[Event "FIDE Candidates 2022"] [Site "Madrid ESP"] [Date "2022.06.26"] [Round "8.1"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C46"] [WhiteElo "2764"] [BlackElo "2750"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] {[%evp 0,57,18,18,18,22,31,18,18,-48,-47,-31,-21,-19,-13,-2,6,0,-11,-43,-38,2, -15,-31,-32,-35,-2,-15,-1,-18,-4,-16,2,-15,-15,-16,-10,-10,-10,-14,-3,-1,-9,-9, -5,-7,-11,28,18,-7,30,-6,35,42,72,63,197,197,341,142]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 {Two Four Knights in one GM tournament would be surprising; two in one round is incredible.} 4. g3 {Not necessarily better than the usual 4.d4, played by Nepomniachtchi in his successful quest for a non-game against Ding Liren, but more likely to lead to a fighting game.} Bc5 (4... d5 5. exd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nxc3 7. bxc3 {leads to more interesting play after} Bc5 ({or} 7... Bd6 { .})) 5. Bg2 d6 6. d3 a5 (6... a6 {has been more common, but the computer offers a slight preference for 6...a5.}) 7. O-O h6 (7... O-O 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bxf6 Qxf6 10. Nd5 Qd8 $15 {doesn't seem at all dangerous for Black, but as ...h6 is likely to be played sooner or later there's no special reason to cavil at his decision to play it before castling.}) 8. b3 $146 {The point of this odd-looking move isn't to fianchetto the bishop, "punishing" Black for ...h6, but to stop ...a4.} O-O 9. h3 Nd4 {A common idea in structures like this, aiming to play ...c6 and ...d5.} 10. Be3 c6 11. Kh2 Re8 12. a3 Nxf3+ 13. Qxf3 Bxe3 14. fxe3 $6 b5 $17 {White's opening has been a failure so far, but the good news is that he has a clear and and dangerous plan: push the g-pawn and attack on the kingside. If Black survives he'll have a significant advantage thanks to his better structure and superior bishop. He might be winning in a correspondence game, but in the short term White's play is much easier.} 15. g4 Ra7 16. Qg3 h5 $5 {Black is still better after this, but his plan of continuing with ...h4 helps White open lines.} (16... Re6 $142 17. Qh4 (17. g5 $2 Nh7 18. gxh6 Rxh6 $19 (18... Rg6 $19)) 17... Qb6 18. Rf3 Bd7 19. Ne2 Nh7 $17 {/-+ is a short sample line showing a possible defensive construction for Black.}) 17. g5 h4 $6 (17... Nh7 $142 18. h4 Qb6 $17) 18. Qxh4 Nh7 19. Qg3 $1 Nxg5 20. h4 Nh7 21. Bh3 {Getting rid of the bad bishop while clearing the g-file.} Bxh3 22. Rg1 $1 Ng5 $6 (22... g6 $1 {is scary, as it's betting for h4-h5 and/or sacs on g6. Nevertheless, it was the best move.} 23. Kxh3 Nf6 $15 {followed by ...Kg7 and ...Rh8, and Black's position holds together nicely.}) 23. hxg5 Bc8 (23... Be6 {looks odd, impeding the e8-rook, but the idea is that there are lines where the bishop will retreat to g8.} 24. Kg2 Qb6 25. Rh1 Qc5 26. Qe1 f6 27. g6 Kf8 28. Rh7 Bg8 {is an example.} 29. Rh8 Ke7 30. Kf2 Be6 $11) 24. Rg2 Rae7 $2 {A strange move, closing the door on his own king and simultaneously shutting his queen off from the kingside. Of course, the idea is to play ...Re6, reopening e7 for the king and the diagonal to g5 for the queen, but it's too slow.} (24... Kf8 {makes sense, getting out of Dodge (see for example https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/get_out_of_Dodge if you're unfamiliar with this idiom), but the paradoxical}) (24... f6 {is another good option.