[Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.16"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Shankland, Sam"] [Black "Dubov, Daniil"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2654"] [BlackElo "2684"] [WhiteFideId "2004887"] [WhiteFideId "24126055"] [PlyCount "91"] [GameId "2244854681144701"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,88,19,13,25,18,15,32767,24,9,17,21,25,31,12,-2,5,3,4,32767,1,0,30,16,32,20,30,24,27,7,30,37,26,25,82,56,51,32767,27,18,33,26,37,2,52,33,67,38,49,32767,60,53,80,91,32767,32767,77,80,73,80,138,32767,155,125,104,27,32767,32767,18,127,204,227,32767,32767,222,188,221,193,209,222,551,537,527,227,207,198,206,295,300,284,276]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 b6 7. Qc2 {A bit "old-fashioned" - this was a move in the mid-to-late '10s.} (7. Bd3) (7. cxd5) 7... Ba6 8. cxd5 (8. Ne5) 8... Nxd5 (8... Bxf1 9. Kxf1 Nxd5 10. h4 {transposes.}) 9. h4 (9. Bxa6 {doesn't really misplace Black's knight, as after} Nxa6 {it supports ...c5 and can also centralize with tempo with ...Nab4, ...Nd5xc3/f4, and ...Nd5.}) 9... Bxf1 10. Kxf1 Nxf4 11. exf4 Nd7 12. Rd1 $146 c6 13. f5 exf5 14. Qxf5 Nf6 (14... Qc8 $11) 15. Ne5 Rc8 16. h5 (16. Rh3) 16... Bb4 $2 (16... h6 $11) 17. Rh3 $2 (17. h6 $142 g6 18. Qf3 Bxc3 19. bxc3 $16 {Nothing bad will happen to Black immediately, but it doesn't have to. The pawn on h6 means he'll have long-term problems with his kingside and the back rank.}) 17... Bxc3 $6 (17... h6 18. g4 Bxc3 19. bxc3 Nh7 {slows White down enough that Black can fight back in the center.}) 18. bxc3 (18. Rxc3 $142 {hits the c-pawn and thereby gains a tempo for - you guessed it - h6.} Qd6 19. h6 $1) 18... h6 $1 $11 {White's still the one pressing, but it's good news for Black that he isn't facing a white pawn on h6.} 19. c4 Re8 (19... b5) 20. g4 Rc7 21. Re3 Qc8 (21... b5 $1) 22. Qxc8 $1 Rcxc8 23. a4 $14 {It's no longer an attacking situation; now White will squeeze Black in this ending. And it worked.} Red8 24. Ke2 Nd7 25. f4 Nf8 (25... a6 $14 {was better, still playing for ...b5.}) 26. d5 $16 cxd5 27. cxd5 Rc2+ 28. Kf3 $2 {Activating the king is good in general but here it's a mistake. It's not because the king is in danger - it's not - but because the rook on d1 is unprotected.} (28. Ke1 $1 {Normally this would be a terrible idea, but concrete tactics supersede even the best of general principles. The point is that after} Rd6 {, which is the normal thing to do - blockade the pawn! - White can play} 29. Nc6 $18 {. This threatens the a-pawn as well as Re8 followed by Ne7+. And here we see the point of the king retreating to e1: if it's on f3 Black plays ...Rcxc6 exploiting the unprotected rook on d1.}) 28... Rd6 $14 29. Rd4 Nh7 $2 (29... Rc5 30. Red3 b5 $1 {Stopping Nc4 and aiming for a useful swap.} 31. axb5 (31. a5 a6 {lets White keep the pawn, but Black's protected passer could come in handy as well.}) 31... Rxb5 32. Nc4 Rd8 $11 {/? White is nominally better. Because the d-pawn is so close to the kingside pawns, however, Black's defensive task is very manageable - Black's king can keep an eye on his pawns and White's d-pawn without undue strain.}) 30. Nc4 $18 Rd8 31. d6 $2 $16 (31. Re7 $18) 31... Nf8 32. Re7 Ne6 33. Re4 a6 $4 {Losing more or less immediately.} (33... Rc3+ $1 34. Ke2 Kf8 35. Ne5 $1 (35. Rxa7 $2 Nc5 36. Ree7 Rxc4 $11) 35... Rxd6 36. Rxf7+ Kg8 37. Rxa7 Rc2+ 38. Kf3 Rd8 $1 $14 {Black should survive.}) 34. d7 $1 (34. R4xe6 $1 fxe6 (34... Rxc4 35. Re8+ Rxe8 36. Rxe8+ Kh7 37. d7 $18) 35. Ne5 $1 Rxd6 36. Re8+ Kh7 37. g5 $1 (37. Ng6 $4 {would deliver mate if Black couldn't first give perpetual check.} Rc3+ 38. Ke4 Rc4+ 39. Ke3 (39. Ke5 $4 Rd5+ 40. Kxe6 Re4+ $19) 39... Rc3+ 40. Kf2 Rc2+ 41. Ke3 (41. Kg3 $4 Rd3+ 42. Kh4 Rh2#) 41... Rc3+ $11) 37... hxg5 38. Nf7 $1 g4+ 39. Kxg4 g5 40. Nxd6 $18) 34... Rc3+ 35. Ke2 Kf8 36. Re8+ $1 Rxe8 37. dxe8=Q+ Kxe8 38. f5 $18 b5 39. axb5 Rxc4 (39... axb5 40. Nd6+ Kd7 41. fxe6+ (41. Nxb5 $18) 41... Kxd6 (41... fxe6 42. Nxb5 $18) 42. exf7 Rc8 43. Re8 $18) 40. Rxc4 axb5 41. Rc8+ $2 {Still, winning, yes, but a ridiculous move to play when 41.Re4 is available.} (41. Re4 $18) 41... Nd8 42. Rc7 Kf8 {Now Shankland finishes in style.