[Event "2nd UzChess Cup Masters"] [Site "Tashkent UZB"] [Date "2025.06.23"] [Round "5"] [White "Maghsoodloo, Parham"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E48"] [WhiteElo "2691"] [BlackElo "2767"] [PlyCount "135"] [GameId "2191955223731149"] [EventDate "2025.06.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,135,23,43,16,12,14,26,14,11,13,13,24,19,19,23,24,22,22,12,18,-2,-6,-4,11,23,-37,28,35,0,41,0,18,25,-50,20,-59,7,9,6,26,19,32,95,2,13,15,63,30,37,34,-4,41,20,90,87,112,81,98,20,90,64,118,84,73,74,48,55,81,-1,-1,51,66,66,39,32,2,37,54,104,118,70,134,-1,133,109,196,173,56,163,237,161,342,210,266,148,194,191,144,175,130,87,133,144,154,144,163,170,158,118,127,86,107,161,67,127,138,85,132,56,74,33,141,95,158,0,123,0,75,0,118,0,94,0,68,0,656,599]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 c5 (4... O-O) 5. Bd3 (5. Nge2) 5... cxd4 6. exd4 d5 7. cxd5 (7. Nf3 dxc4 8. Bxc4 O-O 9. O-O b6 {is the Karpov Variation, which comes up both in the Nimzo-Indian and in the Caro-Kann (via the Panov-Botvinnik Attack).}) 7... Nxd5 8. Nge2 O-O (8... Nc6) 9. O-O Re8 {The move looks odd at first, but the point is to clear f8 for the bishop in case of a2-a3.} (9... Nc6) 10. Re1 (10. a3) (10. Bc2 {is a standard idea in such positions, setting up the Q+B battery against h7. White doesn't expect Black to miss the threat, but aims to induce weaknesses around the black king.} Nc6 11. Qd3 g6 12. Rd1 Bf8 13. Qg3 Nxc3 14. bxc3 Bg7 15. h4 Qa5 16. Bg5 Ne7 17. h5 Nf5 18. Bxf5 Qxf5 19. h6 Bf8 20. Qh4 Qd5 21. Nf4 Qa5 22. Nd3 Bd7 23. Ne5 Ba4 24. Rd3 Bc2 25. Rf3 f5 26. Bf6 Qc7 27. Rg3 Bd6 28. Re1 Rf8 29. f4 Bxe5 30. Bxe5 Qf7 31. c4 Be4 32. Ree3 Rac8 33. c5 b6 34. Rc3 Rfe8 35. a4 bxc5 36. dxc5 Qe7 37. Bf6 Qd7 38. Kh2 Kf7 39. Rc4 Bd5 40. Rc1 Be4 41. a5 Rc6 42. Rb3 Rcc8 43. Be5 Qd8 44. Qf2 Re7 45. a6 Rd7 46. Rb2 Qf8 47. Rc3 Qd8 48. c6 Rxc6 49. Rxc6 Bxc6 50. Rb8 Qa5 51. Qh4 {1-0 Abdusattorov,N (2727)-Caruana,F (2794) CCT Final Survival Winner Toronto rapid 2023 (1.2)}) 10... Nc6 11. a3 Bf8 {As advertised.} ({That said, nothing's wrong with} 11... Ba5 $146 {. If White's knight had been on f3 instead of e2 the most sensible retreat would have been to e7, keeping White's knight out of g5. (In that case, Black almost surely would not have played ...Re8.) But here Black's kingside has slightly less immediate need of protection.}) 12. Nxd5 exd5 13. Be3 g6 $146 (13... Bg4 {Probably better! "Old-time" guys knew how to play chess, too.} 14. Rc1 g6 15. Qd2 Bxe2 16. Bxe2 Bg7 17. Bf3 Qb6 18. Bxd5 Nxd4 19. Qb4 Qxb4 20. axb4 Rac8 21. Rxc8 Rxc8 22. Bxb7 Rb8 23. Bxd4 Bxd4 24. Re7 Bf6 25. Rc7 Re8 26. Kf1 {½-½ Epishin,V (2643)-Christiansen,L (2559) Tan Chin Nam Cup 8th Qingdao 2002 (5)}) 14. Nf4 {Good or bad, it stops ...Bg4.} (14. h3) (14. Rc1) 14... Bg7 15. Bb5 Qd6 (15... Re4) 16. Bxc6 bxc6 17. Nd3 {White is not better, exactly, but he has the easier play and the clearer plan: dominate the dark squares (especially c5, e5, and f4).