[Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.20"] [Round "7.2"] [White "Abasov, Nijat"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2632"] [BlackElo "2835"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "147"] [EventDate "2023.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,147,27,27,27,27,27,27,15,23,16,1,12,-9,1,23,9,-3,40,8,22,16,36,41,37,42,34,32,29,28,45,40,32,54,36,31,40,27,22,22,22,18,33,17,24,3,-2,-17,-6,-37,-23,-35,-12,-2,-31,-31,-33,-33,-33,-51,0,0,0,6,0,-8,17,14,7,-15,2,0,-20,-20,-1,-36,-30,-25,-19,-43,-53,-57,-38,-30,-33,-73,-35,-51,-73,-73,-51,-77,-59,-73,-73,-71,-71,-64,-77,-75,-34,-34,-33,-33,-33,-33,-33,-33,-33,-34,-33,-34,44,53,57,66,65,68,65,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Bf4 Bf5 (3... c5) (3... e6) 4. e3 (4. c4 e6 5. Qb3) 4... e6 5. Nbd2 Nbd7 (5... Bd6 6. Ne5 h6 7. g4 $5) 6. c4 dxc4 (6... c6) (6... Be7) 7. Bxc4 Bd6 8. Ne5 Ne4 $146 9. f3 $14 Nxd2 10. Qxd2 f6 11. Nxd7 Qxd7 12. e4 (12. Bxd6 $142 Qxd6 13. O-O $14) 12... Bg6 (12... Bxf4 $1 13. Qxf4 Qxd4 {is best, but a little scary.} 14. Qxc7 O-O $1 15. exf5 Rf7 16. Bxe6 $8 Qe3+ $8 17. Kd1 Qxe6 18. fxe6 Rxc7 $11) 13. Rd1 (13. e5 $142 $14 {/?}) 13... Bxf4 14. Qxf4 Bf7 $14 15. Kf2 (15. e5 $142) (15. Qe3 $142) 15... Qc6 (15... O-O-O $142) 16. Bb3 (16. b3 $142) 16... Qb6 17. Qe3 (17. e5 $142) 17... O-O-O 18. Rd2 Rd7 19. Rhd1 Rhd8 20. Bc4 c5 $11 {At this point Carlsen's worries are over.} 21. d5 exd5 22. exd5 Kb8 23. a3 (23. Qe4 $142) 23... Qd6 24. g3 (24. Kg1 $142) 24... Re7 $15 {Now it's Abasov who must start worrying - although really, it doesn't matter for the competition whether he draws or loses; he loses the match either way.} 25. Qc3 h5 26. b4 (26. Re2 $142) 26... h4 27. bxc5 Qxc5+ 28. Qd4 hxg3+ 29. hxg3 Qxd4+ (29... Qd6 {is better, but trading queens accident-proofs the position.}) 30. Rxd4 Rc7 $11 31. g4 Rc5 32. a4 Be8 33. Bb3 Rc3 34. R1d3 Rxd3 35. Rxd3 Kc7 36. Re3 Bg6 37. g5 Re8 38. gxf6 gxf6 39. Rxe8 Bxe8 {Now White has no hope of winning, and can only make sure he draws.} 40. Ke3 a5 41. Kd4 Kd6 42. f4 Bh5 43. Ke4 Bg4 44. Bc2 Kc5 45. Bb3 $8 Bh3 46. Bc2 Bd7 47. Bd1 Kc4 48. Be2+ Kc5 49. Bd1 b6 50. Bc2 Kc4 51. Bd3+ Kb4 52. Bc2 Kc3 53. Bd1 Kc4 54. Be2+ Kb4 55. Bd1 Kc3 $6 {I'm sure Carlsen had it all calculated out, but this is a very un-pragmatic decision.} 56. d6 $1 {Did I say "no hope"? It's always possible to lose one's marbles. Now it's *Black* who must play the only move that doesn't lose - White has the sneaky threat of 57.Bg4, giving Black a painful choice between moving the bishop away and giving it up after 58.d7, or taking on g4 only to have the bishop cut off with 58.f5, when White's d-pawn promotes.} Kc4 $1 {Absolutely the only move.} 57. Bg4 $1 {Also the only move, and likewise Black's next.} Bc6+ $1 58. Ke3 Bxa4 59. d7 Bxd7 60. Bxd7 b5 61. Kd2 b4 62. Be6+ Kd4 63. f5 a4 64. Kc2 Ke4 65. Bd7 Ke5 66. Kd3 a3 67. Kc2 a2 68. Kb2 b3 {White can't win the b-pawn without allowing a queen or giving up the f-pawn, and there's no other way to try to make progress.