[Event "44th Olympiad 2022"] [Site "Chennai IND"] [Date "2022.08.06"] [Round "8.1"] [White "Sargissian, Gabriel"] [Black "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D12"] [WhiteElo "2698"] [BlackElo "2720"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "203"] [EventDate "2022.07.29"] [WhiteTeam "Armenia"] [BlackTeam "India"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ARM"] [BlackTeamCountry "IND"] {This was the one decisive game in the match, and after a long struggle Sargissian finally broke through.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Be4 7. f3 Bg6 8. Qb3 Qb6 9. Nxg6 hxg6 {White has obtained the bishop pair. You might wonder why GMs and chess authors and teachers in general make a big deal of having the two bishops, at least in situations where they aren't an obvious attacking force. Have a look at this game, and you'll get a better idea. (Also, ask World Champion David Bronstein. [The point is that he didn't become the champion, in part due to his finally buckling under the pressure of Mikhail Botvinnik's bishop pair in game 23 of their match in 1951.])} 10. Bd2 Nbd7 11. O-O-O Qxb3 12. axb3 Bb4 13. Be2 O-O-O 14. Kb1 a6 15. Be1 Bd6 16. h4 g5 17. Rh3 gxh4 18. Bxh4 Rh6 19. Rdh1 Rdh8 20. Bf1 Nf8 21. g4 Ng6 22. Bf2 Rxh3 23. Rxh3 Rxh3 24. Bxh3 Kd8 25. Kc2 c5 26. Ne2 cxd4 27. Nxd4 dxc4 28. bxc4 Ne5 29. g5 Nfd7 30. Bf1 Nc6 31. Nxc6+ bxc6 32. Be1 c5 33. f4 g6 34. Bg2 Nb8 35. Kd3 Kd7 36. Bf3 Nc6 37. Bd1 Kc7 38. Ba4 Kb6 39. Ke4 Kc7 40. Bc3 Kb6 41. Kf3 Kc7 42. Bf6 Kb6 43. Bg7 Kc7 44. Kg4 e5 45. Bf6 exf4 46. exf4 Bf8 47. Kf3 Bd6 48. Ke4 Bf8 49. Bc3 Kd6 50. Bf6 Kc7 51. f5 gxf5+ 52. Kxf5 Kd6 53. Ke4 Na5 54. Be5+ Ke6 55. Bd1 Nc6 56. Bg4+ Ke7 57. Bc3 Nb4 58. Bf6+ Ke8 59. Bd1 Kd7 60. Kf5 Nc6 61. Bh5 Ke8 62. Ke4 Nb4 63. Bg4 Nc6 64. Bc8 Nb4 65. Kf5 Be7 66. Bc3 Kd8 67. Bb7 Kc7 68. Bf3 Kd7 69. Bh5 Ke8 70. Bd1 Kf8 71. Ba4 Bd6 72. Bf6 Kg8 73. Bd1 Kf8 74. Ba4 Kg8 75. g6 fxg6+ 76. Kxg6 Kf8 77. Kf5 Nd3 78. Ke6 Bg3 79. Be7+ Kg7 80. Bc2 Nb4 81. Be4 Bf2 82. b3 Bd4 83. Bd6 Be3 84. Be5+ Kf8 85. Kd7 Kf7 86. Bf5 Bf2 87. Kd6 Be3 88. Be4 Bf2 89. Kd7 Be3 90. Bd6 Kf6 91. Kc7 Ke6 92. Bh7 Na2 93. Be4 Bd4 94. Bf8 Nc3 95. Bc2 Na2 96. Kb6 {If I had to present and explain all the errors back and forth in this game, I might not finish before the Olympiad ended. Suffice it to say that the evaluation has long varied between winning for White and near-equality, with an average evaluation between a clear plus for White and a win. Neither side has found it easy to achieve its desired goal. What we can say is that all the suffering has been Black's, for a very, very long time, and here he finally makes an irremediable error to lose the game. This is typical of many endgames where one side has a long-term static plus, especially when the weaker side is restricted to a primarily passive defense. It is extremely hard to defend indefinitely from a position where there is no possibility of forcing a draw, but where one must keep reacting until the opponent gives up trying.