[Event "FIDE Candidates 2022"] [Site "Madrid ESP"] [Date "2022.07.03"] [Round "13.1"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B67"] [WhiteElo "2766"] [BlackElo "2764"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] {[%evp 0,67,18,18,67,50,65,-6,14,26,28,39,39,60,57,50,65,43,35,18,18,8,23,31, 28,-5,7,-4,2,7,7,-26,-1,-3,-3,4,-3,0,0,0,-5,4,3,0,5,7,25,3,10,-12,0,7,12,12,28, 31,30,35,36,42,49,29,35,13,18,18,37,18,18,18]} 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. Nxc6 (9. f3) (9. Kb1) (9. f4) 9... Bxc6 10. f3 (10. Qe1) 10... h6 11. Bf4 d5 12. Qe1 Bb4 13. a3 Bxc3 (13... Ba5 {is much more common, though this is all very old-fashioned.}) 14. Qxc3 O-O 15. Be5 (15. g4) 15... Rc8 16. Bxf6 Qxf6 17. Qxf6 gxf6 18. exd5 Bxd5 { A perfect position for Nepo, with a very slight edge and no realistic losing chances.} 19. Rd4 f5 $146 (19... Rc5 20. b4 Rc3 21. Kb2 Rfc8 22. Bd3 Kg7 23. Rd1 R8c7 24. Rd2 Rc8 25. a4 Kf8 26. a5 R8c7 27. Be2 Kg7 28. R4d3 R3c6 29. Bd1 f5 30. c3 Rc8 31. Bb3 Bxb3 32. Kxb3 Kf6 33. Rc2 e5 34. c4 Ke6 35. c5 e4 36. Re2 Ke5 37. Rde3 Rd8 38. fxe4 f4 39. Rh3 Rg6 40. Rh5+ Rg5 41. Rxh6 Rdg8 42. h4 Rxg2 43. Rh5+ Ke6 44. Rxg2 Rxg2 45. Rf5 Rg4 46. h5 Rh4 47. Kc3 f6 48. Kd4 f3 49. Rxf3 Rxh5 50. Rf5 Rh1 51. Rd5 Ke7 52. Kc3 Rc1+ 53. Kb3 Rb1+ 54. Ka3 Re1 55. Rd6 Re3+ 56. Ka4 Rxe4 57. Rb6 f5 58. Rxb7+ Ke6 59. Rb6+ Ke5 60. Rxa6 f4 61. Ra8 { 1-0 (61) Kholmov,R (2445)-Mukhametov,E (2390) Moscow 1991}) (19... Rfd8 20. Be2 (20. Bd3 Bc6 21. Rxd8+ Rxd8 22. Rd1 f5 23. f4 Kf8 24. g3 Ke7 25. Re1 Kf6 26. Re3 h5 27. h4 Kg6 28. b3 Re8 29. Kd2 f6 30. Be2 e5 31. Rc3 Re6 32. Bc4 Rd6+ 33. Rd3 Rd7 34. Be6 Re7 35. Rd6 e4 36. Ke3 Be8 37. c4 Bf7 38. Bd7 Be8 39. Bc8 Rc7 40. Be6 Re7 41. Ke2 Bf7 42. Bd7 Be8 43. Bc8 Rc7 44. Be6 {1/2-1/2 (44) Cleto,F (2503)-Calhau,E (2441) ICCF email 2005}) 20... Kf8 21. Rhd1 Ke7 22. c3 f5 23. Rh4 Rh8 24. Kc2 Rc7 25. b3 b5 26. Kb2 Bc6 27. c4 f6 28. c5 e5 29. Kc3 a5 30. g3 Bd7 31. b4 axb4+ 32. axb4 Ra7 33. Rd6 Ra3+ 34. Kd2 Ra2+ 35. Ke3 Rb2 36. Bd3 f4+ 37. gxf4 Rxb4 38. Rb6 exf4+ 39. Rxf4 Rxf4 40. Kxf4 Rc8 41. Bxb5 Rxc5 42. Bxd7 Kxd7 43. Rxf6 Rh5 44. Kg3 Ke7 45. Rf4 {1/2-1/2 (46) Drake Diez De Rivera,P (2468)-Walsh,H (2591) ICCF email 2004}) 20. Bd3 Bc6 21. Rd1 Kg7 22. Be2 Kf6 23. Rh4 Kg5 24. g3 Rfd8 25. Rhd4 Rxd4 26. Rxd4 e5 27. f4+ exf4 28. Rxf4 Be4 29. c3 Rd8 30. Bd1 Rd7 31. Bc2 Re7 32. Bd1 Rd7 33. Bc2 Re7 34. Bd1 {A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, especially when that bird has a ticket to a World Championship match in its beak. Congratulations to Ian Nepomniachtchi, who joins Vassily Smyslov and Boris Spassky as the only two players in chess history to win back-to-back Candidates events, and the second (with Smyslov) to win consecutive Candidates tournaments (Spassky's triumphs came in matches). Incidentally, both of his predecessors won the World Championship on their second try.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2022"] [Site "Madrid ESP"] [Date "2022.07.03"] [Round "13.2"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2750"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nf3 {Nakamura won with this against Firouzja in round 10, but in that game Black played suicidally.