[Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.21"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2736"] [BlackElo "2780"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "95"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. a4 {A comparatively fresh line. There haven't been a lot of outings, but Carlsen, Nakamura, and a few other elite GMs have taken it out for a spin, albeit without fantastic results.} Be7 7. Nc3 a6 (7... O-O {is also common, as played in a Carlsen-Nakamura game a couple of months ago (and in many other games besides).}) 8. Bf1 e4 9. Nxe4 Nxe4 10. Rxe4 d5 11. Re1 Bg4 (11... d4 {is an important alternative.}) 12. h3 Bh5 13. Be2 O-O 14. d4 Re8 (14... Bd6 15. Ne5 Bxe2 16. Rxe2 {has resulted in 3/3 draws, though White retains a tiny edge for the moment.}) 15. Ne5 $146 (15. c3) (15. Bf4) 15... Bxe2 16. Rxe2 Nxe5 17. dxe5 $11 {White may not be better, but at least there's an imbalance in place of the usual, very drawish Exchange French pawn structure.} Qd7 18. Qd3 Rad8 19. b3 Qe6 {This doesn't seem like the best idea, as it invites White to play f4-f5.} (19... c5 $142 20. Bd2 b5 $11) 20. Bd2 (20. f4 $142 $14) 20... Qg6 21. f4 f5 (21... Qxd3 $142 22. cxd3 c5) 22. b4 $1 $14 {Clamping down on the queenside, so Black can't get a nice pawn duo on d5 and c5. As for the kingside, White hopes to achieve g4 someday.} Qe6 (22... d4 $1) 23. c3 $16 c5 {Buying space at the cost of weakening his b- and d-pawns.} 24. bxc5 Bxc5+ 25. Be3 Bxe3+ 26. Qxe3 Rc8 27. Rb1 (27. Rb2 $1) 27... Qc6 28. Qd4 (28. Kh2 $142) 28... b5 29. axb5 axb5 $14 30. Kh2 Red8 (30... Qc4 {is a good alternative.}) 31. Re3 Qc4 32. Rg3 Qxd4 33. cxd4 Rc4 34. Rxb5 Rxd4 35. Rb7 g6 36. Ra3 Rxf4 $1 37. Raa7 Re4 $2 (37... Rh4 {had to be played: the obvious move was the right move. This isn't always the case, of course, and Giri was probably afraid that the rook would be sidelined forever. This seems not to be the case, however, and even if it were true he still needed to play it.} 38. Kg3 g5 $1 (38... Rh5 $2 39. Kf4 d4 40. e6 d3 41. Rg7+ Kh8 $8 42. Rgd7 Re8 43. Rxd3 $18) 39. Rg7+ Kh8 40. Rxg5 Rb4 $1 41. Rxf5 Rg8+ $1 42. Kf3 Rb3+ $1 43. Kf4 Rb4+ $1 44. Ke3 d4+ $1 $11 {Black is *just* hanging on.}) 38. Rg7+ $18 Kf8 39. Raf7+ Ke8 40. Rxh7 Rh4 {Too late.} 41. Re7+ Kf8 42. Rhf7+ Kg8 43. Rg7+ Kh8 44. Rxg6 d4 45. Rd6 Rc8 46. Rf7 Rf4 47. e6 Kg8 48. Rdd7 1-0 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.21"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Gukesh, D."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D26"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2718"] [PlyCount "90"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 a6 6. O-O Be7 7. Qe2 b5 8. Bd3 Nbd7 9. a4 Bb7 10. Nbd2 O-O 11. b3 c5 12. Bb2 cxd4 13. Bxd4 bxa4 14. bxa4 a5 15. Bb5 Bb4 16. Nc4 Qe7 17. Ne1 Nc5 18. Rd1 Nd5 19. Qb2 Rfc8 20. Bxc5 Rxc5 21. Nd3 Rc7 22. Rc1 Qf6 23. Nxb4 axb4 24. Qxf6 gxf6 25. Rb1 Ba6 26. Nd2 Bxb5 27. axb5 Ra4 28. Nb3 Nc3 29. b6 Rc6 30. b7 Rb6 31. Rb2 Ra7 32. Nc5 Ra5 33. Nd3 Rab5 34. Rc1 Rxb7 35. Kf1 Nd5 36. e4 Nc3 37. f3 Rd7 38. Nxb4 Na4 39. Rb3 Rdb7 40. Rc8+ Kg7 41. f4 Rxb4 42. Rg3+ Kh6 43. Rh3+ Kg7 44. Rg3+ Kh6 45. Rh3+ Kg7 1/2-1/2 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.21"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Esipenko, Andrey"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E49"] [WhiteElo "2675"] [BlackElo "2766"] [PlyCount "43"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] 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. Nf3 Qc7 10. Be2 b6 11. Bb2 Bb7 12. O-O Nc6 13. c4 Rfd8 14. Rc1 Na5 15. Nd2 Rac8 16. Re1 h6 17. Bd3 Qe7 18. Qe2 Nc6 19. Nf3 Na5 20. Nd2 Nc6 21. Nf3 Na5 22. Nd2 1/2-1/2 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.21"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Keymer, Vincent"] [Black "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E48"] [WhiteElo "2690"] [BlackElo "2734"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] {[%evp 0,103,28,23,27,-8,-11,1,27,27,32,32,21,26,26,1,49,21,52,64,68,73,76,0,-3,26,31,39,35,43,21,15,15,15,25,25,25,22,36,33,27,28,120,16,16,-75,-55,-20,285,40,101,101,96,96,115,99,95,108,144,151,168,193,193,181,194,191,196,189,211,208,203,215,209,211,211,233,232,231,235,227,215,210,222,224,218,210,204,219,231,228,237,227,232,234,236,253,247,242,303,314,317,319,364,354,364,353]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Nge2 Re8 8. O-O Nbd7 (8... Bd6 {is the main move, and by a large margin.}) 9. Qb3 Bd6 (9... Bxc3 $143 $14 {is more usual, almost certainly because Black's 11...Nc5 didn't dawn on anyone until recently. White is better after all three recaptures.}) 10. Nxd5 ({White may also keep the tension with} 10. f3) 10... Nxd5 11. Qxd5 Nc5 $1 {This nice move is the justification of Black's 9th move.} 12. Bxh7+ $146 (12. Qc4 Be6 13. Bxh7+ Kh8 14. Qc2 Qh4 15. Nf4 Bxf4 16. exf4 Bd5 17. Bf5 Ne6 18. Qc3 Rad8 19. Rd1 Qh5 20. Bc2 Rd6 21. h3 Rc6 22. Qd3 Nxd4 23. Qxd4 Rxc2 24. Be3 c6 25. f5 Qxf5 26. Rd2 Re4 27. Qd3 Rxd2 28. Qxd2 Rc4 29. Rc1 Qg6 30. f3 Rxc1+ 31. Qxc1 Bxf3 32. Qf1 Bd5 33. Bxa7 Bxa2 34. Qf4 f6 35. Bd4 Bd5 36. Qg4 Qc2 37. Qh5+ Qh7 38. Qxh7+ Kxh7 39. Kf2 Kg6 40. g3 Kf5 41. Ke3 {½-½ Kambrath,Y (2371)-Ramirez Alvarez,A (2589) Carlos Torre Memorial op 31st Merida 2019 (5)}) 12... Kxh7 13. Qh5+ Kg8 14. dxc5 Re5 15. Qf3 Rxc5 (15... Rf5 {first may be even more precise, luring the knight to f4 (instead of g3).} 16. Nf4 (16. Qe4 Re5 17. Qf3 Rf5 $11) 16... Rxc5 $44) 16. Ng3 Bd7 (16... Qh4 $142 {was better, the difference being that in case of} 17. e4 {Black can develop more actively with} (17. Bd2 $142 Be6 18. Bc3 Bd5 19. Qd1 Bc6 20. Qd4 Qh6 21. e4 Re5 $11 {/?}) 17... Bg4 $11) 17. e4 Qh4 18. Bd2 Rb5 19. Bc3 Re8 20. Rae1 Rg5 21. e5 Bc6 22. Qd3 Bc5 $11 23. b4 (23. Re2 $142) 23... Bb6 $6 {Black is gambling on the attack. Now the game gets very tactical.} (23... Bxb4 $142 24. Bxb4 Qxb4 25. f4 Bb5 26. Qe4 Qxe4 27. Nxe4 Bxf1 28. Nxg5 Bc4) 24. b5 Re6 $1 25. Ne4 $1 (25. bxc6 Rh6 26. Qd8+ (26. h3 Rxg3 27. Qf5 {leaves Black with many moves that retain equality, but none that offer an advantage.