} Nb4 $2 ( 96... a5 $3 97. Kxa5 (97. Bxc5 Bxc5+ 98. Kxc5 Ke5 $3 99. Kb5 (99. Kb6 Nb4 $1 100. Bg6 Kd4 $1 101. Bf7 (101. c5 Nd5+ 102. Kb5 Nc7+ $11) 101... Nd3 $1 102. Kxa5 Kc5 $1 $11) 99... Kd4 $1 100. Kxa5 Kc5 $1 {gives Black a fortress. Black's knight will go to b4, and while White can cover five of the knight's six possible moves from there, there will always be one square left over. No zugzwang is possible, and the fortress will hold: draw.}) 97... Nb4 98. Bh7 Kf7 $1 99. Bh6 Ke7 {is still objectively drawn, though Black may have to wait until the 50-move rule kicks in before the game ends.}) 97. Bb1 a5 98. Bxc5 Bxc5+ 99. Kxc5 Kd7 (99... Ke5 100. Bg6 $1 Na2 101. Kb6 Kd4 102. Bf7 Nb4 103. c5 $18 {This time there's no check on d5 (compare the 96...a5!! analysis), so the c-pawn will cost Black his knight while Black will be unable to swap his a-pawn for White's b-pawn.}) 100. Kb6 Kc8 101. Kxa5 Nc6+ 102. Kb6 1-0 [Event "44th Olympiad 2022"] [Site "Chennai IND"] [Date "2022.08.06"] [Round "8.1"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Gukesh, D.."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B31"] [WhiteElo "2783"] [BlackElo "2684"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "90"] [EventDate "2022.07.29"] [WhiteTeam "United States of America"] [BlackTeam "India 2"] {[%evp 0,90,19,28,40,39,56,42,50,50,51,42,36,10,34,28,34,27,12,6,19,-9,-21,-29, 24,23,56,23,17,15,-3,-9,-9,-24,19,15,15,30,44,53,39,48,26,18,31,35,25,25,31,4, 3,4,-9,0,-9,0,-9,-7,-38,-36,-44,-47,-23,-79,-85,-171,-141,-224,-129,-241,-199, -204,-164,-279,-309,-324,-324,-305,-300,-488,-500,-490,-525,-753,-482,-1079, -1195,-1195,-1423,-1759,-1146,-29989,-29990]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. Bxc6 {It's a little unusual to first castle and only then take on c6, but if White would have castled after 4.Bxc6 it doesn't seem to make a difference.} bxc6 6. Re1 Qc7 (6... Nh6 {is the most popular move, followed quickly by ...f6 or ...f5 and ...Nf7.}) 7. h3 (7. c3) (7. d3) 7... d6 8. e5 $5 {This had been played just once before.} (8. c3 {had been almost automatic, generally followed by} Nf6 9. d4 cxd4 10. cxd4 O-O 11. Nc3 {and now either 11.. .c5 or 11...Bb7.}) 8... dxe5 9. d3 c4 10. Nc3 {Transposing to 20-some predecessors.} cxd3 ({The one game to reach this position via the 8.e5 move order in the game was the following:} 10... Be6 11. Qe2 cxd3 12. cxd3 Nf6 13. Nxe5 O-O ({From last December's World Blitz championship:} 13... Nd5 14. d4 Nxc3 15. bxc3 Bxe5 16. Qxe5 Qxe5 17. Rxe5 O-O-O 18. Ra5 Rd7 19. Ba3 Kb8 20. Bc5 Ka8 21. Ra6 Rc8 22. Rb1 Rb8 23. Re1 Bd5 24. Ra4 Re8 25. Re3 Be6 26. c4 Rb8 27. Kh2 Rbb7 28. Kg3 Bf5 29. Ra6 Rdc7 30. Kf4 f6 31. g4 Bc8 32. Ra5 Rb2 33. Kg3 Rbb7 34. f4 Rd7 35. g5 Rdc7 36. gxf6 exf6 37. Re8 Rb8 38. Bd6 {1-0 (38) Carlsen,M (2856)-Gelfand,B (2663) Warsaw 2021}) 14. b3 Rac8 15. Bb2 c5 16. Rac1 Rfd8 17. Na4 Qa5 18. Qf3 Nd5 19. Nc4 Qb5 20. Bxg7 Kxg7 21. Ne5 Qb4 22. Kf1 Rc7 23. Rc4 Qa5 24. Rec1 Rdc8 25. Qe2 h6 26. Ng4 Nf6 27. R4c2 Nd5 28. Rc4 h5 29. Ne5 Nb4 30. R4c3 Nd5 31. Rc4 Nb4 32. R4c3 Nd5 {1/2-1/2 (32) Dmitriev,V (2463) -Borstnik,A (2612) ICCF email 2020}) 11. cxd3 Nh6 $146 {Looking to speed the knight to d4. It's logical, though maybe not as good as the correspondence chess-approved 11...Be6.