} 25. g6 (25. Qh4 Kf7 26. Qh5+ Ke6 27. Qg4+ Kf7 $8 28. Qh5+ Ke6 $11) 25... Kf8 26. Rh1 Ke7 27. Kg1 Qb6 28. Rh7 Kd8 $11) 25. Qf3 $2 (25. Rf1 $1 Re6 26. Qf3 $1 Qe7 (26... Qd7 27. Qh5 Rg6 28. Ne2 d5 29. exd5 cxd5 30. Ng1 $1 Qe6 31. Kh1 Kf8 32. Rh2 Ke7 33. Nf3 $18 {and 34.Nh4 wins. (Unless Black plays 33... Qf5, pinning the knight. In that case, White first plays 34.Rff2, and *then* plays Nh4.)}) 27. Qh5 Rg6 28. Ne2 $18 {and the plan of Ng1, Kh1, Rh2 and if necessary Nf3-h4 will win.}) 25... g6 $2 (25... f6 $1 26. gxf6 Rf7 27. Rag1 Qxf6 28. Qxf6 Rxf6 29. Rxg7+ Kf8 $14 {/+/-}) 26. Rh1 $18 f5 27. Kg1 b4 (27... Rf8 {was better, hoping to create a checkerboard escape for the Black king (... Kg8-f7-e8-d7 etc.).} 28. Rh6 Rg7 29. exf5 Rxf5 30. Qg3 d5 31. Qh4 Qd7 32. Rh8+ Kf7 33. Rf2 {followed by e4 forces decisive entry into Black's position.}) 28. exf5 gxf5 (28... Bxf5 29. Ne4 {comes to the same thing.}) 29. Ne4 $1 {A flashy and effective finale.} (29. Ne4 $1 Kg7 (29... fxe4 30. Qh5 ({Not} 30. Qf6 $2 Rg7 {, when Black is better. If White's king were on, say, e1, then} 31. Rgh2 $4 {would win on the spot. Here, it would lose on the spot to} Qxf6 {or even 31...Rxg5+.}) 30... Rf8 (30... bxa3 31. Qh8+ Kf7 32. Qf6+ Kg8 33. Rh8#) (30... Rg7 31. g6 Kf8 32. Qh8+ Ke7 (32... Rg8 33. Rf2+ Ke7 34. Qh7+ Ke6 35. Qf7#) 33. Qxg7+ Ke6 34. Qf7#) (30... Rc7 31. dxe4 bxa3 32. Qh8+ Kf7 33. Qh7+ $1 Kf8 ( 33... Ke6 34. Qf5+ Ke7 35. Rh7#) 34. Rf2+ Rf7 35. Rxf7#) 31. Qh8+ Kf7 32. Rf2+ $18)) 1-0 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2022"] [Site "Madrid ESP"] [Date "2022.06.26"] [Round "8.2"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Ding Liren"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C47"] [WhiteElo "2766"] [BlackElo "2806"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "74"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] {[%evp 0,74,41,27,22,22,26,12,26,6,-4,-4,4,-3,18,9,16,27,12,4,24,-2,9,-7,-1, -32,-19,-33,-14,-18,-22,-12,-7,-9,0,1,-5,4,-1,-1,8,-9,2,-11,1,0,7,-4,14,0,5, -11,-5,-5,0,-5,-5,-9,0,-10,0,-8,0,-21,-19,-21,-9,-9,-9,-9,-3,-8,-4,-4,-4,-4,-3] } 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d4 {A sign of maturity. Even though he's got the white pieces and is playing the tournament of his life, he knows that Ding is a dangerous opponent. By playing it safe with Ding he gets one dangerous game out of the way, makes sure that he gets off to a good start in the second cycle, and makes sure he'll have plenty of rest and energy for his game with Caruana tomorrow. Smart.} exd4 5. Nxd4 Bb4 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 d5 8. exd5 O-O 9. O-O cxd5 {The traditional move, which is solid to the point where it's almost impossible for Black to win.} (9... Bg4 {is the way to try to make things interesting, though White can keep things dull, as necessary.} 10. f3 Bh5 11. Bg5 Qd6 12. Qe1 {was Nepo's choice in an online game played a month after last year's Candidates, against the same opponent.} ({From last year's Candidates:} 12. Bxf6 Qxf6 13. dxc6 Bxc3 14. bxc3 Qxc3 15. Be4 Bg6 16. Qd7 Rad8 17. Qxc7 Qc5+ 18. Kh1 Bxe4 19. fxe4 Rc8 20. Qd7 Qxc6 21. Qxa7 Qxe4 22. Rfe1 Qxc2 23. a4 Qc5 24. Qxc5 Rxc5 25. a5 Ra8 26. a6 h5 27. Reb1 Kh7 28. Rb6 Ra7 29. Kg1 Rc2 30. h3 f6 31. Ra3 Kg6 32. Kh2 h4 33. Ra1 Rc4 34. Kg1 Rc2 35. Ra4 Rd2 36. Rg4+ Kf7 37. Rxh4 Ra2 38. Rb7+ Rxb7 39. axb7 Rb2 40. Ra4 Rxb7 41. Kh2 { 1/2-1/2 (41) Nepomniachtchi,I (2774)-Caruana,F (2842) Ekaterinburg 2021}) 12... Nxd5 13. Ne4 Bxe1 14. Nxd6 Bb4 15. Nc4 Rfe8 16. Rad1 f6 17. Bd2 a5 18. a3 Bxd2 19. Rxd2 Bg6 20. Kf2 Nf4 21. Bxg6 hxg6 22. a4 g5 23. Re1 Rxe1 24. Kxe1 Nd5 25. b3 Kf7 26. Kf2 Ke6 27. Rd4 Nb6 28. Ne3 Nd5 29. Re4+ Kd7 30. Nc4 Nb6 31. Nd2 Rh8 