} Rhg6 (27... Rxc6 28. Re4 Qg5 29. Qc8+ Kh7 {The position is equal, but not transparently so. Here, for instance, White has only one move to stay afloat:} 30. Bd2 $1 Qxd2 31. Qf5+ Kh8 32. Qc8+ Kh7 $11) (27... Rh5 28. Re4 $1 Rxf5 29. Rxh4 bxc6 30. Bd4 Rd3 31. Bxb6 axb6 $11) 28. cxb7 Rxg2+ 29. Kh1 R2g4 30. b8=Q+ Kh7 31. Qf3 Rg3 $8 32. Qxg3 Rxg3 33. Qc8 $8 Rxh3+ 34. Kg2 Rh2+ 35. Kf3 (35. Kg1 $4 Qg3#) 35... Rh3+ 36. Kg2 $8 Rh2+ $8 $11) 26... Kh7 27. Qd3+ Kg8 (27... g6 $4 28. h3 Rxg3 29. Qd5 Rxh3 30. Qxf7+ Kh8 31. Qe8+ Kh7 32. Qd7+ Kg8 33. Qxh3 $18) 28. Qd8+ $11) 25... Rxg2+ $2 (25... Rh5 26. h3 Be8 27. a4 Rg6 28. Re2 Qxh3 29. Qxh3 Rxh3 30. Rd1 c6 $8 31. a5 Bc7 32. b6 $1 axb6 33. axb6 Bxb6 34. Rb2 Rh4 $1 35. Rxb6 Rxe4 36. Rxb7 $14 {The position finally dries up. White is nominally better, as his rooks can still cause some trouble, but a few accurate moves should result in a speedy draw.}) 26. Kxg2 Rg6+ 27. Kh1 Rh6 28. h3 Bxb5 $2 (28... Bxe4+ 29. Rxe4 Qxh3+ 30. Qxh3 Rxh3+ 31. Kg2 Rxc3 {is still lost for Black after} 32. f4 {, but it's a better try than the game.}) 29. Qf3 $1 Bd7 (29... Qxh3+ 30. Qxh3 Rxh3+ 31. Kg2 Bxf1+ 32. Rxf1 Rd3 33. f4 $18) 30. e6 $1 $18 {This, in conjunction with Keymer's next move, is probably what Abdusattorov missed when choosing 25...Rxg2+.} Bxe6 31. Rg1 Qxh3+ ({White's threat cannot be ignored:} 31... Bxh3 32. Rxg7+ Kh8 33. Rh7+ Kxh7 34. Qxf7#) ({Nor is} 31... g6 {an adequate reply:} 32. Ng5 $1 {threatens Rxe6 followed by a speedy mate, and after} Qxf2 33. Qd3 $1 $18 {Black must give up tons of material to stagger on for a few more moves.}) 32. Qxh3 Rxh3+ 33. Kg2 {There are exceptional cases where three pawns could offer decent compensation for a rook; this isn't one of them.} Rh5 34. Kf3 Rf5+ 35. Ke2 g6 36. Rh1 Kf8 37. Bf6 Ke8 38. Rh8+ Kd7 39. Rd8+ Kc6 40. Bd4 Bxd4 41. Rxd4 b6 42. a3 Kb7 43. Rc1 Rh5 44. Ke3 a5 45. f3 Rb5 46. Rc3 Rh5 47. Rd1 a4 48. Rd4 Ra5 49. Rb4 Re5 50. Kf2 c6 51. Nc5+ Kc7 52. Nxe6+ 1-0 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.21"] [Round "5.5"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2690"] [BlackElo "2729"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bf5 7. O-O Be7 8. Nc3 O-O 9. Ne5 Nxc3 10. bxc3 Bxd3 11. cxd3 Nd7 12. Qb3 Nxe5 13. dxe5 Qd7 14. d4 b6 15. f4 f5 16. a4 Qe6 17. Ba3 Bxa3 18. Rxa3 c6 19. Ra2 Rfd8 20. h3 Rd7 21. Rb1 Rad8 22. Qd1 Kf8 23. Kh2 Ke8 24. Rc2 Rc8 25. Rbc1 g6 26. Qf3 Kd8 27. c4 dxc4 28. Rxc4 Rd5 29. g4 Rc7 30. gxf5 gxf5 31. Qc3 Qh6 32. Qf3 Qe6 33. Qc3 Qh6 34. Qf3 1/2-1/2 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.22"] [Round "6.1"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E47"] [WhiteElo "2766"] [BlackElo "2736"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 c5 6. Nge2 Nc6 7. O-O d5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. a3 c4 {Relatively rare, until you-know-who/what came along.} (9... cxd4 {used to be the top move, and}) (9... Bxc3 {was also more common than the text.}) 10. Bxh7+ {No better or worse than 10.Bc2, but it produces a less standard position - always a good idea for a player looking to create winning chances.} Nxh7 11. axb4 Nxb4 12. b3 a5 13. bxc4 dxc4 14. Rb1 Ra6 15. e4 Re8 16. d5 {The engine prefers that White not do this, instead recommending that he keep the pawns abreast for the time being. My sympathies are with So: White clears d4 for the knight or the queen and opens the long dark dark-squared diagonal, while Black won't have occasion to use the c5 or e5 squares for the foreseeable future.} Bd7 17. Qd2 (17. Nd4) 17... b5 18. Ba3 $2 (18. Qd4) 18... Nf6 $2 (18... Nd3 $1 19. Nxb5 Rh6 $19) 19. Ng3 $2 (19. f3 $15) 19... Ng4 $2 (19... Nd3 $1 20. Nxb5 Nxe4 21. Nxe4 Rxe4 22. Nd6 Rd4 $19) 20. Bxb4 axb4 21. Rxb4 Nxh2 (21... Ne5 $142 22. Rxb5 $1 Bxb5 23. Nxb5 Qb6 24. Nc3 $15) 22. Kxh2 Qh4+ 23. Kg1 Rh6 24. Rfb1 Bg4 25. Qxh6 Qxh6 26. Nxb5 $11 {Materially, White is in great shape. There are still some tricks, though, and White cannot breathe a full satisfied sigh of relief until the c-pawn has been properly neutralized or, better still, eliminated.} Rc8 27. R4b2 $2 {Giving Aronian yet another chance to keep a winning advantage.} (27. e5 $1 {Preparing Nd6.} Qf4 28. Nd6 Rc7 29. Nf1 Be2 30. Ne3 Qxe5 31. Ndxc4 Bxc4 32. Rxc4 Rxc4 33. Nxc4 Qxd5 34. Ne3 $11 {is a dead draw. (The elementary textbook Q=9, R=5, N=3 guidelines are of no use here. White just sits, and aside from crass blunders or allowing Black to achieve some fantasy plan he cannot lose.)}) 27... Rb8 $2 {Contrary to the saying, the third time's not the charm for Aronian, who would have turned the tournament into a runaway victory had he managed to convert his advantage in this game.} (27... c3 28. Rc2 Qd2 $1 {This is the kicker.} 29. Rbc1 (29. Rxd2 cxd2 30. Nf1 Rc1 31. Nc3 Rxb1 32. f3 Bd7 33. Kf2 d1=Q 34. Nxd1 Rxd1 $19) 29... Qd3 30. Nd6 (30. Nxc3 Bd1 $1 $19) (30. Rxc3 Rxc3 31. Nxc3 Qd2 $19) 30... Bd1 $1 31. Ra2 Rb8 32. Ra3 Bc2 $1 33. Nf1 Qd4 $1 34. Nf5 Qb4 35. Rxc3 Qxc3 36. N5e3 Rb2 37. d6 Qd3 38. d7 Qxd7 39. Rxc2 Rb1 $19) 28. Nf1 Rb6 (28... Qf4 29. Ne3 Qxe4 30. Rb4 Bd7 31. Nc3 Rxb4 32. Rxb4 Qd3 33. Rxc4 f5 34. Rc7 f4 35. Rxd7 fxe3 36. Rc7 e2 37. Re7 Qd1+ 38. Nxd1 exd1=Q+ 39. Kh2 Qxd5 {feels like a draw, and the tablebase agrees.}) 29. Ne3 Qh5 30. d6 Bd7 31. Nd5 Rxb5 32. Rxb5 Bxb5 33. Rxb5 Qd1+ 34. Kh2 Qh5+ 35. Kg1 1/2-1/2 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.22"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Gukesh, D."] [Black "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A20"] [WhiteElo "2718"] [BlackElo "2734"] [PlyCount "84"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] 1. c4 e5 2. g3 c6 3. d4 exd4 4. Qxd4 Nf6 5. Nf3 Na6 6. Bg2 Bc5 7. Qd1 d5 8. cxd5 Qxd5 9. O-O Qxd1 10. Rxd1 Ke7 11. Nc3 Be6 12. Nd4 Rad8 13. Be3 Ng4 14. Nxe6 Rxd1+ 15. Nxd1 fxe6 16. Bg5+ Nf6 17. Nc3 Rd8 18. Rd1 Bd4 19. e3 Bxc3 20. Rxd8 Kxd8 21. bxc3 Nc5 22. Kf1 e5 23. f4 Kd7 24. Bxf6 gxf6 25. Bh3+ Kd6 26. Bf5 h6 27. Ke2 a5 28. h4 b5 29. g4 b4 30. cxb4 axb4 31. g5 fxg5 32. fxg5 hxg5 33. hxg5 e4 34. Kd2 Ke5 35. Bc8 Na4 36. Bd7 Nc5 37. Bc8 Na4 38. Bd7 Nc5 39. Bxc6 Kf5 40. Kc2 Kxg5 41. Bxe4 Nxe4 42. Kb3 Kf5 1/2-1/2 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.22"] [Round "6.3"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A21"] [WhiteElo "2780"] [BlackElo "2690"] [PlyCount "137"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Bb4 3. d3 Nf6 4. Nf3 d6 5. Bd2 O-O 6. a3 Bxc3 7. Bxc3 e4 8. dxe4 Nxe4 9. Rc1 Re8 10. e3 Nc6 11. Be2 Bg4 12. O-O a5 13. b3 Nxc3 14. Rxc3 Qf6 15. Qd2 Qg6 16. Nh4 Qh5 17. Bxg4 Qxg4 18. Nf3 Ne5 19. Nd4 a4 20. f3 Qd7 21. b4 c5 22. Nc2 Rac8 23. Rb1 Qe6 24. Qe2 b6 25. e4 f5 26. bxc5 bxc5 27. exf5 Qxf5 28. Rd1 Rb8 29. Ne3 Qg6 30. Nd5 Nc6 31. Re3 Nd4 32. Qf2 Rxe3 33. Qxe3 Qc2 34. Re1 Qxc4 35. Qe4 Qc2 36. Qe7 Qd2 37. Qe4 Qc2 38. Qe7 Qd2 