} Be7 {Much more popular than 7...Nc6, played by Firouzja in the earlier game. (That move wasn't the problem, however.)} 8. h3 $5 (8. Bc4 { is (by far) the usual move.}) 8... h6 (8... Be6 9. g4 {is the idea. This is a new idea that hasn't been tested in too many games.}) (8... b5 9. a4 (9. Nd5)) 9. Bc4 Be6 10. Bb3 Nc6 11. Nh4 $146 {A novelty, but a typical idea in this 7. Nf3 line when Black plays ...h6. It's not just that the knight can go to f5, but sometimes it can go to g6 (after White takes on e6, though at least in theory it could be played without the preliminary bishop exchange).} (11. Nd5 { is another conventional sort of move.}) 11... Na5 {Playable, but possibly not as good as the alternatives given below.} (11... Nxe4 {is an equalizer.} 12. Bxe6 (12. Nxe4 {is great for White if Black takes on h4, but he has the nice} d5 $1 {instead.} 13. g3 (13. Qh5 Bxh4 14. O-O-O O-O 15. f4 exf4 16. Bxf4 Be7 17. Rhf1 $44) 13... dxe4 14. Bxe6 Qxd1+ 15. Rxd1 fxe6 16. Ng6 Rg8 17. h4 $44 { White has nice compensation for the pawn. It even seems as if he should be better thanks to Black's tripled e-pawns, but the engine assures us that it's equal.}) 12... Nxc3 13. Qh5 {It seems impossible that Black can survive this, but he can.} (13. bxc3 Bxh4 14. Bd5 O-O $11) 13... O-O 14. Ng6 (14. Nf5 fxe6 15. Nxh6+ gxh6 16. Qg6+ Kh8 17. Qxh6+ Kg8 18. Qg6+ Kh8 $11) (14. Bxh6 $4 Bxh4 $19) 14... fxe6 15. Nxf8 Qxf8 16. bxc3 Qf5 $44 {This time it's Black with the compensation for the material deficit, and the compensation seems sufficient.}) (11... O-O 12. Nf5 Bxf5 13. exf5 Na5 14. Nd5 Nxb3 15. axb3 Rc8 16. c3 Nxd5 17. Qxd5 Bg5 $11 {and Black is fine, as he can shed his bad bishop without any serious repercussions.}) 12. Bxe6 fxe6 13. Ng6 Rg8 14. O-O (14. Qd3 Qc7 15. Rd1 $14) 14... Nc4 $6 (14... Rc8 $142) 15. Bc1 Rc8 16. h4 $2 (16. b3 $142 Na5 17. Bb2 $16) 16... Rc6 $2 (16... Kf7 $15) 17. Qf3 Kf7 18. h5 Qc7 (18... Re8) 19. Nd1 (19. g4) 19... Nb6 20. Ne3 Nbd7 21. c4 Nf8 (21... Re8 $142) 22. Nh4 $2 { Trying to keep pieces on the board for a possible attack, but the knight is very badly placed here.} (22. Nxe7 $142 Qxe7 23. b4 $14) 22... N8h7 $15 23. b3 Ng5 24. Qe2 Ngxe4 25. Bb2 Re8 $17 26. Ng6 Kg8 (26... Qb6 $142) 27. Rad1 a5 ( 27... b5 $142) 28. Ng4 Bd8 29. Nxf6+ Nxf6 30. Rd2 (30. a4) 30... Nd7 (30... Qf7 $142) (30... Qb6 $142) 31. Rfd1 $2 (31. Ba3 {was the right way, and then Rfd1. There's a tactical problem with Nakamura's version.}) 31... Bg5 32. Rd3 b5 $1 $19 {Oops. At this point Ding's fans were breaking out the bubbly.} 33. Ba3 d5 $4 {And then they had to wait. Duda completely miscalculated this move.} (33... b4 {had to be played.} 34. Bb2 a4 $19 {Black will play ...a3 (most likely) followed by ...Nc5, with a bind, a big center, and an extra pawn.} (34... d5 $4 {can't be played here, either, because of the hanging e-pawn.