[Event "12th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.08.21"] [Round "4.1"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "2745"] [BlackElo "2766"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "69"] [GameId "2213401461915856"] [EventDate "2025.08.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,69,18,1,21,25,24,25,30,62,36,25,17,15,29,28,24,23,52,43,41,58,60,63,-36,25,31,26,19,45,-121,55,40,42,64,48,25,26,-1,-8,-16,105,-9,3,25,11,5,43,36,197,34,2,-46,-34,-97,-18,-26,-16,13,-11,15,34,6,73,-1,66,50,61,14,71,45,48]} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 Ne7 6. O-O h6 7. Nbd2 Nd7 8. Nb3 g5 9. a4 Bg7 10. a5 Rc8 (10... O-O) 11. c3 O-O 12. Re1 (12. h4 g4 13. Ne1 h5 14. f3 g3 15. Bg5 (15. Bf4 f6 16. exf6 Bxf6 17. Bxg3 Ng6 18. Bh2 Nxh4 19. g3 Ng6 20. f4 Be7 21. Bxh5 Nf6 22. Bf3 Bh3 23. Bg2 Bg4 24. Bf3 Bh3 25. Nd3 Bd6 26. Nbc5 Rc7 27. Re1 {½-½ Anderskewitz,R (2111)-Packroff,H (1997) GER SC82 pr04 email ICCF email 2021}) 15... f6 16. exf6 Bxf6 17. f4 Bxg5 18. fxg5 Ng6 19. Bxh5 Nxh4 20. Qd2 Be4 21. Nf3 Nf5 22. Qe2 Qe7 23. Bg4 Rce8 24. Nbd2 Bxf3 25. Nxf3 e5 26. a6 b6 27. Bh3 exd4 28. Qxe7 Rxe7 29. Bxf5 Rxf5 30. Nxd4 Rxf1+ 31. Rxf1 Nb8 32. Nf5 {½-½ Boni,R (2162)-Jarabinsky,M (2333) CP-2020-S-00003 LSS email}) 12... c5 13. Bb5 c4 14. Bxd7 Qxd7 15. Nc5 Qb5 16. h4 (16. a6 bxa6 17. h4 g4 18. Nh2 Rxc5 19. dxc5 h5 20. Nf1 Bg6 21. Ng3 Qxc5 22. Qd2 Nf5 23. Nxf5 Bxf5 24. Qg5 Bg6 25. Rxa6 Qc7 26. Be3 Qb7 27. Rea1 Qxb2 28. Bd4 Qc2 29. Rxa7 Kh7 30. Rc7 Bh6 31. Qe7 Ra8 32. Rca7 Rxa7 33. Qxa7 {½-½ Botev,K (2468)-Tauriainen,M (2410) Baltic Sea/11 ICCF email 2021}) 16... g4 17. Nh2 h5 18. Nf1 $146 (18. f3 Rxc5 19. fxg4 Be4 20. dxc5 Bxe5 21. Nf3 Bg3 22. Ng5 Bxe1 23. Qxe1 hxg4 24. Nxe4 dxe4 25. Qxe4 Qxc5+ 26. Be3 Qh5 27. Bf2 Ng6 28. Qxc4 Nxh4 29. Ra4 Ng6 30. Qxg4 Qh6 31. Qd1 Qg5 32. Bh4 Qe3+ 33. Bf2 Qg5 34. Bh4 Qe3+ 35. Bf2 Qg5 {½-½ Dmitriev,V (2455)-Tauriainen,M (2410) Baltic Sea/11 ICCF email 2021}) 18... Rxc5 $5 (18... Bg6) 19. dxc5 Nc6 20. Ng3 Bg6 21. Qd2 $1 Qxc5 22. Nxh5 $1 Bxh5 23. Qg5 Bg6 24. h5 Qe7 25. Qxe7 $6 (25. hxg6 $1 Qxg5 26. gxf7+ Kxf7 27. Bxg5 Nxe5 28. Bh6 $1 Bxh6 29. Rxe5 Bf4 30. Ree1 Bc7 31. g3 $14) 25... Nxe7 $11 26. hxg6 Nxg6 27. Be3 Nxe5 28. Bxa7 Nd3 29. Reb1 Rc8 $6 (29... f5 $142) 30. Kf1 f5 $6 31. Ke2 $16 Nf4+ $6 {The inaccuracies are piling up, and now So has real winning chances. It looks scary to give up the g-pawn, but White's rooks are unleashed once he can safely play b3.} (31... e5 $142) 32. Kf1 $2 (32. Kd2 $1 Nxg2 33. b3 {is big trouble for Black despite his imposing wall of pawns. For example:} Nh4 34. bxc4 Rxc4 35. Ra3 Rc7 36. Bb8 Nf3+ 37. Ke2 Rxc3 38. Rxc3 Bxc3 39. Bc7 $18 {forces Black to surrender the bishop on the next move or two. It will take White some time to win Black's pawns, but win them he shall.