[Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2024"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2024.06.26"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A45"] [WhiteElo "2737"] [BlackElo "2805"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "118"] [GameId "2060964707833426"] [EventDate "2024.06.26"] {[%evp 0,118,25,26,18,7,40,29,29,3,17,13,27,6,7,0,-5,1,17,8,25,25,38,40,90,67,70,67,59,46,68,52,81,42,47,36,6,-6,-18,-30,10,-11,-22,-94,-70,-112,-117,-115,-80,-147,-143,-119,-104,-120,-120,-99,-82,-126,-83,-88,-81,-65,-66,-76,-75,-85,-84,-71,-72,-130,-108,-124,-132,-132,-135,-143,-135,-196,-153,-148,-141,-156,-141,-141,-139,-141,-128,-141,-128,-122,-121,-128,-121,-166,-145,-166,-166,-177,-178,-178,-177,-178,-178,-178,-178,-178,-178,-259,-237,-272,-253,-329,-352,-409,-453,-462,-490,-520,-582,-593,-591]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 b6 {There's always one more way to meet the London System.} 3. c4 {Switching from a typical London to a more QG/Nimzo/QID setup.} Bb7 4. Nc3 d6 (4... e6 {is more common, heading for a QID or QGD setup (depending on if and when Black plays ...d5).}) 5. Nf3 g6 {I have no idea how to classify this, beyond something generic like "double fianchetto."} 6. d5 Bg7 7. e4 O-O {There are a whopping four games in the database to have reached this position, the highest-rated one a game last year between two 2000-rated players. Genuinely new territory here.} 8. Bd3 e5 $146 9. Bd2 {White is doing well in what we might now classify as a (weird) King's Indian.} (9. Be3 {looks more natural, but allows} Ng4 {followed by ...f5. The thing is that White should welcome this.} 10. Bg5 f6 11. Bd2 f5 $2 12. exf5 gxf5 13. h3 Nh6 14. Ng5 Bc8 15. Ne6 Bxe6 16. dxe6 e4 17. Bc2 c6 18. g4 $1 $18 {Black's position will collapse in no time.}) 9... a5 10. a3 Na6 11. Bc2 c5 $2 $18 {Putting all his eggs in the kingside basket. Black's position seems strategically terrible.} (11... c6 $142) 12. Bg5 {A la Petrosian.} (12. h4) 12... h6 13. Be3 Nc7 14. h3 Bc8 15. Qd2 (15. g4) 15... Kh7 16. g4 Rb8 17. g5 (17. a4 {kills Black's queenside play forever, but also White's.}) (17. Bd3) ({and} 17. Qe2 {look like good compromise solutions, stopping ...b5 without closing down White's queenside possibilities.}) 17... hxg5 18. Bxg5 $4 {A strange move. The bishop doesn't do anything special on g5, so Black is permitted to play ...b5 with no repercussions whatsoever.} (18. Nxg5+ Kg8 19. a4 Na6 20. O-O-O Nb4 21. Rdg1 {White has something close to a free hand on the kingside while Black has nothing on the queenside.} Nxc2 22. Qxc2 Nh5 {is not a airtight blockade, as White can swing a knight to g3 or double rooks on the g-file and play Nxf7, for starters.} 23. h4 $18) 18... b5 {Of course. Now it's anyone's game again.} 19. h4 $1 Bg4 $8 20. Bd1 (20. Nh2 Bh5 21. Nf1 $14) 20... Qd7 $11 21. h5 Nxh5 22. Nh4 Bxd1 23. Qxd1 {Now Nf5 is on tap. Maybe Firouzja was counting on this when he played 18.Bxg5, but Caruana shows that there is a defense.} Rh8 $1 24. Nf5 $1 gxf5 25. Qxh5+ Kg8 26. Qf3 Rxh1+ 27. Qxh1 f6 $11 {Black is fine.} 28. Bd2 (28. Bh6) 28... b4 29. axb4 axb4 30. Ne2 $2 (30. Nb5 $1 Nxb5 31. cxb5 f4 32. Qg2 $1 {gives White enough play even for two pawns. For example:} Rxb5 (32... Kf7 33. Qh1 $1 $44) 33. Ra8+ Kf7 34. Qh2 Qg4 35. Qh7 Rb7 36. Rh8 $1 $11 {and either Black will force a perpetual (...Qg1+ Ke2 Qg4+ Ke1 Qg1+) or White will (with Qg8+ Kg6 Qh7+ Kf7).}) 30... f4 $17 31. Ng1 Qg4 $1 32. Kf1 Ra8 {So much for White's counterplay. Now he's just down a pawn with a lousy position, hoping to create a light-squared fortress.} 33. Rxa8+ Nxa8 34. Qf3 $2 {Another extremely bad move by Firouzja, who was clearly not in form in this game.} (34. f3 $17) 34... f5 $1 $19 35. Qxg4 fxg4 {This is completely over.} 36. f3 Nb6 37. b3 Nd7 38. Be1 gxf3 39. Nxf3 Nf6 40. Nd2 Kf7 41. Kg2 Ng4 42. Kf3 Ne3 43. Bf2 Nc2 44. Kg4 Kg6 45. Nf3 Na1 46. Nd2 Bf6 47. Bg1 Be7 48. Bf2 Bg5 49. Be1 Bd8 50. Bf2 Be7 51. Bg1 Bg5 52. Bf2 Bh6 {Black is finally ready to play ...f3, to remove the defender of the b3-pawn.} 53. Bh4 ({White can blockade the f-pawn, but he can't keep Black out.} 53. Kf3 Kh5 54. Be1 Bg5 55. Bf2 Bh4 56. Bg1 (56. Bxh4 Kxh4 57. Kf2 Kg4 58. Kg2 f3+ 59. Kf2 Kf4 $19 {is a fatal zugzwang.}) 56... Be1 $19) 53... f3 $1 54. Nxf3 Kf7 $1 (54... Nxb3 55. Be7) 55. Bg3 Nxb3 56. Bxe5 dxe5 57. Nxe5+ Ke7 58. Nd3 Be3 59. e5 Nd2 {A good game by Caruana after the awful opening, and a terrible one by Firouzja.} 0-1 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2024"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2024.06.26"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C78"] [WhiteElo "2766"] [BlackElo "2747"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "127"] [GameId "2060964707833427"] [EventDate "2024.06.26"] {[%evp 0,127,26,39,38,38,18,25,25,-4,3,9,7,13,23,-7,30,-8,40,56,102,101,79,69,51,-35,36,46,36,30,23,30,30,23,33,26,49,56,43,27,43,38,47,-8,22,-26,-27,-53,-35,-36,-36,-40,0,-41,-34,-45,-37,-31,-38,-49,-24,-61,-67,-76,-80,-76,-65,-68,-67,-74,-72,-86,-62,-70,-62,-67,-62,-62,-73,-84,-87,-68,-66,-66,-66,-95,-93,-99,-101,-101,-94,-139,-85,-139,-110,-139,-135,-138,-133,-164,-134,-138,-118,-215,-205,-169,-175,-215,-220,-218,-215,-215,-215,-215,-215,-215,-197,-197,-197,-197,-191,-191,-191,-191,-191,-191,-191,-191,-191,-191]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Bc5 6. c3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a4 b4 9. d4 Ba7 10. dxe5 Nxe5 11. Nxe5 dxe5 12. Qc2 $146 (12. Qxd8+) 12... O-O $5 ({There's nothing wrong with the obvious} 12... Rb8) 13. cxb4 Rb8 14. b5 $1 {It may not promise much, but it gives White more than he'd have in lines where Black gets in ...Rxb4.} axb5 15. axb5 Bd4 16. Nc3 Bd7 17. Bc4 Bxc3 18. bxc3 (18. Qxc3 Nxe4 19. Qxe5 Nd6 $11 {likewise regains the pawn while leaving White with the bishop pair (but no advantage).}) 18... Bxb5 19. Rd1 Qc8 20. Bb3 {For the engine, there's no advantage. For humans, White's bishop pair offers practical chances for an edge.} Bd7 21. Ra5 {This logical move allows Black to kill the game.} Qb7 $1 22. Bc4 Bc6 23. Bf1 ({The problem with 21.Ra5 is that the move White would like to play here,} 23. f3 $4 {, is a blunder.} Qb6+ $19) (23. Bd5 $142 $11) 23... Bxe4 (23... Ra8 $1 24. Rxa8 Qxa8 $1 $15 25. f3 $4 Ba4 $19) 24. Qe2 Rfe8 25. Bg5 Qc6 26. Qe3 Qb6 27. Qxb6 cxb6 28. Ra7 h6 29. Bh4 {Despite Black's extra pawn, the position is very drawish. White's bishops are good, his rooks are active, and if the queenside pawns are swapped there's the additional drawishness of endings where all the pawns are on the same flank.} Rbd8 30. Re1 Bd3 31. Rb7 Bxf1 32. Kxf1 Rd6 33. Bxf6 Rxf6 34. h4 {Initiating the ideal defensive setup (pawns on f2, g3, and h4).} g6 35. g3 Rc6 36. Re3 Ree6 37. Rf3 Rf6 38. Re3 Kg7 39. Re7 Rfe6 40. Rxe5 Rxe7 41. Rxe7 Rxc3 {This is also a drawn ending, though it can be more challenging for the defender than the situation where all the pawns are on the kingside.} 42. Rb7 Rb3 43. Kg2 h5 44. Rc7 Kf6 45. f3 Rb4 46. Kh3 b5 47. Rb7 {The rook is ideally placed here, keeping an eye on Black's b- and f-pawns. The reason to watch the former is obvious, and the reason for the latter is that if Black's king makes a break for the queenside White must grab (at least) one kingside pawn and get his own majority rolling.} Rb3 48. Kg2 Rb2+ 49. Kh3 Rb3 50. Kg2 Rb2+ 51. Kh3 b4 52. g4 b3 53. gxh5 gxh5 54. Rb5 Rb1 55. Kg3 (55. Rxh5 $4 {White could do this with his king on h2 or g2, but not here.} b2 56. Rb5 Rh1+ $19) 55... Ke6 56. Kf4 {Or here.} b2 {Now the h-pawn can't be captured, but it also takes away the Black king's hiding place on b2.} 57. Rb6+ Kd5 58. Kf5 Kd4 59. f4 Kc3 60. Rc6+ {No ...Kb2 now, so White can repeatedly drive Black's king away from the b2-pawn whenever it's protecting it.} Kd2 61. Rb6 Kc3 62. Rc6+ Kd2 63. Rb6 Kc3 64. Rc6+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2024"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2024.06.26"] [Round "1.3"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2732"] [BlackElo "2770"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "74"] [GameId "2060964707833428"] [EventDate "2024.06.26"] {[%evp 0,74,39,38,25,25,25,22,25,25,25,-3,-5,-9,25,-1,61,26,25,-3,56,46,65,-2,-2,-4,11,-6,-6,-7,49,-25,8,-25,100,16,5,8,14,35,37,-30,-37,-39,-39,-39,-50,-25,-22,0,28,5,4,-12,-10,-10,17,-2,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. Re1 Bf5 9. c4 c6 10. Qb3 Qd7 11. c5 Bc7 {You may recall that Nepo used this same line in the Candidates a couple of months ago against Nakamura, and also against Maghsoodloo at the start of the year. Will MVL find a way to surprise him?