} Bf5 $1 18. Nc5 (18. Bf4) 18... h6 19. Qf3 a5 (19... Re7) 20. Bf4 Qd8 21. Rxe8+ Qxe8 22. Qd1 $1 {A nice move. The queen had nothing to do on f3 any longer, so it return to d1, defending the d-pawn and preparing Qd2 which eyes the pawns on a5 and h6 while clearing e1 for the rook.} Qd8 23. Qd2 g5 24. Bg3 h5 25. h3 h4 26. Be5 (26. Bh2) 26... Bxe5 $2 (26... f6 $142) 27. dxe5 {The d-pawn may be passed, but the d4 square is valuable for White.} Qe7 $2 (27... Rb8) 28. Qd4 $2 {White misses a big opportunity.} (28. Nb3 $1 {Taking advantage of the loose g-pawn - 28...Qxe5 is not a good idea.} a4 29. Nd4 Bd7 30. Re1 c5 31. Nf3 $18) 28... Re8 (28... Kh7 $14) 29. Re1 $14 f6 30. e6 Kg7 31. Re3 Kg6 32. b4 (32. a4) 32... axb4 33. axb4 Qd6 34. Nd7 Qe7 {The engine calls this equal, which is misleading. It's "equal" in something like the sense that rook vs. rook and bishop is "equal": perfect play will hold a draw, but a single subtle error could easily cost the defender the game.} 35. f4 Be4 $1 36. fxg5 Qxe6 $6 {Not a fatal error, but a missstep.} (36... Kxg5 $1 $11) 37. Nxf6 Qe5 38. Qa7 Qxg5 $2 (38... Re7 39. Qa8 Kxg5 $11) 39. Ng4 $16 Qe7 40. Qb6 Qd6 41. Qd4 Qe7 $2 42. Rc3 $18 ({Another idea is} 42. Qc3 $1 Qd6 43. Re2 $1 $18 {It's not immediately obvious why this is *so* bad for Black, but a first glimpse comes when you spot the idea of Qd2 (c1/e3) and Qh6+. It's very hard for Black to keep White would, and another idea (which is compatible with the queen maneuver) is Rf2, looking to jump into f6.}) 42... Rc8 43. Ra3 Qg7 44. Qf2 $1 Kh5 45. Ra7 Rc7 46. Rxc7 Qxc7 47. Qf6 {Threatening mate on h6. The queen and knight work beautifully together.} Bg6 48. Ne5 Be4 49. Kh2 Qb8 50. g4+ $1 hxg3+ 51. Kxg3 {With the sneaky threat of Qh4#!} Qg8+ 52. Kf4 Bh7 53. Qe7 $1 Bb1 54. Nxc6 {This should prove decisive, now that Black must worry about his king *and* the b-pawn, but the game isn't as over as we might suspect.} Qg2 $1 {The best try.} 55. Qe8+ Kh6 56. Qh8+ $2 (56. Qf8+ $1 {was the first step on the path to a clear-cut victory.} Kh7 57. Qe7+ Kh6 58. Qh4+ Kg7 59. Qg4+ Qxg4+ 60. hxg4 Bd3 61. Nd4 Kf6 62. b5 Ke7 63. Ke5 $18 {and from here White's task is trivial.}) 56... Bh7 57. Qf6+ Kh5 58. Qe5+ Kh6 59. Qe6+ Bg6 60. Ke5 $2 (60. Qe3 {is probably still winning, but it's not going to be automatic.}) 60... Qe4+ 61. Kd6 Qxe6+ 62. Kxe6 Bd3 63. Kxd5 {This is drawn, provided Pragg finds the right move right now. After that it's not too hard, but the next move is critical.} Kh5 $2 (63... Bf1 $1 {was the only drawing move.} 64. h4 Kh5 65. Ne5 Kxh4 66. Nc4 Kg5 67. b5 Kf6 68. b6 Ke7 69. Kc6 Kd8 70. Ne3 Ba6 $11) 64. Ne5 $18 Ba6 65. Ng4 $1 {Now Black doesn't win the h-pawn as the knight will defend it from f2. Black can win the knight instead, but he'll be unable to stop both pawns.