39. Qe4 Rf8 40. Nb6 h6 41. Nd7 Rf7 42. Kf1 Rxd7 43. Qe8+ Kh7 44. Qxd7 Qd3+ 45. Kf2 c4 46. Qxa4 c3 47. Qd1 Qc4 48. Ke3 Nf5+ 49. Kf2 d5 50. Qc2 g6 51. Kg1 h5 52. a4 Qc5+ 53. Kh1 d4 54. Qd3 h4 55. g4 hxg3 56. hxg3 Nxg3+ 57. Kg2 Nf5 58. Kf2 Qc7 59. Ke2 Qh2+ 60. Kd1 Qa2 61. Qc2 Qa1+ 62. Ke2 Qa3 63. Kd3 Kg7 64. Re5 Qd6 65. f4 Qa6+ 66. Rb5 Nd6 67. Kxd4 Nxb5+ 68. axb5 Qxb5 69. Qxc3 1/2-1/2 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.22"] [Round "6.4"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Esipenko, Andrey"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E36"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2675"] [PlyCount "175"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 O-O 7. cxd5 Ne4 8. Qc2 exd5 9. Bf4 Bf5 10. Qxc7 Qxc7 11. Bxc7 Rc8 12. Bf4 Nc6 13. f3 Nf6 14. g4 Nxd4 15. Rd1 Ne6 16. gxf5 Nxf4 17. e3 N4h5 18. Ne2 Rc2 19. Rd2 Rxd2 20. Kxd2 Ne8 21. Nd4 Nhf6 22. Bd3 Rc8 23. Re1 Nd7 24. Bb1 Nd6 25. Ba2 Nf6 26. Ke2 Kf8 27. Kf2 Ke7 28. Kg3 Rc5 29. Rd1 Nh5+ 30. Kf2 Nf6 31. Bb3 Nb5 32. Ne2 Nd6 33. Nc3 Nxf5 34. Nxd5+ Nxd5 35. Rxd5 Rxd5 36. Bxd5 b6 37. f4 Nh6 38. h3 f6 39. e4 Nf7 40. Kf3 g6 41. h4 Nd6 42. Ke3 h6 43. Kf3 Ne8 44. Bg8 Ng7 45. Bc4 g5 46. hxg5 hxg5 47. fxg5 fxg5 48. e5 Nf5 49. Bd5 Kd7 50. Ba2 Ne7 51. Kg4 Nc6 52. Kf5 g4 53. Be6+ Kd8 54. Kf6 g3 55. Bh3 Ne7 56. b4 Nd5+ 57. Kf7 Ne7 58. b5 Nd5 59. Bg2 Ne7 60. Ke6 Nc8 61. Be4 Kc7 62. Bf3 Kd8 63. Bg2 Kc7 64. Kf7 Kd8 65. a4 Ne7 66. Ke6 Nc8 67. Kf5 Ne7+ 68. Kf6 Kd7 69. Be4 Kd8 70. Ke6 Nc8 71. Kf7 Ne7 72. Bg2 Kd7 73. Bh3+ Kd8 74. e6 Nd5 75. Bg2 Ne7 76. Kf6 Ng8+ 77. Kg7 Ke7 78. Kxg8 Kxe6 79. Bf1 Kd6 80. Kf7 Kc5 81. Ke6 Kb4 82. Kd5 Kxa4 83. Kc6 Ka5 84. Kb7 g2 85. Bxg2 Kxb5 86. Kxa7 Ka5 87. Bf1 b5 88. Bxb5 1/2-1/2 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.22"] [Round "6.5"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Keymer, Vincent"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C84"] [WhiteElo "2729"] [BlackElo "2690"] [PlyCount "148"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a4 Bd7 9. c3 O-O 10. Bc2 Re8 11. Re1 h6 12. Nbd2 Bf8 13. Nf1 b4 14. a5 Rb8 15. Ne3 Rb5 16. Ba4 Rxa5 17. Nc4 Rc5 18. Be3 Rb5 19. Bxb5 axb5 20. Ncd2 d5 21. Qc2 bxc3 22. bxc3 b4 23. Ba7 bxc3 24. Qxc3 d4 25. Qb3 Bb4 26. Rec1 Bc3 27. Rxc3 dxc3 28. Qxc3 Qe7 29. Bc5 Qe6 30. h3 Bc8 31. Be3 Bb7 32. Qb2 Bc8 33. Ra3 Nd7 34. Qb5 Nf8 35. Kh2 f6 36. Nb3 Qd6 37. Nc5 Ne6 38. Nh4 Nxc5 39. Bxc5 Qd7 40. Nf5 Nd8 41. Qc4+ Qe6 42. Ne7+ Kh7 43. Nd5 c6 44. Nb6 Qxc4 45. Nxc4 Nb7 46. Be3 Be6 47. Nb6 Re7 48. Kg3 Kg6 49. Kf3 Kf7 50. Ke2 h5 51. Rc3 Nd8 52. Na4 Bc8 53. Rb3 Ne6 54. Rb6 Rc7 55. Nc5 Nxc5 56. Bxc5 Bd7 57. Rb8 Be6 58. h4 Rc8 59. Rb7+ Kg8 60. Ke3 Ra8 61. Re7 Bb3 62. Rc7 Ba4 63. f3 Bb5 64. g4 hxg4 65. fxg4 Re8 66. Rd7 Kh7 67. Kf3 Ba4 68. h5 Kg8 69. Kg3 Bb3 70. Kh4 Be6 71. Rd6 Kf7 72. g5 fxg5+ 73. Kxg5 Rb8 74. Rxc6 Rc8 1/2-1/2 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.23"] [Round "7"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2736"] [BlackElo "2793"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "106"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] {[%evp 0,106,27,32,38,6,12,13,6,6,17,7,14,20,54,36,43,42,57,60,56,39,43,36,36,30,44,43,47,34,29,24,20,20,24,8,11,18,28,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,-16,-22,7,41,-23,0,-193,-192,-203,-201,-204,-224,-224,-235,-222,-232,-260,-260,-260,-199,-199,-211,-165,-223,-217,-189,-281,-317,-320,-333,-344,-366,-471,-309,-333,-370,-350,-382] After drawing the first six rounds Nepo finally strikes, and at the worst possible time for Aronian.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 c5 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. Nxd5 exd5 {Black makes a lot of draws in this line, but rarely wins.} 10. Bd3 Bb4+ 11. Nd2 Nc6 12. O-O Be7 13. Qb3 $146 (13. a3 {is the most common (and computer-approved) move, while}) (13. Rc1 {was successfully employed by Nepo himself.} Qb6 14. Qc2 Nb4 15. Bxh7+ Kh8 16. Qc7 Qxc7 17. Rxc7 Bd8 18. Bd6 Bxc7 19. Bxf8 a5 20. Bb1 Be5 21. b3 Bg4 22. Bc5 Rc8 23. Bb6 Nxa2 24. Bxa2 Rc2 25. Nf3 Bxf3 26. gxf3 Rxa2 27. Rd1 Ra1 28. Rxa1 Bxa1 29. Bxa5 f5 30. Kf1 Kg8 31. Ke2 Kf7 32. Kd3 Be5 33. Bc3 Bd6 34. e4 dxe4+ 35. fxe4 Ke6 36. Bxg7 Bxh2 37. Bd4 b5 38. Bb6 Be5 39. Ke3 Bb2 40. Bd4 Bc1+ 41. Kd3 Ba3 42. Bb6 Bb2 43. Bc7 Bf6 44. Ba5 Be5 45. Bb4 Bf6 46. Bc5 Be5 47. Ba7 Bf6 48. Bd4 Be7 49. Ke3 Bg5+ 50. f4 Be7 51. Bb6 Ba3 52. Kd3 Bc1 53. Bc7 Bb2 54. Bb8 Bf6 55. Ke3 Bb2 56. Be5 Bc1+ 57. Kd3 b4 58. Bb8 Kf6 59. Bd6 Ke6 60. Be5 Ba3 61. Bd4 Bc1 62. Be3 Bb2 63. Bd2 fxe4+ 64. Kxe4 Ba3 65. Kd4 Kf5 66. Kd5 Kf6 67. Kc5 Kf5 68. Kb5 Ke4 69. Bxb4 {1-0 Nepomniachtchi,I (2774)-Nakamura,H (2743) Sinquefield Cup 7th Saint Louis 2019 (5)}) 13... Bf6 14. a3 Qe7 $1 $11 15. Rac1 Be6 16. Qb5 Rac8 17. Rc2 a6 18. Qb6 Qd7 {White's queen is lacking in good squares. It's not quite trapped, but it's close enough to let Nepo get closer to the time control and taunt Aronian with the hope of a draw that would bring him to the edge of tournament victory.} 19. Nb3 Bd8 20. Qc5 Be7 21. Qb6 Bd8 22. Qc5 Be7 23. Qb6 {Now 23...Bd8 would be a threefold repetition, but Nepo isn't interested.} g5 {Black isn't just playing this because he can, before making a draw, but because it makes sense. White doesn't have many pieces on the kingside or that can reach the kingside, so Black's king is safe while White's may soon be imperiled.} 24. Bg3 {Nothing wrong with another repetition now.} Bd8 25. Qc5 Be7 26. Qb6 f5 (26... h5 {was another good option.}) 27. f3 (27. Nc5 $1 Bxc5 28. Rxc5 f4 29. exf4 gxf4 30. Bh4 Ne5 31. Rxc8 Rxc8 32. Bb1 d4 $11 {is equal, though Black's position appears menacing. There does seem to be some (non-trivial) danger of Black getting overextended.}) 27... Bd8 28. Qc5 Be7 29. Qb6 Bd8 30. Qc5 f4 $1 (30... Qf7 $1 {may be better, but it releases White's queen from the "perpetual".}) 31. exf4 gxf4 (31... d4 $1 32. Bc4 $8 (32. Nd2 $4 b6 $19) 32... Na7 $1 {Now White has only one move that doesn't lose. Can you find it?} 33. Rfc1 $3 d3 $1 34. Qe3 $1 Bxc4 35. Rxc4 Re8 $8 36. Re4 $8 Rxe4 37. fxe4 Qb5 38. Nc5 Qxb2 39. Nxd3 Rxc1+ 40. Qxc1 $8 Qxc1+ 41. Nxc1 gxf4 42. Bxf4 Nb5 43. Kf2 (43. a4 $143 Nc3 $15) 43... Nxa3 $11 {Quite the variation, and one that would have been more difficult for White to produce at the board than for Black.}) 32. Bf2 Be7 33. Qb6 Bd8 34. Qc5 Bf6 35. Rfc1 Qg7 {Finally releasing White's queen from the seesaw to focus on the weakness of g2.