} 69. Be6 Ke4 70. Bxb3 a1=Q+ {Just getting rid of the material to expedite the draw.} 71. Kxa1 Kxf5 72. Bc2+ Ke5 73. Kb1 f5 74. Bxf5 {Carlsen advances to the final, to meet the winner of the Caruana-Praggnanandhaa match, and Abasov will play the loser of that match for third. If Carlsen intended to play in the Candidates, the match for third place would be meaningful; since he's not, it's not. (Or not meaningful as far as qualifying for the Candidates is concerned. It is financially meaningful, and there are rating points at stake as well.)} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.20"] [Round "7.2"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E05"] [WhiteElo "2690"] [BlackElo "2782"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2023.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,93,27,27,27,7,18,13,25,-29,10,2,-10,0,-7,-14,2,-9,-7,-20,-2,-26,2,-4,-14,-35,-7,-7,17,-5,-5,-58,-1,-12,-20,-11,-11,-3,-14,-12,-9,-11,0,-5,0,-22,0,0,5,3,-21,-14,3,10,-11,-16,-23,-18,-18,-43,-59,-19,-44,-32,-24,-46,-35,-51,-64,-64,-33,-32,-22,-18,12,-57,-45,-47,-42,-76,-74,-74,-48,-44,-46,-55,-46,-58,-30,-8,31,34,33,41,22,22]} 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 (10. Bg5) 10... Bd6 11. Qc1 h6 (11... a5) ({and} 11... Nbd7 {are far more common. The latter was played by Caruana less than two weeks ago, earlier in this event:} 12. Nc3 b5 13. Ne1 Bxg2 14. Nxg2 b4 15. Nd1 Rc8 16. Nde3 Bxf4 17. Nxf4 c5 18. d5 exd5 19. Nfxd5 Nxd5 20. Nxd5 Nf6 21. Ne3 c4 22. Nxc4 Qd4 23. b3 Ne4 24. Qf4 Nc3 25. Qxd4 Nxe2+ 26. Kg2 Nxd4 27. Na5 Rc3 28. Rab1 g6 29. Rfd1 Nf5 30. Rb2 Re8 31. Nc4 {½-½ Robson,R (2689)-Caruana,F (2782) FIDE World Cup Baku 2023 (4.1)}) 12. Re1 (12. Rd1 Nbd7 13. Nc3 Nd5 14. Bd2 N7f6 15. Ne1 Qe8 16. a5 Rd8 17. Nd3 Nxc3 18. Bxc3 Bxg2 19. Kxg2 Qb5 20. f3 Nd5 21. e4 Nxc3 22. bxc3 Qc4 23. Qc2 b5 24. axb6 cxb6 25. Ra4 Qc8 26. Qb3 b5 27. Ra2 Qc6 28. e5 Be7 29. Nf2 Rc8 30. Ne4 Rfd8 31. Rda1 b4 32. Rxa6 Qd5 33. Qxd5 exd5 34. Nd6 Bxd6 35. Rxd6 Rxd6 36. exd6 bxc3 37. Rc1 Kf8 38. d7 Rd8 39. Rxc3 Ke7 40. g4 Rxd7 41. Kg3 g5 42. h4 Rb7 43. h5 Rb4 44. Rd3 Ke6 45. f4 gxf4+ 46. Kxf4 f6 47. Rd1 Ra4 48. Rd2 Rb4 49. Rd1 Ra4 50. Rd3 Rb4 51. Re3+ Kf7 52. Rd3 Ke6 {½-½ Duda,J (2731)-Giri,A (2764) Aimchess Rapid Prelim chess24.com INT 2022 (1)}) 12... Bxf3 $146 (12... Nbd7 13. Nc3 Ne4 14. Ne5 Bxe5 15. dxe5 Nxc3 16. Bxc6 Nxe2+ 17. Rxe2 bxc6 18. Bxh6 gxh6 19. Qxh6 Qe7 20. Re4 f5 21. Rh4 Qg7 22. Qxe6+ Qf7 23. Qh6 Qg7 24. Qxc6 Nxe5 25. Qd5+ Nf7 26. Qxf5 Ne5 27. Qe6+ Qf7 28. Qxe5 Qxf2+ 29. Kh1 Qf3+ 30. Kg1 Qf2+ 31. Kh1 Qf3+ 32. Kg1 Qf2+ {½-½ Ding,L (2791)-Aronian,L (2781) Skilling op Prelim chess24.com INT rapid 2020 (12)}) 13. Bxf3 Bxf4 14. Qxf4 Nc6 15. Na3 $2 (15. Bxc6 $142 bxc6 16. Rc1 Rb8 17. Rxc6 Rxb2 18. Nc3 Rc2 $11 {is equal, and reminiscent of an important line in the "Scotch Gambit" Two Knights.