 52. Rb3 Kg6 53. Re8 Rd6 54. Rg8+ Kf6 55. Rf8+ Ke6 56. Re8+ Kf7 57. Re2 Rd3+ 58. Kg2 f4 59. Rf2 Rdxh3 60. Nxb4 Rg3+ 61. Kf1 Rh1+ {0-1 Harikrishna,P (2716)-Carlsen,M (2864) Charity Cup Prelim chess24.com INT rapid 2022 (2)}) (12... f5 {is a reasonable option that has done well in games below the super-GM level.}) (12... Nb4 $2 $146 {wins material or forces a trade of White's powerful bishop. The problem is that winning material leads to losing the game:} 13. Bxh7+ Kh8 14. axb4 $1 Qxa1 15. O-O $18 {and Black is not going to come out of this alive. White's pieces are all ready to go, and Black's are all ready to go to sleep. Here's an illustration of how dire Black's situation is:} a5 16. Ng6+ $1 fxg6 17. Qxg6 Rxf3 18. Bh6 $1 Qxf1+ 19. Kxf1 Bf8 20. Bf4 $3 Rxf4 21. Qh5 $18 {Black has a herd of pieces for the queen and his queenside pawns are nearing promotion, but it doesn't matter as he's getting mated.}) 13. Bxh7+ $146 (13. h4 h6 14. Rh3 Nxd4 (14... Kh8 $1 $17 {/-+ followed by ...Ba6 leaves White bereft of compensation.}) 15. Nxd4 Nxe5 16. Be2 Bd7 17. Nh5 Ba4 18. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 19. Rxc3 Bxh4 20. Rh3 Be7 21. Nxg7 Kxg7 22. Bxh6+ Kg6 23. Bxf8 Bxf8 24. f4 Nc6 25. Bd3+ Kf6 26. Nxc6 Bxc6 27. Rc1 Bc5 28. g4 Ke7 29. g5 {½-½ Sindarov,J (2655)-Sevian,S (2614) Wch Rapid New York 2024 (5)}) 13... Kh8 14. O-O Ba6 15. Re1 Rfc8 {Activating the rook and clearing f8 for the knight.} 16. Bg6 $3 fxg6 $1 {Combining desire with necessity, as White has the advantage against non-greedy options.} (16... Kg8 $4 17. Bxf7+ $18) (16... Rf8 $2 17. h4 $1 fxg6 18. Nxe6 $1 Rf5 19. g4 $1 Ncxe5 $1 (19... Rxf3 $2 20. Qxg6 Bf8 21. Ng5 Bd3 22. Qxc6 {Black has three hanging pieces, so White will regain the material with interest and an ongoing attack.}) 20. dxe5 Rxf3 21. Qxg6 Bf8 22. Ng5 Bd3 {This time there's no loose knight on c6. On the other hand, there's} 23. Qh5+ Kg8 24. Nxf3 {, with a material advantage. Black has a little compensation after} Qa4 $1 25. Ng5 Bc5 {, but it's not enough after} 26. Qf7+ Kh8 27. Qf3 Bg6 28. Be3 Nxe5 29. Qg3 $18) 17. Qxg6 Nf8 18. Qg4 Rc7 19. Nxe6 Nxe6 {Forced, and now the game ends in a perpetual.} 20. Qh3+ Kg8 21. Qxe6+ Kh8 22. Qh3+ Kg8 23. Qe6+ Kh8 24. Qh3+ Kg8 25. Qe6+ {The players used very little time on their clocks in this game - it was clearly prep for both sides. A nice try by Firouzja, and good prep by Aronian.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "12th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.08.22"] [Round "5.5"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B31"] [WhiteElo "2736"] [BlackElo "2779"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "52"] [GameId "2214036823004490"] [EventDate "2025.08.