} Kh4 66. Nf2 Kg3 67. Kc5 Kxf2 68. h4 {There were some errors by Maghsoodloo, but overall he impressively outplayed the tournament co-leader, leapfrogging (leappragging?) him on the scoreboard but remaining half a point behind Abdusattorov, who also won.} (68. h4 Be2 69. b5 $1 Kg3 70. b6 Bf3 71. h5 $1 $18) 1-0 [Event "2nd UzChess Cup Masters"] [Site "Tashkent UZB"] [Date "2025.06.23"] [Round "5"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Yakubboev, Nodirbek"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2659"] [PlyCount "78"] [GameId "2191955223731150"] [EventDate "2025.06.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,78,28,29,17,15,10,6,8,4,0,7,8,7,14,34,48,12,16,15,8,15,14,9,21,5,6,129,14,53,16,5,92,-2,0,-1,40,1,-19,10,4,32,-1,49,25,-21,-21,-27,-28,-53,-44,-42,-7,-61,-43,-60,-4,-60,2,110,-1,-18,-18,-23,31,-48,-19,-14,-149,-94,-79,-101,-150,-66,-52,-99,-99,-41,-101,-23,-40] The day's only draw.} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 {We've been discussing this and similar variations in previous rounds when Vokhidov had Black (against Praggnanandhaa in round 2 and Rapport in round 4); now Yakubboev is getting into the action.} Nb6 (6... Bc5 {was played in the aforementioned round 4 game. (If it was played a round later, would it be the afivementioned game? Sorry. Please send any complaints to the estate of Victor Borge.) Vokhidov equalized and drew without any serious problems, but there's nothing wrong with the text, which is the traditional main line.}) 7. O-O Be7 8. Rb1 {White's third most popular option overall, well behind 8.a3 and 8.d3.} (8. a3 {is the main move, while}) (8. b3 {has become increasingly popular while}) (8. d3 {, formerly the co-main line with 8.a3, has faded somewhat in popularity.}) 8... f6 {Perhaps a little risky.} (8... a5 {is usual.}) 9. a3 (9. d4 $1 {is the most ambitious move.} Nxd4 10. Nxd4 exd4 11. Nb5 c5 12. b4 cxb4 13. Nxd4 Bc5 {White has excellent compensation after} 14. Bb2 ({or} 14. Rb3 {, but it is playable for Black.})) 9... O-O 10. b4 Be6 {Right back to the main line. White's next is by far the most common move, though 11.b5 has received some love as well.} 11. d3 a5 12. b5 Nd4 13. Nd2 Qc8 14. e3 Nf5 15. Qc2 Rd8 16. Bb2 a4 17. Rfc1 Nd6 {We're still following more than 200 games, even if the line hasn't been topical for more than a decade.} 18. Nde4 Bb3 19. Qe2 Nxe4 {And suddenly, we're almost on new ground.} (19... Nf7 {was the standard move, when "autoplay" continues through} 20. Nd1 Qd7 21. d4 {and now 21...Rac8, 21...Rab8, and 21...Ba2 are about equally common and all score 50% in the database with loads of draws, a sure sign that much correspondence-ing is going on here.}) 20. Nxe4 Ba2 21. Ra1 Bd5 22. d4 $146 {New, but not particularly good.