} 43. g5 $1 hxg5 44. Rc8 Ke7 45. Rxd8 $1 Kxd8 46. f6 $1 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.16"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Le, Quang Liem"] [Black "Donchenko, Alexander"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D85"] [WhiteElo "2729"] [BlackElo "2641"] [WhiteFideId "12401137"] [WhiteFideId "24603295"] [PlyCount "78"] [GameId "2244854681144702"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,77,10,17,19,32767,32767,40,33,32767,32767,32767,26,25,12,32767,32767,37,8,8,32767,32767,13,8,32767,32767,32767,-9,25,32767,32767,32767,-22,-23,-9,32767,32767,-69,-19,-10,32767,32767,-93,-106,-90,32767,32767,-67,-66,32767,32767,32767,-80,-95,-54,32767,32767,-107,-150,-175,32767,32767,-148,-234,-127,32767,32767,-229,-243,-349,32767,32767,-260,-337,32767,32767,32767,-481,-453,-428]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nxc3 7. bxc3 c5 8. Bb5+ Nc6 9. Rb1 (9. O-O O-O 10. Bxc6 bxc6 11. Qc2) (9. d5 $5) 9... O-O 10. d5 Ne5 11. O-O a6 12. Be2 Nxf3+ 13. Bxf3 b5 14. c4 $146 (14. Be3 Qd6 {and now either} 15. Qd2 ({or} 15. Qc1 {represents extant theory.})) 14... bxc4 15. Be3 $2 {It would seem that 14.c4 was not a prepared novelty.} ({After} 15. Bb2 c3 16. Ba1 {White will regain the pawn and retain a micro-edge.}) 15... Qd6 $2 (15... c3 $1 $17) 16. Be2 $11 c3 17. f4 e5 18. dxe6 (18. f5 $142 gxf5 $8 19. Rc1 f4 20. Bf2 Bd7 21. Rxc3 Rfc8 $11) 18... Qxe6 19. e5 Qxa2 20. Rc1 $15 (20. Ra1 $142 Qb2 21. Rb1 Qa3 22. Rb3 Qa5 23. Qc2 $11) 20... Be6 21. Rxc3 c4 (21... Rfc8 $15) 22. Bf3 $2 (22. Qc2 Qxc2 23. Rxc2 Rfc8 24. Rfc1 $11) 22... Rad8 $2 $15 (22... Rab8 $17 {/-+}) 23. Qa1 Qxa1 24. Rxa1 Rb8 25. Rxa6 Rfc8 26. Kf2 ({Le would surely have made a draw after} 26. Rc6 $142 Rxc6 27. Bxc6 Bf8 28. Rc2 $11) 26... Bf8 (26... Rb2+) 27. Bd4 $2 (27. Rc6 $1) 27... Rb2+ 28. Kg3 $2 {Not only is White's king out of play, it's also in something of a mating net.} (28. Kf1) 28... Bb4 $19 29. Rc1 Rb3 30. Rb6 h5 31. Rb7 c3 32. Rc2 Rc4 33. Be3 Rb2 34. Rc1 c2 35. Kf2 Rb1 36. Be2 Rc3 37. Bd2 Bc5+ 38. Ke1 Rxb7 39. Bxc3 Bf5 {Black's subsequent ...Rb1 and ...Be3 or ...Ba3 will cost White dearly.} 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.16"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Esipenko, Andrey"] [Black "Grebnev, Aleksey"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2693"] [BlackElo "2611"] [WhiteFideId "24175439"] [WhiteFideId "34189030"] [PlyCount "71"] [GameId "2244854681144703"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,71,11,23,27,13,16,22,21,18,31,27,33,33,38,24,27,18,16,8,5,0,-12,0,5,27,32767,25,64,37,22,60,113,98,108,76,32767,120,266,221,173,263,254,237,433,426,385,383,636,518,496,516,32767,32767,696,678,584,566,600,577,574,617,636,457,512,535,609,625,603,32767,638,655,719,709]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 Nf6 (5... Nxc3) 6. d4 Be7 7. Bf4 O-O 8. Qd2 a6 (8... Re8) 9. Bd3 Re8 10. O-O-O $5 (10. O-O {is also possible if a bit dull.}) 10... b5 11. h4 $146 Bb7 12. h5 b4 (12... Nbd7 $142) 13. Ne2 Nd5 $6 (13... a5 $142) 14. Rh3 Nxf4 $6 15. Qxf4 $16 Bxf3 $6 16. Qxf3 $18 {Black has wasted a lot of time the past few moves and exchanged off his most active pieces as well. That's a prescription for trouble, as we'll see.} Nd7 17. Ng3 Bg5+ 18. Kb1 Nf6 19. Qf5 Bh6 (19... h6 20. f4 {is an oops.}) 20. Ne4 {Simple as that. Black has no good way to defend h7, so barring a "miracle" White will win.} Nxe4 21. Bxe4 Rb8 22. Qxh7+ Kf8 23. Rf3 Qg5 24. Bg6 Ke7 25. Bxf7 (25. Rxf7+ Kd8 26. Rxg7 Bxg7 27. Bxe8 {is also horrible for Black. In case you're wondering about} Kxe8 {, the problem (for Black) is that} 28. Qg8+ {wins back the material with interest.}) 25... Rf8 26. Qe4+ Kd8 27. Re1 Rh8 28. Be8 Kc8 29. Rf7 Rb7 30. Bc6 Rb6 31. Qe8+ Qd8 32. Qxd8+ Rxd8 33. d5 Kb8 34. f4 b3 35. c3 $1 {Not allowing Black's rook to reenter the game via b4.} bxa2+ 36. Kxa2 {Black's king and rooks are paralyzed, giving White a free hand to advance his 3-1 pawn majority on the kingside.} 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.16"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Martinez Alcantara, Jose Eduardo"] [Black "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C84"] [WhiteElo "2644"] [BlackElo "2697"] [WhiteFideId "3805662"] [WhiteFideId "5007003"] [PlyCount "80"] [GameId "2244854681144704"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,80,21,18,30,22,16,7,21,16,18,7,14,10,15,12,24,13,15,11,15,25,27,0,14,8,35,44,36,33,29,9,-6,11,13,8,-2,8,1,3,-1,-4,0,7,14,15,10,19,20,20,20,9,32767,37,17,1,27,22,32,1,34,-3,-17,-26,-11,-39,36,32767,44,24,57,29,106,54,53,52,154,45,55,39,81,61,52] There were few draws in today's tiebreak matches; here's one of them.