32. h3 c5 33. f4 gxf4 34. Rxf4 Rh5 35. Rg4 Rf5+ 36. Ke2 g5 37. g3 Nd5 38. Nc4 Nb4 39. Ne3 Re5 40. Kd2 Nc6 41. h4 Nd4 42. Kd3 Nf3 43. hxg5 fxg5 44. Nc4 Re1 45. Re4 Rg1 46. g4 Nh2 47. Ne3 Nf3 48. Nc4 Nh2 49. Ne5+ Kd6 50. Kc4 Rg2 51. c3 Rg3 52. Nf7+ Kc6 53. Ne5+ Kd6 54. Nf7+ Kc6 55. Ne5+ Kd6 {½-½ (55) Nepomniachtchi,I (2792)-Caruana,F (2820) chess24.com INT 2021 (rapid)}) 10. Qf3 c6 11. Bg5 (11. h3) 11... Bd6 12. Rae1 Rb8 13. Nd1 h6 14. Bxf6 Qxf6 15. Qxf6 gxf6 {Very drawish, although David Paravyan is apparently capable of winning (and losing!) in this line. For everyone else, it's sleepy-time.} 16. b3 f5 ( 16... Kg7 17. Ne3 Re8 18. Nf5+ Bxf5 19. Bxf5 Re5 20. Bd7 (20. Bd3 Bb4 21. Re3 Rxe3 22. fxe3 Re8 23. Rf3 Bc5 24. Kf2 Re5 25. g4 h5 26. gxh5 Rxh5 27. h3 Re5 28. Ke2 a5 29. Kd2 Bb4+ 30. c3 Bc5 31. Ba6 Bb6 32. Bc8 c5 33. Rf5 Kg6 34. Rxe5 fxe5 35. Bb7 {1/2-1/2 (35) Duda,J (2738)-Ding,L (2813) Wijk aan Zee 2019}) 20... Rb6 21. g3 Bb4 22. Rd1 Re2 23. Bf5 Re5 24. Bd3 c5 25. f4 Re3 26. Kg2 d4 27. Rf3 Rbe6 28. Rxe3 Rxe3 29. Rf1 a5 30. Rf2 Be1 31. Re2 Rxe2+ 32. Bxe2 f5 33. Bh5 Bd2 34. Kf3 Be3 35. Ke2 Bg1 36. h3 Kf6 37. g4 fxg4 38. hxg4 Be3 39. Kf3 Ke7 40. Ke4 f6 41. f5 Kd6 42. Bf7 Bd2 43. a4 Bc3 {1/2-1/2 (43) Rapport,R (2726) -Ding,L (2809) Shenzhen 2019}) (16... Be6 17. Ne3 h5 18. Nf5 Bc5 19. h3 Kh8 20. Re2 Rg8 21. Rfe1 Rg5 22. Rxe6 fxe6 23. Rxe6 Rbg8 24. Nh4 Re5 25. Rxf6 Re1+ 26. Kh2 Rf8 27. Ng6+ Kg7 28. Nxf8 Bxf8 29. Rxc6 h4 30. g3 Be7 31. Kg2 a5 32. a4 Re5 33. Kf3 Re1 34. Kg4 Rg1 35. Kf4 Rg2 36. Kf3 Rh2 37. Bf1 {1-0 (37) Paravyan,D (2617)-Caruana,F (2781) Chess.com INT 2022}) 17. Ne3 f4 18. Nf5 Bxf5 19. Bxf5 Kg7 20. g3 Kf6 21. Bd3 h5 $146 (21... Bb4 22. Re2 Rfe8 23. Rxe8 Rxe8 24. Kg2 Re1 25. Rxe1 Bxe1 26. gxf4 a5 27. Kf3 Ke6 28. Ke3 Bc3 29. Bf1 Kd6 30. Kd3 Be1 { 1/2-1/2 (30) Movsesian,S (2654)-Ding,L (2811) Khanty-Mansiysk 2019}) 22. Kg2 Rh8 23. Kf3 fxg3 24. hxg3 h4 25. Rh1 hxg3 26. fxg3 a5 27. a4 Bb4 28. Ref1 Rxh1 29. Rxh1 Ke5 30. Rh4 Rg8 31. Rg4 Rxg4 32. Kxg4 f6 33. Kf3 f5 34. Ke2 Bc3 35. Kf3 Bb4 36. Ke2 Bc3 37. Kf3 Bb4 {A non-game that apparently suited both players.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2022"] [Site "Madrid ESP"] [Date "2022.06.26"] [Round "8.3"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C82"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2783"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "147"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] {[%evp 0,104,18,18,14,22,22,11,25,3,7,18,33,-7,-7,-1,1,1,44,-13,31,14,32,22,34, 32,48,50,44,-37,-51,-27,-27,-27,8,8,30,-11,23,23,28,-21,0,-53,-53,-53,-39,-45, -29,-47,-47,-105,-106,-99,-99,-75,-39,-73,-50,-28,2,-24,59,57,57,20,46,46,38, 57,61,54,84,84,72,57,72,58,120,80,80,80,120,92,92,59,59,59,59,75,50,85,86,63, 67,88,101,154,154,157,161,175,197,191,191,222,224]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 {Uh oh...} 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. c3 Bc5 10. Nbd2 O-O 11. Bc2 Nxf2 {As I feared, Caruana played the Dilworth. I'm reminded of a period in Caruana's career when he lost a series of Najdorfs with White - he just didn't feel comfortable there at the time. In 2013 he lost four straight, and from 2013 to 2016 his overall score against the Najdorf was a horrific +3, =4, -12. Most of us have had results like that in certain openings, and positive ones, too. The last few years of my active "career" I lost very few games, even against titled players, but when I "wanted" to lose a game all I had to do was face 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6, and