} 12. Nbd2 {The main move, though not the one chosen in the aforementioned Nepo games.} (12. g3 a5 13. Nbd2 Be6 14. Qxb7 Nxf2 15. Bxh7+ Kxh7 16. Qxa8 Nh3+ 17. Kg2 Bg4 18. Qb7 Re8 19. Qb3 Rxe1 20. Nxe1 Qe6 21. Qd3+ Bf5 22. Qf1 Nd7 23. Nef3 Nf6 24. Ng1 Kg8 25. Qe2 Ne4 26. a4 Bxg3 27. hxg3 Nf4+ 28. gxf4 Qg6+ 29. Kf1 Ng3+ 30. Ke1 Nxe2 31. Nxe2 Bg4 32. Ra3 Bxe2 33. Kxe2 Qg1 34. Nb3 Qg2+ 35. Kd1 Qf3+ 36. Kc2 Qe4+ 37. Kc3 Qf3+ 38. Kc2 Qe4+ 39. Kc3 Qf3+ 40. Kc2 Qe4+ {½-½ Nakamura,H (2789)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2758) Candidates Tournament Toronto 2024 (7)}) (12. Nc3 Re8 13. Be3 h6 14. Nh4 Bh7 15. g3 Bd8 16. Nf3 Bf6 17. Rad1 Na6 18. Bxe4 dxe4 19. Ne5 Bxe5 20. dxe5 Qe7 21. e6 Bf5 22. Rd7 Qxe6 23. Qxe6 Bxe6 24. Rxb7 Bc8 25. Rb3 Be6 26. Rb7 Bc8 27. Rb3 Bg4 28. Rb7 Reb8 29. Rxb8+ Rxb8 30. Rb1 Nb4 31. a3 Nc2 32. Bf4 Rb3 33. Nxe4 Rd3 34. Be5 Bf3 35. Nd6 Rd5 36. Bc3 Rxc5 37. h3 h5 38. Kh2 Nxa3 39. Re1 Nb5 40. Re8+ Kh7 41. Nxf7 Nxc3 42. bxc3 Ra5 43. c4 Ra2 44. Rf8 Be2 45. h4 Ra5 46. Ng5+ Kg6 47. Rc8 c5 48. Ne6 Bxc4 49. Nf4+ Kh7 50. Rc7 Kh6 51. Rc6+ Kh7 52. Nxh5 Be2 53. Nf4 Bf3 54. Rc7 Ra1 55. g4 Bxg4 56. Rxc5 {½-½ Maghsoodloo,P (2740)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2769) Tata Steel-A 86th Wijk aan Zee 2024 (7)}) 12... Re8 13. Nh4 Be6 14. Qc2 Na6 15. a3 Bg4 16. Nxe4 (16. Re3 {has been tried in a couple of high-level games. In both cases Black continued 16...Bd8, meeting 17.Nf3 with 17...Bf6. The engine prefers three other moves, including the ungainly 16...Ng5, claiming equality.} Ng5 $11 (16... h6 $11) (16... Qd8 $11)) 16... dxe4 17. Rxe4 Rxe4 18. Bxe4 Qxd4 19. Be3 Qf6 20. Bxh7+ $146 {The most obvious move is a novelty, but that's because the most "obvious" move is a piece sac.} (20. Nf3 Bxf3 21. Bxf3 Rd8 (21... Bf4 22. Bxf4 Qxf4 23. Re1 Rd8 $6 (23... Qf6 $142 $11) 24. Qe2 $6 (24. Re7 $142 $16) 24... Nc7 $2 (24... g6 $11) 25. Qe7 $16 Rf8 26. h4 h6 27. Qd7 Ne6 28. Qxb7 Nd4 29. Bxc6 Qd2 30. Rf1 Ne2+ 31. Kh1 Qf4 32. Qe7 Ng3+ 33. fxg3 Qxf1+ 34. Kh2 Qc4 35. Bd7 Rb8 36. b4 a5 37. b5 g5 38. hxg5 hxg5 39. c6 Rxb5 40. c7 Qxc7 41. Qe8+ Kg7 42. Bxb5 Qd6 43. Qe3 {1-0 Sargsyan,S (2631)-Kuzubov,Y (2625) ROM-chT Eforie Nord 2023 (2.1)}) 22. Rd1 (22. Be2 Bf4 23. Bxf4 Qxf4 24. Rd1 Rxd1+ 25. Qxd1 g6 $11 {The knight looks stupid on a6, but the position is completely equal whether White takes it or not. White's own pawn on the queenside are easily attacked, so White will not have a free hand when it comes to chasing Black's pawns after a possible 26.Bxa6.} 26. g3 Qe5 27. b4 Nc7 28. Bc4 Nd5 29. Qd3 a6 30. Kg2 Kg7 31. Bb3 Nf6 32. Bd1 h5 33. Bf3 Nd5 34. Bxd5 cxd5 35. a4 Qb2 36. b5 axb5 37. axb5 Qb4 38. Qxd5 Qxb5 39. Kf3 Qb4 40. Qe5+ Kg8 41. h4 Qc4 42. Ke3 Qc1+ 43. Ke4 Qc4+ 44. Ke3 Qc1+ 45. Ke4 Qc4+ 46. Qd4 Qe6+ 47. Kf4 Qf5+ 48. Ke3 Qb1 49. Qc3 Qf5 50. Qd4 Qb1 51. Qd8+ Kg7 52. Qd6 Qe1+ 53. Kf3 Qb4 54. Qe5+ Kg8 55. Qd5 Qc3+ 56. Ke4 Qc2+ 57. Ke3 Qc3+ 58. Ke4 Qc2+ {½-½ Kobalia,M (2578)-Peralta,F (2596) Sharjah Masters 6th 2023 (7)}) 22... Rxd1+ 23. Qxd1 Qxb2 24. Qd7 Qb1+ 25. Bd1 h5 $11 {White has sufficient compensation for the pawn, but not more.} 26. g3 Nb8 27. Qd4 g6 28. Kg2 Qf5 29. Qb2 h4 30. Qxb7 Qd5+ 31. Bf3 h3+ 32. Kxh3 Qxf3 33. Qxc7 Qh5+ 34. Kg2 Qd5+ 35. f3 Nd7 36. Qd6 Ne5 37. Qxd5 cxd5 38. Kf2 Nc6 39. g4 f6 40. h4 Kf7 41. h5 Kg7 42. Bd2 a6 43. Kg3 Kf7 44. Kf4 Kg7 45. Bc3 Kf7 46. Bb2 Nd8 47. h6 Ne6+ 48. Ke3 Nxc5 49. h7 Kg7 50. Bxf6+ Kxh7 51. Kd4 Nb3+ 52. Kxd5 Nd2 53. f4 Kg8 54. Bc3 Nf1 55. Kc6 Ne3 56. Kb7 Nc4 57. a4 a5 58. Ka6 Kf7 59. Kb5 Ne3 60. Bxa5 Ke6 61. Kc6 Nxg4 62. Bc3 Ne3 63. a5 Nd5 64. a6 Ne7+ 65. Kb7 {1-0 Wei,Y (2727)-Dominguez Perez,L (2754) FTX Road to Miami Prelim chess24.com INT 2022 (4)}) 20... Kh8 21. g3 g6 22. Qe4 (22. Bxg6 {is also interesting and complicated. This line might proceed} fxg6 23. Bd2 Bf5 24. Nxf5 Qxf5 25. Bc3+ Kg8 26. Qb3+ Qf7 27. Qxb7 Rf8 28. Bd4 Rd8 29. Be3 Nb8 30. Qxa7 Be5 $11) 22... Qe6 $8 23. Bxg6 fxg6 24. Nxg6+ Kg7 25. Bd4+ $8 Kf7 26. Ne5+ Bxe5 27. Bxe5 $11 Bf5 28. Qf4 (28. Qe3 {holds on to the c-pawn while keeping the option of an eventual Qg5; the drawback is that the e5-bishop is pinned, and Black can make a pest of himself with} Re8 29. Re1 Nb8 $11 {, intending ...Nd7.}) 28... Nxc5 29. Rd1 Re8 $8 30. Bc3 $8 Ne4 $1 31. g4 Nxc3 32. bxc3 Rg8 33. h3 Qf6 $1 34. Qc7+ $1 (34. Rd6 $2 Be6 $17) 34... Qe7 $1 35. Qf4 Qf6 36. Qc7+ Qe7 37. Qf4 Qf6 {A good game, which is what you'd expect when Stockfish plays itself. (Those of you who watched the broadcast can let me know if either player found a single move for themselves. If they did, I doubt it happened before something like move 25 or 27. I'd add that they might have spent some time trying to recall their analysis, making sure that they weren't mixing up lines, etc. But I expect that at least 2/3 of the game was prep, and possibly the whole thing.)} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2024"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2024.06.26"] [Round "1.4"] [White "Gukesh, D."] [Black "Deac, Bogdan-Daniel"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E46"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2680"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "99"] [GameId "2060964707833429"] [EventDate "2024.06.26"] {[%evp 0,99,27,27,27,6,6,10,32,33,33,20,33,11,-4,1,-3,-12,-14,-15,-22,-16,6,0,11,3,5,0,0,-51,-45,-78,-78,-89,-87,-78,-78,-81,-87,-80,-72,-110,-37,-38,-27,-54,-61,-50,-51,-53,-53,-54,-63,-77,-45,-89,-63,-90,-86,-102,-87,-91,-28,-30,-10,22,114,114,115,134,126,124,195,227,217,166,181,169,166,137,168,151,155,175,167,173,220,184,191,213,223,217,248,251,280,276,289,287,366,310,385,384]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd2 c5 6. d5 {Less popular than you'd think.} (6. a3) 6... d6 7. Bd3 exd5 8. cxd5 Nbd7 $146 9. Nge2 Ne5 10. Bc2 Rb8 {A funny "Benoni". The dark-squared bishop isn't fianchettoed, which probably makes it a little less effective. On the flip side, Black's kingside is more secure and he'll achieve ...b5 without any trouble, so he should be fine.} 11. O-O b5 12. a3 Ba5 13. h3 Re8 14. Ng3 Nc4 15. Bc1 Bxc3 $1 16. bxc3 Qa5 17. Rb1 $5 (17. Qd3 {may be the "best" way to defend the c-pawn, but it's also an instant draw:} Ne5 18. Qd1 Nc4 19. Qd3 Ne5 $11) 17... Qxc3 18. Rb3 Qe5 19. e4 (19. Bd3 Bd7 20. e4) 19... h5 $1 20. Bd3 Bd7 (20... h4 $1 {is a nice option that would have been ruled out by 19.Bd3.}) 21. f4 Qd4+ 22. Kh1 Nxe4 23. Bxe4 $2 (23. Nxe4 $142 Rxe4 24. Qxh5 Rbe8 25. Bxe4 Qxe4 26. f5 Qe2 27. Qxe2 Rxe2 28. f6 g6 $44) 23... Rxe4 $2 (23... Qxd1 24. Rxd1 b4 $3 {wins. White's best is} 25. axb4 Ba4 26. Bc2 Bxb3 27. Bxb3 Rxb4 28. Bxc4 Rxc4 29. Nf5 {, but this is one of those cases where the two minor pieces are overmatched by the rook.} Re2 $1 30. Nxd6 Rd4 $19) 24. Nxe4 (24. Rd3 $1 h4 $1 25. Rxd4 Rxd4 26. Qf3 hxg3 27. Qxg3 Rxd5 $11 {Black has more than enough for the queen, so it's White who needs the compensation here. His kingside play should suffice to hold the balance before Black's massive 4-1 queenside pawn majority starts devouring White's army.}) 24... Qxe4 25. Re1 Qh7 (25... Qg6 {looks more natural, but the two lines could transpose.} 26. Re7 Qf5 $11 27. Rg3 Re8 28. Rg5 Rxe7 $1 29. Rxf5 Bxf5 30. Kh2 $1 Bg6 31. g4 hxg4 32. hxg4 f5 $11) ({In case you're wondering why Black is moving the queen past the f5 square and returning to it when she could move there immediately...well, she can, but White's "extra" tempo means that when Black takes the e-file rook it won't come with check; here, it does.} 25... Qf5 26. Rg3 {White will gain a tempo on the queen.} Re8 27. Rg5 Rxe1+ 28. Qxe1 Qb1 $11) 26. Re7 Rd8 $6 (26... Qf5 $11) 27. a4 (27. f5 $1 $14) 27... Kf8 $11 (27... b4 $11) 28. Qe2 Nb6 (28... Qf5) 29. axb5 $6 (29. f5 $1 Nxd5 30. Rxd7 $1 Rxd7 31. Rxb5 Rd8 $8 32. Qd3 Ne7 33. Rxc5 $44) 29... Nxd5 30. Re4 Qf5 $2 (30... Bxb5 $1 $15 {has all sorts of nice geometry. White must decline the offer.}) 31. Ra4 $14 Re8 32. Qd1 Nb4 $2 {This loses. It's not so much, or just, the material that makes the decisive difference, but the complete activity of White's pieces.} (32... Kg8 $14) 33. Rxa7 Bxb5 34. Qxd6+ $18 Kg8 35. Kh2 (35. Rg3 $142) 35... Bd3 (35... Nc6 $142) 36. Rc3 Rc8 (36... Qg6 $142) 37. Be3 {There are a lot of inaccuracies around here, both because the position is complex in a non-standard way and (presumably) because the players were getting short of time leading up to the end of the time control.