} (11... Be6) 12. Nxe5 Nf5 (12... Bxe5 $6 13. Bxh6 $16) 13. Bf4 $14 Qb7 14. Na4 f6 $2 (14... Be6 {is the computer's suggestion, not worried in the slightest about playing} 15. Nc5 Qxb2 16. Nxe6 fxe6 {Not too many humans would be likely to agree, but the main idea is that after} 17. Rc1 Qxa2 18. Nxc6 O-O 19. Rc4 a5 $14 {Black a-pawn becomes a significant factor, enough to keep him out of real trouble.}) 15. Nf3 $16 {/+-} O-O 16. d4 g5 17. Bh2 (17. Nc5 $1 Qxb2 $2 18. Bc7 $1 $18) 17... h5 {Black's development looks like garbage, but his kingside space keeps him in the game.} 18. Re4 Qd7 19. Qc2 (19. Qe2 $142 $16) 19... Rf7 20. Rae1 Bf8 21. Qe2 (21. a3) 21... Qd5 $6 ( 21... Rg7 $142 {is a nice move, reminiscent in conjunction with the last move of a typical maneuver in the Classical King's Indian.}) 22. Nc3 Qd7 23. Qc4 $6 (23. Nxg5 $1 fxg5 24. Qxh5 Ng7 25. Qxg5 Qf5 26. Qd2 $16 {is promising for White thanks to his lead in development and extra space on the kingside. His advantages are transient, though, so he'll have to hurry and play energetically.}) 23... Qb7 $11 24. b4 $6 {Trying to cramp Black, but it only gives him more possible avenues for escape.} e6 (24... a5 $15) 25. Rb1 Qd7 26. Rbe1 Qb7 27. Rb1 Qd7 28. a3 $2 {For at least the third time in the Olympiad, Caruana has had positions that were pretty drawable - in this case, it's there for the taking - but whether from ambition, misassessment, or (perhaps most likely) a sense of what is required by the team situation, Caruana plays for more...and will end up with less.} a5 $17 {White's pieces are further up the board than Black's, but they don't coordinate to any purpose. Black, meanwhile, has targets on b4 and d4, the bishop pair, and the potential of drumming up kingside play with ...g4. Black enjoys the better prospects.} 29. Na4 Qd8 30. bxa5 Rxa5 31. Nc5 $2 (31. Qc2 $8) 31... Qd5 $1 $19 {With loose forces on e4, c5, and a3, White is losing material, and with it the game.} 32. Qe2 (32. Qc3 $4 Rxc5 33. dxc5 Qxe4 $19) (32. Qd3 $4 Rxc5 $19) (32. Qxd5 cxd5 33. Ree1 g4 ( 33... Bxc5 $19) 34. hxg4 hxg4 35. Nd2 Nxd4 $19) 32... Rxa3 33. Rd1 Rfa7 34. g4 $2 hxg4 35. hxg4 Nh6 (35... Rxf3 $1 36. Qxf3 Nh4 37. Qe2 (37. Qh1 Bxc5 $19) 37... Ra2 $19 {wins material, as White cannot keep c5, e4, e2, and d1 all protected. (There may even be back rank problems and a possible mate on g2, as if the foregoing list weren't serious enough.)}) 36. Bg3 e5 {More of White's loose material is going to drop off. Caruana goes for a desperation counterattack.} 37. Nxe5 fxe5 38. Rxe5 Bxg4 $1 39. Qd2 Qf3 40. Rxg5+ Rg7 41. Re1 Bh3 42. Bd6 Bxd6 43. Rxg7+ Kxg7 44. Qg5+ Kh7 45. Ne4 {Threatening 46.Nf6+ (46...Kh8 47.Qxh6#), but Black has many ways to cope with the threat. He finds the prettiest and best answer.