it was almost a miracle when something tragic didn't befall me. Part of it was the players involved, but only a part: I had a plus score against IMs over that stretch, and a score of =4, -1 against GMs. (These were interesting, fighting games, not me playing 5.Re1 Anti-Berlins on my knees begging for a draw.) It was a combination of my not having developed the comfort level needed to play it well against my peers, eventually combined with a sense of foreboding that something would go wrong. On the other hand, I went undefeated for my entire "career" with both the French and the Nimzo-Indian, and in the case of the French that includes two games with GMs and one IM. There was a little luck involved there, but three other things were at play. First, I had very deeply prepared my French lines, in part because it is such a dangerous opening to play. Second, I developed a good feel for what I was doing, so that even if I goofed something up it was likely that I could fight my way back, provided the error wasn't fatal. And third, success breeds confidence, and confidence helps one play better and fight harder. Then there's the "mixed" category of openings that are okay against some players and very much NOT okay against others. Overall, my score with Black in the Schliemann was very good, and I have happy memories of wins against IM Elliot Winslow (one of the first IMs I beat in a tournament) and especially GM Leonid Yudasin (a game you should look up!). However, when I played it in rapid games against IM Yuri Lapshun back in the '90s, it was a disaster both times. Lapshun was a stronger player than me, but the main thing is that while I'm a pretty decent player in chaotic positions, he was a freaking superhero in such situations. Playing the Schliemann against him was, for me at least, a poor decision. Bringing this discussion back to Caruana, it should be said that the line Lapshun used against the Schliemann wasn't very good, objectively. In a correspondence game, I would have won, but we weren't playing correspondence chess. Likewise, Caruana's prep in the Dilworth may be fantastic. (Given that we're talking about Caruana here, we should just stipulate that of course it's fantastic.) But if it doesn't "kill" the game, meaning that it doesn't end in a perpetual or other repetition, or lead to a position that's trivially drawn, but leads instead to something non-standard and imbalanced, that's not a good idea against Nakamura. It's not that Caruana must lose in such situations, but it's playing to Hikaru's strengths and not Caruana's.} 12. Rxf2 Bxf2+ 13. Kxf2 f6 14. Nf1 fxe5 15. Kg1 Qd6 ({A month and a half ago Caruana tried} 15... Qd7 { against MVL.} 16. Bg5 Rae8 17. Qd2 d4 18. Ng3 $2 (18. Re1 {favors White.}) 18... h6 $17 19. Bh4 dxc3 20. Qxc3 Rxf3 $4 {It is this move above all, played in Classical chess, not rapid or blitz, that made me fear Caruana's decision to play the Dilworth against Nakamura. There are things Caruana does better than Nakamura, but I think playing move by move in irrational positions isn't one of them. So as stated above, unless Caruana's prep succeeds in killing the game, I think Nakamura will have the better chances regardless of the "official" assessment.} (20... b4 21. Qc5 Nd4 $17) 21. gxf3 $18 Nd4 22. Bd1 Rf8 23. Ne4 Bc4 24. Kg2 Rf4 25. Be1 Qf5 26. Nd2 e4 27. Bg3 exf3+ 28. Kf2 Rg4 29. Nxc4 bxc4 30. Bxf3 Nxf3 31. Qxf3 Qc2+ 32. Qe2 Qf5+ 33. Kg1 h5 34. Rf1 Qg6 35. Kh1 h4 36. Bxc7 h3 37. Qf3 Qd3 38. Be5 Rg2 39. Bc3 {1-0 (39) Vachier Lagrave,M (2750)-Caruana,F (2786) Bucharest 2022}) (15... Bg4 {has been the most commonly chosen move overall (though 15...Qd6 scores better), and it is the computer's initial choice - though it changes its "mind".