} 35. Nxe5 $18)) 34. cxd5 Rc2 35. Bd6 $1 {Best, but Black's idea fails in multiple ways.} (35. Qf3 {, allowing Black to execute his idea, is also fine, because after} b4 { there's the in-between move} 36. dxe6 {, for starters. It gets complicated:} Nf6 37. Qf5 bxa3 38. Rd7 Qc5 $8 (38... Nxd7 $4 39. Qf7+ Kh7 40. Qxe8 $18) 39. Nxe5 Rf8 40. Rf7 Rc1 $8 41. Rxf8+ $8 Qxf8 42. Rxc1 Bxc1 $11 {and White's pawns, especially the e-pawn, allow him to survive despite Black's extra piece.}) (35. d6 {also allows White to survive.} Qc6 {Best.} 36. Nxe5 Rxe2 37. Nxc6 Rxa2 38. Bc1 $11) 35... Rxe2 36. Bxc7 Nc5 37. d6 Nd7 $4 {Now Nakamura is winning, and he successfully converts his advantage. Fortunately for Ding and his fans, he'll have his fate in his own hands as he'll have the white pieces against Nakamura tomorrow. (Well, he'll have his fate in his hands when it comes to taking second place. Whether taking second place has any significance is up to Magnus Carlsen.)} (37... Nxd3 38. d7 Ra8 39. Rxd3 Rxa2 40. d8=Q+ Bxd8 41. Bxd8 Ra1+ 42. Kh2 a4 $11) 38. Bxa5 $18 Rxa2 39. Bb4 {White's d-pawn (thanks, 33... d5??) will win the game; it's only a matter of time and working out the details, and Nakamura is up to the job.} Bd8 40. Rc3 Bb6 41. Kh2 (41. Rc7 $1 { is a good, more direct way. But there's absolutely nothing wrong with Nakamura's more patient move.} Bxc7 (41... Rxf2 42. Kh2 Rf7 43. Rb7 {and next 44.Ne7(+) breaks Black's blockade.}) 42. dxc7 Nb6 43. Bc5 Nd5 44. Ne7+ Nxe7 45. Bxe7 Raa8 46. Rd7 {is winning, but it will take time to bring home the full point.}) 41... Kh7 (41... Rxf2 42. Rc7 $1) 42. f3 Ra7 43. Rc6 Be3 44. Bd2 Bd4 45. Bc3 Be3 46. Rc7 Rea8 47. Kh3 {So there's no ...Bf4+ when White plays Nxe5.} b4 48. Bxb4 Rb8 49. Bc3 Rxb3 50. Rc8 $1 {Simplest. The threat of 51.Rh8# forces the trade of rooks, which moves the knight from d7.} ({Or} 50. Rxd7 Rxd7 51. Nf8+ Kg8 52. Nxd7 Rxc3 53. Nxe5 Rc8 54. d7 Rd8 55. Nc6 Bb6 56. Nxd8 Bxd8 57. f4 $18) 50... Rb8 51. Rxb8 Nxb8 {And now a simple tactic ends the game.} 52. d7 (52. d7 Nxd7 53. Rxd7 Rxd7 54. Nf8+ Kg8 55. Nxd7) 1-0 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2022"] [Site "Madrid ESP"] [Date "2022.07.03"] [Round "13.3"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Ding Liren"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C47"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2806"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "84"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] {[%evp 0,65,19,18,18,18,18,18,13,2,-4,-4,-3,-4,-8,6,12,16,16,8,5,3,-2,-18,-5, -53,-20,-31,-21,-22,-22,-21,-18,-21,-16,-19,-6,6,11,0,-14,-10,2,16,2,0,9,-10, 10,-1,-6,-13,0,0,0,0,0,0,56,42,45,44,45,45,44,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d4 {For once, Firouzja plays for solidity - this is an attempt to take the air out of the tires. It worked for Nepo against Ding in round 8; will it work for Firouzja in this game?} exd4 5. Nxd4 Bb4 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 d5 8. exd5 O-O 9. O-O cxd5 10. Bg5 c6 11. Qf3 Bd6 12. Rae1 Rb8 13. Nd1 h6 14. Bxf6 Qxf6 15. Qxf6 gxf6 16. b3 {All as in the Nepo-Ding game. Now Ding varies from that game, but follows in the footsteps of his earlier self.