} 36. Qd6 (36. Kh1 $11 {therefore makes sense, cutting out any ...Bh3 nonsense and making Rg1 possible, if necessary. This was simplest, but Aronian decided that if he didn't need to do it, he would rather find something constructive in its place.}) 36... Rce8 37. Re1 $6 (37. Rd1 $142 $11) (37. Kh1 $11) 37... Ne5 $15 {/? Threatening ...Nxf3+.} 38. Nd4 $2 (38. Kf1 $1 Kh8 $1 39. Rc7 $8 Bf7 40. Be2 Qh6 41. Nd4 Rg8 $17) 38... Bh3 $19 {And now Nepo is winning. Even great players like Aronian need to be reminded of the value of prophylaxis every once in a while.} 39. Bf1 Nf7 $1 40. Qxd5 Rxe1 {There's the problem: White's f2-bishop is overloaded. Black wins a piece and the game.} 41. Bxe1 Bxd4+ 42. Kh1 Bc8 43. Bc4 Re8 44. Bb4 Qf6 45. Bd3 Bc3 $1 {Not necessary, but a beautiful touch.} 46. Bxc3 Qxc3 {Giving this an exclamation point would be superfluous - it is "inherited" from the previous move, which would otherwise be senseless.} 47. g4 (47. Rxc3 Re1+ 48. Bf1 Rxf1# {is of course the tactical justification behind Black's 45th and 46th moves.}) 47... Qf6 (47... Re1+ 48. Kg2 Be6 {would have carried the showing off to another level.}) 48. Rc7 Re1+ 49. Kg2 Be6 50. Qh5 Qxb2+ 51. Kh3 h6 52. Qg6+ Qg7 53. Kh4 Rh1 $1 {A nice game by Nepomniachtchi, but he obviously received a lot of help from Aronian, whose unwillingness to take time out for Kh1 on moves 36 and 37 cost him dearly. Thanks to this loss, Aronian allowed Gukesh to catch him in a tie for first after the latter's win against Esipenko, while Nepo closed to within half a point.} 0-1 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.23"] [Round "7"] [White "Esipenko, Andrey"] [Black "Gukesh, Dommaraju"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E10"] [WhiteElo "2675"] [BlackElo "2718"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] {[%evp 0,72,28,29,28,6,6,6,13,-14,13,12,13,7,-13,-13,30,10,21,9,9,-15,-16,-36,-18,-32,19,20,20,28,42,15,15,20,0,27,11,0,0,-45,-39,-32,-30,-30,9,-80,-33,-58,-95,-59,-59,-84,-56,-116,-120,-138,-137,-137,-124,-95,-90,-94,-88,-81,-105,-97,-143,-81,-83,-97,-101,-147,-103,-127,-741]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O c6 8. Qc2 Nbd7 9. b3 (9. Bf4) (9. Rd1) 9... b6 10. Nc3 (10. Rd1) (10. Bc3) 10... Ba6 11. e4 dxc4 12. Rfe1 (12. Rfd1) 12... e5 $6 {This has been played a few times, and Black's results have been good (including this game, it's two wins, two draws, and no losses). It doesn't seem to be very good though, if White reacts correctly.} (12... Re8) (12... Rc8) (12... h6) 13. Ne2 $1 Ng4 $146 14. bxc4 (14. Bc3 $142 $16) 14... exd4 15. Nexd4 Nde5 16. Nxe5 $6 (16. Bf4 Nxf3+ 17. Nxf3 Bc5 18. Re2 f6 19. h3 Ne5 20. Nxe5 fxe5 21. Bxe5 $14 {Black doesn't have enough for the pawn.}) 16... Nxe5 $11 17. Bc3 Bc5 18. Rad1 (18. Nf5) 18... Qc7 19. f4 (19. Nb3 $142 Be7 20. f4 Nxc4 21. e5 $44) 19... Nxc4 20. Kh1 Rad8 21. Nf5 f6 22. Rxd8 Qxd8 23. Qe2 $2 (23. Bf1 $142 b5 24. g4 $1 $44) 23... g6 $17 24. Nh6+ (24. Nh4 $142) 24... Kg7 25. Ng4 Bd4 26. Rd1 c5 $19 27. Qf3 $2 (27. h3) 27... h5 28. Nf2 Ne3 ({The sly} 28... Ne5 $1 {was a crusher.} 29. fxe5 fxe5 30. Bxd4 exd4 31. Qa3 Be2 $1 $19) 29. Rd2 Qc7 (29... Nc4 $142) (29... Re8 $142) 30. Bxd4 cxd4 31. Rxd4 Qc3 32. Rd7+ Rf7 33. Rxf7+ Kxf7 34. h4 Bc4 35. Bh3 $2 (35. f5) 35... f5 36. Kh2 Qd2 $1 {White is nearly in zugzwang, though even if he weren't Black would have no trouble winning with his own threats.} (36... Qd2 $1 37. a3 (37. e5 Bd5 $19) (37. exf5 Bd5 $19) (37. Kg1 Be2 38. Qh1 Qe1+ $19) 37... fxe4 $19) 0-1 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.23"] [Round "7"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "So, W."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2690"] [BlackElo "2766"] [PlyCount "164"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. O-O d6 6. c3 a5 7. Re1 O-O 8. h3 Be6 9. Bb5 Ba7 10. Be3 Bxe3 11. Rxe3 Ne7 12. d4 c6 13. Bf1 d5 14. Nbd2 exd4 15. Nxd4 Bd7 16. e5 Ne8 17. Bd3 c5 18. N4f3 Nc7 19. Nf1 Bf5 20. Qc2 Qd7 21. Rd1 a4 22. Bxf5 Qxf5 23. Red3 Qe6 24. Ng3 Rfd8 25. b4 axb3 26. axb3 h6 27. b4 b6 28. bxc5 bxc5 29. Rb1 Rdb8 30. Rdd1 Nb5 31. Ne2 Ng6 32. Qd2 Nxe5 33. Qxd5 Nd4 34. Rxb8+ Rxb8 35. Qxe6 Nexf3+ 36. gxf3 Nxe6 37. Rd2 Ra8 38. Kg2 Ra4 39. Kg3 g5 40. Rd5 Kg7 41. Re5 Kf6 42. Re4 Ra3 43. h4 Kf5 44. hxg5 hxg5 45. Kg2 Ra2 46. Kf1 Ra1+ 47. Kg2 Kf6 48. Re3 Rd1 49. Kh2 Rd2 50. Kg1 Rc2 51. Re4 Rd2 52. Re3 Kg6 53. Kf1 Ra2 54. Kg1 Ra3 55. Re4 Ra6 56. Re3 f5 57. c4 Kf6 58. Nc3 Nf4 59. Re8 Ra1+ 60. Kh2 Rf1 61. Nd5+ Nxd5 62. cxd5 Rd1 63. Re6+ Kf7 64. Re5 c4 65. d6 c3 66. Rxf5+ Ke6 67. Rc5 Rd3 68. Kg3 Kxd6 69. Rc8 Kd5 70. Kg4 Kd4 71. Rc7 Rd2 72. Kxg5 Rxf2 73. f4 Rg2+ 74. Kh5 c2 75. f5 Ke5 76. Rc5+ Kf6 77. Kh4 Ke7 78. Kh3 Kd6 79. Rc8 Rd2 80. f6 Ke6 81. Rc6+ Rd6 82. Rxc2 Kxf6 1/2-1/2 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.23"] [Round "7"] [White "Keymer, Vincent"] [Black "Giri, A."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A20"] [WhiteElo "2690"] [BlackElo "2780"] [PlyCount "78"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] 1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 c6 4. d4 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Bxd2+ 6. Qxd2 d6 7. Nc3 O-O 8. b3 Qe7 9. d5 Rd8 10. Rd1 cxd5 11. Bxd5 Na6 12. Bg2 e4 13. Qe3 Nb4 14. Bxe4 Nxe4 15. Qxe4 Qxe4 16. Nxe4 b5 17. Nf3 bxc4 18. bxc4 d5 19. Nc3 d4 20. Nd5 Nxd5 21. cxd5 Bb7 22. Rxd4 Bxd5 23. Rd2 g5 24. O-O Bxf3 25. Rxd8+ Rxd8 26. exf3 Rd2 27. Ra1 a5 28. a4 Rd4 29. Kf1 Kg7 30. Ke2 Kg6 31. Ke3 Rb4 32. Ra3 h5 33. Ra1 f6 34. Kd3 Kf5 35. Ra2 h4 36. h3 Rb3+ 37. Ke2 Rb4 38. Kd3 Rb3+ 39. Ke2 Rb4 1/2-1/2 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.23"] [Round "7"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "Duda, J."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C43"] [WhiteElo "2734"] [BlackElo "2729"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. dxe5 Bc5 5. Bc4 Nxf2 6. Bxf7+ Kxf7 7. Qd5+ Kg6 8. Qxc5 Nxh1 9. Nc3 h6 10. Qc4 d6 11. Nd5 Nc6 12. e6 Kh7 13. Qe4+ Kg8 14. e7 Qe8 15. Be3 Bd7 16. Nxc7 Qxe7 17. Qxe7 Nxe7 18. Nxa8 Kf7 19. Nc7 Rc8 20. Bxa7 Rxc7 21. Kd2 Rc4 22. Rxh1 Ra4 23. Bb8 Bc6 24. Bxd6 Bxf3 25. Bxe7 Bxg2 26. Rg1 Bd5 27. Bc5 Rxa2 28. Ba3 g5 29. Ke3 b5 30. c3 Ke6 31. Kf2 Kf5 32. Kg3 Bc4 33. Re1 Bd3 34. h4 Kg6 35. Rh1 Kh5 36. hxg5+ Kxg5 37. Kf3 h5 38. Rd1 Bc4 39. Rg1+ Kf5 40. Kg3 Ke4 41. Rd1 Ke3 42. Rh1 Kd3 43. Kh4 Rxa3 44. Rh3+ Kc2 45. bxa3 Kb2 46. Kg5 Kxa3 47. Kf4 b4 48. cxb4+ Kxb4 49. Rxh5 1/2-1/2 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.24"] [Round "8"] [White "Esipenko, Andrey"] [Black "Aronian, L."