}) 16. Be3 Bf5 (16... Rad8 17. Qe1 Bf5 18. Bxf5 $6 (18. Bb3 $1 Na5 19. Qf2 $1 Nb7 20. Re1 $14) 18... Rxf5 $11 19. Rd1 h6 20. Bf2 Rf7 21. Bg3 Qc5+ 22. Bf2 Qd6 23. Qe2 Rdf8 24. Bg3 Qc5+ 25. Bf2 Qd6 26. Bg3 Qc5+ 27. Bf2 $15 {½-½ (27) Caruana,F (2792)-Van Foreest,J (2702) Wijk aan Zee 2022. Maybe this game is what drew Caruana's attention to the Dilworth in a more focused way? If so, Caruana fans should partially blame JVF if their hero fails to qualify for another match with Carlsen.}) 17. Bb3 (17. Bxf5 Rxf5 18. Ng3 Rff8 19. b4 d4 20. cxd4 exd4 21. Nxd4 Qe5 22. Qb3+ Kh8 23. Nc2 Rad8 24. a3 $14 {/+/- White has nailed everything down, and can start putting his extra minor pieces to use - especially since Black's extra pawn on c7 is a non-factor.}) 17... Rad8 18. Qe1 Na5 19. Qf2 Nb7 (19... Nxb3 20. axb3 Rf7 21. Bc5 Qf6 22. Qg3 Re8 23. Re1 Bd3 24. N1d2 e4 25. Ng5 Qc6 26. b4 Rf5 27. Nh3 Rf7 28. Nf2 a5 29. Qe3 Ra8 30. Nxd3 exd3 31. bxa5 h6 32. b4 Qg6 33. Nf3 Qf5 34. Rd1 Ra6 35. Qe8+ Kh7 36. Qxb5 Rg6 37. Qxd3 Qg4 38. Ne1 Kh8 39. h3 Qh5 40. b5 Rgf6 41. Nc2 Rf3 42. Qe2 Rf1+ 43. Qxf1 Rxf1+ 44. Rxf1 Qe2 45. b6 Qb5 46. Nd4 Qxc5 47. b7 Qxc3 48. b8=Q+ Kh7 49. Qb1+ g6 50. Rf7+ Kh8 51. Qb8# {1-0 (51) Malicka,M (2329)-Mei,A (2336) San Jose 2022}) 20. Re1 c5 $2 $146 (20... Bg4 21. Qg3 Bxf3 22. gxf3 Na5 23. Bc2 Nc4 24. Bc1 Rde8 25. Ne3 Kh8 26. Kg2 Re6 27. Kh1 Ref6 28. Nxc4 bxc4 29. Qxe5 Rxf3 30. Qxd6 cxd6 31. Kg1 h6 32. Bg6 R3f6 33. Be8 Rf3 34. Bd7 Rd3 35. Be3 Rf7 36. Bg4 Re7 37. Bd2 Rxe1+ 38. Bxe1 Kg8 39. Kf1 Kf7 40. Ke2 d4 41. Bc8 a5 42. cxd4 a4 43. Bc3 g6 44. a3 d5 45. Kf2 Ke7 46. Bg4 Kd6 47. Be2 Rh3 48. Kg2 Re3 49. Bd1 g5 50. h3 Re4 51. Bxa4 g4 52. Bd1 gxh3+ 53. Kxh3 Re6 54. Kg4 Rf6 55. a4 Rf1 56. Bf3 Rg1+ 57. Kf4 Rf1 58. a5 h5 59. Kg3 h4+ 60. Kg2 Ra1 61. Kh3 Rf1 62. Bg2 Rf4 63. a6 Kc6 64. a7 Kb7 65. Bxd5+ Kxa7 66. Bxc4 Kb6 67. Be2 Kc6 68. Bg4 Kd5 69. Kxh4 {1-0 (69) Roy,R (2184) -Nurtawa,S (2027) ICCF email 2020}) 21. Ng3 $2 (21. Bg5 $1 c4 $1 (21... Rde8 22. Rxe5 $1 Rxe5 23. Bf4 Be6 (23... Rfe8 $2 24. Nxe5 Rxe5 $2 25. Qg3 $18) 24. Nxe5 (24. Bxe5 $2 Rxf3 25. Qe1 Rxf1+ 26. Kxf1 Qd7 $11) 24... Rf6 (24... g5 $4 25. Qg3 $18) 25. h4 $16 {/+-}) 22. Bxd8 cxb3 23. Bh4 bxa2 24. Ra1 Bb1 25. Qa7 Qg6 26. Nxe5 Qe6 27. Bg3 Na5 28. Nd2 Nc4 29. Qd4 ({White would like to play} 29. Nexc4 $2 {so he can get rid of the Bb1/pa2 construction as quickly as possible, but it doesn't seem to work:} dxc4 30. Nxb1 Qe2 $1 31. Nd2 (31. h3 $4 Qxb2 $19) 31... Qxd2 32. Qxa6 (32. Rxa2 $4 Qd1+ 33. Be1 Qxe1#) 32... Qe3+ 33. Kh1 Qe2 34. Rg1 (34. Kg1 Qe3+ {repeats.}) 34... Qxb2 35. Be5 h6 $11 {White appears unable to make progress.}) 29... Nxd2 30. Qxd2 {White has consolidated, and this is clearly a two-results position. The only question now is if he can extract his rook. If he can, it's game over.} h6 31. h3 a5 32. Qd1 d4 33. cxd4 a4 34. Rxb1 axb1=Q 35. Qxb1 $16) 21... Bd3 $11 22. Qd2 c4 $2 {This looks appealing, maintaining the central pawns while clearing c5 for the knight. White's Spanish bishop is sent packing, and all seems to be well in the Black position. But it was better to push the e-pawn instead, because that's where he will make progress.