} Qxe4 $1 {This nice sacrifice forces a speedy mate, whether White takes the queen or not. The win brings Gukesh to a ridiculous 8-0 score - congrats to the 16-year-old!} (45... Qxe4 $1 46. Rxe4 Ra1+ 47. Re1 Rxe1#) 0-1 [Event "44th Olympiad 2022"] [Site "Chennai IND"] [Date "2022.08.06"] [Round "8.2"] [White "Nihal, Sarin"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2651"] [BlackElo "2775"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2022.07.29"] [WhiteTeam "India 2"] [BlackTeam "United States of America"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. e3 O-O 7. Bd2 Re8 8. a3 Bf8 9. h3 (9. Be2 dxc4 10. Bxc4 h6 11. Rd1 e5 12. d5 Nb8 13. e4 Bg4 14. Be2 { was a little better for White in another game featuring Aronian taking on India's current crop of chess prodigies. 1-0 (80) Praggnanandhaa,R (2612) -Aronian,L (2772) chess24.com INT 2022 (rapid)}) 9... a6 $146 10. Rd1 Ne7 $146 11. Qc2 b6 12. Be2 Bb7 13. O-O Ng6 (13... dxc4 14. Bxc4 Ng6 $11 {may not be better, but it eliminates the possibility given in the next note.}) 14. Ne5 ( 14. c5 $5 bxc5 15. dxc5 Bxc5 $6 16. Nxd5 $14 {/+/-}) 14... c5 $11 15. Nxg6 hxg6 16. dxc5 bxc5 17. Bf3 Nd7 {This invites the long tactical sequence that ends after White's 25th move. It seems that White has the easier play there, so it was probably better to maintain the central tension instead.} (17... Rc8 $142 18. Bc1 Bd6) 18. cxd5 Ne5 19. Be4 f5 20. f4 $1 fxe4 21. fxe5 exd5 22. Be1 Rxe5 23. Bg3 Re6 24. Nxd5 Bxd5 25. Qd2 {Regaining the piece, after which Black's remaining pawns are weak (excepting g7). Thanks to White's weaknesses on b2 and e3 (and on a3, if b2 falls) Black should manage a draw.} c4 $6 (25... Be7 26. Qxd5 Qxd5 27. Rxd5 Rc8 {followed by ...Rb6 and ...Bg5 or ...Bf6 should draw.}) 26. Qxd5 Qxd5 27. Rxd5 c3 $6 {Consistent.} (27... Be7 $142) 28. bxc3 Bxa3 29. Be5 Be7 30. Ra1 Rc8 (30... Rd8 $142 $1 31. Rda5 Rd3 32. Bd4 Bf6 $14) 31. Bd4 {Now Black is in trouble.} Bf6 32. Rda5 Rcc6 33. Kf2 Bd8 34. Rd5 Red6 35. Re5 (35. Re5 Re6 36. Rxe6 Rxe6 37. Rb1 {is lousy for Black - all four pawns are weak, while he no longer has any targets in White's camp. It didn't end up mattering, but as this is a risk-free position he should have kept playing - if only to warn Aronian about what might happen when they play in years to come!}) 1/2-1/2 [Event "44th Olympiad 2022"] [Site "Chennai IND"] [Date "2022.08.06"] [Round "8.3"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R.."