} (37. Ra5 $142) (37. Rc7 $142) 37... Nd5 38. Rxc5 Rxc5 39. Qxc5 Be4 40. Ra4 $2 {A big mistake on the final move of the time control. Fortunately for Gukesh, it's obviously the final move of the time control for Deac, and he errs in reply.} (40. Ra8+ $1 {should have been played, both because it's objectively good, but also to make the time control and have a chance to think.} Kh7 {Now White can take a breath, dig in, and recognize that} 41. Ra2 $1 $18 {is both forced and good, avoiding any ...Bxg2 shenanigans.}) 40... Kh7 $2 (40... Bxg2 $1 41. Ra8+ (41. Kxg2 $6 Nxe3+ 42. Qxe3 Qc2+ 43. Kg3 Qxa4 {This is "computer-equal", but very loseable for a human.}) 41... Kh7 42. Kxg2 Nxf4+ $1 43. Kg3 (43. Kf3 Nd5+ 44. Kg3 h4+ 45. Kxh4 Qe4+ 46. Kg3 Qxe3+ 47. Qxe3 Nxe3 $11) 43... h4+ $1 44. Kf3 $8 Qxh3+ $1 45. Kxf4 Qg3+ 46. Ke4 Qg2+ 47. Kd3 Qxa8 $11) (40... Nxe3 $1 41. Qxe3 Bxg2 $1 {is the more practical move order, restricting White's options.} 42. Rc4 (42. Kxg2 $6 Qc2+ {is the "computer equal" position mentioned above.}) 42... Bb7 $11 (42... Qb1 $11)) 41. Ra2 $1 $18 {Back to business as usual. With time to think, Gukesh manages to effectively finish the game.} Qg6 42. Bc1 Nf6 43. Qf2 (43. Rf2) 43... Nd5 (43... Ng8 $1 {is the most resilient option, going for a setup with the knight on h6, the bishop on f5, and the pawn on f6. White should eventually manage to break that down, but it won't be a trivial task.}) 44. Qg3 Qxg3+ 45. Kxg3 Ne7 46. Kh4 Bd5 47. Rd2 g6 {The h-pawn is secure, but the dark-squared weaknesses around Black's king will soon prove fatal.} 48. Kg5 Be6 49. Bb2 Ng8 50. Rd8 1-0 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2024"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2024.06.26"] [Round "1.5"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E05"] [WhiteElo "2745"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "59"] [GameId "2060964707833430"] [EventDate "2024.06.26"] {[%evp 0,59,25,26,18,-11,6,6,6,-16,8,11,14,2,36,-18,2,0,-9,0,-26,-17,9,13,23,-10,14,-19,11,20,20,19,23,11,11,12,12,6,2,19,21,34,23,40,37,22,4,41,29,31,47,52,53,44,51,22,38,52,53,27,46,47] I'm sure we can count on fireworks in this battle between the two most solid players in the field. (The extent to which they are "drawish" players has been greatly exaggerated over the years, especially in Giri's case, but I wouldn't exactly call them draw-averse either.)} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4 Bd7 9. Qxc4 Bc6 10. Bf4 a5 (10... Bd6 {is the "mainer" main line.}) 11. Nc3 Nbd7 ({And here} 11... Na6 {is 20x more common, seeking to exploit the trump gifted by White's 8th move.}) 12. Qb3 {New to GM play, though not a novelty.} ({Both Giri and So had previous tried} 12. Qd3 {against Kramnik. As far as I know there wasn't anything "interesting" about the results.} h6 (12... Bb4 13. Rfe1 Re8 14. Qc2 Bxf3 15. Bxf3 c6 16. Red1 Qe7 17. Na2 Bd6 18. Bxd6 Qxd6 19. Nc1 Nd5 20. e4 Nb4 21. Qc3 e5 22. Nb3 Qe7 23. Bg2 exd4 24. Rxd4 Nf8 25. Rad1 Red8 26. R1d2 Ne6 27. Rxd8+ Rxd8 28. Nxa5 Ra8 29. Nc4 Rxa4 30. Nd6 Ra1+ 31. Bf1 Na6 32. Kg2 Nac7 33. Nf5 Qe8 34. Bc4 Ra8 35. Rd6 Qf8 36. Rd7 Re8 37. Qe5 b5 38. Ba2 g6 39. Ne3 Re7 40. Rxe7 Qxe7 41. Ng4 Qg5 42. Nf6+ Kh8 43. Nd7+ Qxe5 44. Nxe5 Nd4 45. Bxf7 c5 46. f4 c4 47. Kf2 Kg7 48. Ke3 Nb3 49. g4 Nc5 50. h4 Na4 51. b3 cxb3 52. Bxb3 Nc5 53. Bd1 h6 54. Nc6 N7a6 55. Kd4 Ne6+ 56. Ke5 Nec5 57. Bc2 b4 58. Nd4 g5 59. hxg5 hxg5 60. f5 Nd7+ 61. Kd6 Nf6 62. e5 Nxg4 63. Ne6+ Kh6 64. f6 Nb8 65. Ba4 Kg6 {1-0 So,W (2822)-Kramnik,V (2811) Gashimov Memorial 4th Shamkir 2017 (5)}) 13. Qc2 Bb4 14. Rfd1 Rc8 15. Ne5 Bxg2 16. Kxg2 Qe7 17. Nxd7 Nxd7 18. e4 c6 19. Na2 f5 20. Nxb4 axb4 21. Re1 fxe4 22. Qxe4 Rce8 23. a5 Nf6 24. Qe2 Nd5 25. Be5 Rf7 26. Rf1 Ref8 27. a6 bxa6 28. Qxa6 Qd7 29. Rac1 Ne7 30. Qc4 Ng6 31. Qxc6 Nxe5 32. dxe5 Qd2 33. Qxe6 Kh8 34. Qb6 Qxb2 35. e6 Re7 36. Rb1 Qe2 37. Qxb4 Qf3+ 38. Kg1 Rxe6 39. Rb3 Qf7 40. Qc4 Re1 41. Qc2 Qe6 42. Rb1 Re2 43. Qc5 Qf5 44. Qb6 Qc2 45. Rbc1 Rfxf2 46. Qxf2 Rxf2 47. Rxc2 Rxc2 {½-½ Giri,A (2771)-Kramnik,V (2808) Leuven GCT blitz 2017 (10)}) 12... Bd6 $146 (12... Nb6 {was played in previous games, transposing to quite a few predecessors. (It may yet transpose to still more, as the ...Na6 line mentioned above often saw a subsequent ...Nb4 followed by ...Nd5, a destination also available to the knight via b6.)}) 13. Bd2 (13. Ne5 Bxg2 14. Kxg2 Nh5 15. Bg5 $1 Qxg5 16. Nxd7 Rfd8 17. Qxb7 $1 Nf4+ 18. Kg1 h5 $44 {gives Black excellent counterplay. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if this line is on So's computer (and probably Giri's as well), with the analysis continuing well beyond this point.}) 13... Ne4 14. Nxe4 Bxe4 15. Ng5 Bxg2 16. Kxg2 (16. Qc2 {transposes to a couple of predecessors:} Nf6 17. Kxg2 c5 18. Bc3 (18. dxc5 Bxc5 19. Rfd1 Qb6 20. Bc3 Qc6+ 21. Nf3 Nd5 22. Bd4 Rfc8 23. Qxc5 Qxc5 24. Bxc5 Rxc5 25. Rac1 Rcc8 26. e4 Nf6 27. Rxc8+ Rxc8 28. Rd4 Kf8 29. b4 axb4 30. Rxb4 Rc7 31. Ne5 Ke7 32. Kf3 Ne8 33. Nc4 Nd6 34. Nxd6 Kxd6 35. Ke3 Kc5 36. Rb5+ Kc6 37. Ra5 b6 38. Ra8 Rd7 39. f3 f6 40. h4 h6 41. f4 Kc5 42. g4 e5 43. fxe5 fxe5 44. a5 bxa5 45. Rxa5+ Kd6 46. Rd5+ Ke6 47. Rxd7 Kxd7 48. Kd3 {½-½ Loinjak,S (2623)-Perez,B (2530) WC-2017-S-00001 LSS email}) 18... cxd4 19. Bxd4 Rc8 20. Qb1 e5 21. Bc3 b6 22. Rd1 Qe7 23. Ne4 Qb7 24. f3 Nxe4 25. Qxe4 Qxe4 26. fxe4 Rfd8 27. Rd5 f6 28. Rad1 Be7 29. Rxd8+ Rxd8 30. Rxd8+ Bxd8 31. Kf3 Kf7 32. Ke3 Ke6 33. Kd3 Kd7 34. Kc4 Kc6 35. b4 axb4 36. Bxb4 h5 37. h3 Bc7 38. g4 hxg4 39. hxg4 Bd6 40. Bd2 Be7 {½-½ Meier,G (2628)-Kovalev,V (2655) Dortmund 46th 2018 (4)}) 16... h6 17. Nf3 b6 18. Rad1 Qe7 (18... Qc8 $11 {followed by ...Qb7 or ...Qa6 is at least as good.}) 19. e4 Bb4 $11 {/? White has a whisper of an edge, but not enough to defeat Wesley So in a classical game.} 20. Bxb4 (20. Rfe1) 20... Qxb4 21. Qxb4 axb4 22. b3 c5 $11 {The rest is manufacturing the draw.} 23. Rc1 cxd4 24. Nxd4 Nc5 25. Rc4 Rfd8 26. Rb1 Rac8 27. Rbc1 Ra8 28. Rb1 Rac8 29. Rbc1 Ra8 30. Rb1 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2024"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2024.06.27"] [Round "2"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, I."] [Black "Gukesh, D."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C64"] [WhiteElo "2770"] [BlackElo "2763"] [PlyCount "179"] [GameId "2061911408021851"] [EventDate "2024.06.25"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Bc5 5. O-O Nge7 6. c3 Ng6 7. d4 Ba7 8. Bg5 f6 9. Be3 O-O 10. Re1 Kh8 11. h3 Nce7 12. Bb3 d6 13. Nbd2 exd4 14. Nxd4 d5 15. Nc2 Bxe3 16. Nxe3 dxe4 17. Nxe4 b6 18. Qc2 Bb7 19. Rad1 Qe8 20. c4 Qc6 21. Nd5 Nxd5 22. cxd5 Qxc2 23. Bxc2 Rad8 24. d6 Bxe4 25. Bxe4 Rxd6 26. Rxd6 cxd6 27. Rc1 Nf4 28. Rc6 d5 29. Bf3 Rb8 30. Rd6 a5 31. b3 f5 32. h4 g6 33. g3 Nd3 34. Rxd5 Nb4 35. Rd2 Rc8 36. a3 Nc2 37. Rd6 Rc3 38. Bd1 Nxa3 39. Rxb6 Rc1 40. Rd6 Nb5 41. Rd8+ Kg7 42. Kg2 Nc3 43. Bf3 a4 44. Rd7+ Kh8 45. bxa4 Nxa4 46. h5 Nc5 47. Re7 gxh5 48. Bxh5 Nb3 49. Rd7 Rc4 50. Bf7 Rb4 51. Kh3 f4 52. g4 Nc5 53. Rd8+ Kg7 54. Bd5 h6 55. Rg8+ Kh7 56. Rf8 Rd4 57. Rf5 Nd3 58. Kg2 Kg7 59. Kf3 Ne1+ 60. Ke2 Nc2 61. Bb3 Nb4 62. Bf7 Nc6 63. Bh5 Nd8 64. Kf1 Rb4 65. Kg2 Rd4 66. Ra5 Ne6 67. Ra7+ Kf6 68. Ra6 Ke5 69. Ra5+ Rd5 70. Ra8 Kf6 71. Ra6 Ke7 72. Bg6 Rg5 73. Bf5 Nd4 74. Bc8 h5 75. Ra4 Nc6 76. Kf3 hxg4+ 77. Kxf4 Rb5 78. Ra6 Nb4 79. Ra7+ Kf6 80. Bxg4 Nd3+ 81. Kg3 Rb3 82. Ra6+ Kg5 83. f3 Ne5 84. Ra5 Kf6 85. Bh5 Kf5 86. Bg4+ Kf6 87. Ra6+ Kg5 88. Ra5 Kf6 89. Ra6+ Kg5 90. Ra5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2024"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2024.06.27"] [Round "2"] [White "Deac, Bogdan-Daniel"] [Black "Giri, A."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D19"] [WhiteElo "2680"] [BlackElo "2745"] [PlyCount "102"] [GameId "2061911408021852"] [EventDate "2024.06.25"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. e3 e6 7. Bxc4 Bb4 8. O-O O-O 9. Qe2 Bg6 10. Ne5 Nbd7 11. Nxg6 hxg6 12. Rd1 Qc7 13. Bd2 Rad8 14. h3 Nb6 15. Bb3 a5 16. Qd3 Qe7 17. Rac1 Rfe8 18. Qc2 Rd7 19. Nb1 g5 20. Bxb4 Qxb4 21. Nd2 g4 22. hxg4 Nxg4 23. Qc5 Qxc5 24. Rxc5 Ra8 25. Kf1 g6 26. Ke2 Kg7 27. Rg5 Nf6 28. Nf3 Ne4 29. Rg4 Nf6 30. Rh4 Rdd8 31. Ng5 Rh8 32. Rdh1 Rxh4 33. Rxh4 Nbd7 34. e4 Nf8 35. e5 Ng8 36. Rf4 Nh6 37. Bc2 Rd8 38. g4 Nh7 39. Nf3 Ng8 40. Re4 Ne7 41. Bb3 b5 42. Re3 Rb8 43. axb5 Rxb5 44. Kd1 a4 45. Bxa4 Rxb2 46. Bc2 Rb7 47. Rc3 Kh6 48. Ke2 Rb2 49. Kd1 Rb7 50. Ke2 Rb2 51. Kd1 Rb7 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2024"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2024.06.27"] [Round "2"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A20"] [WhiteElo "2805"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "114"] [GameId "2061911408021853"] [EventDate "2024.06.25"] {[%evp 0,114,20,-18,-19,-28,-25,-23,-10,-48,-5,-10,-14,-19,8,3,3,-4,13,2,16,4,39,34,30,1,0,7,16,3,31,30,49,-8,15,-11,22,27,71,102,128,139,122,136,98,98,192,188,219,225,200,200,218,107,149,181,182,133,146,149,149,121,120,117,113,70,62,72,71,62,80,66,82,70,93,65,84,87,51,61,97,-42,19,19,10,-10,25,-39,-25,-16,-16,-10,-22,-15,-44,-39,-47,-24,-30,-30,-30,-24,7,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. c4 e5 2. d3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. a3 g6 5. g3 {A reversed Dragadorf.