} (22. Nc5 Bxg2 23. Kxg2 c6 24. Ne4 Qd7 25. bxc6 bxc6 26. Rc3 Qd5 27. Kg1 f5 28. Nd2 e4 29. d4 Qb5 30. Nc4 Rab8 31. Bc1 Nd5 32. Rc2 c5 33. dxc5 Bf6 34. Bb2 Qxc5 35. Bxf6 Nxf6 36. Nb2 Qd6 37. Nxa4 Ng4 38. Qc4+ {½-½ Kotlyar,K (2362)-Drygalov,A (2317) Urals-ch 74th Khanty-Mansiysk 2016 (7)}) (22. Rc3 c6 23. Rac1 Qd7 24. Nc5 Bxc5 25. bxc6 Bxc6 26. Bxc6 bxc6 27. Rxc5 Qxd3 28. Qxd3 Rxd3 29. Rxc6 Rb3 30. R1c2 Ra7 31. Kg2 Nd5 32. e4 Ne7 33. R6c4 Kf7 34. Bc1 Ke6 35. Be3 Ra6 {½-½ Gupta,A (2061)-Tanti,J (2188) ICCF izt 09 email ICCF email 2017 [8]}) 22... f5 23. Nc5 e4 $15 24. f3 exf3 25. Bxf3 c6 26. e4 fxe4 27. Bg4 Qb8 28. Nxe4 Rf8 (28... Kh8 $142 $15) 29. Nc3 $11 Bg5 30. Nxd5 Nxd5 31. Qe6+ Kh8 32. Re1 Ra5 33. bxc6 bxc6 {White's king isn't particularly secure, and both ...Be3+ and especially ...Qxb2 need to be dealt with.} 34. Bc1 (34. Re2 $142) 34... Bf6 $15 35. Bd2 Bxd4+ 36. Kh1 Ra6 37. Rab1 Qa8 (37... Rb6) 38. Rf1 Re8 (38... Rb6 $142 $15) 39. Qf5 Rb6 $11 {An easy hold for Yakubboev.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "2nd UzChess Cup Masters"] [Site "Tashkent UZB"] [Date "2025.06.23"] [Round "5"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "Aravindh, Chithambaram VR."] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A42"] [WhiteElo "2767"] [BlackElo "2749"] [PlyCount "65"] [GameId "2191955223731151"] [EventDate "2025.06.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,65,21,23,34,15,26,35,35,19,94,29,52,28,45,39,42,37,38,41,37,43,51,48,62,68,12,7,15,4,0,58,109,91,68,180,38,31,61,61,58,71,58,88,-64,46,156,89,120,180,169,323,268,219,219,283,227,192,253,31,195,177,405,405,484,398,623,537]} 1. c4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. e4 d6 4. Ne2 e5 5. Nbc3 Nc6 6. Be3 Nh6 7. d5 Ne7 8. h3 (8. f3 {is more popular and possibly better.} f5 9. Qd2 Nf7 10. O-O-O {and both the engine and database scores suggest that White has a meaningful advantage here.}) (8. h4 $5 $146) 8... f5 9. g3 O-O 10. Qd2 Nf7 11. O-O-O $11 {At this point the engine thinks White is better off castling short.} (11. Bg2 $14) (11. a4 $14) 11... c5 $146 (11... a6 $11 {[%CAl Bb7b5]}) 12. dxc6 bxc6 13. c5 $11 {/?} d5 14. exd5 cxd5 15. Nxd5 Be6 $2 {It's understandable that Black would want to avoid the queen trade as White's castled position looks vulnerable. It turns out that White's kind is safer than one might expect, and the extra pawn matters.} (15... Qxd5 16. Qxd5 Nxd5 17. Rxd5 Be6 18. Rd2 Bxa2 19. Nc3 Bb3 20. Rd7 $11 {/?}) 16. Nec3 $16 Nxd5 17. Nxd5 e4 18. Qc2 $2 (18. Kb1 $1 Ne5 (18... Rb8 19. b3 Qe8 20. Qc2 Ne5 21. Nc7 Bxb3 22. axb3 Qa4 23. Nb5 $1 Rxb5 24. Bxb5 Qxb5 25. Rd4 $18) 19. Nf4 Bf7 20. Qxd8 Rfxd8 21. Be2 $18) 18... Rb8 $14 19. b3 Qa5 20. Bc4 Rfe8 $2 (20... Ne5 21. Ne7+ Kf7 22. Bxe6+ Kxe7 $14) 21. Kb1 $16 {/+-} Ne5 22. Bd4 $1 Kf7 $2 23. Bxe5 Bxe5 24. Nf4 $18 {Black is finished. There's no attack, and now it's Black's king that is feeling exposed.