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 {No Italian game? Life is good.} a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 {Even the brave souls who don't fear the Petroff or the Berlin are still afraid of the Marshall Gambit.} b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a3 O-O 9. Nc3 Na5 10. Ba2 Be6 11. Bg5 Bxa2 (11... c5) 12. Rxa2 h6 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. b4 Nb7 15. Nd5 a5 16. Qb1 $146 c6 17. Ne3 Qb6 18. c4 axb4 19. axb4 bxc4 20. Rxa8 Rxa8 21. dxc4 Ra4 22. Nc2 Qa7 23. Qb3 Ra2 24. Rb1 Bd8 25. Ne3 Ra3 26. Qd1 Qa4 27. Qxa4 Rxa4 28. h4 h5 29. g3 g6 30. Kg2 Kf8 31. Rb2 Ke8 32. Kh2 {Inviting a repetition?} c5 $6 33. b5 Ba5 34. Rb3 Ra2 35. Kg2 Bb4 $6 36. Rd3 $6 (36. Nd5 $16 {is much better for White. What is Black doing?}) 36... Ba5 $6 (36... f5 $1 $14) 37. Nd5 $16 Rc2 $2 38. Ne3 (38. Ng5 $1 Bd8 (38... Rxc4 39. Rf3 {This is why Black should try 38...Bd8.} Nd8 40. Rf6 $18 {is *completely* winning for White.}) 39. Ra3 $1 Na5 40. b6 $1 $18 {I think Martinez said that he missed this move - though he's much better or even winning after other moves as well, just not as clearly.}) 38... Ra2 39. Nd5 Rc2 40. Ne3 $2 Ra2 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.16"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Dubov, Daniil"] [Black "Shankland, Sam"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A31"] [WhiteElo "2684"] [BlackElo "2654"] [WhiteFideId "24126055"] [WhiteFideId "2004887"] [PlyCount "148"] [GameId "2244854681144705"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,148,18,12,12,24,22,13,12,10,11,32767,29,28,23,27,3,27,12,42,20,32767,29,34,37,45,50,40,39,43,49,58,40,53,67,37,36,20,22,32,32767,32767,22,16,16,28,8,-5,3,0,32767,32767,1,6,15,8,17,-1,1,-1,-1,1,1,1,1,-1,0,1,27,10,24,16,1,-2,-2,9,-14,-17,1,0,-31,-17,-9,20,4,0,-13,32767,41,47,32,19,23,19,29,28,36,19,25,19,21,-4,-1,-8,-9,-11,-1,-19,-9,-22,-12,2,-6,-9,-32,-15,-23,-27,-7,-3,-3,-9,-5,0,-1,-23,-29,-33,-18,-20,-29,-25,32767,-18,-27,-27,-21,-20,-16,-21,-6,32767,-126,-152,-180,-281,-262,-343,-459,-382,-454]} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nf6 7. Nc3 e5 8. Bb5+ Bd7 9. Bxd7+ Qxd7 10. Nc2 Qxd1+ 11. Kxd1 Nc6 12. Bg5 Nd7 13. Ke2 Bc5 14. Rhd1 f6 15. Be3 Bxe3 16. Nxe3 Nd4+ 17. Kf1 Nc5 18. Nf5 Nce6 19. Rac1 O-O 20. Nd5 Rad8 21. Nxd4 Nxd4 22. Ne7+ Kf7 23. Rc7 Ke8 24. Nd5 Rf7 25. Rc3 Rfd7 26. Rdc1 Kf7 27. h4 h5 28. g3 Nc6 29. Kg2 Ne7 30. Ne3 Nc6 31. Rb3 Nd4 32. Ra3 a6 33. Nd5 Rd6 34. Rc7+ R8d7 35. Rac3 Nc6 36. Rc8 Ne7 37. Nxe7 Kxe7 38. Rh8 Rd2 39. Rb3 b5 40. Rxh5 Re2 41. Ra3 Rd6 42. Rh8 Rxe4 43. Ra8 Ra4 44. Ra7+ Kf8 45. Rc3 Rc4 46. Rxc4 bxc4 47. Rc7 Rb6 48. Rxc4 Rxb2 {The position is completely drawn, and under normal circumstances that's how the game would end. Dubov is in a must-win situation, however, and must try to do whatever he can to create winning chances for himself even if it comes at the cost of serious losing chances.} 49. a3 Rb3 50. a4 Ra3 51. Kh3 Rf3 52. Kg2 Ra3 53. h5 Kf7 54. Kh3 Rf3 55. Rc7+ Kg8 56. Rc2 Kh7 57. Kg4 e4 58. Re2 Kh6 59. Rxe4 Rxf2 60. Re6 Rc2 61. Rxa6 Rc4+ 62. Kf5 Kxh5 63. Ra5 Kh6 64. Ra7 Rc5+ 65. Kf4 Rc4+ 66. Kf3 f5 67. a5 Ra4 68. a6 g6 69. Ke3 Kg5 70. Kd3 $2 {This is hopeless as a winning try, but there's nothing else that could create even tiny chances.} Kg4 $19 71. Kc3 Kxg3 72. Kb3 Ra1 73. Kb4 f4 74. Kb5 g5 {White might manage to force Black to give up his rook for the a-pawn, but even if he does Black will safely promote at least one of his kingside pawns.} 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.16"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Donchenko, Alexander"] [Black "Le, Quang Liem"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A10"] [WhiteElo "2641"] [BlackElo "2729"] [WhiteFideId "24603295"] [WhiteFideId "12401137"] [PlyCount "76"] [GameId "2244854681144706"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,76,12,0,29,20,20,31,42,36,22,48,61,66,80,13,9,50,36,18,-11,23,29,9,65,86,41,11,57,0,49,-35,14,-51,-16,19,-2,-42,-22,-30,-41,-86,-28,-122,-76,-121,32767,-112,-135,-125,-92,-123,-126,-223,-180,-175,-150,-99,-279,-272,-222,-196,-147,-205,-223,-287,-222,-370,-371,-512,-500,-697,-702,-655,-682,-765,-765,-1406,-698] Le needs a win, and gets one.} 1. c4 (1. d4 c5 2. d5 e5 3. e4 d6 4. f4 exf4 5. Bxf4 Qh4+ 6. g3 Qe7 7. Nc3 g5 {Compare this with the first 10 moves of the Donchenko-Le game.