} Bg7 6. Bg2 d5 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. O-O O-O 9. Bd2 a5 $146 10. Nc3 Nf6 $146 11. Rc1 Re8 12. Nb5 h6 13. Be3 Nd5 14. Bc5 Nb8 $146 15. e4 Nf6 16. a4 b6 17. Ba3 $14 Na6 $2 18. d4 $18 Bb7 19. Nxe5 Bxe4 20. Bxe4 Nxe4 21. Nxf7 $1 Qd5 (21... Kxf7 $2 22. Qb3+ Re6 (22... Kf6 $2 23. Rc6+ $18 (23. Qf3+ $18)) 23. Rfe1 Ng5 24. h4 $18) 22. Ne5 Ng5 {Maybe So was counting on this move, assuming he didn't overlook 21.Nxf7. Either way, he missed something, and White should win.} 23. h4 $1 Rxe5 24. dxe5 Nf3+ 25. Kh1 Qb7 26. Rc3 (26. Nxc7 $1 {is even stronger, threatening not only the rook but 27.Qd5+ as well.} Nd2+ 27. f3 Nxf1 28. Nxa8 Nxg3+ 29. Kg2 Nh5 30. Nc7 Nxc7 31. Qd8+ $18) 26... Nd2+ 27. Kh2 $1 Nxf1+ 28. Qxf1 Qe4 29. f4 (29. Re3) 29... Rd8 30. Qc4+ $2 {Surprisingly, this is a bit of a mistake. Having played 29.f4 and opened the second rank it's understandable that Caruana would want to get rid of the queens; nevertheless, this comes at the cost of a temporary loss of coordination.} (30. Qg2 Qe1 (30... Qxg2+ 31. Kxg2 c5 32. Kf3 $18) 31. Rc2 $18) 30... Qxc4 31. Rxc4 c5 32. h5 {A good move, and White is still winning.} gxh5 33. Re4 Bf8 34. Kg2 (34. Kh3 $142 Be7 35. f5 Bg5 36. b3 $18 {followed by Nd6 should lead to a speedy end to the game after the time control.}) 34... Kf7 35. f5 Be7 (35... Rd3 $142) 36. b3 Nb4 37. Bc1 (37. Bxb4 axb4 38. f6 Rd2+ 39. Kh3 Bf8 (39... Bd8 40. Nd6+ Ke6 41. Rf4 $18) 40. Nc7 Rf2 (40... Rd3 41. e6+ Kxf6 42. Rf4+ Kg7 43. Rf7+ Kg8 44. Ne8 $1 $18 {Threatening mate in two, and there's no good defense.}) 41. e6+ $1 Kxf6 42. Nd5+ Kg6 43. e7 $18) 37... Bg5 38. Nd6+ Ke7 39. Bf4 (39. Bb2) 39... Nc6 40. Nb5 $2 {As so often happens, a critical error comes on the last move of the time control. Pretty much any non-blundering move by the rook or the king would have maintained a winning advantage.} (40. Re3 Nd4 41. Bxg5+ hxg5 42. g4 $1 hxg4 (42... h4 43. Ne4 $18) 43. Kg3 $18) 40... Nd4 $14 41. f6+ Kf7 42. Nxd4 (42. Nd6+ $142) 42... cxd4 43. e6+ Kxf6 44. Bc7 Re8 45. Bxb6 d3 46. Bxa5 d2 47. Rd4 Rxe6 48. Kf3 Re3+ 49. Kf2 Rxb3 50. Bxd2 Bxd2 51. Rxd2 Ra3 {This is a routine draw.} 52. Rd4 Kg5 53. Kg2 Ra1 54. Rd5+ Kg4 55. Rd4+ Kg5 56. Rd5+ Kg4 57. Rd4+ Kg5 {White's problem is that if his king heads for the queenside, Black will take the g-pawn and have no trouble getting his rook back in time to cope with the a-pawn. And if White's king doesn't head for the queenside, there's nothing to do.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2024"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2024.06.27"] [Round "2"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Vachier Lagrave, M."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B31"] [WhiteElo "2747"] [BlackElo "2732"] [PlyCount "98"] [GameId "2061911408021854"] [EventDate "2024.06.25"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. Bxc6 bxc6 6. Re1 Qc7 7. d3 e5 8. c3 Nf6 9. d4 cxd4 10. cxd4 exd4 11. Qxd4 O-O 12. e5 Nd5 13. Nc3 Nxc3 14. Qxc3 d5 15. h3 Re8 16. Bf4 Be6 17. Rac1 Rac8 18. Nd4 Qb7 19. Nb3 d4 20. Nxd4 Bxa2 21. Nxc6 Be6 22. Red1 Bf8 23. Qf3 Qxb2 24. Nxa7 Rxc1 25. Rxc1 Qa3 26. Qc6 Rb8 27. Qc7 Rb4 28. Be3 Rb3 29. Re1 Rc3 30. Qb6 Rb3 31. Qc7 Rc3 32. Qb6 Rb3 33. Qd4 Rd3 34. Qa1 Qxa1 35. Rxa1 h6 36. Nc6 Bd5 37. Ra6 Ra3 38. Rb6 Rb3 39. Rxb3 Bxb3 40. Nd4 Bc4 41. g4 h5 42. gxh5 gxh5 43. Kg2 Kh7 44. Kg3 Kg6 45. f4 Be6 46. Kg2 Bd7 47. Kg3 Be6 48. Kg2 Bd7 49. Kg3 Be6 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2024"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2024.06.27"] [Round "2"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D10"] [WhiteElo "2737"] [BlackElo "2766"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "75"] [GameId "2061911408021855"] [EventDate "2024.06.25"] {[%evp 0,75,20,18,20,6,30,11,30,38,26,26,41,8,29,32,24,16,22,20,26,18,26,33,29,19,40,32,52,49,41,9,16,-8,20,5,10,-7,76,21,37,57,153,69,85,70,70,126,142,163,167,170,188,127,121,95,126,83,146,127,110,110,110,147,141,136,192,212,199,181,335,250,250,287,317,317,471,502]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5 cxd5 4. Bf4 Nf6 5. e3 Nc6 6. Bb5 Bd7 7. Nc3 a6 8. Be2 {Almost a novelty.} (8. Bd3 {has been standard.}) 8... e6 9. Nf3 Be7 10. h3 O-O 11. O-O Qb6 $146 {Best.} (11... Qa5 12. Qb3 b5 13. Rfc1 Rfc8 14. a4 b4 15. Nb1 Qd8 16. Nbd2 h6 17. Qd1 Be8 18. Nb3 Ne4 19. a5 Qd7 20. Nfd2 Nxd2 21. Qxd2 Qa7 22. Rc2 Bd7 23. Bd3 Bd8 24. Qe2 Ne7 25. Nc5 Bb5 26. Bxb5 axb5 27. Qxb5 Bxa5 28. Nb3 Rxc2 29. Rxa5 Qxa5 30. Nxa5 Rxb2 31. g4 Rc8 32. Bg3 Ng6 33. h4 h5 34. Nc6 Rc2 35. gxh5 R2xc6 36. hxg6 fxg6 37. Qxb4 Kh7 38. Qe7 {1-0 Lenderman,A (2566)-Ortiz Suarez,I (2503) CAN Transnational Rapid Toronto 2023 (8)}) 12. a3 {A standard trick, but not a mere cheapo as White may later expand with b2-b4.} Rfc8 (12... Qxb2 $4 13. Na4 $18 {wins the queen.}) 13. Na4 Qa7 14. b4 b6 15. Qb3 Ne4 16. Bd3 Qb7 17. Bxe4 dxe4 18. Nd2 $11 b5 $2 (18... Na7 $11 {is one very good move for Black, intending to continue with ...Bc6, ...Nb5, and ...Bd5.}) 19. Nc3 $2 (19. Nc5 $16 Bxc5 20. bxc5 Ne7 (20... e5 21. Bg3 $1 exd4 22. Nxe4 $1 $16) 21. Qc2 f5 22. Rfb1 $16 {White's coming dark-squared adventures should prove more fruitful than Black's attempt to create a barricade using the d5 and c6 squares.}) 19... a5 $2 ({It was important for Black to first play} 19... f5 {, and only after} 20. f3 {play ...a5 (which is acceptable but not the only good move).} a5 21. fxe4 axb4 22. axb4 Nxb4 23. exf5 Nd5 $1 24. Nxd5 Qxd5 $11) 20. Ncxe4 $16 Ra6 $2 (20... e5 $1 21. Bxe5 Nxe5 22. dxe5 Bc6 23. f3 Bd5 $16 {Black's excellent bishops give him a significant measure of compensation for his two pawn deficit.}) 21. Nc5 $18 Bxc5 22. bxc5 e5 23. dxe5 $6 (23. Bg3 $1 exd4 24. Ne4 $1 $18 {We saw this trick in the note to White's 19th move, and it works here too.}) 23... Be6 (23... Nd8 $1 $16 {/+- is a nice regrouping. The a6-rook will switch to g6, the bishop to c6, and the knight to e6. He's still in trouble - White's two extra pawns matter - but he'll have some chances, especially as time trouble approaches.}) 24. Qb2 $18 b4 25. Ne4 Rb8 26. a4 (26. Nd6) 26... b3 27. Nd6 Qa7 28. Rfc1 $6 (28. Qc3 $142) 28... Rb4 $2 (28... Nb4 $16 {/+- was a last chance to make a bit of a mess.}) 29. e4 $18 Nd4 30. Be3 Nc2 31. Rxc2 $1 bxc2 32. Qxc2 Qd7 33. Bd2 Rb8 34. f4 Bxh3 {Hopeless, but there's nothing better.} 35. gxh3 Qxh3 36. Qc3 Qg4+ 37. Kf2 Rc6 38. Nf5 {Threatening both Ne7+ and Rg1. White's also up material while Black has no counterplay at all. Time to give up.} 1-0 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2024"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2024.06.28"] [Round "3"] [White "Gukesh, D."] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2747"] [PlyCount "161"] [GameId "2061911408021856"] [EventDate "2024.06.25"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 dxc4 5. Nf3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 a5 7. a3 Bxd2+ 8. Nbxd2 b5 9. b3 cxb3 10. Qxb3 c6 11. O-O O-O 12. Qb2 Nbd7 13. Rfc1 Bb7 14. Ne1 e5 15. dxe5 Nxe5 16. Qxe5 Qxd2 17. Rd1 Qh6 18. Qc7 Rfb8 19. Nd3 Nd5 20. Qe5 Re8 21. Qb2 Qd6 22. Rac1 Qe7 23. Nc5 Bc8 24. e3 b4 25. Bxd5 cxd5 26. axb4 axb4 27. Qxb4 Be6 28. Qd4 Red8 29. Nd3 h6 30. Nf4 Bg4 31. Rd2 Bf3 32. Rdc2 Qd7 33. Nd3 Qh3 34. Ne1 Be4 35. Rd2 Qh5 36. Qc5 Rd7 37. Rcd1 Rda7 38. f3 Ra5 39. Qd4 Bxf3 40. Nxf3 Qxf3 41. Qf4 Qh5 42. e4 dxe4 43. Rd8+ Rxd8 44. Rxd8+ Kh7 45. Qxe4+ g6 46. Rd2 Qh3 47. Qe1 Qc8 48. Rf2 Qc5 49. Kg2 Qc6+ 50. Kg1 Qb6 51. Kf1 Qa6+ 52. Qe2 Qb7 53. Qf3 Qxf3 54. Rxf3 Rf5 55. Rxf5 gxf5 56. Kf2 Kg6 57. Kf3 Kg5 58. h3 Kf6 59. Kf4 Ke6 60. g4 fxg4 61. hxg4 Kf6 62. Kf3 Ke5 63. Ke3 Kd5 64. Kd3 Kd6 65. Kd4 Ke6 66. Ke4 Kf6 67. Kf4 Kg6 68. Kf3 Kg7 69. Ke4 Kf6 70. Kf4 Kg6 71. Kf3 Kg5 72. Kg3 f6 73. Kf3 Kh4 74. Kf4 Kh3 75. Kf3 Kh2 76. Kf2 Kh3 77. Kf3 Kh4 78. Kf4 h5 79. gxh5 Kxh5 80. Kf5 Kh6 81. Kxf6 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2024"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2024.06.28"] [Round "3"] [White "Vachier Lagrave, M."] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2732"] [BlackElo "2737"] [PlyCount "112"] [GameId "2061911408021857"] [EventDate "2024.06.25"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Bd7 10. Rd1 Be7 11. g4 Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. Nd2 Kc8 14. Nf3 Bd8 15. Bg5 f6 16. exf6 gxf6 17. Bh6 a5 18. Rd2 c5 19. Rad1 Be6 20. a3 Ra6 21. Kh2 Rb6 22. Kg3 Rg8 23. Re1 f5 24. g5 Ba2 25. Kf4 Rxb2 26. c4 Rxd2 27. Nxd2 a4 28. Ra1 Bb3 29. Nxb3 axb3 30. Rb1 Re8 31. Rxb3 Re2 32. f3 Rh2 33. Kxf5 Rxh3 34. Bg7 c6 35. Be5 b5 36. cxb5 c4 37. Rb4 Rxf3+ 38. Ke4 Rxa3 39. bxc6 Bc7 40. Rxc4 Rh3 41. Rc5 Bxe5 42. Rxe5 Kc7 43. Re6 Rh1 44. Ke5 Rh2 45. Kf6 Rh5 46. Kf5 Rh1 47. Rf6 Rh2 48. Ke6 Rh5 49. Rf7+ Kxc6 50. Kf6 Kd6 51. Ra7 Kc6 52. Ra6+ Kd7 53. Ra7+ Kd6 54. Ra6+ Kd7 55. Ra7+ Kd6 56. Ra6+ Kd7 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2024"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2024.06.28"] [Round "3"] [White "Giri, A."] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, I."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E06"] [WhiteElo "2745"] [BlackElo "2770"] [PlyCount "81"] [GameId "2061911408021858"] [EventDate "2024.06.25"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 e6 4. d4 Be7 5. c4 O-O 6. Nc3 dxc4 7. Ne5 c5 8. dxc5 Qxd1+ 9. Nxd1 Bxc5 10. O-O Nd5 11. Nxc4 Nc6 12. Nc3 Nd4 13. Bd2 Bd7 14. Rab1 Bc6 15. Rfe1 Nf6 16. Red1 Bxg2 17. Kxg2 Rac8 18. Bf4 Nf5 19. e4 Bb4 20. exf5 Rxc4 21. fxe6 fxe6 22. Bd6 Rfc8 23. Bxb4 Rxb4 24. Rd3 e5 25. Nd5 Nxd5 26. Rxd5 Rc2 27. Rxe5 Rbxb2 28. Rxb2 Rxb2 29. Re7 a5 30. a4 Rb4 31. f4 b6 32. Rb7 Rxa4 33. Rxb6 Ra2+ 34. Kh3 Kf7 35. Ra6 h6 36. Kg4 Rxh2 37. Ra7+ Kf6 38. Ra6+ Kf7 39. Ra7+ Kf6 40. Ra6+ Kf7 41. Ra7+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2024"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2024.06.28"] [Round "3"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "Caruana, F."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A46"] [WhiteElo "2766"] [BlackElo "2805"] [PlyCount "54"] [GameId "2061911408021859"] [EventDate "2024.06.25"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bf4 Be7 4. e3 Nh5 5. Bg3 d6 6. c4 Nd7 7. Nc3 O-O 8. Qc2 g6 9. O-O-O a6 10. Kb1 b5 11. cxb5 axb5 12. Bxb5 Nb6 13. d5 Nxd5 14. Nxd5 exd5 15. Nd4 c5 16. Nc6 Qc7 17. Rxd5 Nxg3 18. hxg3 Bb7 19. Nxe7+ Qxe7 20. Rhd1 Bxd5 21. Rxd5 Rfb8 22. a4 Rb6 23. e4 Qb7 24. Rd2 Qe7 25. Rd5 Qb7 26. Rd2 Qe7 27. Rd5 Qb7 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2024"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2024.06.28"] [Round "3"] [White "So, W."] [Black "Deac, Bogdan-Daniel"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D73"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2680"] [PlyCount "135"] [GameId "2061911408021860"] [EventDate "2024.06.25"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. d4 Nf6 5. c4 dxc4 6. Na3 c5 7. O-O Nc6 8. dxc5 Qxd1 9. Rxd1 Be6 10. Be3 Nd7 11. Nd4 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 Bxd4 13. Rxd4 O-O-O 14. Nxc4 Nxc5 15. Rxd8+ Rxd8 16. Na5 Rd7 17. Rc1 Kb8 18. b3 Na6 19. a3 Bd5 20. Rd1 Nc7 21. f4 Kc8 22. e4 b6 23. exd5 bxa5 24. Rc1 Rd6 25. Rc5 Rb6 26. Rxa5 Rxb3 27. Rxa7 Rb1+ 28. Kf2 Rb2+ 29. Kg1 Rb1+ 30. Bf1 Nxd5 31. Kf2 Rb2+ 32. Kf3 Nc7 33. Be2 h5 34. Ra4 e6 35. Rb4 Ra2 36. Rb3 Nd5 37. h4 Kc7 38. Bc4 Rc2 39. Bd3 Ra2 40. Bc4 Rc2 41. Bd3 Ra2 42. Ke4 Kd6 43. Kd4 Rd2 44. Kc4 Kc6 45. Be4 Re2 46. Bf3 Re1 47. Kd4 Kd6 48. Bxd5 exd5 49. Rb6+ Ke7 50. Kxd5 Re3 51. a4 Ra3 52. Rb4 Rxg3 53. a5 Ra3 54. Rb5 Ra4 55. Kc5 Kd7 56. Kb6 Kc8 57. a6 Kb8 58. f5 Rxh4 59. Re5 Rb4+ 60. Ka5 Rf4 61. Re8+ Ka7 62. Re7+ Ka8 63. Re8+ Ka7 64. Re7+ Ka8 65. Re8+ Ka7 66. Re7+ Ka8 67. Re8+ Ka7 68. Re7+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2024"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2024.06.29"] [Round "4"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2770"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "110"] [GameId "2061911408021861"] [EventDate "2024.06.25"] {[%evp 0,110,28,25,16,23,13,12,20,13,13,-17,-17,-4,-6,-1,1,-41,-1,-19,-6,-14,-9,-18,-5,-17,-15,-17,-24,-16,-15,-8,-7,4,-11,-34,-7,-2,0,-2,-12,-4,3,0,-5,-14,-2,-35,-34,-56,-58,-54,-3,-3,-61,-69,-78,-74,-68,-75,-43,-46,-6,0,-8,-25,-16,-12,-16,-16,-16,0,-2,0,-5,0,0,8,10,10,34,34,25,14,46,38,45,35,52,45,36,28,29,36,27,27,27,27,23,14,20,15,28,11,19,17,20,10,20,12,11,10,9]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O d6 (6... d5) 7. h3 a6 8. Ba4 h6 (8... Ba7 {is the most popular move, chosen by So himself last year against Carlsen. The move in the game is among the normal options though, and practically every move both sides have reasonable alternatives to the moves chosen. Transpositions are often possible too, so let's skip ahead until the theory thins out somewhat.}) 9. Re1 Re8 10. Nbd2 b5 11. Bc2 a5 12. Nf1 d5 13. d4 {The thinning has occurred. This move was only played once before, with 13.exd5 having been standard.} (13. exd5 Qxd5 {was usual, and now White has tried 14.Be3, 14.a4, 14.Ng3, and 14.Bb3 (though generally not at the same time).}) 13... dxe4 14. dxc5 Qxd1 15. Bxd1 exf3 16. Bxf3 Bb7 17. Ne3 $146 {This seems unlikely to put the Berlin out of business. Black has equality, and many ways to maintain it.} (17. a4 b4 18. Bd2 bxc3 19. Bxc3 e4 20. Be2 Nd5 21. Red1 Nxc3 22. bxc3 Ne5 23. Rab1 Bc6 24. Bb5 g6 25. Bxc6 Nxc6 26. Ne3 Ra7 27. h4 h5 28. Rd7 Kg7 29. Rb5 Ne5 30. Rd4 Nc6 31. Rd5 Rd8 32. Rxd8 Nxd8 33. Nc4 Ne6 34. Kf1 {½-½ Ozols,A (2333)-Voveris,G (2407) EU-chT12 sf2 email ICCF email 2021}) 17... a4 (17... b4) (17... Red8) (17... Rad8) (17... Nd8) 18. Nc2 (18. Be2 b4 19. cxb4 Nxb4 20. Bd2 Nc6 $11 {It's difficult to see how White can use either the queenside majority or the bishop pair.}) 18... Na5 19. Be2 Be4 20. Nb4 c6 21. Bf1 Rac8 22. Be3 Bd5 23. g4 $6 (23. f4 $142 $11) (23. f3 $142 $11) 23... Nc4 24. Rab1 $6 (24. Bc1 {is unpleasant but best.}) 24... Be4 $15 25. Rbd1 Nxb2 (25... Bf3 $1 26. Be2 Nxe3 27. fxe3 Bxe2 28. Rxe2 Ne4 $15) 26. Rd6 Re6 27. Rxe6 $6 (27. g5 $1 hxg5 28. Bxg5 $44 {/?}) 27... fxe6 28. g5 hxg5 29. Bxg5 Bf5 $6 (29... Bd5 $1 30. Rxe5 Nd1 31. Bd2 Ne4 32. Be1 Nexc3 33. a3 Kf7 $17 {White's bishop pair doesn't make up for Black's extra pawn and his (White's) having four isolated pawns.}) 30. Rxe5 Ne4 (30... Kf7 $142) 31. Be3 $11 Nc4 32. Bxc4 bxc4 33. Bd4 Ng5 34. Kg2 $1 Bxh3+ 35. Kg3 Bf5 36. f3 Kf7 37. Re2 {White's pawns are ugly, but so are Black's. Between that and the opposite-colored bishops, a draw is likely.} Nh7 38. Rd2 Nf6 39. Bxf6 $1 Kxf6 40. Rd6 a3 $1 41. Nxc6 Bb1 42. Nd4 Rxc5 43. Rxe6+ Kf7 44. Ra6 Rg5+ 45. Kf2 Bxa2 46. Rxa3 Bb1 47. Ra7+ Kf6 48. Ra6+ Kf7 49. f4 Rg4 50. Kf3 Rg1 51. Ke3 g5 52. Ra7+ Kf6 53. Ra6+ Kf7 54. Ra7+ Kf6 55. Ra6+ Kf7 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2024"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2024.06.29"] [Round "4"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Deac, Bogdan-Daniel"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E29"] [WhiteElo "2805"] [BlackElo "2680"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "67"] [GameId "2061911408021862"] [EventDate "2024.06.25"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. a3 {The Saemisch is back. Who knows for how long, but Nimzo players need to get this out of their "other" file and make sure they're prepared for it.} Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. Bd3 Nc6 8. Rb1 {This subtle move has been picked up by Grischuk and Sarana, and now Caruana has joined the team. As far as I can tell it's the most useful waiting move White has on tap, and what White is waiting for is ...b6, taking away the ...Qa5+ option in some important lines. White may also play Nf3 in some lines (possibly but not always prefaced by f4), developing the knight to a more active square than e2.} (8. Ne2 {is by far the most common move, going back generations. It's not bad, but as noted above the knight may be better on f3.}) (8. e4 $6 {would be nice if it worked.} cxd4 9. cxd4 d5 (9... Nxd4 {is also playable, meeting} 10. e5 {with} Qa5+ {- a resource unavailable to Black when the pawn sits on b6. This is still playable for White after} 11. Kf1 $1 {, as} Qxe5 $4 (11... Ne8 {must be played.} 12. Bxh7+ Kxh7 13. Qxd4 $11) 12. Bb2 $18 {wins a piece.}) 10. cxd5 exd5 11. e5 Ne4 $15 12. Ne2 Bg4 $15 ({Again, there's} 12... Qa5+ $11) 13. Bb2 $2 {Correct if one inserts Rb1 and ...b6, but here it loses to - you guessed it -} Qa5+ $1 $19) 8... d6 {A good move, but one Black would prefer to do without in the 8.Ne2 lines.