} Bxc4 25. Qxc4+ (25. Rd7+ $1) 25... Kg7 26. Rd7+ Kh6 27. Rhd1 Red8 28. c6 Qa3 29. R1d2 Rxd7 30. cxd7 e3 31. fxe3 Qa5 32. Ne6 Bf6 33. Qf4+ $1 (33. Qf4+ $1 g5 34. Nxg5 $1 Bxg5 35. Rd6+ Kh5 (35... Kg7 36. Qxg5+ Kf7 37. Qf6+ Kg8 38. d8=R+ {wins everything.}) 36. Qf3#) 1-0 [Event "2nd UzChess Cup Masters"] [Site "Tashkent UZB"] [Date "2025.06.23"] [Round "5"] [White "Vokhidov, Shamsiddin"] [Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C60"] [WhiteElo "2644"] [BlackElo "2782"] [PlyCount "136"] [GameId "2191955223731152"] [EventDate "2025.06.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,136,22,30,26,19,18,13,18,17,4,13,24,9,41,21,39,36,39,32,39,36,39,45,43,36,23,45,80,59,51,45,47,37,43,41,42,42,42,45,10,15,-24,14,3,63,29,-33,-135,-44,-191,-77,-124,-86,-91,-30,-97,-113,-119,-70,-121,-137,-86,-147,-117,-57,-131,-124,-49,-120,-104,-173,-105,-73,-82,-85,-71,-72,-52,-69,-55,-70,-64,-80,-85,-85,-71,-66,-66,-80,-83,-56,-51,-72,-60,-33,-67,-90,-84,-33,-54,-67,-57,-59,-62,-60,-17,-86,-105,-267,-115,-86,-124,-102,-115,-90,-84,-108,-132,-119,-95,-138,-187,-269,-311,-293,-306,-299,-342,-335,-402,-442,-338,-427,-391,-402,-475,-466,-530]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O d6 $5 {Not that bad, but certainly not the most correct option by super-GM standards. Erigaisi always looks to take risks in the opening in search for winning chances, no doubt especially against a "mere" 2644.} 6. c3 (6. Re1) ({and} 6. Bxc6+ {are important alternatives.}) (6. d4 {is not a blunder or even an error (an inaccuracy? Yes.), though at the scholastic and club level it's often the prelude to a blunder.} b5 7. Bb3 (7. dxe5 $1 {is better, but Black should still be happy after} dxe5 $1 8. Qxd8+ Nxd8 9. Bb3 Nd7 $11) 7... Nxd4 8. Nxd4 exd4 $15 {Now White has some compensation for the pawn after 9.a4 or 9.c3. Just don't take the pawn back.} 9. Qxd4 $4 c5 10. Qd3 c4 $19) 6... Bd7 7. d4 g6 8. Re1 Bg7 9. h3 O-O $14 {White is a little better, but there's all to play for.} 10. Nbd2 exd4 11. cxd4 Nb4 12. Bxd7 Qxd7 13. Nf1 c5 14. a3 Nc6 15. d5 Na5 $146 (15... Nd4 {had been played in all the prior games.} 16. Nxd4 cxd4 17. Qxd4 (17. b4 $146 {might be a small improvement.}) 17... Rfe8 18. Qd3 Qb5 $1 19. Qxb5 axb5 {and Black regains the pawn, as} 20. f3 {protects e4 but not d5.} Nxd5 21. Rd1 {wins the pawn a second time, but - again - Black gets lots of counterplay.} Nb6 22. Rxd6 Nc4 23. Rd5 Rad8 $1 $146 24. Rxb5 Rd1 25. Kf2 $8 Nd6 $1 26. Rd5 Rxd5 27. exd5 Nf5 $1 {Threatening to win with ...Bd4+!} 28. Be3 $8 Nxe3 29. Nxe3 Bxb2 30. Rb1 Bxa3 31. Rxb7 Bc5 32. Rb3 Re5 33. Rd3 Bxe3+ 34. Rxe3 Rxd5 $11 {and there's no reason for the game to continue. I'm pretty sure Erigaisi knows about this option, but vs. a 2644? No thanks.}) 16. Bd2 Nc4 17. Bc3 b5 $14 18. b3 Nb6 19. Qd2 (19. a4) 19... a5 $5 20. Ng3 (20. Bxa5 Nxe4 21. Rxe4 $1 Bxa1 22. Bxb6 Rxa3 23. b4 $1 Bc3 24. Qh6 $1 Bg7 $1 25. Qf4 $14) 20... a4 $5 (20... b4 $1 $11 {/?}) 21. b4 $14 Nc4 22. Qd3 Rfe8 (22... cxb4 23. Bxb4 Qb7 {followed by ...Nd7 is nearly equal.