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B35"] [WhiteElo "2773"] [BlackElo "2648"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2022.07.29"] [WhiteTeam "United States of America"] [BlackTeam "India 2"] {[%evp 0,65,28,24,56,59,56,40,95,105,105,91,85,85,87,85,90,31,25,35,59,36,39, 39,39,4,29,-10,55,30,28,5,41,5,13,11,97,-30,-24,-75,-79,-114,-92,-119,-51,-72, -31,-41,-46,-67,-54,-59,-41,-47,-55,-63,-63,-56,-49,-56,-37,-33,-47,-43,-32, -29,-29,-38]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 g6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Bc4 O-O 8. Bb3 d6 9. f3 Qa5 10. Qd2 Nxd4 11. Bxd4 Be6 12. h4 (12. O-O-O { is approved by engine and practice alike, but So knows what he's doing. (Or to adapt an advertising slogan from the late '80s and early '90s, So Knows Chess.) Still, if it's me playing White here or advising a student about his repertoire, I'm going for 12.0-0-0.}) 12... b5 $6 (12... Rfc8 $142) (12... Bxb3 $142) 13. h5 Bxb3 14. cxb3 (14. h6 $3 Bh8 15. cxb3 e5 16. b4 $3 (16. Bf2 b4) 16... Qxb4 17. Be3 d5 $1 18. exd5 e4 19. a3 Qd6 20. O-O-O $16) 14... e5 $11 15. Be3 b4 16. Nd5 Nxd5 17. exd5 e4 $5 (17... Rfe8) (17... f5) 18. f4 (18. h6) 18... Qb5 19. f5 $2 (19. h6) 19... Rac8 $19 {As badly as the match went for the United States, it could have been 4-0.} 20. Rf1 Be5 21. Kf2 Qd3 $6 (21... gxh5) 22. Qxd3 exd3 23. Rad1 (23. Kf3 $142 $17) 23... Rc2+ 24. Kf3 Rxb2 25. Rf2 Rxf2+ 26. Bxf2 gxf5 27. Bxa7 Ra8 28. Be3 Rxa2 29. Rxd3 Ra8 $2 (29... Kg7 $17 { /-+}) 30. Bd2 $15 {/-/+} Rb8 (30... Kg7 31. Bxb4 Kh6 {may have offered Black more winning chances than the game continuation.}) 31. Ke2 Rb5 32. Rf3 Rxd5 33. Bxb4 (33. Bxb4 Rb5 34. Bd2 Kg7 $15) 1/2-1/2 [Event "44th Olympiad 2022"] [Site "Chennai IND"] [Date "2022.08.06"] [Round "8.4"] [White "Sadhwani, Raunak"] [Black "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2611"] [BlackElo "2754"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2022.07.29"] [WhiteTeam "India 2"] [BlackTeam "United States of America"] {[%evp 0,89,24,32,59,56,109,72,72,62,53,33,65,44,37,35,35,19,72,60,75,33,52,37, 37,17,63,33,63,40,28,24,9,6,51,-44,-27,-44,-56,-47,56,-25,-28,-181,-165,-221, 14,-127,-52,-52,-67,156,159,163,163,154,154,154,151,141,141,141,141,141,148, 117,124,120,139,139,133,64,78,60,85,77,84,31,31,0,108,74,74,74,128,128,101,372, 598,567,632,618] Dominguez had been the most consistent player for the U.S. to this point in the Olympiad, but today even he met his come-uppance.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. f3 h5 9. Qd2 Nbd7 10. O-O-O Be7 (10... Qc7 11. Kb1 Be7 12. g3 b5 13. Nd5 Bxd5 14. exd5 Nb6 15. Bxb6 Qxb6 16. Na5 Rc8 17. c4 bxc4 18. Nxc4 Qa7 19. Ne3 g6 20. Bg2 Kf8 21. f4 exf4 22. gxf4 Ng4 23. Nxg4 hxg4 24. f5 g5 25. f6 Bxf6 26. Rhf1 Qe7 27. Rde1 Be5 28. Rf5 Rxh2 29. Ref1 Bf4 30. Qd4 Qe2 31. Rxf7+ Kxf7 32. Rxf4+ gxf4 33. Qxf4+ Ke8 {0-1 (33) Sevian,S (2660)-Dominguez Perez,L (2758) Chess.com INT 2020 (rapid)}) 11. Kb1 (11. Nd5 Nxd5 12. exd5 Bf5 13. Bd3 Bxd3 14. Qxd3 Bg5 15. Kb1 Bxe3 16. Qxe3 Rc8 17. h4 Nf6 18. Qd3 Qc7 19. Nd2 b5 20. Rhe1 O-O 21. Nf1 Qc4 22. Ne3 Qxd3 23. Rxd3 g6 24. Ra3 Ra8 25. Ra5 Rfc8 26. c3 Nd7 27. a4 bxa4 28. Rxa4 Nb6 29. Ra5 f5 30. g3 Nc4 31. Nxc4 Rxc4 32. Kc2 {1-0 (32) Aronian,L (2767)-Dominguez Perez,L (2739) Saint Louis 2018 (blitz)}) 11... Rc8 12. Bd3 b5 13. h3 h4 14. Rhe1 (14. f4 {is the most common move.