} (8... b6 9. e4 {Now White is better if Black chases the d-pawn.} cxd4 (9... Ne8 {is a standard rejoinder to e4 in many Saemisch lines, avoiding the Bg5 pin. Here White takes advantage of not having played Ne2 by putting it on f3 instead, with an edge.} 10. Nf3 d6 11. e5 dxe5 12. Nxe5 $14) (9... d6) ({and} 9... d5 {may be Black's best options here.}) 10. cxd4 Nxd4 (10... d5 11. cxd5 exd5 12. e5 Ne4 13. Ne2 Bg4 14. Bb2 $16 {/+- No 14...Qa5+ here.}) 11. e5 {No 11...Qa5+ here.} Ne8 {and now not 12.Bxh7+ as in the similar line given above, but instead} 12. Be4 $18 {, winning material and showing yet another tactical drawback of ...b6.}) 9. Ne2 {Now the play reverts to 8.Ne2-like territory.} e5 10. O-O Re8 11. f3 b6 12. e4 $146 cxd4 13. cxd4 Nxd4 {Allowing the swap helps White by clearing the e2-knight out of his way as he builds on the kingside.} (13... exd4 $142) 14. Nxd4 exd4 15. Bg5 (15. Bb2 $14) 15... Re5 16. Bh4 Qe7 17. Be2 Ra5 18. Rb3 Ba6 19. Qxd4 $14 Qe5 (19... Rc5 $142) 20. Rd1 $16 Qxd4+ (20... Ne8 $142) 21. Rxd4 {Despite the weakness of his a- and c-pawns, White is clearly better thanks to his bishops and the fatally weak d-pawn.} Ne8 22. Be1 Rc5 23. Bb4 Rc6 24. f4 Rac8 25. Rc3 R8c7 26. Kf2 (26. a4 {is a nice idea, taking ...b5 ideas off the table and to (sometimes) play a5.} b5 $2 27. cxb5 Rxc3 28. Bxc3 Rxc3 29. bxa6 $18) 26... h5 27. h3 g6 28. a4 Rc8 29. Ke3 Bb7 30. f5 gxf5 $6 ({It was better to try to maintain the status quo with something like} 30... Kh7) 31. exf5 $18 {The h-pawn is very sickly.} Nf6 32. Kf4 d5 33. Be7 Re8 34. Re3 $1 {The d-pawn is dropping, and White's resulting d-pawn will soon cost Black a piece. Black's king is in trouble too, so resignation is appropriate.} 1-0 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2024"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2024.06.29"] [Round "4"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2766"] [BlackElo "2732"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "94"] [GameId "2061911408021863"] [EventDate "2024.06.25"] {[%evp 0,94,25,25,51,39,90,84,51,38,33,31,82,47,35,41,69,57,31,60,69,73,73,-38,-26,-79,20,-109,-84,-111,-120,-127,-74,-71,-71,-73,-57,-68,-63,-44,-31,-57,-19,-5,-25,-33,-61,-68,-68,-70,-81,-74,-88,-94,-26,-31,-23,20,27,-13,0,-88,-66,-73,-87,-54,-64,-76,-92,-71,-74,-74,-77,-77,-78,-75,-68,-71,-68,-80,-64,-88,-60,-28,-28,-30,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Qd3 {One of White's trendier options.} Nbd7 7. Be2 b5 (7... g6 {was MVL's move against Firouzja last December, and Abdusattorov faced it earlier this year:} 8. Bg5 Bg7 9. f4 b5 (9... Nc5 10. Qe3 Ne6 11. Nxe6 Bxe6 12. O-O Rc8 13. Rad1 Qa5 14. Kh1 Qc5 15. Qf3 Bg4 16. Qd3 h6 17. Bh4 Bxe2 18. Qxe2 Qh5 19. Qe1 Ng4 20. Rd5 g5 21. Bg3 e6 22. Rxd6 gxf4 23. Rxf4 Be5 24. Rxg4 Bxd6 25. h3 Be5 26. Qf2 Rf8 27. Bf4 Bxc3 28. bxc3 Qc5 29. Be3 Qxc3 30. Bxh6 Qxc2 31. Qf6 Qd1+ 32. Kh2 Qd8 33. Qb2 Qc7+ 34. Bf4 Qe7 35. Rg3 f6 36. Bh6 Rc5 37. Qd4 e5 38. Qa4+ Kd8 39. Qb3 Rf7 40. Bd2 Rg7 41. Qb6+ Rc7 42. Bb4 Qf7 43. Rxg7 Qxg7 44. Bd6 Kc8 45. Bxc7 Qxc7 46. Qxf6 a5 47. Qf8+ Kd7 48. Qf7+ Kc6 49. Qxc7+ Kxc7 50. h4 Kd6 51. h5 Ke7 52. a4 Kf6 53. g4 b5 54. axb5 a4 55. b6 a3 56. b7 a2 57. b8=Q a1=Q 58. Qd8+ Kg7 59. Qe7+ Kh6 60. Qf6+ Kh7 61. g5 Qb2+ 62. Kg3 Qb4 63. g6+ Kh6 64. Qh8+ Kg5 65. Qxe5+ Kh6 66. Kg4 {1-0 Abdusattorov,N (2727)-Donchenko,A (2643) Tata Steel-A 86th Wijk aan Zee 2024 (13)}) 10. Nc6 Qc7 11. Nxe7 Bb7 12. Bxf6 Nxf6 13. Ned5 Nxd5 14. Nxd5 Bxd5 15. Qxd5 Bxb2 16. Qxa8+ Ke7 17. Qxa6 Bxa1 18. O-O Bd4+ 19. Kh1 Rb8 20. Bxb5 Qxc2 21. e5 dxe5 22. fxe5 Bxe5 23. Bd3 Qc8 24. Qa3+ Ke8 25. Qa4+ Kf8 26. Bc4 f6 27. Qa3+ Kg7 28. Qe7+ Kh6 29. Bb3 Rb7 30. Qa3 Rc7 31. Qb4 Kg7 32. Qd2 Qd7 33. Qe2 Qd4 34. g3 Qc5 35. Rd1 h5 36. Kg2 Qc6+ 37. Bd5 Qa4 38. Be4 Re7 39. Bf3 h4 40. Rc1 hxg3 41. hxg3 Qa3 42. Qd2 Qd6 43. Qf2 Qd4 44. Qe2 Bd6 45. Qf2 Qxf2+ 46. Kxf2 Ra7 47. Bd5 f5 48. Rc6 Be5 49. Re6 Bf6 50. Kf3 Re7 51. Rd6 Be5 52. Rc6 Bd4 53. Be6 Kf6 54. Bb3+ Kg5 55. Re6 Rxe6 56. Bxe6 {½-½ Firouzja,A (2763)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2731) CCT Final playoff Toronto rapid 2023 (5.2)}) 8. O-O Bb7 9. b4 {This isn't the thing to do when you're castling queenside, but here its justification is that it stops both ...b4 and ...Nc5. It also fixes Black's b-pawn so that White can engage in a quasi-minority attack with a coming a2-a4.} e6 (9... g6 {is good too.}) 10. a4 bxa4 11. Qg3 $146 ({The obvious} 11. Rxa4 {had been played in all the previous games.}) 11... Qc8 $1 {The engine's top choice. It's amazing that top players are even ready for non-bombshell novelties in obscure variations.} (11... Nxe4 $2 {meets no immediate refutation, but White is much better after} 12. Nxe4 Bxe4 13. Rxa4 $16) 12. Ra3 $5 h5 $5 13. h4 (13. Bg5) 13... e5 (13... g6) 14. Nf3 $6 (14. Nf5 g6 15. Ne3 Nxe4 16. Nxe4 Bxe4 17. Rd1 $44) 14... Bxe4 $15 15. Ng5 $2 {Too soon! White must first get rid of Black's monster bishop on e4.} (15. Nxe4 Nxe4 16. Qh3 d5 17. Ng5 $1 Nef6 $1 (17... Bxb4 18. Nxe4 $1 dxe4 (18... Bxa3 19. Bxa3 dxe4 20. Rd1 $44 {gives White tons of compensation for his huge material deficit.}) 19. Rxa4 a5 20. Bb5 $44) 18. Rxa4 Qxc2 19. Rxa6 Rxa6 20. Bxa6 Be7 21. Bb5 Qc7 22. Bd2 O-O 23. Rc1 Qa7 $15) 15... Bc6 $19 16. Nxa4 Be7 $2 (16... d5 {needed to be played first, grabbing valuable central territory and hitting the b4-pawn.} 17. Qb3 {Now Black is ready to develop the bishop and tuck the king into the corner.} Be7 18. c4 O-O $19) 17. c4 $15 Rb8 18. Bd2 O-O 19. Nc3 Nb6 $6 20. Rc1 $14 {Suddenly White is better, as Black is somewhat shut in despite his extra pawn.} Bb7 21. Qd3 $6 (21. Nd1 $1 d5 22. c5 Nc4 23. Bxc4 dxc4 24. Ne3 $14) 21... Qc6 22. Bf3 Qxc4 23. Nd5 $1 {Otherwise, White is lost. It's remarkable how many things this one move does: it defends the queen (clearance for the rook on a3), attacks Black's queen (clearance for the rook on c1), hits the knight on b6, hits the bishop on e7, and threatens mate in two (24.Nxf6+ followed by 25.Qh7#)!} Bxd5 (23... Qxc1+ 24. Bxc1 Bxd5 {is also equal.}) 24. Rxc4 Bxc4 25. Qc2 $11 g6 26. Be3 Bb5 27. Bxb6 (27. Ne4 $142 $11) 27... Rxb6 28. Ne6 $5 Rfb8 29. Nc7 Kg7 30. Nd5 Rc6 (30... Nxd5 31. Bxd5 Be8 32. Qc7 Bd8 33. Qa7 Rxb4 34. Rf3 $1 Bf6 $11) 31. Qd2 Nxd5 32. Bxd5 Rc7 33. Rc3 {From here the draw is within sight.} Rxc3 34. Qxc3 Bxh4 35. Qc7 Rf8 36. g3 Bf6 37. Kg2 h4 38. gxh4 Bxh4 39. f3 Bg5 40. Kf2 Bf4 41. Qxd6 Rc8 42. Qe7 Rc2+ 43. Kg1 Rc1+ 44. Kg2 Rc2+ 45. Kg1 Rc1+ 46. Kg2 Rc2+ 47. Kg1 Rc1+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2024"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2024.06.29"] [Round "4"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Gukesh, Dommaraju"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D20"] [WhiteElo "2737"] [BlackElo "2763"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "62"] [GameId "2061911408021864"] [EventDate "2024.06.25"] {[%evp 0,62,25,13,32,13,25,24,0,23,19,-47,0,-25,-27,-36,-8,-61,31,42,38,41,55,32,70,35,33,57,60,19,19,37,26,13,0,10,24,-7,51,58,37,36,25,11,24,14,0,18,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 e5 4. Nf3 exd4 5. Bxc4 Bb4+ 6. Nbd2 Nc6 7. O-O Nf6 8. e5 Nd5 9. Nb3 Nb6 10. Bb5 Qd5 11. Nbxd4 O-O 12. Bxc6 bxc6 13. Qc2 c5 14. Nf5 c4 15. a3 $146 ({Almost unbelievably, two games continued} 15. Rd1 $4 Bxf5 {and 0-1. Both were classical game, and the players' ratings were 2181 and 2467.}) 15... Bc5 $11 16. Be3 Bxf5 17. Qxf5 Bxe3 18. fxe3 Qe6 19. Qxe6 fxe6 20. Nd4 Nd5 21. Rfe1 Rfb8 22. Rac1 Rxb2 23. Rxc4 Rf8 24. Nxe6 Nxe3 $1 25. Rxc7 Rxg2+ 26. Kh1 Rff2 27. Rxe3 Rxh2+ 28. Kg1 Rhg2+ 29. Kh1 Rh2+ 30. Kg1 Rhg2+ 31. Kh1 Rh2+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2024"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2024.06.29"] [Round "4"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Giri, A."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D27"] [WhiteElo "2747"] [BlackElo "2745"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "159"] [GameId "2061911408021865"] [EventDate "2024.06.25"] {[%evp 0,159,18,18,18,-5,21,25,54,1,54,52,60,55,50,26,50,31,48,46,46,29,44,29,48,36,36,53,82,51,66,48,51,40,42,34,42,41,57,-10,57,37,24,46,46,72,92,94,85,43,79,70,75,69,72,64,56,61,76,48,42,25,62,69,73,58,92,100,104,109,113,112,107,114,114,114,114,211,210,133,225,114,188,166,211,137,137,146,137,136,134,149,134,134,134,0,155,160,156,160,160,178,165,172,172,161,172,172,141,138,163,118,124,124,118,145,149,159,181,181,217,217,221,169,221,243,245,245,245,240,245,240,238,235,235,235,235,235,240,204,235,235,235,235,235,235,235,235,235,235,235,213,225,256,269,288,279,293,326,326,332,326]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 c5 6. O-O a6 7. Be2 Nbd7 8. Nbd2 Be7 9. dxc5 Bxc5 $146 10. Qc2 $14 O-O 11. Rd1 Qe7 12. b3 (12. Nb3 $142 Bd6 13. e4 $14) 12... b6 (12... b5) 13. Ne4 Nxe4 14. Qxe4 Rb8 15. Bb2 (15. Qf4) 15... Bb7 16. Qf4 Rbd8 17. Rac1 (17. Ng5 $5) 17... Nf6 $11 18. Bd3 Rd5 $2 {It isn't obvious (if it were, Giri wouldn't have made the error!), but this loses material.