}) 23. Nd2 $2 (23. bxc5 $1 dxc5 24. Rad1 $1 $14 {/? Black is in danger of getting rolled in the center.}) 23... Ne5 $15 {Black is looking to embed the knight on d3 after ...c4, so White understandably kills the beast before it happens. As it turns out, that's a mistake: White could and should have allowed it to enter and then worked around it.} 24. Bxe5 $2 (24. Qe2 $1 c4 25. Nf3 Nd3 26. Qd2 $1 $15 {White's pieces are great whether Black takes the rook or not - it's like a super-charged Modern Benoni for White, with Black's queenside pawns stopped and White's central pawns brilliantly restricting the rest of Black's army.}) 24... c4 25. Qc2 Rxe5 $17 {/-+ Black is not restricted here, though it will take a while to break through White's center.} 26. Rad1 Rae8 27. Re2 R5e7 28. Rde1 Qb7 29. Nf3 Nd7 30. Re3 Qb6 31. R3e2 h5 $1 32. Nf1 Rc8 33. Ne3 Ne5 34. Nxe5 Bxe5 35. Nf1 c3 {Now c4 is an entry point for Black's pieces.} 36. Ne3 Bg7 37. Qd3 h4 (37... c2 $142 $1 {White has covered c4, but now c3 is available if we shove the c-pawn.} 38. Rxc2 Rxc2 39. Nxc2 Rc7 $17 {/-+}) 38. Kf1 Qb7 39. Rc1 Qd7 40. Rce1 Kf8 41. Rc1 Kg8 42. Rce1 Kh8 43. Rc1 Rc7 44. Rce1 Kh7 45. Rc1 Kg8 46. Rce1 Kh8 47. Rc1 Rc8 48. Rce1 Qe8 49. f3 {More weak dark squares for down the road.} Kg8 50. Rc1 Rec7 51. Rcc2 Kh8 52. Ke1 Qe5 53. Kd1 Re7 54. Ng4 Qf4 {White has done well to avoid making things worse, but now he finally cracks.} 55. Qxb5 $2 (55. Qe3 $142) 55... f5 $1 56. Nf2 Qh2 $1 57. Nd3 fxe4 58. Rxe4 Rxe4 59. fxe4 Qg1+ 60. Ne1 Be5 $1 61. Re2 Bg3 {The threatened ...c2+ will overload White's king and rook. Vokhidov gives up his knight for a moment's safety. Only for a moment...} 62. Kc2 Bxe1 63. Qd7 Rg8 64. Qxd6 Qf1 {...and the moment's gone. Black's attack resumes, and the end is near.} 65. Qe5+ Kh7 66. Kd3 c2 67. Qc7+ Rg7 68. Qxc2 Bg3 {White's pawns are stopped, and Black's rook will enter the attack with ...Rc7. Vokhidov had enough.} 0-1 [Event "2nd UzChess Cup Masters"] [Site "Tashkent UZB"] [Date "2025.06.23"] [Round "5"] [White "Sindarov, Javokhir"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A61"] [WhiteElo "2710"] [BlackElo "2714"] [PlyCount "111"] [GameId "2191955223731153"] [EventDate "2025.06.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,111,11,34,19,5,15,21,-52,38,33,21,39,42,37,26,25,13,13,27,53,47,44,68,60,52,82,78,84,88,83,97,-5,91,76,85,77,101,69,90,58,99,21,84,100,97,135,137,116,19,103,191,120,203,178,207,171,219,110,237,206,213,183,184,98,117,105,55,135,110,70,104,66,105,-6,149,152,148,184,140,95,119,127,144,145,140,15,94,111,106,1,193,198,115,244,203,188,152,126,145,144,169,213,365,251,219,363,327,523,700,1091,734,763,798]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 {One doesn't see a lot of Modern Benonis in top level chess, so this is a nice treat for the fans.