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2675"] [BlackElo "2736"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 c5 6. O-O Nc6 7. Ne5 Bd7 8. Nxc4 cxd4 9. Bf4 Nd5 10. Nd6+ Bxd6 11. Bxd6 Nde7 12. Nd2 O-O 13. Qb3 Bc8 14. Nc4 e5 15. Rac1 Re8 16. Ba3 Nf5 17. e4 dxe3 18. fxe3 h5 19. Rxf5 Bxf5 20. Nd6 Be6 21. Qxb7 Qg5 22. Rc3 Nd4 23. exd4 exd4 24. Rd3 Red8 25. h4 Qg6 26. Qe4 Qxe4 27. Bxe4 Rab8 28. b3 Rb6 29. Nb7 Re8 30. Nd6 Rd8 31. Nb7 Re8 32. Nc5 Bh3 33. Rxd4 Rf6 34. Rd1 Bf5 35. Bxf5 Rxf5 36. Rd2 Re3 1/2-1/2 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.24"] [Round "8"] [White "Gukesh, D."] [Black "Duda, J."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2718"] [BlackElo "2729"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. dxc3 Be7 7. Be3 Nc6 8. Qd2 Be6 9. O-O-O Qd7 10. Kb1 a6 11. h3 Bf6 12. g4 h6 13. Bg2 O-O-O 14. b3 Kb8 15. Ng1 d5 16. Ne2 h5 17. g5 Be5 18. Nf4 Bxf4 19. Bxf4 h4 20. c4 d4 21. Qd3 Bf5 22. Bxc6 bxc6 23. Qd2 d3 24. Qb4+ Ka8 25. c3 g6 26. Qc5 Kb7 27. Qb4+ Kc8 28. Qa5 Kb7 29. Kb2 Rhe8 30. Rhe1 c5 31. Qxc5 Qc6 32. Qb4+ Qb6 33. Rxe8 Rxe8 34. Be3 Qxb4 35. cxb4 Bxh3 36. Rh1 1/2-1/2 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.24"] [Round "8"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, I."] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C53"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2690"] [PlyCount "92"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. O-O a6 7. a4 Ba7 8. Re1 h6 9. Nbd2 O-O 10. h3 Ne7 11. d4 Nc6 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Nxe5 dxe5 14. a5 Be6 15. Bf1 Qe7 16. Qe2 Rfd8 17. b4 Bd7 18. Nf3 c5 19. Qb2 Bc6 20. Qb1 cxb4 21. cxb4 Bd4 22. Ra2 Rac8 23. Bd2 Qe6 24. Nxd4 Rxd4 25. f3 Bb5 26. Rc2 Bxf1 27. Rxf1 Rcd8 28. Bc3 Rc4 29. Ba1 Rxc2 30. Qxc2 Ne8 31. b5 axb5 32. Qc5 f6 33. Qxb5 Nd6 34. Qb4 Rc8 35. Rd1 Rc6 36. Kh2 Kh7 37. Rd5 Qd7 38. Bc3 Qc7 39. Be1 Nc8 40. Qf8 Rd6 41. Rb5 Ne7 42. Bb4 Qc1 43. Bxd6 Qf4+ 44. Kh1 Qc1+ 45. Kh2 Qf4+ 46. Kh1 Qc1+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.24"] [Round "8"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Keymer, Vincent"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2766"] [BlackElo "2690"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "100"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] {[%evp 0,100,28,15,25,22,15,15,15,16,13,4,-1,15,46,0,0,-19,-1,4,10,4,1,19,-4,13,33,5,15,-2,14,24,47,15,30,11,73,48,73,65,44,34,36,-7,8,-10,19,-14,-14,-24,-19,-11,-32,-81,-27,-78,-87,-87,-87,-226,-73,-142,-138,-138,-183,-196,-101,-106,-144,-120,-85,-89,-48,-47,-141,-92,-92,-59,-81,-81,-81,-81,-151,-158,-111,-299,-82,-80,-68,-56,-74,-85,-83,-87,-92,-113,-120,-128,-118,-151,-151,-198,-199]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 a6 6. O-O Ba7 7. a4 O-O 8. h3 d6 9. Re1 h6 10. Nbd2 Be6 11. Bxe6 fxe6 12. b4 Ne7 13. Nf1 Ng6 14. Ra2 d5 15. Ng3 c6 16. a5 Rc8 17. c4 Rc7 18. exd5 exd5 19. c5 (19. b5 cxb5 20. cxb5 axb5 21. Nxe5 Nxe5 22. Rxe5 $11) 19... Re7 20. Nf5 Re6 21. N3d4 $2 {This is the wrong direction. There will be nothing for the knight to do on b3, and in its absence Black is enabled to build a kingside attack.} (21. N3h4 Nxh4 22. Nxh4 $11) 21... Ree8 $17 22. Nb3 $6 Qd7 $17 {/-+} 23. Nd6 Re6 24. Rae2 Ne8 25. Nxe8 Qxe8 $19 26. g3 {Keeping the invaders out of f4 and h4, but creating new problems.} Bb8 27. Re3 Qf7 28. Rf1 Rf6 29. Re2 Nh4 $1 {Also, it (26.g3) isn't keeping the invaders out of h4, either.} 30. Nd2 (30. gxh4 Rg6+ 31. Kh2 e4+ 32. f4 (32. Kh1 Qf3#) 32... exf3+ 33. Kh1 fxe2 $19) 30... Qg6 31. Re3 Nf5 32. Rf3 Re6 (32... Nd4 $142) 33. Re1 Rfe8 34. Nf1 e4 $2 {Black's handling of the attack hasn't been perfect, but he's still winning.} (34... h5 $142) 35. dxe4 dxe4 36. Ra3 Nh4 37. Nh2 e3 38. Raxe3 Bxg3 $1 39. Ng4 $1 Rxe3 40. Rxe3 Rxe3 41. Nxe3 Bf4+ 42. Qg4 $2 (42. Kf1 {was better, though if Black plays} Bg5 $1 {he's still winning.}) 42... Nf3+ (42... Qe4 $1) 43. Kg2 Qxg4+ 44. hxg4 Ne1+ 45. Kf1 Nd3 46. Bd2 {White is one tempo away from a successful escape. Alas...} Ne5 {The g-pawn falls, and while some pawn-down endings are drawn or drawish, this one isn't even close.} 47. Ke2 Bxe3 48. Kxe3 Nxg4+ 49. Kf4 Nxf2 50. Ke5 h5 0-1 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.24"] [Round "8"] [White "Giri, A."] [Black "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B67"] [WhiteElo "2780"] [BlackElo "2734"] [PlyCount "86"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 a6 8. O-O-O Bd7 9. Kb1 Nxd4 10. Qxd4 Be7 11. f4 Bc6 12. f5 Qa5 13. Bc4 exf5 14. Rhf1 fxe4 15. Nxe4 Bxe4 16. Bxf6 Bxf6 17. Qxe4+ Qe5 18. Qxb7 O-O 19. Bxf7+ Kh8 20. Rfe1 Ra7 21. Qb3 Qxb2+ 22. Qxb2 Bxb2 23. Kxb2 Raxf7 24. Rxd6 Rf2 25. Rxa6 Rxg2 26. h3 Rb8+ 27. Kc1 h5 28. Rae6 Kh7 29. R6e2 Rxe2 30. Rxe2 g5 31. c4 Rc8 32. Rc2 Kg6 33. Kd2 Kf5 34. Ke3 g4 35. hxg4+ hxg4 36. Kd4 g3 37. c5 Rg8 38. Rg2 Ke6 39. Kc4 Kd7 40. Kb5 Kc7 41. a4 Rb8+ 42. Kc4 Rg8 43. Kd5 Rg5+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.25"] [Round "9"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Gukesh, Dommaraju"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2736"] [BlackElo "2718"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "35"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] {[%evp 0,35,28,28,30,13,13,6,6,22,39,19,21,20,20,20,39,30,58,54,86,52,53,52,76,40,41,30,30,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0] The leaders face off. It could be an exciting game...} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 c5 (7... O-O {is the other main line, one used by Gukesh as recently as the Tata Steel tournament last month.}) 8. Rc1 (8. cxd5) 8... dxc4 9. Bxc4 O-O 10. O-O cxd4 11. Nxd4 {This is a *very* drawish line - we're talking correspondence chess levels of drawishness.} Bd7 12. Qb3 Nc6 13. Nxc6 Bxc3 14. Rxc3 Bxc6 {The following draw, in some version or other, has happened more than 70 times. If you love drama, you're looking at the wrong game. Moving on...} 15. Bb5 Bd5 16. Bc4 Bc6 17. Bb5 Bd5 18. Bc4 1/2-1/2 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.25"] [Round "9"] [White "Keymer, Vincent"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E60"] [WhiteElo "2690"] [BlackElo "2793"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "164"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] {Now we get some drama. Nepo needs to win to join the tie for first, and after pressing for a very long time, he succeeds.