} 8. Be3 Nd7 9. Nf3 h6 10. Qd2 Ngf6 11. O-O-O Ng4 12. Be2 Bg7 13. Rhf1 Nxe3 14. Qxe3 a6 15. Ng1 b5 16. Rde1 Bb7 17. Nd1 O-O-O 18. Bg4 Kb8 19. Bxd7 Rxd7 20. Qd2 g4 21. Ne3 Qe5 22. c3 h5 23. Nf5 Bf6 24. Qf4 Qxf4+ 25. gxf4 Rdd8 26. c4 bxc4 27. Ne3 c3 28. b3 Bd4 29. Nc4 f5 30. e5 dxe5 31. fxe5 Bxd5 32. Rxf5 Rdf8 33. Rxf8+ Rxf8 34. e6 Re8 35. e7 Bxc4 36. bxc4 Bxg1 37. Rxg1 Rxe7 38. h3 gxh3 39. Kc2 h2 40. Rb1+ Rb7 41. Rh1 Rb2+ 42. Kxc3 Rxa2 43. Kd3 Kc7 44. Ke4 Kc6 45. Kf5 a5 46. Kg5 a4 {0-1 Bogoljubow,E-Alekhine,A World-ch14 Alekhine-Bogoljubow +8-3=15 Germany 1934 (9)}) 1... g6 2. Nc3 Bg7 3. d4 c5 4. d5 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 d6 6. e4 e5 7. f4 Qh4+ 8. g3 Qe7 9. Bd3 exf4 10. Bxf4 g5 {This is reminiscent of game 9 of the 1934 Alekhine-Bogoljubow World Championship match. (How's that for an obscure reference?) See above!} 11. Bd2 h5 $2 (11... Nd7 $11 {Controlling and blockading e5 is a must, ASAP!}) 12. Nf3 $16 f6 $2 (12... Bg4 $8) 13. Qa4+ $2 (13. e5 $3 dxe5 14. O-O Kd8 15. Be4 $18 {Black's pawn mass is immobile. White can chip away at it in various ways, including h4, meeting ...g4 with Ng5.}) 13... Bd7 14. Qb3 Bh3 15. Rg1 $2 (15. e5 $3 dxe5 16. Bg6+ Kd8 17. Be4 Qd7 18. O-O-O Nh6 19. Bxg5 $1 fxg5 20. Nxg5 $18) 15... Nh6 (15... Nd7 $1 $19 {Again, it's all about the e5 square. Even sacrificing the a- and b-pawns is an acceptable price to pay to keep control there.} 16. Qxb7 Rb8 17. Qxa7 Nh6 18. Rb1 O-O $19 {Black will soon enjoy a permanent knight on e5, sealing in almost White's entire army.}) 16. O-O-O (16. e5 $1 $17 {is still White's best try, though here it just reduces his disadvantage.}) 16... Bg4 $2 (16... Nd7 $1 $19) 17. e5 $3 {Still best. White is back in the game.} dxe5 $8 18. Bg6+ (18. Rgf1) 18... Kf8 $6 (18... Nf7) 19. d6 $6 (19. Rdf1 $16) 19... Qd7 $11 20. Bxg5 $5 (20. Be4 Nc6 21. Bxg5 $5 fxg5 22. Bxc6 Qxc6 23. Nxe5 Bxd1 24. Qxd1 Qe8 $8 25. Qd5 Kg7 26. Rf1 Rf8 27. Rxf8 Qxf8 28. Qxb7+ {Despite his extra rook Black has no way to avoid the draw (except by losing).} Kg8 (28... Nf7 29. Nxf7 Rb8 30. Qc7 Rc8 31. Qb7 Rb8 32. Qxa7 Ra8 33. Qb7 Rb8 $11 (33... Rxa2 {keeps the game going, but it's Black who must find the only-moves to survive.} 34. Nxg5+ Kg6 35. Qb1+ Kxg5 36. Qxa2 Qf1+ $8 37. Kb2 Qg2+ $8 38. Kb3 Qb7+ $11)) 29. Qd5+ Kg7 (29... Kh7 30. Qb7+ $11) 30. Qb7+ $11) 20... Bxf3 21. Bxf6 Rg8 22. Qb1 Qg4 23. Bh7 $2 (23. Bxh5 $3 Qxh5 24. Qh7 Qf7 $8 25. Qxh6+ Ke8 26. Rdf1 Rg6 27. Qh8+ Rg8 28. Qh4 Rg4 29. Qh6 Rg6 $11) 23... Nd7 $1 $19 24. Be7+ Kg7 25. h3 Qe6 $1 26. Rdf1 e4 27. Bxg8 Nxg8 28. Qxb7 Rb8 29. Qd5 Qxd5 30. cxd5 Nxe7 31. dxe7 {The material balance is momentarily in White's favor, but as is often the case the two minor pieces prove far stronger than the rook when the board isn't wide open. If White's center pawns were healthy it could be another story, but they're not.} Kf7 32. d6 Ke6 33. Rxf3 (33. g4 hxg4 34. hxg4 Kxd6 35. g5 Kxe7 $19) 33... exf3 34. Re1+ Kxd6 35. g4 ({Perhaps White initially intended} 35. e8=Q Rxe8 36. Rxe8 {when playing 33.Rxf3, only to realize that after} f2 $19 {there's no way for White's rook to prevent the pawn's promotion.}) 35... hxg4 36. hxg4 Ne5 37. Kc2 f2 38. Rb1 Re8 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.16"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Grebnev, Aleksey"] [Black "Esipenko, Andrey"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A06"] [WhiteElo "2611"] [BlackElo "2693"] [WhiteFideId "34189030"] [WhiteFideId "24175439"] [PlyCount "289"] [GameId "2244854681144707"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,289,19,19,14,-6,-1,-3,0,0,10,-1,10,0,8,1,-4,-3,1,32767,32767,0,13,12,14,13,12,-57,-53,-61,-49,-50,-34,-38,-49,-45,-41,32767,32767,32767,-43,-56,1,-45,-52,-50,-43,-36,-18,-35,-26,-21,2,-25,-31,32767,32767,32767,-53,-32,-23,-40,-24,-25,-32,-23,-7,-26,-15,-38,-39,-34,-35,-46,32767,32767,44,-23,-19,-37,-10,-6,0,4,-10,0,25,-13,98,19,22,32767,32767,32767,121,18,24,24,-6,24,2,9,34,28,26,29,48,64,35,32767,32767,32767,-7,-31,-30,-15,-36,-45,-25,-77,-95,-120,-113,-138,-131,-139,-124,-134,-166,32767,-159,-251,-86,-81,-39,-34,-55,-5,67,60,66,60,62,61,62,32767,32767,32767,54,56,50,41,45,31,33,32,33,24,25,18,29,31,32,27,32767,32767,31,32,29,25,30,24,25,31,24,28,28,32,22,26,29,26,23,32767,18,29,26,22,35,31,20,29,29,27,18,19,12,13,18,18,28,15,20,26,12,30,17,27,12,28,25,17,18,22,23,26,17,32767,32767,32767,17,18,24,19,24,26,26,19,23,26,28,30,29,20,28,30,32767,32767,24,26,26,29,33,31,23,24,27,30,23,34,31,37,27,28,32767,32767,4,12,3,7,13,13,2,-1,4,2,1,1,1,1,1,32767,32767,32767,-1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0] Grebnev needed a win to keep the match going. He certainly tried!