[Event "Sinquefield Cup 2022"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.09.09"] [Round "7"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E32"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2792"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "68"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. e4 d5 6. e5 Ne4 7. Bd3 c5 8. Nf3 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Nd7 10. Bf4 Qh4 11. g3 Qh5 12. O-O g5 ({In an online game earlier this year, Nepomniachtchi tried} 12... Bxc3 13. bxc3 Nxe5 $4 (13... g5 { is well-known and leads to equality; after the text move, White is winning $1}) 14. Be2 Ng4 15. Bxg4 Qxg4 16. f3 Qh5 17. fxe4 $2 (17. g4 $1 {wins}) 17... e5 18. cxd5 exd4 19. cxd4 Bh3 20. Rfe1 $6 (20. Rf2 $1 {would have kept a large advantage}) 20... Rac8 21. Qf2 $2 ({now, Black is okay; after} 21. Qd3 $1 { White would still have an advantage but Black has annoying counterplay against White's somewhat vulnerable king}) 21... Rc3 22. Rac1 Rfc8 23. Qd2 $4 (23. Rxc3 Rxc3 24. Qe2 {was still okay for White; now he was lost}) 23... Rxc1 24. Rxc1 Rxc1+ 25. Qxc1 Qe2 {and White resigned, 0-1, Nogerbek,K (2424)-Nepomniachtchi, I (2773) Chess.com INT 2022.}) 13. cxd5 Nxc3 14. dxe6 gxf4 15. exd7 fxg3 16. hxg3 Bxd7 17. bxc3 Rac8 18. Qd1 ({White has some alternatives: a)} 18. Bxh7+ Kg7 19. e6 fxe6 20. Qd1 $4 (20. Qe2 Qxh7 21. cxb4 Rh8 22. Qg4+ Kf8 23. Qf3+ { is a draw}) 20... Qxh7 21. cxb4 e5 22. Nf3 Bg4 23. Ng5 Qh5 24. Ne6+ Kf6 25. Qd6 Bxe6 {and Black was winning in Sarana,A (2654)-Sevian,S (2660), Chess.com INT 2020.}) ({b)} 18. Bf5 $5 Bxc3 19. Bxd7 ({a better choice was} 19. Qd1 $1 { , although} Qxd1 20. Raxd1 Rc4 21. Bxd7 Rxd4 {should lead to a draw, akin to the game continuation.}) 19... Bxa1 20. Bxc8 Bxd4 21. Bxb7 ({or} 21. Bf5 Qf3 22. Bxh7+ Kg7 23. Qd3 Qxd3 24. Bxd3 Bxe5 {with an eventual draw in Nesterov,A (2501)-Yilmaz,M (2607) Moscow 2020}) 21... Qxe5 22. Kg2 Rb8 23. Rb1 Kg7 24. Qd3 Qf6 {with equal chances in, Leko,P (2732)-Dominguez Perez,L (2726) Tashkent 2012.}) 18... Qxd1 19. Raxd1 Bxc3 20. Bf5 Rc4 21. Bxd7 Rxd4 22. Rxd4 Bxd4 23. Re1 (23. Rb1 {and draw agreed was played in Vitiugov-Caruana, Wijk aan Zee 2020.}) 23... Rd8 24. e6 ({After} 24. Ba4 Rd5 25. e6 fxe6 26. Rxe6 Re5 27. Rd6 Bc5 28. Rd2 Kg7 {, White had a minimal edge, which somehow sufficed for White to win in Vachier Lagrave,M (2778)-Giri,A, (2764) chess24.com INT 2020.}) 24... fxe6 25. Bxe6+ Kg7 26. Kg2 Re8 27. Re4 Bc5 28. Bd5 Rxe4 29. Bxe4 b6 30. f4 h6 31. Kf3 Kf6 32. Kg2 Kg7 33. Kf3 Kf6 34. Kg2 Kg7 {and draw agreed.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.09.09"] [Round "7"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D73"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2688"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "109"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 c5 4. O-O g6 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 Bg7 7. c4 O-O 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. Nb3 ({This is a relatively rare line. The main line is} 9. Nc3 Nxc3 10. bxc3 Nd7 11. Ba3 Nb6 12. Qb3 Qc7 13. Rab1 Re8 ({or} 13... Bd7 $6 14. Bxe7 Rfe8 15. Bg5 Rac8 16. Rfc1 Qc5 17. Bf4 {with a clear advantage for White in Wei Yi (2721)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2774), Chess.com INT 2019}) 14. Nb5 Qc4 15. Rfd1 Bf5 16. Rbc1 Rad8 $6 (16... Bg4 $1) 17. Qxc4 Rxd1+ 18. Rxd1 Nxc4 19. Bc5 ( 19. Nc7 $1 {was better}) 19... b6 20. Nc7 Rc8 {and Black had equalized in Rustemov,A (2525)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2784) Chess.com INT 2020.