} (18... Bd6 $11) (18... h6 $11) 19. b4 $1 Bd6 20. Bxf6 $2 (20. Qh4 $1 h6 21. e4 $18 {wins the exchange and should finish the game far sooner than what actually happens.}) 20... Qxf6 $2 (20... gxf6 21. Qg4+ Kh8 22. Qh4 f5 23. Qxe7 Bxe7 24. Rc7 {may have been what Pragg was banking on with his 20th move. Black has two ways of avoiding an overt loss, though he will remain somewhat worse.} Rfd8 (24... Rc8 25. Rxb7 Rxd3 26. Rf1 $1 Bxb4 27. Ne5 Rd2 28. Nxf7+ Kg8 29. a4 $16 {/?}) 25. Rxb7 Rxd3 26. Rxd3 Rxd3 27. g3 Bxb4 28. Ne5 $1 Rd1+ 29. Kg2 $14 {/?}) 21. Qxf6 gxf6 22. e4 $1 Rxd3 (22... Rh5 $2 23. Bxa6 Bxh2+ 24. Nxh2 Bxa6 25. Rd6 $18 {Despite the equal material, Black is thoroughly lost.}) 23. Rxd3 Bxb4 24. Rc4 $2 (24. e5 $1 $18) 24... a5 $2 (24... Bc5 $14) 25. Rd7 $2 (25. e5 $1 $18) 25... Bc8 26. Ra7 e5 $1 $11 {/? The bishops are so powerful that even White's extra exchange and Black's vulnerable pawns on the 6th rank only give Pragg a very slight advantage.} 27. h3 Be6 28. Rc2 Rd8 (28... h5 $11) 29. g4 Bc5 (29... h5 $11 {is good here as well.}) 30. Kg2 Kg7 $2 (30... h5 $1 $11) 31. Nh4 $1 $18 {Now Black is in trouble yet again.} h5 32. Nf5+ Bxf5 {It was probably better to move the king, as Black has no counterplay or chances for counterplay without the bishop pair. All he can do now is hope to create a fortress.} 33. gxf5 Rd4 (33... h4 $1) 34. Re2 Rd3 $2 (34... h4 $1) 35. h4 $1 Rd1 36. Rc2 Rd4 37. f3 Kf8 38. Ra8+ Ke7 (38... Kg7 $2 39. Kh2 $1 {shows the significance of Black's not playing ...h4. White play Rg2, double rooks on the 8th rank, and then play Rh8+ and Rag8#.}) 39. Ra7+ (39. Rh8 $142 $18 {and grabbing the h-pawn was totally fine and would almost certainly have finished things off far more expeditiously.}) 39... Kf8 40. Kg3 (40. Ra8+ $1) 40... a4 41. Rg2 $6 (41. Ra8+) 41... a3 42. Kh2 Rd8 43. Kh3 $6 (43. Rc2) 43... Bb4 $6 (43... Rd3 $142) 44. Rb7 Bc5 45. Rc7 Be3 46. Rgc2 Bc5 47. Rc4 Ra8 48. Rb7 Ke8 49. Kg2 Kf8 50. Kf1 Ra5 51. Ke2 Ra8 52. Kd3 Rd8+ 53. Kc2 Kg7 54. Rc3 Bf2 55. Rcc7 $6 (55. Rxa3 $142 Bxh4 56. Rd3 Rc8+ 57. Kb3 Bf2 58. Rd2 $1 Be3 59. Rg2+ Bg5 (59... Kf8 60. Rh2 $18) 60. Rxb6 $18) 55... Rf8 {White is still winning, but he isn't making life easy for himself.} 56. Kd3 Bxh4 57. Ke2 $1 Bg3 58. Kf1 $1 h4 59. Kg2 $1 {Anything else and Black has equality.} Bf4 60. Kh3 Be3 (60... Bg3 61. Rxb6 Bf2 62. Rbb7 Be1 63. Ra7 $18) 61. Rd7 (61. Kxh4) 61... Bc5 (61... Bf2) 62. Kxh4 {With the h-pawn gone, it's time for the king to return to the queenside.} Rh8+ 63. Kg3 Rf8 64. Kg2 Be3 65. Kf1 Bd4 66. Ke2 Bc5 67. Kd3 Bd4 68. Kc4 Rc8+ 69. Rbc7 Rf8 70. Kb5 Kg8 {White can't win another pawn by means of zugzwang, as Black can park the bishop on c5 if necessary and then play ...Kg7-g8-g7-g8. White needs another idea.} 71. Ra7 Bc5 72. Rab7 Kg7 73. Kc6 Be3 74. Rdc7 Bd4 75. Kd7 Kh6 ({If Black tries to avoid the rook swap with} 75... Ra8 76. Rc8 Ra4 {the cost is that his king will find itself in a mating net after} 77. Rbb8 Kh6 78. Rg8 $18) 76. Rc8 Rxc8 77. Kxc8 Kg5 (77... Kg7 78. Kd7 Kf8 79. Rb8+ Kg7 80. Ke8 {followed by Rb7 will win the f7-pawn.}) 78. Kd7 Kf4 79. Kc6 Kxf3 80. Kd5 {White will win both f-pawns, for starters.} (80. Kd5 Kf4 81. Rxf7 Kg5 82. Rg7+ Kh5 83. Rg6 $18) 1-0 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2024"] [Site "Bucharest ROM"] [Date "2024.06.30"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C84"] [WhiteElo "2732"] [BlackElo "2805"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "56"] [GameId "2062296124363864"] [EventDate "2024.06.26"] {[%evp 0,56,23,13,13,22,28,23,31,6,6,10,15,-18,59,61,108,69,89,80,66,65,65,39,26,23,16,14,48,18,56,20,27,30,38,46,96,49,86,58,88,19,6,20,4,-16,-11,-12,-6,-8,-9,-14,-8,-9,-10,-5,-4,-5,-4]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 Be7 {A somewhat trendy alternative to the traditional approach.} (6... b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 {is the standard line, played in zillions of games.}) 7. Re1 b5 8. Rxe4 (8. Bb3 d5 9. dxe5 Be6 {is also fairly common, with play resembling the traditional main line.} 10. c3 O-O 11. h3 Qd7 12. Bc2 Rad8 13. Nbd2 Nxd2 14. Qxd2 Bf5 15. Bxf5 Qxf5 16. Qf4 Qxf4 17. Bxf4 d4 18. Rac1 dxc3 19. Rxc3 Nb4 20. Rxc7 Rfe8 21. Bg5 Bxg5 22. Nxg5 f6 23. Nf7 Rd2 24. e6 h5 25. Re4 Nxa2 26. Rc6 Rd5 27. Rxa6 Nc1 28. Rd6 Rc5 29. Rd7 Nb3 30. Nd6 Rc1+ 31. Kh2 Nd2 32. g4 Nxe4 33. Nxe8 Re1 34. e7 f5 35. g5 Nxg5 36. Nxg7 {1-0 Carlsen,M (2830)-Caruana,F (2794) CCT Final KO Toronto rapid 2023 (1.25)}) 8... d5 9. Nxe5 Nxe5 10. Rxe5 bxa4 11. Qe2 (11. Nc3 {is just as common, and has featured in quite a few Caruana and Carlsen games.} O-O 12. Re1 Bd6 13. h3 (13. Qh5 a3 14. Nxd5 axb2 15. Bxb2 Rb8 16. Rab1 Re8 17. Ne3 Bf4 18. d5 Rb4 19. c4 Bxe3 20. Rxe3 Rxe3 21. fxe3 Rxc4 22. Bd4 c5 23. Ba1 f6 24. h3 Qe7 25. Qf3 h6 26. Re1 Re4 27. Kf2 Bd7 28. Rd1 Kh7 29. Rd2 Qe8 30. Bb2 Ra4 31. a3 Rc4 32. Re2 Qg6 33. e4 Ba4 34. d6 Bc6 35. Qg3 Qxg3+ 36. Kxg3 Kg6 37. e5 fxe5 38. Bxe5 h5 39. Bb2 h4+ 40. Kh2 Kf5 41. Bxg7 Re4 42. Rxe4 Kxe4 43. Bf6 c4 44. Bxh4 c3 45. Bf6 c2 46. Bb2 Kd5 47. g4 Kxd6 48. Kg3 Bb5 49. Kf3 Ke7 50. h4 Kf8 51. h5 Be8 52. Kg3 Kg8 53. Kh4 Kh7 54. Kg5 Bd7 55. Kf4 a5 56. Kg5 a4 57. Kf4 Be6 58. g5 Bf7 59. g6+ Bxg6 60. hxg6+ Kxg6 61. Ke5 Kf7 62. Kd6 Ke8 63. Bc1 Kd8 64. Kc6 Kc8 65. Bf4 c1=Q+ 66. Bxc1 Kb8 67. Kb6 Ka8 68. Bf4 {½-½ Caruana,F (2819)-Carlsen,M (2875) Croatia GCT Zagreb 2019 (3)}) 13... a3 14. bxa3 c6 15. Qf3 Qh4 16. Ne2 Re8 17. Bf4 Bf8 18. Ng3 Bd7 19. Rxe8 Rxe8 20. Rb1 Qf6 21. Rb7 Bc8 22. Rc7 Qxd4 23. Bd6 Be6 24. Bxf8 Rxf8 25. Rxc6 Qa1+ 26. Kh2 Qxa2 27. Nh5 Qb2 28. Qg3 Kh8 29. Rb6 Qa1 30. Rb1 Qd4 31. c3 {1-0 Caruana,F (2766)-Yu,Y (2729) Airthings Masters Div 2 W Chess.com INT rapid 2023 (5.3)}) (11. Qf3 Be6 12. Nc3 Bf6 13. Bg5 Bxg5 14. Qh5 O-O 15. Rxg5 a3 16. b3 g6 17. Rg3 Qd6 18. Qe2 Rfe8 19. Qd2 Bd7 20. h3 Re6 21. Re1 Rxe1+ 22. Qxe1 Re8 23. Re3 Rxe3 24. Qxe3 Bf5 25. g4 Bxc2 26. Kg2 h5 27. Qd2 Be4+ 28. f3 h4 29. Qf2 Bd3 30. Qxh4 c6 31. Qf2 Qf4 32. Nd1 Bb1 33. b4 Qc1 34. Qe2 Bxa2 35. Qxa2 Qxd1 36. Qxa3 Qd2+ 37. Kg3 Qxd4 38. Qxa6 Qg1+ 39. Kf4 Qd4+ 40. Kg3 g5 41. Kg2 Qd2+ 42. Kf1 Qc1+ 43. Ke2 Qc2+ 44. Ke3 Qc3+ 45. Ke2 Qc2+ 46. Ke3 Qc3+ 47. Ke2 Kg7 48. Qc8 Qc2+ 49. Ke3 Qc3+ 50. Ke2 Qc2+ 51. Ke3 Qb3+ 52. Ke2 Qc4+ 53. Kf2 Qxb4 54. Qxc6 Qd2+ 55. Kf1 Qd1+ {½-½ Caruana,F (2835)-Fressinet,L (2635) Bundesliga 1920 final Karlsruhe 2020 (5.1)}) (11. b3 O-O (11... Be6 12. Ba3 Bxa3 13. Nxa3 O-O 14. Nb1 Qd6 15. Nc3 axb3 16. axb3 c5 17. Ne2 f6 18. Re3 c4 19. Ng3 cxb3 20. cxb3 g6 21. Qf3 Bf7 22. h3 Rfe8 23. Rxe8+ Rxe8 24. Qd3 Re6 25. Nf1 Qb6 26. Ne3 Rc6 27. h4 Kg7 28. h5 Qb4 29. Ng4 Be6 30. h6+ Kf7 31. Ne3 a5 32. Qd1 Rc3 33. Ra4 Qxb3 34. Qxb3 Rxb3 35. Rxa5 g5 36. Ra7+ Kg6 37. Ra6 Kf7 38. g4 Rb4 39. Ra7+ Kg6 40. Ra6 Kf7 41. Ra7+ Kg6 42. Ra6 Kf7 43. Ra7+ {½-½ Nakamura,H (2743)-Caruana,F (2818) Sinquefield Cup 7th Saint Louis 2019 (1)}) 12. Ba3 Bxa3 13. Nxa3 Re8 14. Rxe8+ Qxe8 15. Qd2 Bf5 16. Re1 Qc6 17. c4 axb3 18. axb3 h6 19. cxd5 Qxd5 20. Nc4 Be6 21. Re5 Qd7 22. d5 Rd8 23. dxe6 Qxd2 24. Nxd2 Rxd2 25. g3 fxe6 26. Rxe6 Ra2 27. Rc6 Ra3 28. Rxc7 Rxb3 29. Ra7 Ra3 30. g4 h5 31. gxh5 Kh7 32. Kg2 Ra5 33. f4 Ra3 34. Ra8 a5 35. Ra6 a4 36. f5 Rb3 37. Rxa4 Rb5 38. Rf4 Kh6 39. f6 gxf6 40. Rxf6+ Kxh5 41. h4 Rb2+ 42. Rf2 Rxf2+ 43. Kxf2 Kxh4 {½-½ Vachier Lagrave,M (2780)-Carlsen,M (2872) London Classic 11th 2019 (1.2)}) 11... Be6 (11... c6 12. Bd2 Be6 13. f4 g6 14. Nc3 a3 15. b3 Bd6 16. f5 gxf5 17. Rf1 Bxe5 18. Qxe5 Rg8 19. Na4 Qb8 20. Qe3 Rg4 21. Nc5 Re4 22. Nxe4 fxe4 23. Qh6 Qa7 24. Qg7 O-O-O 25. Bb4 Re8 26. Bxa3 h5 27. Bc5 Qd7 28. Qg5 e3 29. Qxe3 Bf5 30. Qf2 Bg6 31. c4 Bd3 32. Re1 Rxe1+ 33. Qxe1 dxc4 34. bxc4 Bxc4 35. h3 Qe6 36. Qxe6+ Bxe6 37. a3 Bd5 38. Kf2 Kd7 39. g3 Be6 40. h4 Bg4 41. Ke3 Ke6 42. Kf4 Kd5 43. Ke3 Ke6 44. Kf4 Kd5 45. Ke3 Ke6 46. Kf4 {½-½ Vachier Lagrave,M (2780)-Carlsen,M (2872) London Classic 11th 2019 (1.5)}) 12. f4 g6 (12... Kf8 {is a common alternative, trying not to weaken the dark squares around his king.