} 1. Nf3 d5 2. b3 c5 3. e3 Nf6 4. Bb2 g6 5. Bb5+ Bd7 6. Be2 Bg7 7. c4 O-O 8. O-O Nc6 9. cxd5 Nxd5 10. Bxg7 Kxg7 11. Qc2 b6 12. Qb2+ f6 13. Na3 e5 14. d3 Be6 15. Nc4 Qe7 16. h3 Rfd8 17. a3 Rac8 18. Rfc1 Rc7 19. Ncd2 a5 20. Bf1 Rcd7 21. Nc4 Rb8 22. Ncd2 Nc7 23. Ne4 Ne8 24. Re1 Nd6 25. Ned2 Nf7 26. Rac1 Bd5 27. Be2 Ncd8 28. Ne4 Ne6 29. Nfd2 Ra7 30. Bf1 Rd7 31. Nc4 Ra7 32. Rc2 Neg5 33. Nc3 Bc6 34. Rcc1 Ne6 35. Nd2 Rd7 36. Rb1 Bb7 37. Nc4 Bc6 38. Rbd1 Rdd8 39. Ne4 a4 40. bxa4 Bxa4 41. Rb1 b5 42. Ncd2 b4 43. Rec1 Qa7 44. Nc4 Bc6 45. axb4 cxb4 46. Nxe5 Bxe4 47. Nxf7 Rxd3 48. Ne5 Rd6 49. Ra1 Qe7 50. Nc4 Rdd8 51. Nd2 Bd5 52. Ra5 Nf8 53. Rcc5 Bf7 54. Nf3 b3 55. Rc1 Ne6 56. Ra6 Rd6 57. Ra3 Rdb6 58. Ra4 R6b7 59. Rac4 Ra7 60. Rc6 Qa3 61. Qxa3 Rxa3 62. Rb1 Ng5 63. Nd4 Ne4 64. Rc7 Kg8 65. Nc6 Re8 66. Rb7 Nd2 67. Rd1 Nxf1 68. Kxf1 Ra6 69. Nd4 Bd5 70. Rb4 Rd8 71. Kg1 Raa8 72. Nxb3 Bxb3 73. Rxd8+ Rxd8 74. Rxb3 h5 75. Rb7 h4 76. Kf1 Rd2 77. Ke1 Ra2 78. Rd7 g5 79. Rc7 Rb2 80. Ra7 Rc2 81. Rb7 Ra2 82. Rd7 Rb2 83. Rd2 Rb1+ 84. Ke2 Kf7 85. Kf3 Rg1 86. Rd4 Kg6 87. Rd6 Kg7 88. Ra6 Kg6 89. Ra4 Kg7 90. Rb4 Kg6 91. Rg4 Kh6 92. Rc4 Kg6 93. Rc6 Kg7 94. e4 Kf7 95. Rc5 Kg6 96. Rf5 Ra1 97. Rd5 Ra3+ 98. Ke2 Ra2+ 99. Rd2 Ra4 100. Ke3 Ra3+ 101. Rd3 Ra2 102. Rd6 Kf7 103. Rd2 Ra3+ 104. Rd3 Ra2 105. Kf3 Rb2 106. Rd6 Ra2 107. Rd3 Kg6 108. g3 hxg3 109. Kxg3 Ra6 110. Rd1 Re6 111. f3 Ra6 112. h4 gxh4+ 113. Kxh4 Ra4 114. Rd5 Rb4 115. Kg4 Ra4 116. Kf4 Rb4 117. Rd6 Ra4 118. Kg3 Kf7 119. Kg4 Kg6 120. Rc6 Rb4 121. Kf4 Ra4 122. Rd6 Rb4 123. Ke3 Kf7 124. Rd4 Rb3+ 125. Rd3 Rb4 126. Rc3 f5 127. Rc7+ Ke6 128. Rc6+ Kd7 129. Rh6 fxe4 130. fxe4 Ke7 131. Kf4 Rb5 132. Rh7+ Ke6 133. Ra7 Rc5 134. Ra6+ Ke7 135. e5 Rc1 136. Ra3 Rf1+ 137. Rf3 Rxf3+ 138. Kxf3 Ke6 139. Ke4 Ke7 140. Kd5 Kd7 141. e6+ Ke7 142. Ke5 Ke8 143. Kd6 Kd8 144. e7+ Ke8 145. Ke6 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.16"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Black "Martinez Alcantara, Jose Eduardo"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B60"] [WhiteElo "2697"] [BlackElo "2644"] [WhiteFideId "5007003"] [WhiteFideId "3805662"] [PlyCount "55"] [GameId "2244854681144708"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,53,12,14,26,21,19,32767,32767,12,29,17,21,30,32767,32767,19,16,8,9,6,32767,32767,5,11,3,8,0,0,32767,-56,-52,-55,-64,-40,-67,32767,-81,-19,-67,-37,-69,-62,32767,-17,-23,-74,-23,5,-5,32767,1,11,11,21,26]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 Bd7 7. Nb3 ({As after 6...e6, so too here is} 7. Qd2 {the main move.}) 7... e6 8. Nb5 $5 Qb8 9. Bxf6 gxf6 10. Qh5 a6 11. N5d4 (11. Nc3 {was played in 11 of 12 previous games, but it's not obviously better than the text.}) 11... Nxd4 $146 12. Nxd4 Qc7 13. O-O-O Qc5 {Transposing to one earlier, non-professional game.} 14. Qxc5 $2 $146 {This isn't good at all - Black's bishops should prove very effective.} (14. Be2 {was played in the earlier game.}) (14. Qf3 $146 {looks reasonable.}) 14... dxc5 $17 15. Nb3 b6 (15... Bc6 $142 16. f3 a5 $17 {/-+}) 16. Be2 Bc6 17. Bf3 Bh6+ 18. Kb1 Ke7 19. Nd2 Bb5 $2 (19... Rac8 $17 {avoids the little trick in the game, after which Black can grind on forever.}) 20. e5 $1 Rad8 21. exf6+ Kxf6 22. Ne4+ Ke7 23. Nc3 Bg7 {Giving up on the game.} (23... Bc4 $5 24. b3 Bg7 $1 {keeps some tiny chances alive.}) 24. Nxb5 axb5 25. c3 b4 26. Kc2 Rxd1 27. Rxd1 Rd8 28. Rxd8 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.16"] [Round "5.5"] [White "Le, Quang Liem"] [Black "Donchenko, Alexander"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A36"] [WhiteElo "2729"] [BlackElo "2641"] [WhiteFideId "12401137"] [WhiteFideId "24603295"] [PlyCount "176"] [GameId "2244854681144709"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,176,20,5,22,16,14,12,11,10,20,4,1,32767,-6,-6,2,-10,-13,-14,-10,0,10,-5,24,20,-5,8,-10,-20,-6,-12,-18,-19,-1,-7,13,16,27,14,15,15,20,24,42,51,39,62,57,13,119,88,48,33,10,-27,-41,-1,-1,-22,-24,-1,-8,-30,-43,-28,-33,-28,-29,-35,-33,-24,-48,-43,-40,34,-25,-41,-52,-171,-74,-87,-71,-90,-41,-62,-41,-38,-43,-39,-45,-26,-40,-72,-69,-80,-112,-158,-163,-191,-129,-165,-179,-232,-198,-161,-133,-129,-107,-105,-107,-112,-76,-95,-90,-60,-69,-55,-54,-54,-60,-55,-44,-23,-45,-29,-49,-56,-189,-136,-92,-58,-166,-184,-180,-214,-210,-247,-289,-231,-232,-268,-283,-303,-264,-284,-238,-306,-288,-258,-284,-249,-286,-276,32767,32767,32767,-378,-351,-338,-366,-253,-333,-367,-343,-347,-331,32767,-387,-435,-404,-409,-406,-495,-378,-396,-474,-992,-702]} 