}) 14... O-O 15. Rg1 $5 $146 {It looks funny to have the rook make a u-turn, but now that Black's king has committed to the kingside, the g-file will be where the action is.} (15. f4 ) 15... b4 (15... Nh5 $1 16. Ne2 Ng3 {is a nice option, aiming to plug up the kingside, even if it comes at the (eventual) cost of a pawn.}) 16. Ne2 $2 (16. Nd5 $142 $1 {was best, with greedy intentions.} Nxd5 (16... Bxd5 17. exd5 a5 18. Bb5 $16 {/+-}) 17. exd5 Bxd5 18. Bxa6 Ra8 19. Qxd5 Rxa6 20. Qb5 Qc8 21. Qxb4 Qa8 22. a3 Rb8 23. Qg4 $16 {/+- White will play g3 against most Black moves, and his extra pawn and kingside play outweigh Black's half-open queenside files.}) 16... d5 $6 (16... a5 $142 $17 {Black may yet play ...d5, but the immediate plan of ...a4 followed by ...Nc5 is even more effective.}) 17. g3 $11 dxe4 18. fxe4 a5 19. gxh4 Kh8 20. Rg5 $2 (20. Bb5 $142 {was objectively best, committing to a temporary queen sac that could result in a repetition.} Nxe4 21. Qxd7 $1 Bxd7 22. Rxd7 Qe8 23. Rb7 Qd8 24. Rd7 Qe8 (24... Nd6 25. Rxd8 Rfxd8 26. Ba4 $8 Nc4 $8 $11) 25. Rb7 $11) 20... a4 $2 (20... Nh7 $17 {and only next ...a4 gave Black a significant advantage.}) 21. Nbd4 $1 $18 exd4 22. Bxd4 Rg8 23. Rdg1 Nf8 24. Bxf6 Bxf6 25. Rh5+ Nh7 26. e5 g6 27. Qh6 $1 {The only move, else Black wins.} Rg7 28. exf6 Qxf6 29. Rb5 {The combination is over. Black hasn't been mated and he's only a pawn down, and for good measure White's h-pawn looks weak while ...b3 looks dangerous for White's king. Despite all of that, White is winning.} b3 30. axb3 axb3 31. cxb3 Bd7 32. Rb4 ( 32. Ra5 $142) 32... Bf5 (32... Bxh3 $142) 33. Qe3 Rgg8 34. Bxf5 Qxf5+ 35. Ka1 $2 {But this is a serious error that gives away most of White's advantage.} ( 35. Qe4 $18 {keeps control. It's surprising that Sadhwani didn't play this.}) 35... Rge8 $14 36. Qd4+ Nf6 37. Nc3 Red8 (37... Kg7 $142) 38. Qe3 (38. Qf4 $142 $16) 38... Kg7 39. Rf4 Qa5+ $2 (39... Ra8+ {and Black has come all the way back from the dead, to equality.}) 40. Na4 $2 $14 (40. Kb1 $18) 40... Nd5 $4 { A blunder on the final move of the time control. Now Black is lost, and too far gone to come back.} (40... Rc6 $14 {was best, overprotecting the knight on f6 while keeping b6 under control (no Qb6 ideas) and creating the possibility of doubling rooks somewhere.}) 41. Qe5+ $1 Kg8 42. Rd4 Rc5 43. Rgd1 f6 44. Qe4 Kf8 (44... Kf7 45. h5 {is no better.}) 45. Qxg6 1-0 [Event "44th Olympiad 2022"] [Site "Chennai IND"] [Date "2022.08.06"] [Round "8.2"] [White "Yakubboev, Nodirbek"] [Black "Bluebaum, Matthias"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2620"] [BlackElo "2673"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "2022.07.29"] [WhiteTeam "Uzbekistan"] [BlackTeam "Germany"] [WhiteTeamCountry "UZB"] [BlackTeamCountry "GER"] {[%evp 0,27,18,5,10,13,50,-3,35,48,30,-4,5,-10,54,67,41,41,51,51,46,64,51,4,4, -48,17,26,29,14] This win created the margin of victory in the Uzbekistan-Germany match.