}) ({Another option for White was} 9. Nb5 e6 10. N5c3 Nc6 11. Nxd5 exd5 12. Qxd5 Qxd5 13. Bxd5 Nb4 14. Bb3 Bh3 {with some but not full compensation for the sacrificed pawn for Black, Sadhwani,R (2616)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2761), Chess.com INT 2022. }) 9... Nb4 10. Nc3 N8c6 11. Bd2 Bf5 12. Rc1 Rc8 13. a3 Na6 14. Be3 Be6 15. Qc2 ({The first new move and an improvement over} 15. Nd2 Nc7 $6 (15... b6 $1 { leads to a comfortable position for Black}) 16. Qa4 Nd5 17. Bxd5 Bxd5 18. Rfd1 Bxc3 19. Rxc3 Qd7 $4 (19... Qa5 {would have kept White's advantage at a minimum.}) 20. Ne4 {and Black was already busted in Pantsulaia,L (2607) -Grigoryan,A (2537), Martuni 2008.}) 15... Bf5 16. Be4 $1 Qd7 (16... Bxe4 17. Qxe4 {is not particularly pleasant for Black.}) 17. Rfd1 Qe6 18. Bxf5 gxf5 19. Nd4 $6 ({This is not the best. According to my engine assistants, White had some interesting alternatives in} 19. Rd2 Rfd8 20. Rcd1) ({and} 19. Nd5 $1 Rcd8 20. Nf4 {, both of White offer White the better chances.}) 19... Nxd4 20. Bxd4 Nc5 21. Bxg7 Kxg7 22. Rd5 {White has a small plus due to Black's inferior pawn structure and open king but whether he will actually be able to take advantage of it is extremely doubtful. After taking a little while to chew on it, the engines think Black is almost okay.} Ne4 23. Qd3 Rc6 24. Rd1 Nxc3 25. bxc3 Rfc8 26. c4 Rxc4 27. Rxf5 Qe4 28. Qxe4 Rxe4 {This rook ending is completely drawn at this level. While the players continued for awhile, the result was never in jeopardy of changing...} 29. Rd7 b6 30. e3 a5 31. Rg5+ Kf6 32. Rb5 Re6 33. Rd4 Kg7 34. Rf4 Rf6 35. Rxf6 exf6 36. Rxb6 Rc3 37. Ra6 Rxa3 38. g4 Ra1+ 39. Kg2 a4 40. h4 h6 41. Kf3 a3 42. h5 Ra2 43. Kg3 Ra1 44. Kf4 Ra2 45. Kf3 Ra1 46. e4 Ra2 47. Ke3 Ra1 48. Kf4 Ra2 49. f3 Ra1 50. Kf5 a2 51. f4 Kg8 52. Ra8+ Kg7 53. Ra6 Kg8 54. Ra8+ Kg7 55. Ra6 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.09.09"] [Round "7"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2758"] [BlackElo "2759"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 d5 (5... O-O {is the main line, but the two players have some history with the text move as we will return to later.}) 6. exd5 Qxd5 7. Bc4 Qd6 8. b4 Bb6 9. a4 O-O 10. Nbd2 Bf5 11. Ba3 e4 12. dxe4 Nxe4 13. Nxe4 Bxe4 14. Qxd6 cxd6 15. O-O-O Rac8 16. Bd5 Bxd5 17. Rxd5 Ne5 18. Nxe5 dxe5 19. Kc2 $6 ({In an earlier game between the combatants, Caruana had opted for} 19. Kb2 Bxf2 $2 ({it is now well-known that Black does not have any meaningful problems after} 19... Rfd8 {, for instance,} 20. Rxe5 Rxc3 21. Rd1 Rcc8 22. Rxd8+ Rxd8 23. Re7 Bd4+ 24. Kb3 b5 25. f3 bxa4+ 26. Kxa4 h5 27. h3 Rc8 28. Rd7 Bb6 29. Kb3 Re8 30. Bc1 Re1 31. Bf4 Rb1+ 32. Kc4 { and draw agreed, ½-½, in Yu Yangyi (2704)-Deac,B (2643) Riga 2021.}) 20. Rxe5 Bh4 21. Rd1 Bf6 22. Re3 Rc7 23. b5 Rfc8 24. Bb4 {with a clear advantage which White enventually converted in Caruana,F (2832)-Aronian,L (2765) London 2018.}) 19... Bxf2 20. b5 {In this position, both previous games with 19.Kc2, both correspondence games, ended in draws. The computer assesses this position as equal, but the players, and that was mainly Aronian enjoyed the opportunity to play some chess.