} Kg7 17. Ne3 Re8 18. Nf5+ {10 earlier games, including two by Ding, and all 10 were drawn.} Bxf5 19. Bxf5 Re5 20. Bg4 $146 (20. Bd7 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}) (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... h5 $5 {Offering some bait. Firouzja immediately forgets that he had played the Scotch Four Knights and turns back into himself.} 21. Rxe5 { Objectively fine, but groan-inducing for the other players in the fight for second.} (21. Bf3 {keeps the game soporific.}) 21... fxe5 22. Bxh5 f5 $44 23. g3 e4 24. Be2 Kf6 {At the cost of a pawn, Black has repaired his structure (and then some) and enjoys loads of extra space. And he's not taking much of a risk, as the opposite-colored bishops give the game an added layer of drawishness. It's more of a three-results game than it was, but a draw is still the likeliest result.} 25. f4 {This makes Black's e-pawn a passer, but prepares h3 and g4, when White will have two connected passers on the kingside, whether or not Black takes on g4.} a5 26. a4 Rg8 27. Kg2 Ke6 28. h3 Be7 29. g4 Bh4 {White's pawns aren't going anywhere, but what about Black's bishop?} ( 29... fxg4 30. hxg4 Bd6 {is playable, but it looks more natural not to take on g4.}) 30. g5 Kd6 {Black will try to break through on the queenside. If his king is let in; great, so White will play c3 to stop this. Black will then play ...Rb8, White will play Rb1, and then we can expect ...c5 and ...d4.} 31. Rb1 Rb8 32. c3 c5 33. Bb5 d4 34. Rd1 {Nearly forced, and there's no "nearly" about the next two moves.} d3 $8 {If White doesn't take - *now* he will lose.} 35. Bxd3 $8 ({For example:} 35. Bc4 $2 Ke7 36. Bb5 (36. Bxd3 $2 {is too late:} exd3 37. Rxd3 Rxb3 38. Rd5 Rxc3 39. Rxf5 Ke6 40. Re5+ Kd6 41. Rf5 Rb3 $19) 36... Rd8 37. Bc4 Kf8 38. Bb5 (38. Be6 $2 e3 $19) 38... Kg7 39. Bc4 e3 40. Bxd3 Rxd3 41. Rxd3 e2 42. Re3 e1=Q 43. Rxe1 Bxe1 $19) 35... exd3 36. Rxd3+ Ke6 37. c4 {Black's bishop has no targets and his king lacks a way into the position. Further, all his pawns are lined up for easy dining for the White rook. So it's a draw.} Kf7 38. Rd5 Kg6 39. Rxc5 Rxb3 40. Rc6+ Kg7 41. Rc7+ Kg6 42. Rc6+ Kg7 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2022"] [Site "Madrid ESP"] [Date "2022.07.03"] [Round "13.4"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2753"] [BlackElo "2783"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] {[%evp 0,61,19,27,20,-4,-2,-2,6,-37,-11,-3,11,-7,46,-19,10,-30,-6,-18,-15,-48, -16,9,58,60,21,3,15,21,-5,-22,2,9,4,0,0,0,0,0,12,-13,-13,-16,0,9,23,0,23,15,15, 26,25,29,32,21,26,26,16,11,15,11,17,10]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 (4... Be7 {is super-solid, which is why it's not what one does in a must-win situation.} 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 (7. Qa4 a6 8. Qxc4 b5 9. Qc2 Bb7 {has arisen (more often through a 7.Qc2 move order) many thousands of times.