} 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 Bf5 10. Qb3 Qd7 11. c5 Bc7 12. Nc3 Re8 13. Be3 h6 $146 14. Rac1 Qc8 15. Nh4 Bh7 16. f3 Nxc3 17. Qxc3 Nd7 18. Bxh7+ Kxh7 19. Nf5 Qd8 (19... Nf6 20. g4 Qd7 21. Qd2 h5 22. Bf2 Ng8 $8 $11) 20. Bf2 Qf6 21. g4 g6 $2 {This careless move costs Black the game. Of course Black wants to do this, but he missed White's nice zwischenzug.} (21... Bf4 $142 $1 { was necessary. A difference is that Black can meet} 22. Bh4 {with} Bg5 { , and although White obtains d6 for the knight Black's counterplay suffices:} ( {is also playable, if ugly:} 22... g5 23. Rxe8 Rxe8 24. Re1 Rxe1+ 25. Bxe1 Qe6 $11) 23. Bxg5 hxg5 $1 24. Nd6 Rxe1+ 25. Rxe1 Nf8 $11 {Both ...Ng6-h4 and ... Ne6xd4 are worries for White.}) 22. Bh4 $1 $18 Qh8 (22... g5 {is positionally unacceptable, allowing White's knight to take up near-permanent residence on f5.} 23. Bg3 $18) 23. Nd6 Bxd6 24. cxd6 g5 25. Bg3 Qf6 26. Kg2 Nb6 27. b3 a5 28. Rc2 Nd7 29. Rce2 Re6 30. Qd3+ Kg7 31. Rxe6 fxe6 32. Qe3 Re8 33. f4 gxf4 34. Bxf4 Qg6 35. h3 h5 36. Be5+ Kh7 37. g5 $2 (37. Qg3 $142 $1) 37... Kg8 $6 (37... b6 $1 {was best, preparing ...c5.}) 38. Bg3 $6 (38. a3 {To play b4, which is in turn aimed against the possibility of ...c5.}) 38... Kh7 $2 39. h4 Kg8 40. Qe2 Kg7 41. Kh2 Kg8 42. Qd2 Ra8 43. Re3 $2 (43. Qe2 $142 Re8 44. a3 $18) 43... a4 $2 {Forcing White to do the right thing! Black apparently believed that locking up the queenside would make his defense easier. It turns out that he can't quite slam all the doors shut on the kingside, and therefore killing the queenside only serves to deprive him of any hope of counterplay.} (43... c5 $1) 44. b4 b5 45. Qe2 Re8 46. Be5 Kh7 47. Bf6 $1 Qf7 (47... Nxf6 48. gxf6 Rg8 ( 48... Qxf6 $4 49. Qxh5+) 49. Qf2 Qf7 50. Re5 a3 {and now White will push Black over the cliff's edge with} 51. d7 {, e.g.} Qxd7 52. Rxh5+ Kg6 53. f7 Rf8 ( 53... Qxf7 54. Rg5+) 54. Rg5+ Kh7 55. Qc2+ Kh8 56. Qg6 $18 {with unavoidable mate.}) 48. Be7 $1 Qf4+ 49. Kh3 Kg8 50. Rxe6 Nf8 51. Rf6 Qc1 52. Qf3 {Mate is not far away.} 1-0 [Event "44th Olympiad 2022"] [Site "Chennai IND"] [Date "2022.08.06"] [Round "8.1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Pechac, Jergus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A20"] [WhiteElo "2864"] [BlackElo "2594"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2022.07.29"] [WhiteTeam "Norway"] [BlackTeam "Slovakia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "NOR"] [BlackTeamCountry "SVK"] {[%evp 0,83,36,-3,-27,3,2,-15,-18,-43,12,-34,-22,-56,-27,-32,-35,-9,-8,-3,-3, -1,9,4,-2,32,32,32,42,9,47,38,43,30,45,38,32,26,53,49,51,51,68,12,14,42,20,16, 16,18,18,18,34,25,35,30,74,74,76,63,77,82,79,79,63,48,46,40,50,39,32,16,16,25, 36,12,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. c4 e5 2. e3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. Qb3 {I assumed at first that this was just Carlsen playing something silly because he was playing a comparatively low-rated opponent, but it turns out that he has also used this against Giri and Ding - and the Giri game was in classical chess.