} ({Here's a possible line:} 22... e4 23. Nh4 Qe5 24. Bf2 Rde8 25. Bd1 a5 26. Bg4 Qf4 27. Qxf4 Rxf4 28. Bd7 Ref8 29. Be6+ Kh8 30. Nhf5 Rxf2 31. Kxf2 g6 32. Bxd5 Nd6 33. Bxe4 Nxe4+ 34. Nxe4 Rxf5+ 35. Kg3 $11) 23. Bd1 $16 Rd7 24. Bf2 (24. b4) 24... Rdf7 25. Nh1 $1 {Using the whole board! White defends the Bf2 (neutralizing ...e4) and clears g3 for the bishop.} e4 26. Nd4 Qg6 (26... Nc5 $142 27. h3 (27. h4 Rf4) 27... Qg6) 27. h4 $1 {Another nice move, fighting for space on the kingside.} Nc5 28. h5 Qd6 29. Bg4 $18 { All the Black pieces look nice, but when we take a closer look it becomes clear that they have nothing to do. The bishop has no moves, Black's knight can only move to a4 or b7 (...Nd7 Be6), the rooks have nothing to do on the f-file, and it's also not clear what Black's queen can do. White will keep improving his position, bit by bit, and Black will have to look around desperately in search of counterplay.} h6 30. Qe3 Qf4 31. Qxf4 (31. Bf5 $1 { is a nice, cute improving move, taking advantage of the loose knight on c5.}) 31... Rxf4 32. Ne6 Nxe6 33. Bxe6+ Kh7 34. Bxd5 R8f5 35. Bc6 Rxh5 36. Bd4 Rhf5 37. Nf2 Rf7 38. b4 h5 $2 (38... e3 $5 39. Nxd3 cxd3 40. Bxe3 Re7 41. Bxf4 Rxe1+ 42. Kf2 Re2+ 43. Kf3 g5 44. Be4+ Kg8 45. Bxd3 Rxa2 46. Be3 $18) 39. a4 { Good enough, but missing a chance to expedite the win.} (39. Be8 $1 {wins the h-pawn, because} R7f5 $2 40. Be3 {wins the trapped rook.} Rh4 $2 41. g3 $18 { 39.Be8 probably would have finished the game.}) 39... bxa4 40. Bxa4 h4 41. Be3 (41. Ra1 $142) (41. Bc6 $142) 41... R4f5 42. Ra1 h3 $1 {A nice, tricky move. The threat is 43...h2+ followed by taking twice on f2. Unfortunately for Caruana, White has one good move, and Nakamura found it.} 43. Ra2 $1 (43. Nxh3 $2 Rf1+ 44. Rxf1 Rxf1+ 45. Kh2 Re1 $44 {/=}) (43. gxh3 $2 Rf3 44. Re1 Rg3+ 45. Kh2 Rxe3 46. Rxe3 Rxf2+ $15) 43... hxg2 44. Bd1 $1 {Preventing ...Rf3. Now the end should be near, at least in terms of Black's putting up any meaningful resistance. (Emphasis on *should*. Caruana is a fighter.)} R7f6 45. Bg4 $1 ({ The wrong move order:} 45. Kxg2 $2 Rg6+ 46. Bg4 $2 Rf3 $1 $11) 45... Rd5 46. Kxg2 Rg6 47. Kg3 Bf1 48. Bd4 Bd3 49. Kf4 Kg8 50. Bf5 Rh6 51. Ng4 Rhd6 52. Ne3 Rb5 53. Bc5 Rf6 54. Ke5 Kf7 55. Nd5 $6 {Still winning with room to spare, but it gives Caruana the chance to put up a bit more resistance.} (55. Rf2 $142) ( 55. Rg2 $142) 55... Rxf5+ $1 56. Kxf5 e3+ 57. Ke5 e2 58. Bf2 $1 (58. Ra1 $143 Rb8) 58... Rb8 59. Be1 (59. Rxa6 e1=Q+ 60. Bxe1 Re8+ 61. Kd4 Rxe1 62. b5 $18 { is winning, but it's a nonsensical line for a human.}) 59... Re8+ 60. Kf4 $2 ( 60. Kd4 $18) 60... g5+ $1 61. Kg3 (61. Kg4 $2 Rh8 62. Kxg5 Rh1 63. Ra1 Rf1 { and now the win won't be easy at all, assuming it still exists.}) 61... Re6 ( 61... Re5 {may have been trickier.} 62. Nc7 Rf5 63. Nxa6 Rf1 64. Ra1 Ke7 65. b5 Kd6 66. Kg4 Kd5 67. Kxg5 Rf7 68. b6 Kc6 69. Nb4+ $1 Kxb6 70. Nd5+ $1 Kb5 71. Nf4 {and White is probably close to finishing things off.}) 62. Kf2 $6 ({ The unobvious} 62. Ra5 {is apparently better.}) 62... Rh6 $1 {Caruana is making this very difficult for Nakamura. Nakamura bears down and finally figures out how to neutralize Black's counterplay and start collecting Black's pawns.} 63. Ke3 Re6+ 64. Kf2 Rh6 65. Ne3 Rf6+ 66. Kg3 Rf1 67. Ng2 $1 (67. Ra1 $2 Rg1+ 68. Kh2 Rf1 {and White can't get out of the bind, because} 69. Ng2 { is met by} Be4 $11 {.}) 67... Rf6 68. Bf2 $1 Kg6 69. Ra5 Re6 70. Ne1 Bf5 71. Nf3 Rd6 72. Nd4 Bd3 73. Re5 Kf6 74. Nf3 $1 {A psychologically remarkable move. Most of us would be so sick of the e-pawn that we'd forget about practically everything else until it was gone, but Nakamura is happy to take time out of his busy schedule to snack on another pawn. It also prevents Black from swapping a pawn on the queenside with ...a5, so it's an excellent choice. Caruana finally resigns.