}) 32... Nd3 $2 (32... Kf7 $142 $11 {/?}) 33. Ke2 Nf4+ (33... e5 $142) 34. Kf1 $2 (34. Kd2) 34... Nd3 35. Ke2 1/2-1/2 [Event "12th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.08.21"] [Round "4.2"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D32"] [WhiteElo "2737"] [BlackElo "2725"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "77"] [GameId "2213401461924049"] [EventDate "2025.08.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,77,18,8,16,12,13,17,20,18,32,40,42,39,46,54,50,54,46,41,41,50,44,4,28,38,32,43,34,40,52,58,45,16,12,8,13,42,7,27,18,18,31,14,-113,13,22,2,16,16,-1,16,-7,12,23,27,-23,0,-6,-19,-4,-1,9,29,25,1,4,-14,-1,-5,1,-1,1,1,-1,1,-1,-1,-1,-1]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. dxc5 d4 7. Na4 Bxc5 8. Nxc5 Qa5+ 9. Qd2 (9. Bd2 Qxc5 10. Rc1 Qb6 11. e3 {is the alternative line.}) 9... Qxc5 10. e3 dxe3 11. Qxe3+ Qxe3+ 12. Bxe3 {White has the bishop pair, but if Black plays correctly it won't give White an advantage.} Nge7 13. Bc4 O-O 14. O-O h6 $11 (14... Bg4 $11 15. Nd2 Rfd8 16. f3 Bf5 17. Ne4 Ne5 18. Bb3 b6 19. Bg5 N5c6 20. Rad1 Kf8 21. Nd6 Bg6 22. Rfe1 Rd7 23. Nc4 Rad8 24. Rxd7 Rxd7 25. Bf4 Nd4 26. Ne5 Rd8 27. Bc4 b5 28. Bf1 Bf5 29. Kf2 f6 30. Ng4 h5 31. Ne3 Be6 32. h4 Kf7 33. b3 Rd7 34. Rc1 a6 35. Nc2 Ndf5 36. Nb4 Ng6 37. Be3 Nxe3 38. Kxe3 a5 39. Nc6 Nxh4 40. Nd4 Re7 41. Kf2 Rd7 42. Ke3 Re7 43. Kf2 Rd7 44. Ke3 {½-½ Aronian,L (2730)-Vidit,S (2722) Chess.com Classic Div 2 L Chess.com INT rapid 2024 (4.1)}) (14... Be6 $5 $11) 15. Rfe1 Rd8 16. h3 Nd5 17. Bd2 Be6 18. Rac1 Nc7 (18... a6 19. a3 Rd7 20. Bf1 Rd6 21. b4 b5 22. Rc5 Rad8 23. Bc1 Nde7 24. Bf4 Rd1 25. Rxd1 Rxd1 26. Rc1 Rxc1 27. Bxc1 Bc4 {½-½ Graham,S (2243)-Paine,K (2127) SCCA WS op2-A email ICCF email 2010}) 19. Bf4 Bxc4 $146 (19... Nd5 20. Bg3 Ndb4 21. Bxe6 fxe6 22. Rc4 Nxa2 23. Rxe6 Nab4 24. Rg4 Kh7 25. Be5 Rd1+ 26. Kh2 Nxe5 27. Nxe5 Nd5 28. Rd6 Re8 29. f4 a5 30. b3 b5 31. Rg3 b4 32. Nc4 {½-½ Offenborn,H (2133)-Minte,D (2212) GER-ch 2012-D-F serv GER email 2014}) 20. Bxc7 Rd7 21. Rxc4 Rxc7 22. Nd4 Rd8 23. Nxc6 Rxc6 24. Rxc6 bxc6 {Black's split pawns aren't enough for White to have even a tiny advantage here.} 25. Re2 Rd1+ 26. Kh2 Kf8 27. g4 (27. Kg3) 27... Rc1 {Now it's Black who has the tiny advantage! But it requires a microscope to see it, and the rest is about engineering the draw.} 28. Kg2 c5 29. a3 c4 30. Re5 c3 31. bxc3 Rxc3 32. a4 a6 33. Re4 Ra3 34. Rb4 Ke7 35. Rb7+ Kf8 36. Rb8+ Ke7 37. Rb7+ Kf8 38. Rb8+ Ke7 39. Rb7+ {An easy hold for Duda, who had done his homework.