}) 13. Nc3 a3 14. b3 Bb4 15. Na4 (15. Nxd5 O-O 16. Qe4 Bd6 17. Nc3 Bf5 18. Rxf5 gxf5 19. Qxf5 Re8 20. Ne4 Be7 21. Be3 Qc8 22. Ng3 Bh4 23. Qd3 Bxg3 24. hxg3 Qe6 25. Kf2 Qe4 26. Rd1 a5 27. g4 c6 28. Qxe4 Rxe4 29. g5 Rae8 30. Rd3 h6 31. gxh6 f5 32. c4 R4e6 33. d5 cxd5 34. cxd5 Rxh6 35. d6 Rd8 36. Bc5 Kf7 37. Rd5 Kf6 38. Bxa3 Rh4 39. Kf3 Rh1 40. Rxa5 Rf1+ 41. Ke3 Re8+ 42. Kd3 Rxf4 43. Bc5 Rg4 44. Bd4+ Ke6 45. Re5+ Kd7 46. Rxf5 Kxd6 47. a4 Rxg2 48. b4 Rg4 49. Bc5+ Ke6 50. Rh5 Reg8 51. Kc3 R8g5 52. Rh6+ Rg6 53. Rh8 Kd5 54. Rd8+ Kc6 55. a5 Rh4 56. Kb3 Rh1 57. Rc8+ Kb7 58. Rf8 Kc6 59. Bd4 Rd1 60. a6 Rb1+ 61. Ka4 Kd5 62. Bf6 Kc6 63. a7 {1-0 Duda,J (2729)-Van Foreest,J (2701) Prague Masters 3rd 2021 (5)}) 15... O-O 16. c3 Bd6 17. Nc5 Bf5 (17... Re8 18. Bxa3 Bf5 19. Qf2 Bxc5 20. Bxc5 f6 21. Rxe8+ Qxe8 22. Re1 Be4 23. c4 Qd7 24. cxd5 Re8 25. Qe2 a5 26. Qc4 Kg7 27. h3 Bxd5 28. Rxe8 Bxc4 29. Re7+ Qxe7 30. Bxe7 Bd3 31. Bd8 a4 32. bxa4 c6 33. Kf2 Kf7 34. a5 Ke6 35. g4 Bb5 36. Bb6 Ba6 37. Kf3 Bd3 38. Ke3 Bf1 39. h4 Ba6 40. Kd2 f5 41. gxf5+ Kxf5 42. Ke3 Bf1 43. Bc7 h5 44. Bd6 Ke6 45. Bc5 Kf5 46. Be7 Ke6 47. Bc5 Kf5 48. Bb4 Ke6 49. a4 Kd7 50. Bc5 Ke6 51. Ba3 Kf5 52. Kf2 Ba6 53. Ke3 Bf1 54. Bc5 Ba6 55. Bb6 Bf1 56. Kf3 Ke6 57. Kf2 Ba6 58. Bc5 Kf5 59. Kf3 Bd3 60. Ke3 {½-½ Laduke,M (1941)-Swiatek,J (1954) FICGS rapid A 000272 email FICGS email 2021 (1)}) (17... Bxe5 $2 {has been played by...nobody, because after} 18. fxe5 $16 {/+- Black has dark-squared weaknesses all over the board, less space, a useless bishop that can't fight against either of White's minor pieces, no useful files for his rooks, several weak pawns and a loose kingside. Other than that, his position is fantastic.}) 18. Bxa3 $146 (18. Rxd5 Re8 19. Re5 Bxc5 20. dxc5 f6 21. Rxe8+ Qxe8 22. Qxe8+ Rxe8 23. Kf2 Rd8 24. Be3 Rd3 25. Rc1 Kf7 26. c4 c6 27. b4 Be6 28. h3 h5 29. Kf3 Rd8 30. Ke2 Rd7 31. Bf2 Rd8 32. Ke3 Bf5 33. Rc3 Re8+ 34. Kd2 Rd8+ 35. Ke2 Be6 36. b5 axb5 37. cxb5 Bxa2 38. b6 Ra8 39. b7 Rb8 40. Rxa3 Bc4+ {½-½ Areshchenko,A (2670)-Moroni,L (2588) EU-ch 22nd Terme Catez 2022 (9)}) 18... Qh4 $1 {Unsurprisingly, given that Caruana is very diligent with his prep in general and, more specifically, has played both sides of this variation, he plays the best move in reply to MVL's novelty.} 19. Rf1 c6 $6 {I spoke (ok, wrote) too soon. The move is logical, defending the attacked d-pawn, but it turns out that it's an inaccuracy. Surprisingly, MVL errs in turn, so perhaps they were both slightly surprised and hadn't reviewed all their prep before the game.} (19... f6 $1 {was best, inviting White to take on d5.} 20. g3 (20. Rxd5 $6 Rfe8 21. Qf3 Bg4 22. Qf2 Qxf2+ 23. Rxf2 Bf8 {This threatens to catch the rook with ...c6.} 24. f5 $8 Re1+ 25. Rf1 Rxf1+ 26. Kxf1 Bxf5 27. Bc1 $1 c6 28. Rxf5 gxf5 29. Nd7 $11 {/? Black's extra exchange counts a little - very little. Because his pawns are all isolated, it will be very difficult to convert any of them into a passer. Nevertheless, White is the one who must play for a draw, so 20.Rxd5 should be avoided.}) (20. Qe1 Qxe1 21. Rexe1 $11) 20... Qg4 21. Qxg4 Bxg4 22. Re3 (22. Rxd5 $2 Rfe8 $17 {and as in the 20.Rxd5 line White's rook is trapped and will be caught sooner or later, e.g. after ...Bf8 and ...c6.}) 22... a5 23. c4 c6 $11) 20. Qe1 $2 {The swap allows Black to reach a Marshall Gambit-like ending where the bishop pair, which can easily transmogrify into an opposite-colored bishop ending, will neutralize White's extra pawn. White's winning chances are greatest in a middlegame.} (20. Bc1 $1 $16 {This keeps the e-file under control, and if Black tries} f6 $2 {, hoping to boot the rook (or to collect the f-pawn in case of 21.Re3 Bxf4), White can offer a different exchange sac:} 21. Re6 $1 {with a winning advantage after, say,} Bxc5 (21... Bg4 22. Qe3 Bxc5 23. dxc5 Bxe6 24. Qxe6+ $18 {is a transposition.}) 22. dxc5 Bxe6 23. Qxe6+ Kh8 24. Qxc6 $18) 20... Qxe1 21. Rexe1 Rfe8 $11 (21... a5 $11) 22. Bc1 {Essentially a draw offer.} Bxc5 23. dxc5 Bd3 24. Rxe8+ Rxe8 25. Rd1 Bc2 26. Rf1 Bd3 27. Rd1 Bc2 28. Rf1 Bd3 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2024"] [Site "Bucharest ROM"] [Date "2024.06.30"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Gukesh, D."] [Black "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2765"] [PlyCount "128"] [GameId "2062296124372057"] [EventDate "2024.06.26"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. g3 c6 4. Bg2 Bf5 5. Nh4 Be6 6. O-O g6 7. Nd2 Bg7 8. c3 O-O 9. Re1 a5 10. a4 Nbd7 11. e4 dxe4 12. Nxe4 Bd5 13. Nxf6+ Nxf6 14. Bf1 Qd7 15. Ng2 Be6 16. Nf4 Bf5 17. Nd3 Nd5 18. Qf3 Qc7 19. h4 h5 20. Ne5 e6 21. Qe2 c5 22. dxc5 Rad8 23. Nc4 Bg4 24. Qc2 Qxc5 25. Qb3 b6 26. Bg2 Bf5 27. Bg5 Rb8 28. Ne3 Nxe3 29. Bxe3 Qc7 30. Qb5 e5 31. Red1 Kh7 32. Qc6 Qxc6 33. Bxc6 Bh6 34. Bxh6 Kxh6 35. Rd6 Rfd8 36. Rad1 Rxd6 37. Rxd6 Kg7 38. Bb5 Be6 39. Kf1 Kf8 40. Ke2 Ke7 41. Rc6 Rb7 42. Ba6 Ra7 43. Bb5 Rb7 44. Ba6 Ra7 45. Bc8 Bxc8 46. Rxc8 Rb7 47. Kd3 Rd7+ 48. Ke2 Rd6 49. Rc7+ Ke6 50. b4 axb4 51. cxb4 b5 52. axb5 Rd4 53. b6 Rxb4 54. b7 f6 55. Kd3 g5 56. hxg5 fxg5 57. Rh7 h4 58. gxh4 gxh4 59. Rxh4 Rxb7 60. f4 Rb3+ 61. Ke2 exf4 62. Rxf4 Rb5 63. Re4+ Re5 64. Rxe5+ Kxe5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2024"] [Site "Bucharest ROM"] [Date "2024.06.30"] [Round "5.3"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E62"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2747"] [PlyCount "97"] [GameId "2062296124372058"] [EventDate "2024.06.26"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. Nc3 d6 6. Nf3 a5 7. O-O Bf5 8. Nh4 Bc8 9. b3 Nbd7 10. Ba3 e5 11. dxe5 Nxe5 12. Qc2 Nc6 13. Rad1 Bd7 14. h3 Re8 15. Kh2 Nb4 16. Qd2 Bc6 17. Bb2 Na6 18. Nd5 Nc5 19. Qc2 Nxd5 20. cxd5 Bb5 21. Rfe1 Bxb2 22. Qxb2 a4 23. Nf3 axb3 24. axb3 Ne4 25. e3 Bd7 26. Qc2 c5 27. dxc6 bxc6 28. Nd4 Qe7 29. f3 Nc5 30. e4 Reb8 31. f4 Rb4 32. Re3 Rab8 33. e5 d5 34. Rc3 Ne6 35. Nxc6 Bxc6 36. Rxc6 Rxb3 37. Rc8+ Rxc8 38. Qxc8+ Kg7 39. Rxd5 Qb4 40. Qc1 Rb2 41. Rd3 Re2 42. Re3 Nxf4 43. Rxe2 Nxe2 44. Qf1 Nd4 45. Qf6+ Kg8 46. Qd8+ Kg7 47. Qf6+ Kg8 48. Qd8+ Kg7 49. Qf6+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2024"] [Site "Bucharest ROM"] [Date "2024.06.30"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D45"] [WhiteElo "2745"] [BlackElo "2737"] [PlyCount "120"] [GameId "2062296124372059"] [EventDate "2024.06.26"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. b3 O-O 8. Be2 b6 9. O-O Bb7 10. Bb2 Qe7 11. Rad1 Rad8 12. Rfe1 Rfe8 13. Bf1 e5 14. dxe5 Nxe5 15. Nd4 dxc4 16. Nf5 Qe6 17. Nxd6 Rxd6 18. Rxd6 Qxd6 19. Rd1 cxb3 20. axb3 Qe7 21. Ne4 Nxe4 22. Qxe4 f6 23. Bxe5 Qxe5 24. Qxe5 fxe5 25. Rd7 Rb8 26. Bc4+ Kh8 27. b4 a5 28. bxa5 bxa5 29. Re7 a4 30. Rxe5 a3 31. Ba2 g6 32. h4 Rd8 33. Re7 Rd1+ 34. Kh2 Rd2 35. Bb3 a2 36. Bxa2 Rxa2 37. Rxb7 Rxf2 38. Kg3 Rf6 39. e4 Kg8 40. Rc7 h5 41. e5 Rf5 42. Rxc6 Kf7 43. Rc7+ Kf8 44. Rc5 Kf7 45. Kh3 Ke6 46. Rc6+ Kf7 47. Rc7+ Kf8 48. Rc5 Kf7 49. g3 Ke6 50. Rc6+ Kf7 51. Rc7+ Kf8 52. Rc5 Kf7 53. Rc7+ Kf8 54. e6 Re5 55. Rf7+ Kg8 56. Re7 Kf8 57. Rf7+ Kg8 58. Re7 Kf8 59. Rf7+ Kg8 60. Re7 Kf8 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2024"] [Site "Bucharest ROM"] [Date "2024.06.30"] [Round "5.5"] [White "Deac, Bogdan-Daniel"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E05"] [WhiteElo "2692"] [BlackElo "2770"] [PlyCount "218"] [GameId "2062296124376156"] [EventDate "2024.06.26"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 e6 4. O-O Be7 5. c4 O-O 6. d4 dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4 Bd7 9. Qxc4 Bc6 10. Bg5 Nbd7 11. Rd1 h6 12. Bxf6 Nxf6 13. Nbd2 Qd6 14. Ne5 Bxg2 15. Kxg2 Rac8 16. Ndf3 c5 17. dxc5 Qxc5 18. Qxc5 Bxc5 19. Nd7 Rfd8 20. Nxc5 Rxd1 21. Rxd1 Rxc5 22. Rd8+ Kh7 23. Rf8 Rc2 24. Rxf7 Rxe2 25. Rxb7 Ne4 26. Nd4 Rxf2+ 27. Kg1 e5 28. Ne6 Kg6 29. Rb6 Rd2 30. Rxa6 Kf5 31. Nxg7+ Kg4 32. Rb6 Ng5 33. Kf1 Rxh2 34. a5 e4 35. Ne6 Nf3 36. Nf4 e3 37. Ng2 Kxg3 38. Rg6+ Ng5 39. Nxe3 Kf3 40. Kg1 Rxb2 41. Nd1 Rb1 42. Rd6 Ra1 43. a6 h5 44. Rd5 Kf4 45. Kg2 Ra2+ 46. Kf1 h4 47. Nf2 Nf3 48. Rd8 Ra1+ 49. Rd1 Rxa6 50. Rc1 Rg6 51. Rc4+ Kg3 52. Ne4+ Kh2 53. Rc2+ Kh3 54. Rc3 Kg4 55. Kf2 Rb6 56. Rc4 Ne5 57. Ra4 Rb2+ 58. Ke3 Rb3+ 59. Ke2 Rb2+ 60. Ke3 h3 61. Nf2+ Kg3 62. Nxh3 Kxh3 63. Ke4 Nd7 64. Rd4 Nf6+ 65. Kf5 Ng4 66. Rd3+ Kh4 67. Rd4 Rb5+ 68. Kf4 Kh5 69. Ra4 Nf6 70. Rc4 Kg6 71. Rc6 Rb4+ 72. Ke3 Kf5 73. Rc5+ Ke6 74. Kd3 Nd7 75. Rc8 Ne5+ 76. Ke3 Nc4+ 77. Kd3 Kd5 78. Kc3 Rb1 79. Rd8+ Nd6 80. Rd7 Rh1 81. Rd8 Kc5 82. Kc2 Rh3 83. Kd2 Ne4+ 84. Ke2 Kc4 85. Rc8+ Nc5 86. Kd2 Rh7 87. Ke2 Kd4 88. Rd8+ Nd7 89. Kf2 Ke4 90. Ra8 Rh2+ 91. Kg3 Rc2 92. Ra4+ Kf5 93. Rf4+ Ke5 94. Rh4 Nf6 95. Kf3 Rc3+ 96. Ke2 Ra3 97. Rb4 Nd5 98. Rb8 Nc3+ 99. Kf2 Kd4 100. Rd8+ Nd5 101. Rd6 Ke4 102. Re6+ Kf4 103. Re8 Ra2+ 104. Re2 Ra8 105. Re6 Rd8 106. Rh6 Ne3 107. Ke2 Nf5 108. Rf6 Rd6 109. Rxd6 Nxd6 1/2-1/2