[Event "8th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2021.08.24"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D23"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2758"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] {[%evp 0,89,28,25,26,-16,19,26,10,7,4,-27,-9,-28,4,7,7,-43,-53,-6,-25,-7,24, -67,-32,-20,-20,0,0,0,0,0,16,20,33,0,43,26,29,29,23,28,22,20,29,22,23,19,19,18, 18,17,8,11,6,2,4,0,-8,-7,-5,-8,0,-5,-9,-12,-16,-43,-39,-37,-42,-42,-25,-25,-31, -31,-31,-52,-49,-52,-52,-52,-52,-52,-52,-52,-52,-52,-52,-52,-52,-52]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Qa4+ (4. e3 {is by far and away the most common move.} ) 4... Nc6 5. Qxc4 e5 $5 {Not a novelty, but a rare move, and one played for only the second time at the GM level. (And that game was 19 years ago, and not played at the super-GM level.) This was prep by Dominguez, but - and this is getting ridiculous - Rapport had prepared for this as well, even if it wasn't quite as fresh in his memory as it was for his opponent.} 6. Nxe5 $1 Nxe5 7. dxe5 Ng4 8. Bf4 c6 9. e3 g5 $1 $146 (9... Qa5+ 10. Nc3 Nxe5 11. Qd4 f6 12. a3 Qc5 13. b4 Qxd4 14. exd4 Ng6 15. Be3 Be6 16. Bd3 a5 17. b5 Bd5 18. Nxd5 cxd5 19. Kd2 Bd6 20. g3 Kf7 21. h4 b6 22. h5 Ne7 23. a4 g6 24. Rac1 Rac8 25. g4 Rhe8 26. Ke2 Ke6 27. Kf3 Kd7 28. Rxc8 Rxc8 29. hxg6 hxg6 30. Rh6 Rg8 31. Ke2 Ke6 32. f3 Kf7 33. Rh7+ {1/2-1/2 (33) Laczay,I-De Paus,P LSS email 2007}) 10. Bg3 Qa5+ 11. Nd2 (11. Nc3 {was also playable.} Nxe5 12. Qe4 (12. Qb3 Bg7 $11) 12... Bg7 {and now White should very definitely avoid} 13. f4 $4 {on account of} Bf5 { , winning the queen.} 14. Qxf5 Nf3+ 15. gxf3 Qxf5 $19) 11... Be6 12. Qc2 O-O-O 13. O-O-O Bb4 (13... Qxa2 $143 14. Bc4 Bxc4 15. Nxc4 Qa1+ 16. Qb1 Qxb1+ 17. Kxb1 Rxd1+ 18. Rxd1 h5 19. f3 h4 20. Be1 $14) 14. a3 Bxd2+ 15. Rxd2 Bb3 $1 16. Qf5+ Be6 17. Qc2 Bb3 {Draw?} 18. Qc3 {Not yet - but the position remains equal in any case. Both players have done their homework, and passed all the subsequent tests as well.} Qxc3+ 19. bxc3 Rxd2 20. Kxd2 Rd8+ 21. Ke2 Rd5 $1 22. h4 (22. e4 Ra5) 22... Bc4+ 23. Kf3 Nxe5+ 24. Bxe5 Bxf1 25. Bd4 Rf5+ $1 26. Kg3 gxh4+ $1 27. Rxh4 Rg5+ 28. Rg4 Rxg4+ 29. Kxg4 Bxg2 30. Bxa7 b5 {The rest was unnecessary, but rules are rules.} 31. Kg5 Kd7 32. Kh6 Be4 33. f3 Bxf3 34. Kxh7 Ke6 35. Kg7 f5 36. Kf8 Kd5 37. Ke7 Kc4 38. Kd6 Kxc3 39. Bb6 Kb3 40. Bc5 Be4 41. Ke5 Kc4 42. Kd6 Kb3 43. Ke5 Kc4 44. Kd6 Kb3 45. Ke5 1/2-1/2 [Event "8th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2021.08.24"] [Round "7.2"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Shankland, Sam"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A20"] [WhiteElo "2772"] [BlackElo "2709"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "68"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] {[%evp 