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "12th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.08.21"] [Round "4.3"] [White "Gukesh, D."] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2776"] [BlackElo "2736"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "112"] [GameId "2213401461924050"] [EventDate "2025.08.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,112,18,0,14,17,14,11,15,17,24,17,18,23,32,31,30,12,31,23,0,23,15,16,20,18,20,-1,-10,-10,-7,56,-17,-22,0,-9,72,-44,-25,-32,-16,-29,-18,-37,-45,-29,-20,-43,-87,-26,-16,-39,-48,18,13,-80,-45,-72,-46,-7,-54,-35,-134,-83,13,-13,-16,-30,-48,-21,-29,-30,-50,-46,-36,-46,-20,-42,-40,-37,-2,-4,-3,-3,-1,-23,1,-21,-8,-1,-1,102,-31,42,-1,-1,1,1,-1,-1,1,89,1,65,12,31,18,18,21,16,21,25,20,16,20]} 1. d4 Nf6 (1... d5 2. c4 c5 {has become moderately popular, with Nakamura its leading exponent for the moment. The similarity to what MVL plays in this game is obvious, but in terms of how things work they are different - the two lines don't typically transpose into each other.}) 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 c5 {This is an MVL favorite.} 4. dxc5 {Rare, and almost unseen at the super-GM level.} (4. cxd5 cxd4 5. Qxd4 Qxd5 6. Nc3 Qxd4 7. Nxd4 a6 8. g3 e5 {is the main line of this system, and now White almost always chooses between 9.Nb3 (the most common move) and 9.Nc2.}) 4... e6 5. Be3 {Ugly, but it meets the needs of the position.} Nc6 6. Nc3 dxc4 $146 7. Qxd8+ Nxd8 8. Rd1 Nd5 $1 {Either excellent prep or excellent judgment. This pawn sac to liberate Black's pieces is entirely justified, and it strikes me as reminiscent of the Grünfeld, long one of MVL's main weapons.} 9. Nxd5 exd5 10. Rxd5 Be6 11. Rd1 Rc8 12. Bd4 f6 13. e4 (13. h4 $142 Bxc5 14. h5 $11) 13... Bxc5 14. Bxc5 Rxc5 15. Nd4 Bd7 16. Kd2 Nf7 17. Ke3 Ke7 {Black's queenside majority looks more threatening than White's extra pawn in the center, but the position is still roughly balanced.} 18. f3 Rhc8 19. Be2 h5 20. h4 Nd6 21. Rhe1 Ra5 22. Ra1 $1 {It's annoying to demobilize a piece, but the alternative is much worse.} (22. a3 $2 c3 $17) 22... f5 23. b3 Re5 24. Kf4 Kf6 25. Bd1 Rce8 26. Bc2 fxe4 27. fxe4 (27. Rad1 $1 $11) (27. Bxe4 $1 $11) 27... g5+ 28. hxg5+ Rxg5 $15 {MVL has made progress, weakening White's pawn structure while finding more avenues for his own pieces. Even so, a draw is still the likeliest result.} 29. Bd1 $1 Nf5 $1 {Flashy - and it bears fruit!} 30. Nxf5 $2 (30. e5+ $1 {had to be played.} Kg6 31. Nxf5 Rxf5+ 32. Kg3 Rfxe5 33. Rxe5 Rxe5 34. bxc4 {and White should hold without any real trouble despite his isolated pawns.