} (74. Re3 {is the way to eliminate the e-pawn. Black can swap off White's b-pawn, but unless he can eliminate the c-pawn as well (without giving up his rook for it, of course) - and he can't - there's still no draw to be had.} a5 75. bxa5 Ra6 76. Nxe2 Rxa5 77. Nd4 $18) ({After} 74. Nf3 $1 Re6 75. Rxg5 e1=Q {is a last try, but White simply takes everything and wins the pawn ending:} 76. Bxe1 Rxe1 77. Nxe1 Kxg5 78. Nxd3 cxd3 79. Kf3 $18) 1-0 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2022"] [Site "Madrid ESP"] [Date "2022.06.26"] [Round "8.4"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2753"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "185"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] {[%evp 0,105,18,18,18,22,18,9,9,9,19,0,11,-3,21,-13,30,25,28,22,22,28,28,24,22, 8,7,-14,-11,-6,1,-16,0,-23,-14,-28,-31,-31,-31,-31,-9,-11,-9,-9,-6,0,0,0,16,17, 30,17,21,7,39,43,35,35,50,30,34,35,43,36,51,48,38,51,36,22,13,12,29,-17,13,27, 19,4,4,0,12,1,1,-13,-4,2,3,1,19,24,26,13,0,0,10,0,23,25,23,13,21,-5,-9,-26,-12, -12,-8,-9]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. h3 h6 6. c3 d6 7. Nbd2 a6 8. b4 Ba7 9. a4 Be6 10. Bxe6 fxe6 11. O-O O-O 12. Re1 Qe8 13. Nf1 Nh5 14. Ra2 Nf4 15. Kh2 Qf7 16. Be3 Bxe3 17. Nxe3 (17. fxe3 Ng6 18. Qb3 Kh7 19. a5 Qd7 20. N1d2 d5 21. d4 Qd6 22. Kg1 Kh8 23. Raa1 Nce7 24. c4 c6 25. Qc3 exd4 26. exd4 Qg3 27. Nf1 Qf4 28. N1d2 Qg3 29. Nf1 Qf4 30. N1d2 Qg3 {1/2-1/2 (30) Ziska, H (2533)-Radjabov,T (2758) Khanty-Mansiysk 2019}) 17... Kh8 18. Ng4 $146 (18. Ng1 d5 19. Qc2 d4 20. Nc4 dxc3 21. Qxc3 Nxd3 22. Qxd3 Nxb4 23. Qd2 Nxa2 24. Nxe5 Qxf2 25. Re2 Qf6 26. Ngf3 Rad8 27. Qxa2 Kh7 28. Qb1 b6 29. Qc2 c5 30. Qb1 b5 31. axb5 axb5 32. Qxb5 Qf4+ 33. g3 Qc1 34. Kg2 Rb8 35. Qc4 Rb1 36. Qxc1 Rxc1 37. Kf2 c4 38. Re1 Rc2+ 39. Re2 Rc1 40. Ng4 c3 41. Ne3 Rb8 42. Ne1 Rf8+ 43. Nf3 Rb8 44. Nc2 Rb2 45. Nfe1 Rd1 46. Ke3 g5 47. Rf2 Rbb1 48. Re2 Rb8 49. Nd4 Rbb1 50. Nec2 Rg1 51. Kf3 Rbf1+ 52. Rf2 Rxf2+ 53. Kxf2 Rd1 54. Ke3 Rh1 55. Nxe6 Rxh3 56. Kf3 Rh2 57. Ned4 {½-½ (57) Tabatabaei,M (2587)-Wei,Y (2728) Makati 2018. One day earlier, Tabatabei played EXACTLY the same game against Surya Ganguly, except that he had the black pieces. It seems absurd that the players would repeat a 57-move game to make what was presumably at least a wink-wink prearranged draw, but I assume the other players in the event were amused.}) 18... Ne7 19. Ng1 Neg6 20. g3 Nh5 21. Kg2 Nf6 22. Nf3 Qd7 23. Nfh2 Qc6 24. Qb3 Rae8 25. h4 Nh5 26. Re3 $2 {A surprising oversight from both players, especially given Radjabov's love of such attacks from his days as a Schliemann and King's Indian player.} (26. c4 $16) 26... b5 $2 (26... Nhf4+ $1 {Isn't this why Black put knights on g6 and h5? The main point is not the pawns he picks up for the piece, but that White's knight is trapped and caught after the coming ...h5.} 27. gxf4 $8 exf4 $1 (27... Nxf4+ $143 28. Kg1 h5 29. Nxe5 dxe5 30. Nf3 $11) 28. Rh3 $1 (28. Re1 $2 Nxh4+ 29. Kh1 h5 $17 {/-+}) 28... h5 { regains the piece, with some advantage after} 29. f3 hxg4 30. Nxg4 (30. fxg4 $2 f3+ 31. Kh1 (31. Rxf3 $4 Nxh4+ $19) (31. Nxf3 $4 Nf4+ $19) 31... f2 32. Ra1 Nf4 $19 33. Rf3 $2 Nxd3 $1 $19) 30... Ne5 $15) 27. Nf3 $16 Qd7 28. Qd1 Nf6 29. Nfh2 Qc6 30. Ra3 Kh7 31. Kg1 Rf7 32. axb5 axb5 33. d4 (33. Re2 {makes sense, heading for the a-file.