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,52,26,27,31,23,11,10,29,28,19,13,24,8,40,7,71,46,37,0,21,-40,42,-26,29,26,34,11,16,16,40,16,50,19,-11,8,-29,1,17,-16,6,-21,-14,-16,9,-7,-42,63,0,0,1,-68,-33,-40,-40]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. Re1 e5 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. d3 Qe7 8. a3 Nf6 9. b4 O-O 10. bxc5 Qxc5 11. a4 Rd8 12. Nbd2 $146 (12. Ba3 Qa5 13. Nbd2 {is more common, as played e.g. by one Magnus Carlsen:} Be6 14. Qb1 Qc7 15. Ng5 Re8 16. Nxe6 Rxe6 17. Qb3 b6 18. Nf3 h6 19. h3 Nd7 20. Reb1 Rb8 21. Qc4 a5 22. Bc1 Bf8 23. Be3 Qd8 24. Ra2 Qc7 25. Rab2 Ba3 26. Rb3 Bc5 27. Bxh6 Qa7 28. c3 Bxf2+ 29. Kh1 b5 30. axb5 Nb6 31. bxc6 Nxc4 32. Rxb8+ Kh7 33. R1b7 Qxb8 34. Rxb8 Kxh6 35. c7 Nd6 36. Rd8 Re7 37. Rxd6 Rxc7 38. Kh2 Ra7 39. Rd8 a4 40. Rb8 a3 41. Rb1 f6 42. Ra1 Bc5 43. Kg3 Rd7 44. d4 exd4 45. cxd4 Bb4 46. Kf4 Rc7 47. e5 fxe5+ 48. dxe5 Rc2 49. g4 a2 50. Nd4 Rh2 51. Nb3 Bc3 52. Rc1 Bb2 53. g5+ Kh5 54. Rc7 Rf2+ 55. Ke3 Rf5 56. Ra7 Kxg5 57. Kd3 Rxe5 58. Rxa2 Rd5+ 59. Kc4 Rf5 60. Rxb2 Rf4+ 61. Nd4 Rf3 62. Nxf3+ Kf4 63. Nd4 Kg3 64. Rb6 g5 65. Rg6 Kh4 66. Rxg5 Kxg5 67. Nf3+ Kf4 68. Ng1 Kg3 69. Kd4 Kh2 70. Ke5 Kg2 71. h4 Kxg1 72. h5 Kg2 73. h6 Kf2 74. h7 Ke2 75. h8=Q Kd2 76. Qf6 Ke2 {½-½ Carlsen,M (2876)-Mamedov,R (2645) Chess24 Banter Blitz Cup chess24.com INT 2019 (3.11)}) 12... Qe7 13. Nc4 Ne8 $146 (13... Nh5 14. Bb2 Be6 15. Ne3 Qc7 16. Bc3 Re8 17. Qc1 Rad8 18. Qb2 {½-½ Collinson,A (2320)-Martin,A (2430) BCF-ch 78th Eastbourne 1991 (3)}) 14. Qd2 (14. h3 $14) (14. Ne3 $14) 14... f6 (14... Bg4) 15. Ba3 Qf7 16. Qc3 (16. Ne3 $14) 16... Be6 17. Rab1 (17. Ne3 $142) 17... Bxc4 18. dxc4 Nd6 (18... c5 $1 $11 19. Bxc5 Rdc8 {regains the pawns with no problems.}) 19. c5 (19. Bxd6 Rxd6 20. c5 {keeps a little initiative, hoping to cause some annoyance thanks to his pressure down the b-file.}) 19... Nc4 20. Bc1 {A funny situation. Black's knight is trapped, but it's almost impossible for White to attack it (other than doing so with the knight, which doesn't count as it would logically entail that Black could swap off his knight). The knight also dominates White's bishop, so it's simultaneously a strength and a weakness.} a5 21. h4 (21. Bg5 {is funny - my old (late?) friend Danny Olim used to call such moves "a cheap bid for attention". Taking would be awful, but the move is harmless and even a little silly if ignored.}) 21... h5 22. Rb3 (22. Bg5 $5) 22... Rd7 23. Nd2 {White has had enough of the annoying knight.} Rd4 {Black is happy to swap - on his terms. It also creates the opportunity for the game to come to an immediate end, which MVL pursues.} 24. Nf3 Rd7 25. Nd2 Rd4 26. Nf3 Rd7 1/2-1/2