1. c4 c5 2. g3 Nc6 3. Bg2 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. d3 Nf6 6. Nh3 a6 7. Nf4 Rb8 8. Rb1 O-O 9. O-O d6 10. a3 Bd7 11. b4 cxb4 12. axb4 b5 13. cxb5 axb5 14. d4 Re8 15. e3 Qc8 16. Qb3 e5 17. dxe5 dxe5 18. Nfd5 Bh3 19. Bb2 Bxg2 20. Kxg2 Nxd5 21. Nxd5 Qf5 22. Rbc1 Ne7 23. Rfd1 h5 24. h3 Rb7 25. Nxe7+ Rexe7 26. Rc5 Red7 27. Rcd5 Rbc7 28. Rxd7 Rxd7 29. Rxd7 Qxd7 {The position is equal, but each side has one slightly misplaced pawn. For White it's the pawn on b4, which can be a permanent target, while for Black it's the pawn on e5. If Black can play ...e4 someday without anything bad happening he'll have the advantage - whichi is what happens.} 30. Qc2 Qe7 31. Bc3 Qc7 32. Qd2 Qc4 33. Kg1 Bf6 34. Qb2 Qd5 35. Qe2 Qb3 36. Be1 Qb1 37. Kf1 e4 {White's position isn't worse according to the engine, but that's only true in the fantasy world of 3600-level chess. For the rest of us, including elite-level grandmasters, White's position stinks, even if it's tenable. Donchenko eventually wins, and while Le would have been a big favorite to hold this in classical chess it's not terribly surprising that he'd fail to do so in what was a glorified blitz game.} 38. Kg2 Qc1 39. f3 exf3+ 40. Kxf3 Qc6+ 41. e4 Be5 {Still "equal" but not really: White has weaknesses on b4, e4, and g3.} 42. Qd3 Qf6+ 43. Kg2 Qc6 44. Bf2 f5 45. Kf3 Kf7 46. Qd5+ $2 {Looking for a simple solution, he plays what is in fact the losing move. He needed to keep suffering patiently.} Qxd5 47. exd5 Bd6 $19 48. g4 (48. Be1 Kf6 49. Bc3+ Be5 50. Be1 Ke7 {followed by ...Kd6 and ...Kxd5.}) 48... hxg4+ 49. hxg4 fxg4+ 50. Kxg4 Bxb4 {There are bishop + two pawns vs. bishop + one pawn endings that are drawn. One reason this isn't one of them is that Black's passers are distant, making it impossible to easily cope with them at the same time.} 51. Bd4 Bd2 $6 (51... Be7 $142 52. Kf3 b4 53. Ke2 b3 54. Kd3 Bf6 $1 {wins easily. White can't trade bishops as his king can't cope with both the b- and g-pawns, and avoiding the trade keeps the b-pawn safe as it ties down White's forces for the rest of the game.} 55. Bc5 Be5 56. Be3 Kf6 57. Bf2 g5 58. Bc5 g4 59. Bf2 {Black can't play 59...g3 because of 60.Bxg3 Bxg3 61.Kc3. Black must bring up the king, and once he does White will jettison the d-pawn so he can collect the b-pawn. The question then is whether Black can secure the g-pawn's promotion before White's king can get back to the kingside. (Spoiler alert: he can.)} b2 60. Kc2 Kf5 61. Be1 Ke4 62. d6 Bxd6 63. Kxb2 Kf3 64. Kc2 Bc5 65. Bh4 Bf2 66. Bf6 g3 67. Be5 g2 68. Bh2 Kg4 69. Kd2 Kh3 $19 {and the end.}) 52. Kf3 Ke7 53. Bc5+ Kf6 54. Ke4 Bc3 55. Bb6 b4 $2 56. Ba5 $1 $11 {It's drawn now, at least in theory.} Ke7 57. Kd3 $1 Kd6 58. Kc4 $1 g5 59. Bd8 g4 60. Bh4 Ke5 61. Bg3+ Kf5 62. Bh4 $2 {Losing again, as it lets Black switch his bishop from its bad location to an ideal post on e7.} (62. d6 Ke6 63. Kb3 $11) 62... Bf6 $1 63. Be1 Be7 64. Bg3 Bf8 65. Bc7 ({White cannot win the b-pawn with} 65. d6 {because} Ke6 $1 66. Kxb4 Bxd6+ $19 {wins.}) 65... Kf6 $1 {The only move, though it's not so hard to find because everything else is obviously bad. It's still surprising that there's only one move that keeps the win.} 66. Bg3 Kf7 67. Be5 Ke8 68. Bg3 Kd7 69. Bh4 Be7 70. Be1 Bd6 71. Kd3 Kc7 72. Kc4 Kd8 73. Bh4+ Ke8 74. Kd3 Kf7 75. Be1 Kg6 76. Ke4 g3 77. Kf3 b3 78. Bc3 Kf5 79. Bb2 Be5 80. Ba3 Kg6 81. Bc1 Kf7 82. Ba3 Ke8 83. Kg2 Kd7 84. Kf3 Kc7 85. Kg2 Kb6 86. Kf3 Kb5 87. Bc1 Kc4 88. Ke4 Bd6 {The errors on moves 51 and 56 aside, a nice grinding victory by Donchenko.} 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.16"] [Round "5.5"] [White "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Black "Martinez Alcantara, Jose Eduardo"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B60"] [WhiteElo "2697"] [BlackElo "2644"] [WhiteFideId "5007003"] [WhiteFideId "3805662"] [PlyCount "118"] [GameId "2244854681144710"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,116,17,13,20,29,26,29,22,26,19,12,43,34,49,4,7,8,16,8,6,6,14,18,5,1,39,36,44,7,11,23,20,18,31,7,21,18,52,34,10,32767,16,-26,-13,-43,-56,-54,-38,32767,-60,-54,-53,-56,-53,-44,-50,-68,-46,-51,-40,-40,-52,-81,-37,-56,-63,-83,-48,-43,-40,-70,-80,-75,-37,-28,-21,-4,-19,-34,-2,-37,-1,-34,-62,-60,-96,-92,-90,-119,-37,-60,-75,-93,-77,-87,-54,-98,-7,-70,-34,-61,-65,-132,-100,-134,-139,-206,-285,-478,-436,-378,-404,-729,-807,-493,-717,-767,-837]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 Bd7 7. Nxc6 (7. Nb3 {was played in their previous game, and}) (7. Qd2 {is the main move, as mentioned in my comments to their earlier game in this line.