}) 33... Ref8 34. Ra2 Qc4 35. Rb2 Ra8 36. Rf3 (36. h5 $5 Nxh5 37. dxe5 Ra3 38. Rc2 Qb3 39. exd6 cxd6 $14) 36... Raf8 37. Re3 Ra8 38. Nxf6+ gxf6 $8 (38... Rxf6 $4 39. h5 $18 {wins a pawn. White takes on e5, and if Black recaptures White responds with Ng4, hitting the rook on f6 and the pawn on e5. Black cannot save his rook and simultaneously defend the pawn.}) 39. Nf3 Ne7 40. Nd2 Qc6 41. dxe5 fxe5 42. Rf3 Rg7 43. Kh2 Qe8 44. Qb3 Qg6 45. Ra2 Rxa2 46. Qxa2 Qg4 47. Re3 Rf7 48. f3 Qg6 49. Nf1 Qf6 50. Qf2 Rf8 51. Nd2 { The plan of bringing the knight to a5 isn't a good one, but in this slow maneuvering situation with an almost eternal advantage for White he has time to try this and that, and then to try something else without taking any real risk.} Ra8 52. Nb3 Ng6 53. Na5 $6 Rg8 $6 (53... c5 $1) 54. Re1 Qf7 55. Nb3 Qd7 56. Ra1 Rg7 57. Nd2 Ne7 58. Qe3 (58. Nf1 {followed by Ne3 brings the knight where it most likely belongs. But don't worry, we'll get there eventually.}) 58... Ng8 59. Nf1 Nf6 60. Qe2 Nh5 {The players begin the final control, with 15 minutes added to their time plus a 30-second bonus after every move. (There's no increment for moves 1-60.)} 61. Qf2 Qc6 62. Qe3 Qc4 63. Nd2 Qc6 { Around here, this became the last game of the round.} 64. Rg1 Qa8 65. Nf1 Qd8 66. Qf2 Qe8 (66... Qf8 $142 67. Ne3 Qf6) 67. Ne3 {At last.} Nf6 68. Qe2 Qh5 69. Kh3 $2 {An oversight, or bait? It is at least an inaccuracy, regardless of his intent.} Kh8 $2 (69... Nxe4 $1 70. g4 Ng5+ 71. Kg3 Nf7 {is a successful raid of White's e-pawn, but now Firouzja can grab on b5.} 72. Qxb5 {Cui bono? The position is equal, but White was better before 69.Kh3.}) 70. Ng4 Qg6 71. Nxf6 Qxf6 72. Ra1 Qg6 73. g4 Qf7 74. Qe3 Kh7 75. Ra5 Qd7 76. Qd3 c6 $2 {A concession, weakening the c- and d-pawns. This is progress for White - a long-term asset that could pay off at any time, as Black's margin for error is decreased by this.} (76... h5 $1 77. g5 Qf7 $1 78. Rxb5 (78. Qe3 {keeps the queen out, but after the calm} Qd7 {White hasn't made any progress.}) 78... Qf4 {gives Black full compensation. He threatens ...Rf7, and also ...Qc1.}) 77. Ra1 (77. Kg2 $1 $16 {/+- is best, getting the king to a safer square before any hassles like those we saw in the 76...h5 line give him some gray hairs.}) 77... Qf7 78. Qe3 Qf6 79. Kg3 (79. h5 $142 $16) 79... Rc7 $14 80. Rd1 Rd7 (80... d5 { may be best, but it's scary to create further holes on the queenside.}) 81. Rd2 d5 $1 {Firouzja had been better for almost all of the last 60+ moves (or maybe even from move 1), but the rest of the way the chances are equal; if anything, it's Radjabov who ends up pressing a little.} 82. Re2 Rf7 83. Kg2 Kg8 (83... d4 84. cxd4 exd4 85. e5 Qxh4 86. Qxd4 h5 87. Re4 Qg5 $11 (87... Rg7 $11)) 84. h5 Kh7 (84... Kg7 85. exd5 cxd5 86. Qxe5 {and as it's illegal to take on f3 White has a pawn. Paradoxically, it still seems completely drawn:} Qxe5 87. Rxe5 Kf6 88. f4 Rc7 89. Re3 Rc4 90. Kf3 Rc6 $11 {and there's probably no way for White to make progress.}) 85. Qd3 Kg7 86. Re3 Qf4 87. Re2 Kf6 {A la Steinitz and Short, the king can be a good attacker!} 88. Qd1 Kg5 {Played with one second on the clock!} 89. Re1 {With four seconds on the clock. Increments are better than time delay, but it's still going to be permanent time trouble.} Kh4 { A draw offer, or just giving the players a little breathing room on the clock?} 90. Rh1+ Kg5 91. Re1 Kh4 92. Rh1+ Kg5 93. Re1 {Repeating, but Firouzja doesn't claim the draw. Radjabov decided to do it, and that was that after seven hours (and a minute or two) of play.} 1/2-1/2