}) 30... Rxf5+ 31. Kg3 (31. Ke3 $2 Rxe4+ $1 32. Kxe4 Re5+ 33. Kf3 Rxe1 34. Kf2 Rh1 35. bxc4 Bg4 $19) 31... cxb3 $2 {Letting White off the hook.} (31... Rg8+ $1 32. Kh2 Rf2 33. Bf3 c3 $19 {gives Black a decisive advantage. White can keep his king safe, and he can defend against the c-pawn, but he can't really manage to do both. For example:} 34. Re3 (34. e5+ Ke7 35. Bxb7 Bf5 36. Rac1 c2 37. e6 h4 38. Re5 Kf6 39. Rc5 h3 40. e7 hxg2 41. Kg1 Rd2 42. Rd5 Rxd5 43. Bxd5 Re8 44. Kxg2 Rxe7 45. Kf2 Ke5 46. Bf3 Kd4 {and the king's entry will cost White a piece. A particularly funny line is} 47. Bd1 cxd1=Q 48. Rxd1+ Bd3 $19 {, not because the position is intrinsically amusing but because it would have been the second straight game in which MVL had rook + the wrong bishop & rook's pawn combo vs. rook and multiple pawns. (I think he may have had a third game with it as well during this stretch of St. Louis tournaments, counting the Rapid & Blitz, but maybe it was someone else.) Anyway, this version is a clear win for Black.}) 34... c2 35. Rc1 Rd2 36. Re2 Rxe2 37. Bxe2 Rc8 38. Bd3 Rc3 39. Bxc2 Bb5 $19 {and White cannot successfully get out of the way of ...Bd3.}) 32. axb3 $11 (32. Bxb3 {is also equal.}) 32... a6 33. Bf3 {Now everything is fine in White's camp. He still has the weaker pawns, but with the limited material White should manage to save the eventual rook ending without much trouble.} Rb5 34. Re3 Ree5 (34... Kg5) 35. Be2 (35. Rh1) 35... Rb4 36. Rf1+ Ke7 37. Bc4 Be6 38. Bxe6 (38. Kf4 Bxc4 39. bxc4 Rc5 40. Rh1 Rbxc4 41. g4 hxg4 42. Rh7+ $11) 38... Kxe6 39. Kh4 Rbxe4+ 40. Rxe4 Rxe4+ 41. Kxh5 Re3 42. Rb1 Rg3 43. Rb2 {This is almost dangerous for White, but this is one of those cases where "almost" doesn't help. Black's king can't go to the queenside because Kh4 will get the g-pawn running, while bringing the king to the f-file won't result in real threats to White's king because of Rf2+.} Kf5 44. Kh4 Rg4+ 45. Kh3 Rb4 46. Rf2+ Kg5 47. Rf3 a5 48. Kg3 b5 49. Rc3 a4 50. bxa4 bxa4 {Black to move wins witih ...Rb3, but this problem is easily solved.} 51. Rc5+ {White plays Ra5 next. If Black's king heads to the queenside White will start running his g-pawn, and both sides will have to give up their rooks for the enemy pawns. If the king stays in front of the g-pawn, then neither side can make progress. Either way, it's a draw.} Kg6 52. Ra5 Rb3+ 53. Kf4 Rb4+ 54. Kg3 Rb3+ 55. Kf4 Rb4+ 56. Kg3 Rb3+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "12th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.08.21"] [Round "4.4"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Sevian, Samuel"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D32"] [WhiteElo "2779"] [BlackElo "2683"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "58"] [GameId "2213401461924051"] [EventDate "2025.08.