}) 7... bxc6 8. Bc4 h6 9. Bd2 {A strange-looking square for the bishop, but as the bishop can get kicked on h4, f4, or e3 White's remaining choices are 9.Bxf6 (arguably best), 9.Bd2, and 9.Bc1. If White doesn't want to trade, this is the best of the rest.} (9. Bxf6) 9... e6 10. Qe2 Be7 11. e5 dxe5 12. Qxe5 Qb8 13. Qxb8+ Rxb8 14. Bb3 (14. O-O-O $142 Nd5 $14) 14... c5 $11 15. O-O-O Bc6 16. Ba4 Bxa4 17. Nxa4 c4 18. Bf4 Rb7 19. Rd4 (19. Nc3 $142) 19... Nd5 20. Bd2 Rc7 21. Ba5 Rc6 22. Nc3 $6 (22. b3 $142 cxb3 23. axb3 O-O 24. Rhd1 $11) 22... Bg5+ $1 23. Kb1 (23. Kd1 $142) 23... Bf6 $15 {/?} 24. Rd2 Bxc3 25. Bxc3 Nxc3+ 26. bxc3 Ke7 {Black's kingside majority is healthy and can produce a passed pawn, while White's queenside majority cannot. In fact, White's queenside pawns are somewhat weak - they not only fail to be an asset; they could become liabilities.} 27. Rhd1 Rb8+ 28. Kc1 Rb7 29. Rd4 Rbc7 30. Re1 Ra6 31. Ree4 Ra4 32. g4 g5 33. Kb2 f6 34. a3 Rc6 35. Re3 e5 36. Ree4 Rc8 (36... Rb6+ 37. Ka2 Rba6 38. Rxc4 Rxa3+ 39. Kb2 Ra1 $17) 37. Rd5 Ra6 38. Rb5 Rb6 39. Rb4 Ke6 40. Kc1 Rbc6 41. Re3 h5 42. gxh5 $2 (42. h3 hxg4 43. hxg4 Rh8 {is good for Black (everything is), but not as good for him as the game continuation.}) 42... Rh8 $19 43. Rh3 Kf5 44. Rb7 Kg4 45. Rg3+ Kf4 46. Rxa7 Rxh5 47. h3 f5 48. a4 Rhh6 49. Kd2 e4 50. a5 Ra6 51. Rf7 Rxa5 52. Ke2 Rh4 53. Rc7 Ra2 54. Rxc4 Rxc2+ 55. Kf1 g4 56. hxg4 Rh1+ 57. Kg2 Rcc1 58. Rf3+ (58. g5 Rcg1#) 58... Kxg4 59. Rg3+ Kh4 {White has no checks and no counterplay, and no good way to avoid the threatened ...Rcg1#. Harikrishna is out, "Jospem" advances.} 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.16"] [Round "5.6"] [White "Donchenko, Alexander"] [Black "Le, Quang Liem"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A37"] [WhiteElo "2641"] [BlackElo "2729"] [WhiteFideId "24603295"] [WhiteFideId "12401137"] [PlyCount "94"] [GameId "2244854681144711"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,94,16,4,37,22,34,32767,16,12,17,8,6,14,16,5,30,5,32767,32767,-7,-11,-14,-8,-17,32767,-32,-5,-30,-62,-70,32767,-32,-37,-14,-21,-19,32767,-67,-55,29,17,32,32767,22,-1,1,-50,32767,32767,7,-6,-19,-19,32767,32767,-33,-69,-53,-153,-82,32767,-13,-402,-494,-468,-460,32767,-557,-533,-557,-628,-494,-497,-302,-294,-295,-389,-404,32767,-530,-523,-568,-554,32767,32767,-625,-642,-641,-710,32767,32767,-741,-777,-854,-1134,-1062] Again Le needed a win with Black, and again he delivered.} 1. c4 g6 2. Nc3 Bg7 3. g3 c5 4. Bg2 Nc6 5. Nf3 d6 6. O-O Be6 7. d3 Qc8 8. Nd5 Nf6 9. e4 Rb8 10. Bg5 Nd7 11. Rb1 b5 12. b3 h6 13. Bd2 Bg4 14. h3 Bxf3 15. Qxf3 e6 16. Nc3 Nd4 17. Qd1 Qa6 18. a4 bxa4 19. bxa4 O-O 20. Nb5 Kh7 21. Bc3 Rb6 22. a5 Rbb8 23. Nxd4 Bxd4 24. Qd2 Ne5 25. Bxd4 cxd4 26. f4 Nc6 27. Rxb8 Rxb8 28. f5 Ne5 29. Rf4 $2 Qb7 30. Rh4 $4 {Missing a nasty tactic.} Qb1+ 31. Kh2 Nf3+ 32. Bxf3 Rb2 33. fxg6+ fxg6 34. Qxb2 Qxb2+ 35. Bg2 g5 36. Rg4 Qd2 {White is losing several pawns, so there is no chance for a fortress.} 37. e5 dxe5 38. Re4 Qxd3 39. Rxe5 Qxc4 40. Bf3 d3 41. Re1 Kg7 42. Bg4 e5 43. Kg2 e4 44. Kf2 Qd4+ 45. Re3 Kf6 46. Bd1 Qb2+ 47. Ke1 Qc3+ {48...Qd2(+) wins a piece.} 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.16"] [Round "5.6"] [White "Martinez Alcantara, Jose Eduardo"] [Black "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B10"] [WhiteElo "2644"] [BlackElo "2697"] [WhiteFideId "3805662"] [WhiteFideId "5007003"] [PlyCount "59"] [GameId "2244854681144712"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,59,14,24,23,26,49,50,75,68,68,72,65,58,84,73,74,52,31,18,0,1,62,27,84,22,54,55,51,1,40,4,-16,-14,42,53,47,53,25,60,39,58,125,81,22,26,79,89,397,420,415,385,470,437,642,464,520,486,664,450,480,434]} 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 g6 3. d4 Na6 4. c4 Bg7 5. Nc3 d6 6. h3 c5 7. Be3 cxd4 8. Bxd4 Nf6 9. e5 dxe5 10. Bxe5 Qa5 11. Be2 O-O 12. O-O Rd8 13. Qe1 Qb6 14. Na4 Qe6 15. b3 Bd7 16. Nc3 Bc6 17. Nb5 Bxb5 18. cxb5 Nc5 19. Bc4 Qf5 20. Qe3 Nd3 21. Rad1 Nxe5 22. Nxe5 e6 23. g4 Qc2 24. Rxd8+ Rxd8 25. Nxf7 Re8 26. Nd6 Re7 27. Nc8 Re8 28. Nd6 Re7 29. Nc8 Re8 {A draw is as good as a win for Martinez, so he's happy to give Harikrishna a gentleman's draw. If he had wanted to win, practically any move that doesn't allow Black a threefold repetition will win.