}) 7... b5 (7... a6 8. Qxc4 (8. a4 Bd7 9. Qxc4 Bc6) 8... b5 9. Qc2 { - see 7.Qa4.}) 8. a4 Bb7 9. axb5 a6 10. bxa6 Nxa6 11. Qxc4 {etc. is a trendy line, but not one where Black wins more than once in a blue moon.}) 5. Bg2 Bb4+ (5... c5) (5... a6) (5... Nc6) 6. Bd2 a5 7. Qc2 O-O $5 {A rare line.} (7... Bxd2+ 8. Qxd2 c6 9. a4 b5 10. axb5 cxb5 11. Qg5 O-O 12. Qxb5 Ba6 {is the traditional main line, when White chooses between 13.Qxa5 and 13.Qa4.}) (7... c5 $5) 8. Qxc4 b6 9. Bxb4 Ba6 10. Qb3 axb4 11. Qxb4 c5 {From here until Black's 15th move, we're following in the footsteps of only two predecessors.} 12. dxc5 Nc6 13. Qd2 ({The greedy} 13. Qxb6 $146 {is apparently playable.} Qc8 14. Qb3 e5 15. Nc3 e4 16. Nd2 Nd4 17. Qd1 Rd8 18. O-O Rb8 {The computer claims a white edge, but it's obvious that Black has oodles of compensation for the three pawns - likely two pawns as the c5-pawn will drop momentarily.}) 13... bxc5 14. Qxd8 (14. O-O $146 {seems better. I assume that Caruana's prep worked out the way to draw this position, but it looks like White has an edge.} Qxd2 15. Nbxd2 Bxe2 16. Rfc1 Nd7 17. Nb3 Nb4 18. a3 Nd3 19. Rc2 Bxf3 20. Bxf3 Ra7 21. Be2 Rb8 $8 22. Rd1 Rxb3 23. Rxd3 $14) 14... Rfxd8 15. Nc3 Nd5 $146 { In a must-win game for both players - who would reach a tie for second with a win, if Ding and Nakamura both fail to win in their own games - they find themselves in a fairly drawish position. White has a nibble, perhaps, but it's not much.} (15... Rab8 16. b3 Nb4 (16... Kf8 17. O-O Nd4 18. Rfc1 Nxe2+ 19. Nxe2 Bxe2 20. Rxc5 Bxf3 21. Bxf3 Rd2 22. Re5 Nd5 23. Re2 Rd3 24. Be4 Rd4 25. Bxd5 exd5 26. Rc1 Re8 27. Rcc2 Rd1+ 28. Kg2 Re6 29. Red2 Rxd2 30. Rxd2 Rd6 31. Kf3 Ke7 32. Ke3 Re6+ 33. Kd3 Rc6 34. Rc2 Ra6 35. Kc3 Kd6 36. b4 g5 37. b5 Ra8 38. Kb4 d4 39. a4 Kd5 40. a5 d3 41. Rd2 Kd4 42. b6 Rc8 {1-0 (42) Helmers,K (2430)-Rantanen,Y (2425) Luzern 1982}) 17. O-O Nfd5 18. Na4 c4 19. Nc5 cxb3 20. Nxa6 Nxa6 21. axb3 Nc5 22. Nd4 Nxb3 23. Nxb3 Rxb3 24. Rfd1 Rbb8 25. Bxd5 Rxd5 26. Rxd5 exd5 27. Rd1 Rb5 28. e4 Kf8 29. exd5 Ke7 30. d6+ Kd7 31. Ra1 Kxd6 { 1/2-1/2 (31) Gaehwiler,G (2414)-Miralles,G (2433) Switzerland 2019}) 16. Rc1 { After this, Black is able to kill the game pretty quickly.} (16. Nxd5 $142 exd5 17. Kd2 Rd6 $1 18. Rhc1 Re8 $1 19. Bf1 $1 (19. e3 $2 d4 $17 {is dangerous for White.}) 19... c4 20. b3 Rf6 $1 {with the idea of ...g5-g4. It's very hard for White to neutralize Black's initiative.} 21. h4 h6 22. h5 g5 23. hxg6 fxg6 24. Rcb1 g5 25. bxc4 g4 26. Nh4 Bxc4 27. Rb6 Kf7 $44 {and the complications continue.}) 16... Nxc3 $1 17. Rxc3 Rab8 18. b3 Nb4 19. Nd2 (19. Rxc5 Nxa2 20. Nd2 Rbc8 21. Rxc8 Rxc8 22. Nc4 (22. f4 Rc2 $11) 22... Bxc4 23. bxc4 Rxc4 $11 { is obviously a handshake.}) 19... Nxa2 20. Rc2 Nb4 21. Rxc5 Rbc8 22. Rxc8 Rxc8 23. Nc4 Bxc4 24. bxc4 Rxc4 {Draw offers aren't allowed in this tournament prior to move 40, so the players must find a repetition if they want to end the game before that. Behold:} 25. Kd2 Rc2+ 26. Ke3 Rb2 27. f4 Nc2+ 28. Kd3 Nb4+ 29. Ke3 Nc2+ 30. Kd3 Nb4+ 31. Ke3 1/2-1/2