} Rfd8 21. Rhd1 Bb6 22. Bb4 a5 23. bxa6 bxa6 24. Rxe5 Rxd1 25. Kxd1 Bc7 26. Rc5 Rd8+ 27. Kc2 Bxh2 {The computer soberly assesses this as completely equal, but in praxis White is down a pawn so some precision is required.} 28. Rc6 Ra8 29. c4 h5 30. Kd3 Rd8+ 31. Kc2 Rd4 32. a5 h4 33. Rxa6 Rxc4+ 34. Kb3 Rc1 35. Bc3 Kh7 36. Ra7 Rg1 37. Rxf7 Rxg2 38. a6 Bg1 39. a7 Bxa7 40. Rxa7 h3 41. Be5 h2 42. Rxg7+ Rxg7 43. Bxh2 Kh8 {Aronian cannot be bothered to carry on and offers White an opportunity to exchange the bishop for the rook.} 44. Be5 Kg8 45. Bxg7 {1/2-1/2 (45) Caruana,F (2758)-Aronian,L (2759) Chess.com 2022 [cahan]} 1/2-1/2 [Event "St. Louis"] [Site "St. Louis"] [Date "2022.09.09"] [Round "7.2"] [White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2745"] [BlackElo "2778"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "109"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackTeam "France"] [WhiteTeamCountry "USA"] [BlackTeamCountry "FRA"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 Ng4 {This move remains one of the most reliable ways to fight the English attack.} 7. Bc1 Nf6 8. Be3 Ng4 9. Bg5 h6 10. Bh4 g5 11. Bg3 Bg7 12. h3 Ne5 13. Nf5 Bxf5 14. exf5 Nbc6 {The arising positions can hardly be called Najdorf, but they are full of tactics and in-depth strategy due to the piece imbalances.} 15. Nd5 e6 16. fxe6 fxe6 17. Ne3 Qa5+ 18. c3 Nf3+ 19. gxf3 ({In another game Vachier-Lagrave defended successfully after:} 19. Qxf3 Bxc3+ 20. Kd1 Qa4+ 21. Nc2 Bxb2 22. Qb3 Qxb3 23. axb3 Bxa1 24. Nxa1 Ne5 {and later the game ended a draw, Bologan,V (2690)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2721) Sibenik 2010}) 19... Bxc3+ 20. bxc3 Qxc3+ 21. Qd2 Qxa1+ 22. Nd1 {It is not surprising that one of the key Najdorf specialists has played this position already twice. Vachier-Lagrave might have been quite curious following the neighboring board.} Qd4 {The \"old\" main line.} ({A couple of years back the French GM came with the novelty} 22... Qf6 $5 $146 {and after a fierce fight managed to take home the whole point after} 23. Bg2 ({The machine prefers} 23. Be2 {when} Nd4 ({Also possible is the game move} 23... Rd8 {when White has a vast choice of reasonable continuations:} 24. f4 (24. Ne3) (24. O-O)) 24. O-O Rc8 ({But not} 24... Nxf3+ $2 25. Bxf3 Qxf3 26. Qxd6 {with a crushing attack for White.}) 25. Ne3 e5 26. Bd1 {This allows the bishop a chance to find a new working diagonal.}) 23... Rd8 {An extremely complex position arose after the opening. White's king looks safer for the time being, whereas the black will be always exposed as he does not have a good hiding spot. On the other had Vachier-Lagrave has a lot of pawns and a possible endgame might be quite a success for him.} 24. f4 Nd4 25. Ne3 { So bravely enters complications.} ({More to the point was} 25. fxg5 $1 { Then White does not need to worry about:} Nf3+ (25... hxg5 26. Qd3) 26. Ke2 Nd4+ 27. Kf1 $1) 25... gxf4 26. Ng4 Qf5 27. Qxd4 Qb1+ 28. Ke2 Qxa2+ 29. Kf3 { Rejecting the possible perpetual check.} Qb3+ 30. Ne3 ({Courage should not be confused with reckless play:} 30. Ke4 $2 Rf8 31. Bxf4 d5+ 32. Ke5 Qc2 {would mate the white king.}) 30... Rf8 {Vachier-Lagrave decided to keep the queens on the board in order to bother the white king. Black was successful later in So,W (2741)-Vachier-Lagrave,M (2860) Airthings Masters 2020. Curiously, none repeated this line ever after.