} 4. d5 d6 ({I spoke too quickly in my note to move 3: Black can switch to the Blumenfeld Gambit with} 4... b5 {, an opening chosen by players like Erigaisi, Aronian, and Mamedyarov on multiple occasions, and it seems that Caruana and Giri are among those who used it in a one-off setting.}) 5. Nc3 exd5 6. cxd5 g6 7. Bf4 Bg7 8. e3 {The e-pawn usually goes up two squares against the Modern Benoni, but in this particular variation this more restrained approach is popular.} O-O 9. h3 Ne8 10. Qd2 {Nearly a novelty.} (10. Be2 {is the main move, chosen by So against Rapport a couple of years ago. If you're interested in this line for Black, look up the games of Indjic, who has used it repeatedly.} Nd7 11. O-O Ne5 12. Nd2 f5 13. Bh2 Nc7 14. a4 Qe7 15. Re1 Bd7 16. Qb3 Na6 17. Qxb7 Nb4 18. Bxe5 Bxe5 19. Bb5 Rfd8 20. Red1 Rab8 21. Qc7 Rbc8 22. Qb7 Rb8 23. Qc7 Rbc8 24. Qa5 a6 25. Bxd7 Rxd7 26. Nc4 Rb8 27. Na2 Ra7 28. Nxb4 Rxb4 29. Nxe5 Qxe5 30. Qd8+ Kg7 31. Rd2 Rab7 32. Qa8 Rxb2 33. Rxb2 Qxb2 34. Rf1 c4 35. Qxa6 c3 36. Kh2 c2 37. Qc4 Rb4 38. Qc7+ Kh6 39. Qxd6 Rc4 40. Qf8+ Kh5 41. Qe7 h6 42. d6 c1=Q 43. Rxc1 Rxc1 44. g4+ fxg4 45. hxg4+ Kxg4 46. Qe4+ Kg5 47. Qf4+ Kh5 48. d7 Qd2 49. Qf3+ Kg5 50. Qf4+ Kh5 51. Qe5+ g5 52. Qe8+ Kh4 53. Qe4+ Kh5 54. Qe8+ Kh4 55. Qf8 Rh1+ 56. Kxh1 Qxd7 57. Qxh6+ Kg4 58. Qa6 Kf3 59. Qf6+ Ke2 60. Kh2 Qh7+ 61. Kg2 Qe4+ 62. f3 Qxa4 63. Qxg5 Qa2 64. e4 Qb3 65. Qg3 Qe6 66. e5 Ke3 67. f4+ Kd4 68. Qf2+ Ke4 69. Qf3+ Kd4 70. Kf2 Qf5 71. Qd1+ Ke4 72. Qf3+ Kd4 73. Kg3 Qg6+ 74. Qg4 Qd3+ 75. Qf3 Qg6+ 76. Qg4 Qd3+ 77. Kh4 Qh7+ 78. Qh5 Qe7+ 79. Kg4 Qe6+ 80. Qf5 Qg8+ 81. Qg5 Qe6+ 82. f5 Qa2 83. Qf4+ Kd5 84. Kg5 Qb2 85. f6 Qg2+ 86. Kh6 {1-0 So,W (2760)-Rapport,R (2745) Warsaw Superbet Rapid 2023 (3)}) 10... Nd7 11. e4 a6 12. a4 Rb8 ({By transposition, we've merged into another Rapport game. That one went} 12... b6 13. Be2 Rb8 14. O-O Ne5 15. Ne1 Nc7 16. Bh6 Bxh6 17. Qxh6 f5 18. exf5 Bxf5 19. Qd2 b5 20. axb5 axb5 21. f4 Nc4 22. Bxc4 bxc4 23. Ra4 Rb4 24. Rxb4 cxb4 25. Ne2 Na6 26. Nd4 Qb6 27. Qe3 Bd7 28. Nef3 Nc7 29. Qe7 Rf7 30. Qd8+ Kg7 31. Re1 Nxd5 32. Qxb6 Nxb6 33. Ng5 b3 34. Nxf7 Kxf7 35. Re3 Nd5 36. Rf3 c3 37. Nxb3 cxb2 38. Nd2 Ba4 39. Rd3 Ke6 40. Rd4 Bc2 41. Kf2 h5 42. g4 hxg4 43. hxg4 b1=Q 44. Nxb1 Bxb1 45. Rd1 Ba2 46. Re1+ Kf7 47. Re4 Nf6 48. Ra4 Nxg4+ 49. Kf3 Be6 50. Ra7+ Kf6 51. Ra6 d5 52. Ra8 Nh6 53. Rf8+ Bf7 54. Ra8 Nf5 55. Ra6+ Be6 56. Rb6 Nd4+ 57. Ke3 Nc2+ 58. Kd3 Ne1+ 59. Ke2 Nc2 60. Kd3 Na3 61. Rb8 Kf5 62. Rf8+ Kg4 63. Kd4 Bf5 64. Kxd5 Kxf4 65. Rb8 Nc2 66. Rf8 g5 67. Kc4 g4 68. Kc3 Ne3 69. Kd2 Kf3 70. Re8 Be4 71. Rf8+ Nf5 72. Ke1 Kg2 73. Re8 Bf3 74. Rf8 Ne7 75. Rb8 Nd5 76. Rb2+ Kg1 77. Rf2 Nf4 78. Rf1+ Kg2 79. Rf2+ Kg3 80. Ra2 Ne2 81. Kf1 Kh2 82. Kf2 Nc3 83. Rc2 Ne4+ 84. Ke3+ Kg3 85. Rc1 Nd6 86. Rc5 Ne4 87. Rc1 Nf6 88. Rg1+ Bg2 89. Ra1 Nd5+ 90. Ke2 Bh3 91. Rg1+ Kh2 92. Kf2 Nf6 93. Ra1 g3+ 94. Kf3 g2 95. Ra2 Nd5 96. Rd2 Kh1 97. Rd1+ g1=Q 98. Rxg1+ Kxg1 99. Ke4 Bg2+ 