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,58,13,31,13,13,18,17,32,33,11,20,2,-1,7,-3,-17,-17,-8,-17,-25,-15,-106,-8,-13,-20,-58,-7,-9,101,18,45,35,58,58,58,56,37,48,38,41,61,29,24,24,24,28,20,212,21,55,33,21,26,24,31,32,29,31,22,22]} 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 c5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 {A second Tarrasch in this round! This "theme" concept has occurred in several rounds in the tournament: Nimzos in rounds 1 and 3, the Open Ruy in round 2, and now the Tarrasch in round 4. What's next? I vote for the Najdorf and super-sharp Semi-Slavs in subsequent rounds.} 6. Bg5 {Another sideline to complement the 6.dxc5 of Aronian-Duda. Perhaps the chess world has been scared away from the traditional main line of 6.g3 by Dubov's variation?} Be7 7. Bxe7 Ngxe7 8. e3 c4 {Black is thought to be doing fine here, with a plus score in the database and the engine's approval as well (it even thinks Black has a minimal edge). Let's see if Pragg has something interesting up his sleeve.} 9. Be2 O-O 10. O-O Rb8 11. b3 b5 12. bxc4 bxc4 13. e4 dxe4 14. Nxe4 Bg4 15. Bxc4 Bxf3 16. Qxf3 Qxd4 {This has all been played before. White did win the one game, but for now the position is dead equal.} 17. Bb3 Qe5 $146 (17... Ne5 18. Qf4 Rb4 19. Rfe1 N7g6 20. Qe3 a5 21. Nc3 Qh4 22. Nd5 Ng4 23. Qg3 Qxg3 24. hxg3 Rb7 25. Re4 h5 26. Rc1 Rfb8 27. f3 N4e5 28. Rc5 Rb5 29. Rc7 Kh7 30. Nf4 f5 31. Rd4 Kh6 32. Nxg6 Kxg6 33. Rd6+ Kh7 34. Ra6 R8b6 35. Rxb6 Rxb6 36. Rc5 Nc6 37. Rxf5 Nd4 38. Rxh5+ Kg6 39. Rxa5 Nxb3 40. axb3 Rxb3 41. g4 Rc3 42. Kf2 Rc2+ 43. Kg3 Rc3 44. Kh4 Rc2 45. Ra6+ Kh7 46. g3 Rf2 47. f4 Rh2+ 48. Kg5 Rg2 49. Ra3 Rb2 50. Ra7 Rg2 51. Ra3 Rb2 52. Kf5 Rb5+ 53. Ke4 Rb4+ 54. Kf3 Rb5 55. Ra7 Rb3+ 56. Kg2 Kg8 57. Kh3 Rb5 58. Re7 Ra5 59. Re5 Ra3 60. Rb5 Kh7 61. f5 Ra6 62. g5 Ra7 63. Rb6 Ra4 64. Rb7 Kg8 65. g6 Kf8 66. g4 Ra8 67. g5 Kg8 68. f6 Kh8 69. Kg4 Rc8 70. Kh5 Ra8 71. Rxg7 {1-0 Bartel,M (2624)-Petr,M (2521) CZE-chT 1213 Czech Republic 2012 (4.4)}) 18. Rfe1 Nd4 19. Nf6+ Qxf6 20. Qxf6 gxf6 21. Rxe7 Nxb3 22. axb3 Rxb3 23. g3 Ra8 24. Raxa7 Rxa7 25. Rxa7 {The doubled pawns are completely meaningless as long as the rooks remain on the board. This would be a dead draw even if Sevian was replaced by me.} Kg7 26. Ra6 Rb4 27. Ra7 Rb3 28. Ra6 Rb4 29. Ra7 Rb3 1/2-1/2 [Event "12th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.08.21"] [Round "4.5"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2771"] [BlackElo "2784"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "60"] [GameId "2213401300094976"] [EventDate "2025.08.