} g6 (4... Bb4 5. Nd5 Bc5 6. d3 O-O 7. Nf3 d6 8. Nc3 Ne7 9. Be2 Ng6 10. O-O Re8 11. Bd2 h6 12. Rfd1 Bb6 13. Ne4 c6 14. Bc3 Nh7 15. Bb4 d5 16. cxd5 cxd5 17. Nd6 Re6 18. Nxc8 Rxc8 19. Rac1 Nf6 20. g3 Rc7 21. Bf1 Qc8 22. Rxc7 Qxc7 23. Bc3 Re8 24. Rc1 Qd7 25. Bg2 Qf5 26. Rd1 e4 27. dxe4 dxe4 28. Nd2 Ng4 29. Rf1 Nxf2 30. Nc4 Nh3+ 31. Bxh3 Qxh3 32. Nxb6 {1-0 (32) Carlsen,M (2847)-Ding,L (2799) chess24. com INT 2021 (rapid)}) 5. d3 (5. Nf3 Bg7 6. d4 (6. d3 O-O 7. Be2 Re8 8. O-O d6 9. Rd1 b6 10. a3 Bb7 11. e4 Nd7 12. Bg5 Nd4 13. Nxd4 Qxg5 14. Nf3 Qd8 15. Qc2 Nc5 16. b4 Ne6 17. Nd5 h5 18. Qd2 c6 19. Ne3 d5 20. cxd5 cxd5 21. Qa2 Rc8 22. g3 dxe4 23. dxe4 Nd4 24. Nxd4 exd4 25. Bc4 Qc7 26. Bb5 dxe3 27. Rd7 Qe5 28. Qxf7+ Kh7 {0-1 (28) Erigaisi,A (2627)-Nihal,S (2650) Kolkata 2021 (blitz)}) 6... exd4 7. exd4 O-O 8. Be2 d6 9. O-O Re8 10. h3 Ne4 11. Nxe4 Rxe4 12. Be3 Nxd4 13. Nxd4 Bxd4 14. Bf3 Rh4 15. Bxd4 Rxd4 16. Bxb7 Bxb7 17. Qxb7 Rxc4 18. Rac1 Rxc1 19. Rxc1 c5 20. Rd1 Rb8 21. Qxa7 Rxb2 22. Qxc5 dxc5 23. Rxd8+ Kg7 24. Rc8 Rxa2 25. Rxc5 {1/2-1/2 (25) Carlsen,M (2872)-Giri,A (2768) Wijk aan Zee 2020}) 5... Bg7 6. g3 b6 7. Bg2 Bb7 8. Qd1 $146 {The queen has done her job, inducing Black to fianchetto the light-squared bishop, and now there's nothing for her to do on b3.} (8. Nf3 O-O 9. O-O Qe7 10. e4 d6 11. Bg5 Qd7 12. Nd5 Ne8 13. Qa4 a6 14. Rad1 h6 15. Be3 b5 16. Qc2 Nd4 17. Nxd4 exd4 18. Bd2 Kh7 19. Rc1 Nf6 20. Nxf6+ Bxf6 21. c5 dxc5 22. Qxc5 Rfc8 23. Rfe1 Be7 24. Bh3 Bxc5 25. Bxd7 Rd8 26. Bxb5 axb5 27. Rxc5 c6 28. a3 Kg7 29. g4 Re8 30. f3 Re6 31. Kg2 Ba6 32. Bb4 Bc8 33. Kf2 Bd7 34. Rc2 Be8 35. Bc5 Rd8 36. b3 f5 37. a4 fxg4 38. fxg4 bxa4 39. bxa4 Rf6+ 40. Kg3 Rf7 41. a5 h5 42. a6 hxg4 43. Rf2 Rfd7 44. Ra1 {1-0 (44) Stripunsky,A (2561)-Shetty,A (2368) Arlington 2015}) 8... Qe7 (8... h5) 9. Nge2 h5 10. h3 h4 11. g4 $16 Nd8 12. Bxb7 (12. O-O $142) 12... Nxb7 13. e4 Nc5 14. Be3 Ne6 15. Qd2 c6 16. O-O-O O-O-O $2 17. d4 $2 (17. f4 $18 {was the right way, playing for the central majority.}) 17... exd4 18. Nxd4 Nc5 $6 19. Bg5 Ne6 20. Nxe6 dxe6 21. Qe2 e5 22. Rxd8+ (22. f4 Rd4 23. Rhf1 Qe6 24. c5 bxc5 25. f5 gxf5 26. Qa6+ Kb8 27. exf5 $18) 22... Rxd8 23. Bxh4 $2 {It's rare that Carlsen lets his prey escape from his clutches, but he did today.} (23. Kb1 $18) (23. f3 $16 {/+-}) 23... Bh6+ $1 $11 24. g5 $8 (24. Kb1 Rd2 $19) 24... Nd7 $8 25. Qg4 Bf8 ( 25... Bg7 $142) 26. Bg3 Kc7 (26... Kb7 $142) 27. Rd1 Qb4 (27... Bg7 $142) ( 27... Nc5 $142) 28. Qe2 $16 Qe7 29. h4 Qe6 30. f4 $2 {Surprisingly impatient from Carlsen, who would normally make some improving moves first.} exf4 31. Bxf4+ Ne5 $11 32. Rxd8 Kxd8 33. b3 (33. h5) 33... Bd6 {Threatening ...Qh3, as well as the simple tactic ...Nxc4.} 34. Qd2 Ke7 35. Kc2 Qg4 36. Qf2 (36. c5) 36... Qf3 (36... Nxc4) 37. Be3 (37. Qxf3 $6 Nxf3 38. Bxd6+ Kxd6 {is dangerous for White, not Black.}) 37... Ke6 38. Qxf3 Nxf3 39. Bf2 Ke5 40. Bg3+ Ke6 41. Bf2 Ke5 42. Bg3+ 1/2-1/2