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. e3 {Keymer wants to avoid a Gruenfeld, but Nepo is happy to get an above-average King's Indian instead.} O-O 5. Be2 d6 (5... c5 {is a good alternative.}) (5... d5 {isn't *that* bad, but it does give White the sort of Gruenfeld he wants, as after} 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. e4 $14 {there's no knight on c3 for Black to take, and so his knight will retreat to the relatively lousy b6 square. White is better here, even with the lost tempo with the e-pawn and the bishop's uninspired development on e2.}) 6. Nc3 Nbd7 7. h3 {This has been played before, but it looks odd. What Black piece is heading for g4 in the near future, never mind right away?} (7. O-O {is usual.}) 7... e5 8. b4 {Almost a novelty.} exd4 $146 9. exd4 d5 10. O-O dxc4 11. Bxc4 Nb6 12. Bb3 Nbd5 13. Nxd5 Nxd5 {Black has no problems here, but White should also be fine. Nepo is looking for a win, not just a comfortable draw.} 14. b5 a6 15. bxa6 Rxa6 16. Bg5 Qd6 17. Qd2 Be6 18. Rfe1 c6 19. Rab1 (19. Re4 {followed by Rae1, looking for kingside play, is an ambitious plan. Keymer winds up going for something similar a little later.}) 19... Raa8 20. Bh6 Rfe8 21. Bxg7 Kxg7 22. Re5 h6 23. Rbe1 f6 24. R5e4 Bf7 {Black's last three moves have done a nice job of keeping his king safe as Fort Knox. The position remains even, but perhaps someday White's isolated pawns on the queenside will becoming meaningfully weak.} 25. Nh2 {Obviously the point of 7.h3. (Kidding.)} (25. Rxe8 Rxe8 26. Rxe8 Bxe8 27. Bxd5 Qxd5 28. Qb4 b5 29. a4 bxa4 30. Qxa4 $11 {is close to a dead draw.}) 25... Rxe4 26. Rxe4 h5 27. Nf1 Rd8 (27... b5) 28. Qe1 Rd7 29. Ne3 Nb6 (29... f5) 30. Qc3 Nd5 31. Qe1 Nc7 (31... f5) 32. Bxf7 Rxf7 33. Nc2 Rd7 34. h4 Kf7 35. Qe3 Ne6 36. a3 Ng7 37. Qb3+ Qd5 38. Qd3 (38. Qxd5+ $2 Rxd5 {would transform the position from an equal (sort of) middlegame to an endgame where White will have to suffer before making a draw.}) 38... Ne6 39. Nb4 Qd6 (39... Nc5 40. dxc5 Qxd3 41. Nxd3 Rxd3 {is more comfortable for Black, but the advantage is too small to convert to a win against someone like Keymer.}) 40. Qb3 Re7 41. Nc2 Kf8 42. Qe3 Ng7 43. Rxe7 Qxe7 44. Qg3 (44. Qxe7+ $2 Kxe7 {and while this might be drawn with perfect play, White will have to suffer before he achieves a draw - if he does.}) 44... Qe4 45. Qd6+ Kf7 46. Ne3 Qe7 47. Qb8 Qd7 48. a4 Ne6 49. Nc4 Ke7 50. Na5 Nd8 51. Qf4 Qd6 52. Qe4+ Kf7 53. Qb1 Qc7 54. Qb4 Qe7 55. Qb3+ Kg7 56. Qb6 Qe1+ 57. Kh2 Nf7 58. Nxb7 Qxf2 {Kudos to both players so far. Nepo has worked hard to prevent a drawish position from becoming a dead draw, and Keymer has done a terrific job of neutralizing all of Nepo's attempts thus far. Nepomniachtchi has accomplished one thing, however, and it's that he has brought about a very imbalanced situation. What had been a tame equality is now very sharp: White's kingside is starting to collapse, but his a-pawn is very dangerous. It is not far from queening, and it's almost impossible for Black to stop.} 59. a5 $2 {Believe it or not, this is losing. Black's kingside play is more dangerous than it seems - not just based on a superficial glance but apparently to Keymer as well.} (59. Nd8 $1 {holds. For example:} Qxh4+ 60. Kg1 Qe1+ 61. Kh2 Nh6 62. Qc7+ Kh8 63. Nf7+ $8 Nxf7 64. Qxf7 $11) 59... Qxh4+ 60. Kg1 Qe1+ $1 61. Kh2 g5 $1 62. Qc7 (62. a6 Nh6 {and White is getting mated after 63...Ng4+ 64.Kh3 Qh4#. White can stop that particular mate, but only at a grievous cost (and with some other mate coming soon).}) 62... Qh4+ 63. Kg1 Qxd4+ 64. Kf1 Qd1+ 65. Kf2 Qd2+ 66. Kf1 g4 {If the pawn reaches g3, or the knight gets to e4, White's king won't be long for the world.} 67. a6 Qd3+ 68. Kf2 Kg6 (68... Qxa6 {is simpler.}) 69. Qxc6 (69. a7 Qd4+ $19 (69... Ne5 {is even better, but an unnecessary risk if there's any time trouble.} 70. Qxe5 fxe5 71. a8=Q g3+ 72. Ke1 Qe3+ 73. Kd1 Qg1+ 74. Kc2 Qxg2+ $19 {and the passers will win. But why do this without necessity?})) 69... Ne5 70. Qc1 g3+ 71. Ke1 Qe4+ (71... Qxa6) 72. Kf1 Qf5+ 73. Kg1 (73. Ke2 $142) 73... Qf2+ 74. Kh1 Qd4 {Now White's king is in all sorts of trouble.} 75. Qc5 Qh4+ 76. Kg1 Nf3+ (76... Qa4 {isn't flashy, but mates a lot more quickly.}) 77. Kf1 (77. gxf3 Qh2+ 78. Kf1 g2+ $19) 77... Qh1+ 78. Ke2 Qxg2+ 79. Ke3 Qf2+ 80. Ke4 Ne5 81. Qd5 Qf3+ 82. Kd4 Nc6+ {The battle is over at last. Black's knight stops the a-pawn from queening (of course, taking the a-pawn was an even better way of stopping it), and White's knight can't return the favor with Black's g-pawn.} 0-1 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.25"] [Round "9"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "So, W."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E29"] [WhiteElo "2734"] [BlackElo "2766"] [PlyCount "137"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 O-O 7. Bd3 Nc6 8. Ne2 b6 9. e4 Ne8 10. O-O Ba6 11. Qc2 Na5 12. e5 f5 13. Nf4 Bxc4 14. Bxc4 Nxc4 15. Qa2 b5 16. a4 cxd4 17. axb5 Nxe5 18. cxd4 Ng6 19. d5 Nxf4 20. Bxf4 Nc7 21. dxe6 dxe6 22. Rfe1 Re8 23. Bxc7 Qxc7 24. Rxe6 Rxe6 25. Qxe6+ Qf7 26. Qxf7+ Kxf7 27. b6 a5 28. b7 Rb8 29. Rxa5 Rxb7 30. Rxf5+ Kg6 31. g4 Rb4 32. h3 h6 33. Kg2 Rb3 34. Re5 Kf6 35. Ra5 g5 36. f3 Kg6 37. Rd5 Rb2+ 38. Kg3 Rb3 39. Kf2 Rb2+ 40. Kg3 Rb3 41. Rd2 Ra3 42. Kf2 Ra7 43. Rd6+ Kg7 44. Rd3 Ra2+ 45. Kg3 Ra7 46. h4 Rf7 47. Rd5 Kg6 48. h5+ Kg7 49. Re5 Ra7 50. Kf2 Kf6 51. Rf5+ Kg7 52. Rd5 Ra2+ 53. Ke3 Ra7 54. Ke4 Rf7 55. Rd3 Rf8 56. Rc3 Rf7 57. Ke5 Kh7 58. Kd6 Rf6+ 59. Kd7 Rf7+ 60. Ke8 Kg7 61. Re3 Rf8+ 62. Kd7 Rf4 63. Re7+ Kg8 64. Re6 Kg7 65. Re3 Kg8 66. Re6 Kg7 67. Re3 Kg8 68. Ke6 Kg7 69. Rd3 1/2-1/2 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.25"] [Round "9"] [White "Duda, J."] [Black "Giri, A."