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,60,13,13,16,10,-63,13,20,-4,19,12,22,24,23,18,34,32,25,6,11,26,61,40,19,8,15,12,18,14,5,-34,-21,-43,-83,-13,0,-41,56,-7,14,27,-60,-38,-21,-146,-178,-181,-124,-262,-246,-170,-246,-310,-261,-271,-265,-244,-267,-260,-206,-391,-491]} 1. c4 (1. e4 e6 (1... e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4 4. Nxd4 exd4 5. Bc4 Nf6 6. e5 d5 $1 7. Bb3 Bg4 $2 {/!?} 8. f3 Ne4 $1 9. O-O d3 $5 10. fxg4 $4 (10. Qe1 $1 $18) 10... Bc5+ 11. Kh1 Ng3+ $1 12. hxg3 Qg5 $3 $19 (12... h5 $2 13. g5 h4 14. g4 $18) 13. Rf5 h5 $1 14. gxh5 Qxf5 15. g4 Rxh5+ (15... Qf2 $19) 16. gxh5 Qe4 17. Qf3 Qh4+ $1 18. Qh3 Qe1+ 19. Kh2 Bg1+ 20. Kh1 Bf2+ 21. Kh2 Qg1# {0-1 Anderssen-Lange, Breslau 1859}) 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Be7 6. Bxf6 Bxf6 7. Nf3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nd7 9. O-O-O Be7 10. Bd3 b6 11. Neg5 h6 12. Bh7+ Kh8 13. Be4 hxg5 $2 14. g4 $3 $18 (14. Bxa8 $4 g4 $19) 14... Rb8 15. h4 $1 g6 16. hxg5+ Kg7 17. Qf4 $1 Bb7 18. Rh7+ $3 Kxh7 19. Qh2+ Kg8 20. Rh1 Bxg5+ 21. Nxg5 Qxg5+ 22. f4 Qxf4+ 23. Qxf4 Bxe4 24. Qxe4 {Polgar, Judit - Berkes, Ferenc, 1-0, Budapest Hunguest Hotels, 2003}) 1... e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 h6 {Very well established at this point, but formerly not a move at all.} ({For years, something like} 6... c6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. Qc2 Nbd7 {was automatic, and now White chooses between two main plans. The first generally begins with 9.Nf3 and results in an eventual minority attack with b2-b4-b5; the second starts with 9.Ne2 and continues with a central pawn roller: 0-0, f3, Ng3, and ultimately e3-e4.}) 7. Bh4 Bg4 8. Qc2 O-O 9. h3 (9. Bd3 $143 c5 $1 $11) (9. f3 $143 Be6 10. Bd3 c5 $11) 9... Be6 10. Nf3 $14 (10. Bd3 c5 $1 $11) 10... Ne8 $1 ({There are other ways to move the knight and swap the bishops. They're playable, though not as good as the text.} 10... Ne4 11. Nxe4 (11. Bxe7 Qxe7 12. Nxe4 dxe4 13. Qxe4 Qb4+ 14. Nd2 Qxb2 15. Rb1 Qc3 $1 16. Qxb7 Nd7 $44) 11... Bxh4 (11... dxe4 $2 12. Qxe4 $16 {/+-}) 12. Nc5 Bc8 13. Bd3 $14) (10... Nh5 11. Bxe7 Qxe7 12. Bd3 $14) 11. Bg3 Bd6 12. Bd3 $146 (12. Ne5 Nc6 13. Nxc6 (13. Rc1 $146 {=/? might be worth exploring.}) 13... bxc6 14. Bxd6 cxd6 15. Bd3 (15. Be2)) 12... Bxg3 13. fxg3 Nd7 (13... Nd6 14. O-O Nd7 (14... Nc6 15. a3 $14 {1-0 Daneshvar,B (2604)-Begmuratov,K (2409) Tashkent Al Beruniy-B 2nd 2025 (8)}) 15. g4 $11 {/?