}) 23. Bd3 Ne5 ({Vachier-Lagrave chose instead} 23... Rf8 24. O-O Rxf3 25. Ne3 Kd7 26. Rd1 {but lost later in Giri, A (2779) -Vachier Lagrave,M (2775) Paris 2019}) 24. Bxe5 Qxe5+ 25. Kf1 O-O {Finally, the blitzing is over and Firouzja takes 15 minutes on the clock to prepare for the emerging fight.} 26. Be2 {Technically speaking, Black has more than enough material for the two pieces. It is the position of his king which demands care. } Rac8 ({Black has also tried the solid} 26... Rf4 {which stops White's next idea and then} 27. Ne3 Rc8 28. Kg2 Qd4 29. Bd3 h5 30. Rd1 Qc3 31. Qe2 Rcf8 32. Nf1 {is another attempt to reach the black king. This should be dynamically balanced after} Qf6 33. Nh2 d5 34. Bb1 Rf7 35. Rc1 e5 36. Qd3 e4 37. Qxd5 Rxf3 38. Qxe4 Rxf2+ 39. Kg1 Qd8 40. Nf1 R2f6 41. Ne3 Qd7 42. Rc5 Re7 43. Qc4+ Qe6 { ½-½ Wei,Y (2732)-Lu,S (2615) Xinghua 2020}) 27. h4 $146 {The most direct approach to make it to the black king. Dominguez spent approximately 44 minutes on this move $1} ({A balanced email game went} 27. Qd3 Rf7 (27... Rc7 $5) 28. Ne3 Kg7 29. Kg2 b5 30. a4 Rc3 31. Ng4 Qc5 32. Qe4 Qd5 33. Qxd5 exd5 34. axb5 axb5 35. Bxb5 d4 {Boehme,S (2323)-Schmidt,J (2236) FICGS email 2020}) 27... Rf4 $1 {Firouzja understands well what might happen once his king is exposed.} ({White's attack is not easy to repel after} 27... gxh4 $2 28. Rxh4 Rf6 29. f4) 28. Qd3 {Sneaking towards the king.} ({After} 28. hxg5 hxg5 29. Ne3 {Black can defend with} Qd4 $1) 28... Rxh4 $1 {The rook swap eliminates the immediate kingside danger.} 29. Qg6+ Kf8 30. Rxh4 gxh4 31. Qxh6+ Ke7 32. Qxh4+ Kd7 {At the price of a pawn, Black managed to escape to the safer flank.} ({ Similar would have been} 32... Qf6 33. Qh7+ Qf7 34. Qb1) 33. Qh7+ Kc6 34. Qc2+ Kd7 35. Qh7+ Kc6 36. Qc2+ Qc5 {And Firouzja rejects the repetition of moves.} 37. Qb2 {So does Dominguez.} ({If he wanted a draw, he would have opted for} 37. Qg6 Qe5) 37... Kc7 38. Bd3 d5 {The pawns are moving but cannot realistically worry the white king.} 39. Ke2 Qd6 40. Ne3 {The lack of material points towards equality.} e5 (40... Rf8 $5) (40... Qf4 $5) 41. Qb3 ({Once again White can more or less force repetition with} 41. Nf5 Qf6 42. Ne3 Qd6) ({ Or put pressure against the center with} 41. Bf5 Rf8 42. Qc2+ Kb8 43. Qb3 Rd8) 41... Rd8 42. Bc2 Qc5 ({One thing that Black needs to be careful about is the opening of solid outposts for the enemy light pieces. A move like} 42... d4 $2 {would allow White a chance to occupy such outposts forever, with devastating effect after} 43. Be4 b5 44. Nd5+ Kd7 45. Nb4 $1) 43. Qd3 Kb8 44. Bb3 d4 45. Ng4 Ka7 46. Qc4 d3+ {The last try to gain more than half-a-point from the position.} ({Firouzja too, could have stayed put with something like} 46... Qa5 47. Qd3 Rc8 48. Qd2 Qc5 49. Qd3) 47. Kd2 Qe7 48. Ne3 {The most solid reaction.} ({Dominguez did not want to risk with} 48. Qe4 Rd4 49. Qxe5 (49. Qe3 $5) 49... Qb4+ 50. Kd1 d2 51. Ne3 Qc3 {Although this line, too should end with some form of a peace after} 52. f4 Qa1+ 53. Ke2 Qe1+ 54. Kf3 Qh1+ 55. Kg4 Rd7 56. Qc5+ Kb8 57. f5 {and now a perpetual with} Qg1+) 48... Rd4 49. Qc3 Kb8 50. Qa5 Qf6 51. Nd5 Qd6 ({Perpetual check would have been the other form of a draw after} 51... Qxf3 52. Qd8+ Ka7 53. Qb6+) 52. Ne3 Qf6 53. Nd5 Qd6 54. Ne3 Qf6 55. Nd5 1/2-1/2