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D10"] [WhiteElo "2729"] [BlackElo "2780"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. cxd5 cxd5 6. Qb3 Nc6 7. Qxb7 Bd7 8. Qb3 Rb8 9. Qd1 e5 10. Nf3 Bd6 11. Be2 e4 12. Nd2 h5 13. a3 a5 14. h3 Ne7 15. Nb3 Qb6 16. Nc5 Bxc5 17. dxc5 Qxc5 18. a4 O-O 19. Nb5 Bxb5 20. axb5 Nf5 21. Bd2 d4 22. exd4 Nxd4 23. Rc1 Qf5 24. Bxa5 Nxe2 25. Qxe2 Qxb5 26. Qxb5 Rxb5 27. Bc3 Nd5 28. O-O Nxc3 29. bxc3 Rc8 30. f3 Rbc5 1/2-1/2 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.25"] [Round "9"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Esipenko, Andrey"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2690"] [BlackElo "2675"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. c4 c6 9. Re1 Re8 10. Qc2 Na6 11. a3 Bg4 12. Ne5 Bxe5 13. dxe5 Nac5 14. cxd5 Nxd3 15. Qxd3 Rxe5 16. Qd4 Qf6 17. Nd2 cxd5 18. Nxe4 dxe4 19. Rxe4 Rxe4 20. Qxe4 Qe6 21. Qxe6 Bxe6 22. Be3 a6 23. Rc1 Rc8 24. Rxc8+ Bxc8 25. f3 f6 26. Kf2 Kf7 27. Bd4 Bd7 28. Ke3 Ke6 29. Bc3 Bc6 30. Bd4 Bd5 1/2-1/2 [Event "WR Chess Masters TB 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.25"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Gukesh, Dommaraju"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2736"] [BlackElo "2718"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2023.02.25"] {[%evp 0,89,28,30,15,21,27,6,6,20,25,3,-6,4,9,-28,-12,0,4,-4,20,-11,6,10,43,-10,4,-19,47,10,55,30,27,14,28,34,60,23,53,49,35,23,20,20,44,47,42,50,103,98,103,112,106,106,103,103,107,87,102,111,92,95,91,92,90,116,181,141,151,151,131,131,151,81,134,151,182,208,202,208,211,249,255,250,255,255,250,243,250,250,250,262] The tiebreak was a double round robin, with the games played with a 10'+2" time control. This was the first game.} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 O-O 8. e3 Bf5 9. Qb3 Bxc3+ 10. Qxc3 g5 11. Bg3 Ne4 12. Qa3 Nc6 {Only played once before, but it would be hard to top its pedigree: Firouzja played it against Carlsen, and won.} 13. Nd2 $146 (13. Bb5 Ne7 14. Nd2 c6 15. Bd3 Nxd2 16. Kxd2 Bxd3 17. Qxd3 Qa5+ 18. Ke2 f5 19. Bd6 Rae8 20. g4 Rf6 21. Be5 Ng6 22. h4 Nxe5 23. dxe5 Rxe5 24. hxg5 hxg5 25. Rh5 Qb4 26. Rxg5+ Kf7 27. b3 Qf4 28. Qxf5 Qxg5 29. Qxg5 Rxg5 30. Rg1 Rg8 31. f4 Re6 32. Kd3 Rge8 33. Rg3 Re4 34. Rh3 Kg7 35. g5 d4 36. exd4 Rxf4 37. Kc3 Rd8 38. Re3 Rd7 39. Rd3 Rg4 40. Kc4 Rxg5 41. Kc3 Rgd5 42. Rg3+ Kf7 43. Rg4 Ke7 44. Re4+ Kd8 45. Rh4 Kc7 46. a4 b6 47. Kc4 Kb7 48. Kc3 a5 49. Re4 b5 50. axb5 cxb5 51. Kd3 R5d6 52. Kc3 Kb6 53. Kd3 a4 54. bxa4 bxa4 55. Kc4 a3 56. Kb3 Rxd4 57. Re1 Rd3+ 58. Ka2 Kb5 59. Rb1+ Ka4 60. Rc1 Rd2+ 61. Ka1 Kb3 62. Rb1+ Rb2 63. Rc1 Ra2+ 64. Kb1 Rad2 65. Ka1 Rd1 66. Rb1+ Rxb1+ 67. Kxb1 Rd1# {0-1 Carlsen,M (2876)-Firouzja,A (2702) Chess24 Banter Blitz Cup chess24.com INT 2019 (7.1)}) 13... a5 $6 {The idea of planting the knight on b4 is a good one, but it doesn't work so well here.} (13... Nxg3 14. hxg3 Kg7 15. Be2 Ne7 $11) 14. Nxe4 Bxe4 (14... Nb4 $142 15. Qb3 $14 {/?}) 15. f3 $14 (15. Rc1 $142 $16) 15... Bg6 (15... Nb4 $1) 16. Bd3 Bxd3 17. Qxd3 $16 {White has the better minor piece and Black's weak kingside on his side of the ledger sheet. On Black's side of the ledger sheet...nothing.} Qd7 18. O-O (18. Rc1 $1 {puts the rook where it belongs while deterring Black from the move in the game.}) 18... Ne7 19. e4 c6 20. e5 Qf5 21. Qb3 b5 $2 (21... Qg6 $1 $14 22. Qxb7 $6 Nf5 $11) 22. Rac1 $6 (22. f4 $1 g4 23. Bh4 $1 $16 {/+-}) 22... Rac8 $6 (22... Qg6 $14 {is better, freeing f5 for the knight.}) 23. Qa3 $16 (23. f4 $1 g4 24. Bh4 $16 {/+-}) 23... Ng6 24. Qxa5 h5 25. Qd2 (25. h3 $142) 25... h4 26. Bf2 f6 (26... h3 $142 {was obvious and good. (The problem in chess, and sometimes in life, is that the "obvious" decision isn't always best.)}) 27. exf6 Rxf6 28. h3 $16 {/+- It's much harder to see how Black makes progress on the kingside.} Re6 29. Rfe1 Rce8 30. Rxe6 Rxe6 31. Be3 $18 Nf4 32. Bxf4 gxf4 33. Re1 (33. b3 $142) 33... Rxe1+ (33... Re3 $142) 34. Qxe1 Qf6 35. Qd2 Qd6 36. Kf1 Kg7 37. b3 b4 38. Qe1 Qg6 39. Kg1 Qc2 40. Qxb4 Qxa2 41. Qb7+ Kg8 42. Qb8+ Kg7 43. Qc7+ Kg8 44. Qd8+ Kg7 45. Qg5+ {More pawns are falling. Black has neither a perpetual check on tap nor a passed pawn of his own to generate counterplay, so there's little reason to continue given that they're playing with an increment.} 1-0 [Event "WR Chess Masters TB 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.25"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A28"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2736"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "92"] [EventDate "2023.02.25"] {[%evp 0,92,28,-12,13,-12,-12,-22,-6,-22,-22,-22,-13,-52,-16,-36,-7,-42,-30,-22,-27,-23,-9,-2,0,28,4,-15,-12,-10,-22,-49,-42,-42,-45,-52,-52,-56,-42,-85,-44,-44,-22,-22,-13,-13,26,-12,-20,-21,-28,-28,-35,-49,-37,-49,-28,-24,0,0,0,-51,41,4,41,-19,28,21,-19,-25,-28,-117,-114,-157,-155,-146,-22,-43,-48,-167,-167,-177,-186,-202,-157,-192,-206,-221,-116,-279,-185,-168,-192,-423,-444]} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. a3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Qc2 Nxc3 7. bxc3 Bd6 8. e3 (8. g3 {has been more popular (though this whole approach is very much a sideline for White, albeit one which has been chosen by players like Kramnik, Firouzja, Artemiev, Gelfand, and Korchnoi, to drop a few names), but the text has a better overall score.}) 8... O-O 9. d4 Bg4 (9... Qe7 10. Be2 b6 11. O-O Bb7 12. Re1 Rfe8 13. Bb2 Na5 14. Bb5 c6 15. Bf1 e4 16. Nd2 c5 17. c4 cxd4 18. exd4 Qh4 19. g3 Qg4 20. Bg2 f5 21. c5 Bf8 22. Nc4 {1-0 Kramnik,V (2808)-Karjakin,S (2781) Norway Masters blitz 5th Stavanger 2017 (9)}) 10. Bd3 $146 (10. Be2 {had been usual, though the computer favors the text.}) 10... Bxf3 11. gxf3 (11. Bxh7+ $2 Kh8 12. gxf3 g6 13. Bxg6 fxg6 14. Qxg6 Qh4 $17 {This is not a position where the pawns provide good compensation for the piece.}) 11... Qh4 $11 ({Looking at Black's 12th move, you might wonder why he doesn't play} 11... g6 {(?) straight away. The answer is} 12. h4 $1 $16 {, which was of course prevented by 11...Qh4.}) 12. Bb2 g6 13. d5 $6 (13. Ke2 {followed by Rag1 was a better choice. White's king is safe enough in the center, hiding behind a herd of pawns.}) 13... Na5 (13... Nb8 $1 $17 {, headed to c5 via d7, was best.}) 14. c4 b6 15. O-O-O $6 (15. Rg1 $142) 15... Nb7 16. Rdg1 Nc5 $17 17. Bf1 f5 18. Rg3 Rae8 19. Rhg1 Rf7 20. Kb1 Kf8 (20... Bf8 $1 $17) 21. Rh3 Qf6 22. Be2 Ke7 23. Bd1 Kd8 24. Qe2 Qe7 25. Bc2 Kc8 26. Ka2 Qd7 27. Rhg3 f4 28. Rg4 e4 {The culmination of a subpar series of moves. The whole plan isn't very good, at least not at this moment, but as they're essentially playing a blitz game the more important thing is that this puts a lot of pressure on White.} 29. exf4 $2 (29. fxe4 f3 30. Qd1 Bxh2 31. Bd4 $1 Bxg1 32. Qxg1 Qd6 33. Rh4 Kb7 34. Qg5 $44) 29... exf3 $6 (29... Rfe7 $1 $17 {/-+}) 30. Qxf3 Kb7 31. f5 Be5 32. d6+ c6 33. Bxe5 Rxe5 34. Rd1 gxf5 $15 35. Rg8 $2 (35. Rf4) 35... Qe6 $19 36. Qc3 Rd7 37. Kb1 Ne4 (37... Rxd6 $142 $19) 38. Bxe4 fxe4 39. Qd4 $2 (39. Qg3 Qxc4 40. Qxe5 Qxg8 41. Qxe4 Qb3+ 42. Kc1 Qxa3+ 43. Kb1 {keeps a modicum of hope alive.