100. Kd4 Kf2 101. Ke5 Ke3 102. Kf5 Kd4 103. Ke6 Ne3 104. Kf6 Bd5 105. Kg5 Ke5 106. Kg6 Nf5 107. Kg5 Nd4 108. Kg6 Nf3 109. Kg7 Nh4 110. Kf8 Nf5 111. Ke8 Kd6 112. Kf8 Ke6 113. Kg8 Kf6+ 114. Kh7 Bf7 115. Kh8 Bg6 116. Kg8 Nh6+ 117. Kh8 Nf7+ 118. Kg8 Bf5 119. Kf8 Bh7 120. Ke8 Ne5 121. Kf8 Nd7+ 122. Ke8 Ke6 123. Kd8 Kd6 124. Ke8 Bg6+ 125. Kd8 Nc5 {0-1 Aditya,M (2486)-Rapport,R (2754) Aimchess Rapid Prelim chess24.com INT 2022 (10)}) 13. Be2 $146 Qe7 (13... Ne5 {was better, welcoming a double swap on e5 as it clears d6 for the e8-knight. White is better here too, but not as much as in the game.}) 14. O-O $16 Nc7 15. Rfe1 b5 $2 {Trying for counterplay, but surrendering the a-file makes things worse.} 16. axb5 Nxb5 17. Nxb5 axb5 18. Ra7 $18 b4 19. Bg5 $2 (19. Rc7 $1 $18 {was a great move, creating the option of Rc6.}) 19... Bf6 $2 (19... f6 $1 {was ugly but necessary.} 20. Bf4 Rb7 $1 $16) 20. e5 $3 $18 {The classic Benoni break in a fresh setting.} dxe5 21. d6 (21. Bh6 {first may be even better.}) 21... Qd8 (21... Qe6 {keeps White's bishop off of c4 for the moment. Still, after} 22. Bh6 Re8 23. Ng5 $18 {shows the downside of the queen's placement on e6.}) 22. Bh6 Bg7 23. Bc4 Rb6 24. Bxg7 Kxg7 25. Ng5 $1 Qf6 26. Ne4 Qf4 27. Qd5 Rb8 28. Rc7 (28. Bb3 {was a good alternative, avoiding the idea in the game.}) 28... Nb6 29. Qxc5 Nxc4 30. Qxc4 Bb7 31. Qd3 $2 (31. g3 $1 Qf3 32. Rxb7 $1 Rxb7 33. Qd5 Rd7 34. Qxe5+ f6 35. Qd4 $18 {is very strong, intending Nc5.}) 31... Bxe4 32. Rxe4 Qf6 $14 {White is still better, but must win the game all over again.} 33. Qd5 Rb6 34. Rd7 Re8 35. Qc5 Qf5 $2 (35... Ra6 $1 36. Rxb4 Ra1+ 37. Kh2 Rf1 $132 {was best, hunting for counterplay. Unless White bails out with something like 38.Re7 it's becoming a three-results position.}) 36. Qxb6 $2 (36. Re1 $1 Ra6 37. Rc7 $18 {followed by d7 and Rd1 (or vice-versa) restores White's winning advantage.}) 36... Qxd7 $2 (36... Qxe4 $1 $11 {would have been equal, though of course anything could still happen.}) 37. Re1 $1 $18 {Allowing the rook to defend the valuable d-pawn.} Re6 38. Rd1 b3 39. Qc5 h5 40. h4 Kh7 41. Rd5 e4 42. Qd4 Re8 43. Qe3 Qb7 44. Rc5 Rd8 45. Qf4 {Threatening Rc7.} Kg8 46. Qf6 (46. Rc7 $4 {does nothing here except help Black consolidate.} Qd5 $11) 46... Rf8 47. Rc4 Qd5 48. Rd4 Qc6 49. Qg5 Qb6 50. Rd1 Re8 51. d7 Rd8 {White cannot promote the d-pawn by focusing solely on that aim, so White starts creating threats against Black's king to overload Black's defenses.} 52. Qe7 $1 Kg7 53. Rd6 $1 Qa5 54. Rf6 Rf8 55. d8=Q {Literally overloading them.} Qxd8 (55... Rxd8 56. Rxf7+ Kg8 (56... Kh6 57. Rh7#) (56... Kh8 57. Qf6+ Kg8 58. Qg7#) 57. Rg7+ Kh8 58. Rh7+ Kg8 59. Qf7#) 56. Rxf7+ (56. Rxf7+ Rxf7 57. Qxd8 {Get rid of the b-pawns, Black's e-pawn and White's f-pawn and Black has some chances for a fortress. (It's not one, but Black can hope.) Here there's no chance whatsoever.}) 1-0