} c6 16. Rae1 Qe7 17. e4 dxe4 18. Nxe4 Nxe4 19. Bxe4 Rae8 20. Bh7+ Kh8 21. Bf5 Qd6 22. Bxe6 Rxe6 23. Qa4 Rxe1 24. Rxe1 a6 25. Qb3 b5 26. Qc2 c5 27. dxc5 Qxc5+ 28. Qxc5 Nxc5 29. Re7 Nd3 30. Ne5 {½-½ Nguyen,N (2633)-Nogerbek,K (2519) Olympiad-45 Budapest 2024 (3.70)}) 14. g4 $146 (14. O-O) 14... c5 $5 (14... c6) (14... Nd6) 15. O-O-O $6 (15. O-O $14) 15... Rc8 $1 (15... c4 $6 16. Bh7+ Kh8 17. Bf5 $10) (15... Qa5 $5 16. g5 b5 $1 17. Bxb5 Nd6 18. Bxd7 Bxd7 19. dxc5 Bf5 $1 20. Qd2 Rfc8 $1 21. cxd6 (21. Nd4 Rab8 22. cxd6 Qxa2 23. Qc2 $1 Bxc2 24. Nxa2 Bxd1+ 25. Kxd1 Rxb2 26. d7 Rd8 27. Nc3 hxg5 28. Nde2 Rxd7 $11) 21... Qxa2 22. Qc2 $3 Rxc3 $1 23. Qxc3 Rc8 24. Qxc8+ Bxc8 25. Nd4 $10) (15... Nd6 $1 $15) 16. g5 $1 cxd4 (16... b5 $1 17. Bxb5 $8 Nd6 18. Bd3 cxd4 19. exd4 hxg5 20. Rhe1 {The position is very sharp, and Black has lots of options. One plausible move is} Ne4 {, sacrificing a pawn to blast open lines.} 21. Bxe4 $1 dxe4 22. d5 $1 Bxh3 $1 23. Rh1 $1 Bg4 24. Qxe4 Nf6 $11 {and...it's still a mess.}) 17. exd4 hxg5 $6 (17... b5 $1 {was a bit better and certainly safer.} 18. Bxb5 Nd6 19. Bd3 hxg5 $11 {/? and if nothing special happens Black will play ...Ne4 (with or without a preliminary ...Nf6) to start pursuing White's king.}) 18. g4 $1 $14 {Fixing Black's g5-pawn so that h4 will force the opening of the h-file. (See the note to move 1 for a couple of classic examples on this theme.)} (18. h4 $2 g4 $17) 18... g6 $5 {Bait.} (18... Ndf6) (18... Nef6) 19. Bxg6 (19. Kb1 $1 Nd6 20. Ka1 (20. h4 Rxc3 $1 21. bxc3 Bxg4 22. Qg2 $1 Bxf3 23. Qxf3 g4 24. Qxg4 Ne4 25. Bxe4 Nf6 26. Qf4 Nxe4 $44) 20... Qf6 21. Rhf1 Rfe8 $14 {Objectively, Black's position isn't so bad, but the defensive task will be challenging.}) 19... Qf6 $1 (19... fxg6 $4 20. Qxg6+ Ng7 21. Nxg5 Rf6 (21... Nf6 22. Nxe6 $18) (21... Rf2 22. Qxg7+ $1 Kxg7 23. Nxe6+ Kg6 24. Nxd8 Rxd8 25. Rdf1 $18) 22. Qh7+ Kf8 23. Qh8+ Bg8 24. Rhf1 $18) 20. Bh7+ (20. Bf5 b5 $1 $132) 20... Kg7 21. Rdf1 $5 (21. Qd3 $1 {was better or at least more pragmatic, clearing pieces off the b-file.} Rh8 22. Bf5 Nd6 23. Bxe6 fxe6 $11) 21... b5 $1 22. h4 $1 b4 23. hxg5 Qf4+ 24. Kb1 bxc3 $10 {The last critical moment.} 25. Bf5 $2 (25. Nh4 $1 {was the only move.} Qxg5 26. Nf5+ Bxf5 {Forced.} (26... Kh8 $4 27. Bg8+ $1 Kxg8 28. Ne7+ Qxe7 29. Qh7#) 27. Bxf5 (27. gxf5 $2 {is amusingly met by} Kf6 $19 {when White's attack comes to an immediate halt.}) 27... Nef6 28. Bxd7 Rb8 (28... Nxd7 $4 29. Qh7#) 29. b3 Ne4 30. Rf5 $1 Qd2 $11 (30... Qe3 $5 31. Qh2 $1 c2+ 32. Qxc2 Rh8 $11)) 25... Rh8 $19 {The attack is over. White either didn't see/work out 25.Nh4 to a satisfactory conclusion or else he overestimated the value of a check on h7 in the game continuation (see move 29).} 26. Rxh8 Kxh8 27. Bxe6 fxe6 28. Rh1+ Kg7 29. Rh7+ (29. Qh7+ Kf8 30. Nh4 {would be great were it not for} Qe4+ $19 ({or} 30... c2+ 31. Qxc2 Qe4 $1 $19)) 29... Kf8 30. g6 Ndf6 0-1