}) 39... Qxg8 (39... e3 $1 40. fxe3 Re4 $19) 40. Qxe5 Qxc4 $19 41. Qg3 Qe6 42. Kb2 c5 43. Qf4 Rf7 $2 (43... a5 $19 {was better, in part to give the king a safe hangout on a6. (Another part is to play ...a4 and ...Qb3+.)}) 44. Qe3 $2 (44. d7 $1 Rxd7 45. Rxd7+ Qxd7 46. Qxe4+ $15) 44... Kc6 $19 45. Kb1 Rd7 (45... Kd7 $142) 46. Qf4 $2 Qb3+ {Aronian moves to 2-0 in the tiebreak, the other two are each 0-1.} 0-1 [Event "WR Chess Masters TB 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.25"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Gukesh, Dommaraju"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2718"] [BlackElo "2793"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "123"] [EventDate "2023.02.25"] {[%evp 0,123,28,30,21,6,6,9,9,20,17,24,10,13,43,39,38,28,39,11,7,10,12,13,27,8,-6,-2,11,-5,10,-26,-31,-36,-25,-25,20,12,12,22,13,3,36,15,13,11,1,-8,13,2,15,-26,-19,0,0,7,15,2,11,7,16,4,26,23,20,22,26,-10,13,-12,-19,-34,-14,-19,-24,-49,-48,-32,-63,-44,-34,-40,-13,-8,-18,-29,-20,-20,4,0,0,0,0,-14,-38,0,0,-17,74,18,35,35,97,97,121,128,128,121,84,148,110,79,201,292,299,72,116,190,202,198,214,148,773,779,793,812] A must-win game for both players.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bf4 c6 7. e3 Bf5 8. Nh4 {A Maghsoodloo speciality.} Bg4 9. Qc2 Nh5 10. h3 Be6 11. Nf3 Nxf4 12. exf4 Bd6 13. g3 $146 Qf6 14. Bd3 g6 15. O-O-O Nd7 16. Ne5 Nb6 17. Kb1 O-O-O 18. Nb5 Kb8 (18... Nc4 $5 $11) 19. Nxd6 Rxd6 20. b3 Nc8 21. h4 Rdd8 22. Rc1 Nd6 23. Rhe1 (23. h5 $142 $11) 23... Rc8 (23... Rhe8 $142 $15) 24. Qd2 (24. h5 $142) 24... Rhd8 (24... Qd8 $142) 25. f3 (25. g4 $142) 25... Bf5 26. Bxf5 Qxf5+ $15 27. Ka1 Rc7 (27... h5 $142) 28. Nd3 (28. g4 $142 $11) 28... Qf6 (28... h5 $142) 29. Re5 Nf5 30. Qf2 Qd6 31. g4 Ng7 32. Rce1 b6 33. h5 f6 34. R5e2 gxh5 35. f5 Kb7 36. Kb2 $44 a5 37. a4 Rdd7 38. Qh2 Qxh2 39. Rxh2 hxg4 (39... Re7 $5 $11) 40. fxg4 h5 41. gxh5 Nxf5 42. Rf1 Nxd4 43. Rxf6 Rh7 $11 44. h6 Rce7 $1 45. Kc3 Ne2+ 46. Kd2 Ng3 47. Kc2 Ne4 48. Rg6 Rhf7 49. Rhg2 Nf6 (49... Kc7 $142 $11) 50. Rf2 Ne4 (50... Nd7 $11) 51. Rxf7 Rxf7 52. Ne5 Rf2+ 53. Kd3 Rh2 54. Rg7+ Ka6 55. h7 {Considering the time limit, the stakes, and the players' exhaustion their level of play in this game has been extraordinary. But now, alas, one of the players cracks.} Nf6 $2 (55... Nc5+ 56. Kc3 Ne6 {maintained equality.}) 56. Nxc6 $1 {With two different mate in one threats.} b5 57. Rg6 $2 (57. Nb8+ $1 Kb6 58. Rg6 $18 {was the right way. Black cannot save the piece, e.g.} Kb7 59. Rxf6 Kxb8 60. Rf8+ {and 61.h8(Q) will leave White a rook ahead.}) 57... Nxh7 $2 (57... Rh3+ $1 58. Ke2 (58. Kd4 Rh4+ $11 {if the king goes up, then 59...Nd7+ followed 60...Rxh7 saves the day.}) 58... Rh2+ 59. Kf3 Rh3+ 60. Kg2 Rxh7 61. Rxf6 bxa4 62. bxa4 Rh4 $11) 58. Nd8+ $1 Ka7 59. axb5 Nf8 60. b6+ Ka6 61. b7+ Ka7 62. Ra6+ 1-0 [Event "WR Chess Masters TB 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.25"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Gukesh, Dommaraju"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2718"] [BlackElo "2736"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "184"] [EventDate "2023.02.25"] {[%evp 0,184,28,15,15,22,22,22,22,13,12,7,4,-33,41,-34,-16,-9,-34,-55,-21,-37,-19,-17,-17,-23,2,2,47,47,50,64,55,33,42,42,21,17,39,18,17,23,53,69,55,25,21,33,33,8,10,7,-7,3,6,-31,-14,14,50,69,70,61,61,60,61,62,151,131,159,123,142,64,64,81,104,67,67,32,86,89,77,77,77,83,62,34,68,-37,-35,-5,-29,-31,-51,-73,-88,-96,-5,-90,-90,-102,-110,-98,-98,-98,-98,-98,-139,-231,-221,-222,-232,-215,-222,-225,-210,-210,-156,-112,-116,-248,-258,-256,-256,-258,-249,-266,-249,-247,-249,-249,-249,-249,-249,-249,-253,-256,-249,-249,-249,-249,-249,-249,-249,-249,-249,-249,-249,-270,-387,-397,-417,-422,-426,-431,-430,-436,-261,-261,-260,-434,-436,-436,-436,-436,-436,-436,-436,-436,-436,-436,-436,-436,-436,-436,-436,-436,-436,-436,-436,-507,-436,-436,-436,-547,-567,-1002,-1012] With a win Gukesh would catch Aronian, with both players still needing to play Nepomniachtchi, who could make it a three-way tie if he could beat them both. (In that case, they'd go on to a 5'+2" playoff.) With a win in this game, however, Aronian clinched victory in the tiebreak no matter what the results of the next games would be, so this ended the tiebreak and the tournament, with the victory going to Aronian. Congratulations!} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 Ne7 7. Bxf6 gxf6 8. d4 exd4 9. Nbd2 c6 10. Bc4 b5 11. Bd3 d6 12. a4 b4 13. Nb3 Bg4 14. Be2 Bxf3 15. Bxf3 a5 16. Nxd4 Qb6 17. c3 bxc3 18. bxc3 Bxd4 19. cxd4 Qb4+ 20. Kf1 Rb8 21. g3 Qb3 22. Kg2 Qxd1 23. Rhxd1 Kd7 24. Bg4+ Kc7 25. Rd3 h5 26. Bd1 Rb4 27. h4 f5 28. exf5 Nxf5 $2 (28... d5 $11) 29. d5 $16 {/+- Gukesh has a real chance now.} c5 30. Rf3 Nd4 31. Rxf7+ Kb6 32. Rd7 $6 $16 (32. Rf4 $1 $18) 32... c4 $5 (32... Rh6) 33. Rxd6+ Kc5 34. Rd7 Rb2 35. Rc1 Rf8 36. Bxh5 Rfxf2+ 37. Kh3 Nf5 $8 38. Kg4 $2 (38. Rd8 Ne3 39. Rh1 Nxd5 40. Rc8+ Kb4 41. Rb8+ Kxa4 42. Ra1+ Ra2 43. Rxa2+ Rxa2 44. Be8+ Ka3 45. Rb5 Re2 46. Rxa5+ Kb4 47. Rb5+ $1 Kc3 $1 48. Bg6 $1 $18) 38... Ne3+ 39. Kg5 Rf5+ 40. Kg6 Rg2 $11 {Now Black is fine.} 41. g4 Rxd5 (41... Rf4 $1 $11) 42. Rc7+ Kd6 43. R7xc4 Nxc4 44. Rxc4 {The position is equal, but I suspect that (in general) this should be easier for White to play.} Rb2 45. g5 Rb4 46. Be2 Rxc4 47. Bxc4 Rd4 48. Bb5 (48. h5 Rxc4 49. h6 {is also a draw - and a safer one, it seems.}) 48... Rxh4 49. Kg7 Ke7 50. g6 Rb4 51. Bc6 Rc4 52. Bb5 Rc7 53. Bd3 $2 (53. Kg8 $142 $11) 53... Ke6+ 54. Kf8 Kf6 55. Ke8 Rc1 56. Bb5 Rd1 57. Bd7 (57. g7 Kxg7 58. Ke7 {is a tablebase draw.}) 57... Kxg6 {This one's a tablebase win. From here Aronian doesn't play perfectly, and the game goes back and forth between a draw and a win for Black - as one would expect from a rare and challenging theoretical ending that comes up so rarely almost no one will play it perfectly unless one has just studied it carefully. In blitz? Fuggedaboutit.} 58. Kd8 Rc1 59. Bb5 Kf6 60. Kd7 Ke5 61. Bc6 Kd4 62. Kd6 Kc4 63. Bb5+ Kb4 64. Kd5 Rd1+ 65. Ke4 Kc3 66. Ke5 Rd4 67. Be8 Rh4 68. Bb5 Rh5+ 69. Ke4 Rc5 70. Bd7 Kb4 71. Bb5 Rc1 72. Kd3 Rd1+ 73. Kc2 Rd8 74. Kb2 Rd2+ 75. Kc1 Kc3 76. Kb1 Rb2+ 77. Kc1 Rb4 78. Kd1 Rb2 79. Kc1 Rd2 80. Kb1 Kb3 81. Kc1 Rd8 82. Be2 Kxa4 83. Kb1 Kb3 84. Bg4 Rd6 85. Bh5 Rf6 86. Bd1+ Ka3 87. Bh5 Rb6+ 88. Kc2 Rb2+ 89. Kc1 Rb4 90. Bf7 Ka4 91. Be8+ Kb3 92. Bf7+ Kc3 {The end. Black will play ...a4, ...a3, ...Rb2, ...a2, and either ...Rxa2 or ...a1Q(+/#).} 0-1