}) 15... g5 $6 $15 {Caruana is still a little better after this, and presses hard the rest of the way. Pragg's defense is impressive, and thanks to a bunch of small tactics he saves the game, makes a draw, and forces a playoff tomorrow.} (15... Nxd4 $1 16. Bxb7 Rb8 17. Bxa6 e5 $3 {This unobvious move works because of the surprising forkability of White's queen.} 18. Qc1 {Clearly best, surrendering the exchange immediately.} (18. Qd2 $4 Nf3+ 19. exf3 Qxd2 $19) (18. Qe3 $2 Ng4 19. Qe4 (19. Qd3 $2 Qf6 20. f3 Rb3 21. Qc4 Ne3 $19 {and White can only save his queen at the cost of the bishop.}) 19... f5 20. Qd3 f4 $19 {Black should enjoy a winning attack.}) (18. Qh4 $2 Rxb2 $19) 18... Nb3 19. Qc2 Nxa1 20. Rxa1 Qd4 $17) 16. Qe3 Qxd4 17. Qxd4 Nxd4 18. Bxb7 Ra7 19. Bg2 Rb8 20. Red1 $5 c5 (20... Nxe2+ 21. Kf1 Rxb2 22. Nc4 Rc2 23. Ne3 Rb2 24. Nc4 $11) 21. e3 Nb3 (21... Ne2+ 22. Kf1 Rxb2 23. Nc4 Rb4 (23... Rc2 24. Na3 Rb2 25. Nc4 $11) 24. Ne5 Nc3 25. Rd8+ Kg7 26. Rc1 Nxa4 27. Nc6 Rd7 28. Rxd7 Nxd7 29. Nxb4 cxb4 30. Bc6 Ndc5 31. Bxa4 Nxa4 $11 {/?}) 22. Rab1 (22. Ra2 {is ugly, but possibly better. It's not an easy move for a human to play.}) 22... Rb4 23. Rd3 Rc7 (23... c4 $6 24. Nxc4 $11) 24. Bf1 Kg7 (24... c4 $6 25. Nxc4 $11) 25. Rbd1 (25. Nc2) 25... Nd5 26. e4 Nf6 27. Nc2 Rbb7 28. Bg2 $1 Ng4 (28... e5) (28... c4) 29. e5 $1 Nxe5 30. Bxb7 Nxd3 31. Bxa6 c4 32. Bxc4 Nxf2 (32... Nxb2 33. Rb1 Nxc4 (33... Rxc4 34. Rxb2 Nc5 35. a5 Ra4 36. Rb5 $11) 34. Rxb3 $11) 33. Kxf2 Rxc4 {A new problem: how does White saves his knight and the a-pawn? If he loses that pawn, he'll lose the game.} 34. Na1 $1 {The board is *just* big enough.} Nc5 (34... Nxa1 $6 35. Rxa1 Rc2+ 36. Ke3 Rxb2 37. a5 $132) 35. b3 $8 Rb4 36. Ke3 $1 f5 (36... Nxb3 {is possible, but probably riskier for Black than for White.} 37. Rb1 Nxa1 38. Rxa1 $1 (38. Rxb4 $4 Nc2+ $19) 38... Rb6 39. a5 Ra6 40. Kd4 $132) 37. Kd2 (37. Rd4 $1 $11) 37... f4 (37... Kf6) 38. Kc3 Rb8 39. gxf4 gxf4 40. a5 Ne4+ 41. Kb2 $1 (41. Kc4 $2 f3 42. a6 f2 43. b4 Rc8+ 44. Kb3 e5 45. b5 Nd2+ $19) 41... f3 42. Nc2 f2 43. Rf1 e5 (43... Kf6 {would have made White's life more difficult. White's next moves are practically all forced, though in some cases the move order can be switched.} 44. a6 Ke5 45. Ne3 Kf4 46. Nd1 Kf3 47. Nxf2 Nxf2 48. a7 Ra8 49. Ra1 e5 50. b4 Nd3+ 51. Kc3 e4 52. b5 Nc5 53. b6 e3 54. Kd4 Nb7 55. Rf1+ Kg2 56. Rf7 e2 57. Re7 Kf2 58. Rf7+ Kg2 59. Re7 $11) 44. a6 Nc5 45. Nb4 Ra8 (45... Rxb4 $2 46. a7 Rxb3+ 47. Ka2 Rb6 48. a8=Q Ra6+ 49. Qxa6 Nxa6 50. Kb3 $3 {apparently wins.} (50. Rxf2 $2 Nc5 $11)) 46. Rxf2 Nxa6 47. Nc6 {Excellent defense by Pragg after his error on move 15. It would not be surprising if Pragg won the rapid (and blitz, if necessary) tiebreak, though Caruana's rapid and blitz skills are underestimated.} (47. Nxa6 Rxa6 48. b4 {is also a routine draw.}) 1/2-1/2