} 30. Nd6 (30. Bxe6+ $18) (30. b6 $18) (30. Re1 $18) (30. Nxa7 $18) (30. Qxa7 $18) (30. g5 $18 {etc.}) 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.16"] [Round "5.7"] [White "Le, Quang Liem"] [Black "Donchenko, Alexander"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D85"] [WhiteElo "2729"] [BlackElo "2641"] [WhiteFideId "12401137"] [WhiteFideId "24603295"] [PlyCount "62"] [GameId "2244854681144713"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,62,23,16,18,14,23,35,21,13,23,24,14,27,19,17,14,18,15,20,3,-6,9,21,27,15,46,2,2,1,36,12,17,8,30,15,1,2,-21,5,-26,-67,-56,-56,-71,-59,-42,-88,-65,-54,-19,-51,-22,-24,-18,-12,-22,32767,-60,-87,-26,-26,-26,-30,-1]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Nf3 c5 8. Bb5+ Nc6 9. O-O O-O 10. Bxc6 bxc6 11. Qc2 Qa5 12. a4 Rd8 13. Rb1 cxd4 14. cxd4 Bg4 15. Ne5 Bxe5 16. dxe5 Qxe5 17. Bb2 Qa5 18. Bc3 Qc5 19. Qb2 Qc4 20. h3 Be6 21. Qb4 c5 22. Qxc4 Bxc4 23. Rfd1 Rxd1+ 24. Rxd1 Be6 25. Rb1 Kf8 26. Rb7 Ke8 27. Rc7 c4 28. Bb4 Bd7 29. a5 Rb8 30. Rxc4 Be6 31. Rd4 Rd8 {After four consecutive White losses in the match (involving both players) making a draw with White seems like a success.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.16"] [Round "5.8"] [White "Donchenko, Alexander"] [Black "Le, Quang Liem"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E49"] [WhiteElo "2641"] [BlackElo "2729"] [WhiteFideId "24603295"] [WhiteFideId "12401137"] [PlyCount "95"] [GameId "2244854681161098"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,93,18,13,18,19,13,32767,13,15,12,10,10,32767,4,-4,6,-4,-7,32767,-6,-2,-16,0,-15,32767,0,-35,-10,-46,-34,-31,9,-22,0,-9,50,32767,65,59,64,1,108,32767,126,194,259,142,215,135,143,138,175,194,160,32767,158,195,171,272,32767,32767,511,501,520,552,552,32767,535,536,514,533,524,32767,629,542,552,599,697,32767,703,599,596,556,491,32767,586,566,596,581,32767,32767,734,558,441,722] And now the match has its first, last, and only White win.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 dxc4 8. Bxc4 c5 9. Ne2 Qc7 10. Ba2 b6 11. O-O Ba6 12. Re1 Rd8 13. Ng3 Nc6 14. Rb1 (14. Bb2) 14... Rac8 15. Rb2 Na5 16. e4 cxd4 17. cxd4 Bc4 $2 $146 {A new move - and a bad one. Maybe Le mixed something up trying to remember his prep?} (17... Qc3 {has been played a few times, including once in a rapid game of Donchenko's a few months ago. (Btw, Donchenko hasn't gained 90 points in the last few months; the rating in his game with Vidit is his rapid rating, while the one given here is his classical rating even though this is a blitz game.)} 18. Rd2 Nc4 19. Bxc4 Bxc4 20. Bb2 Qa5 21. h3 Qg5 22. Re3 h5 23. Ne2 h4 24. Nc3 b5 25. Kh1 a5 26. g3 b4 27. axb4 axb4 28. Ne2 Nxe4 29. Rxe4 Bd5 30. f3 Bxe4 31. fxe4 Qe3 32. Rd3 Qxe4+ 33. Kh2 Ra8 34. gxh4 Ra2 35. Rd2 Qxh4 36. Ng3 Qf4 37. Rg2 Rd5 38. Qb3 Rxb2 39. Qxb2 Rxd4 40. Qc2 g6 41. Rf2 Qd6 42. Qc8+ Kg7 43. Qb7 Rf4 44. Rg2 Kh7 45. Kh1 Qd3 46. Kh2 Qd6 47. Kh1 Qe5 48. Kg1 Qe3+ 49. Kh2 Qe5 50. Kh1 Kg7 51. Kg1 Rd4 52. Kh2 Qf4 53. Qb5 Rd5 54. Qb7 Rd3 55. Qb5 Rf3 56. Qe2 b3 57. Qe4 Qxe4 58. Nxe4 Re3 59. Nd2 Rc3 60. h4 Kh6 61. Kg1 b2 62. Rf2 Rc2 63. Nb1 Rc1+ 64. Rf1 Kh5 65. Kg2 Rxf1 66. Kxf1 Kxh4 67. Ke2 g5 68. Kd3 g4 69. Kc2 g3 70. Nd2 g2 {0-1 Donchenko,A (2561)-Vidit,S (2650) WchT Rapid London 2025 (10.4)}) 18. Bg5 $1 $16 Bxa2 (18... Qd6 $142) 19. Bxf6 (19. Rxa2 $142) 19... gxf6 20. Rxa2 Qc3 $6 21. Rd2 Kh8 $2 22. Rd3 $18 {Black has a weak king and doesn't even have a pawn to show for his troubles.} Qc7 23. Qf3 Qe7 24. Nh5 Nc6 25. Red1 $6 (25. Qf4 $1 {indirectly protects the d-pawn.} Nxd4 26. Qh6 Rg8 27. Rxd4 ({or even} 27. Nxf6 Rg7 28. Rxd4 $18)) 25... f5 26. exf5 e5 27. f6 Qf8 28. d5 Nd4 29. Qe4 Qd6 30. h3 Qxd5 $2 {Le might have felt a moment's relief when he took this pawn. Alas, any positive feelings he might have experienced will prove painfully short-lived.} (30... Rg8) 31. Qg4 $1 Rg8 32. Qg7+ $1 {Ouch.} Rxg7 33. fxg7+ Kg8 34. Nf6+ Kxg7 35. Nxd5 {White is a full rook ahead. The rest is unnecessary but understandable.} Rc5 36. Ne3 Ra5 37. Nc4 Rc5 38. Nxe5 {giving back some material to make the win easier - a good idea in a blitz game.} Ne2+ 39. Kf1 Rxe5 40. Re1 Nf4 41. Rxe5 Nxd3 42. Re7 a6 43. Rb7 b5 44. Rb6 h6 45. Rxa6 b4 46. a4 b3 47. Rb6 b2 48. a5 {Donchenko advances, and another 2700 bites the dust. Only two 2700s remain, and they're playing each other in the next round.} 1-0