0,68,26,-6,-22,-51,-8,5,5,5,-2,-3,3,8,14,5,0,-7,24,42,39,47,47,8,13,-15, 11,19,7,-8,24,21,37,44,49,42,98,96,137,149,151,112,142,105,179,143,129,95,93, 93,93,82,101,98,94,79,71,32,90,75,109,68,114,44,36,30,94,71,73,79,86]} 1. c4 e5 2. g3 c6 3. Nf3 e4 4. Nd4 d5 5. cxd5 Qxd5 6. Nc2 Nf6 7. Nc3 Qe5 8. Bg2 Na6 9. O-O Be7 10. d4 exd3 11. Qxd3 (11. exd3 Bg4 $1) 11... O-O 12. Rd1 $146 (12. Qe3 Bd6 13. Rd1 Re8 14. Qd4 Bc7 15. Bf4 Qh5 16. Bxc7 Nxc7 17. f3 Ne6 18. Qf2 Ng5 19. g4 Qg6 20. Ne3 h5 21. h4 Ne6 22. g5 Nf4 23. Rd4 N6d5 24. Ncxd5 Nxd5 25. Nxd5 cxd5 26. Rxd5 Be6 27. Rd2 Rad8 28. e4 f5 29. Rxd8 Rxd8 30. Qxa7 Qf7 31. Qa5 Qd7 32. Qe5 fxe4 33. fxe4 Bh3 34. Qd5+ Qxd5 35. exd5 Bxg2 36. Kxg2 Rxd5 37. Rf1 Rd4 38. Kg3 Rg4+ 39. Kh3 Kh7 40. Rf7 Rb4 41. b3 Kg6 42. Rc7 Rd4 43. Rxb7 Rd3+ 44. Kg2 Rd2+ 45. Kf3 Rxa2 46. Rb4 Kf5 47. Ke3 Rg2 48. Kd3 Rg3+ 49. Kc2 Ke5 50. Rc4 Kd5 51. Kb2 Rh3 52. Ka3 Rg3 53. Ka4 Rh3 54. Rb4 Ke6 55. Kb5 Kd5 56. Ka5 Kd6 57. Rb7 Rxh4 58. Rxg7 Rh1 59. g6 h4 60. Rh7 Ke6 61. Rc7 h3 62. g7 Rg1 63. Rc3 h2 64. Rh3 Rxg7 65. Rxh2 Kd7 66. Rc2 Rg8 67. b4 Ra8+ 68. Kb5 Rb8+ 69. Ka4 Ra8+ 70. Kb3 Rc8 71. Rxc8 Kxc8 72. Kc4 Kb8 73. Kd5 Kb7 74. Kc5 Kc7 75. b5 Kb7 76. b6 Kb8 77. Kc6 Kc8 78. b7+ Kb8 79. Kb6 {1/2-1/2 (79) Hammer,J (2621)-Giri, A (2785) Moscow 2017}) (12. e4 Qh5 13. Qd1 Bg4 14. f3 Rad8 15. Qe2 Bh3 16. Be3 Bc5 17. Rad1 Bxg2 18. Kxg2 Nc7 19. Nd4 Bxd4 20. Bxd4 c5 21. g4 Qg5 22. f4 Qxg4+ 23. Qxg4 Nxg4 24. Bxc5 Rxd1 25. Rxd1 Ne6 26. Bxa7 f5 27. Kg3 h5 28. exf5 Rxf5 29. Nd5 Kf7 30. h3 Nf6 31. Nxf6 Kxf6 32. Be3 Rb5 33. b3 Ke7 34. Kf3 g5 35. fxg5 Nxg5+ 36. Bxg5+ Rxg5 37. Rd4 Ke6 38. h4 Ra5 39. a4 b5 40. axb5 Rxb5 41. b4 Rf5+ 42. Ke2 Ke5 43. Rc4 Kd6 44. Ke3 Rf1 45. Ke4 Rf2 46. Rd4+ Kc6 47. Ke5 Kb5 48. Rf4 Rg2 49. Kf6 Rg1 50. Rf5+ Kxb4 51. Rxh5 Rh1 52. Rh8 Rf1+ 53. Ke5 Re1+ 54. Kf4 Rf1+ 55. Kg3 Kc5 56. h5 Rh1 57. Kg4 Kd6 58. h6 Ke7 59. h7 Kf7 60. Ra8 Rxh7 {1/2-1/2 (60) Ju,W (2576)-Goryachkina,A (2564) Skolkovo 2019}) 12... Qh5 13. Qe3 Re8 14. Qg5 Qxg5 15. Bxg5 Nc7 (15... h6 $142 16. Bf4 Nb4) 16. Bf4 Ne6 17. Bd6 $14 {Black's position is unpleasant, though certainly not lost.} Kf8 (17... Bxd6 $142 18. Rxd6 Nc5) 18. e4 (18. Bxe7+ $142 Rxe7 19. e4 $16) 18... Rd8 ( 18... Bxd6 $142) 19. Bxe7+ Kxe7 20. e5 Ne8 21. Ne3 (21. f4 $16) 21... a5 $6 ( 21... f6) 22. Rxd8 (22. Na4 $142 $16 {/+- Here Black's position is terrible, and one would expect a player not merely of So's level but of his style to squeeze his opponent to death. Most uncharacteristically, he falters, and quickly.}) 22... Nxd8 23. Rd1 $2 (23. Re1 $1 {is much stronger, preventing Shankland's ...f6 plans.} f6 $6 (23... h5 24. f4 g6 {is more stable, but it also allows White to enjoy his static pluses forever.}) 24. exf6+ Nxf6 (24... Kxf6 $2 25. Ned5+ cxd5 (25... Kf7 $4 26. Re7+ Kf8 27. Rxe8+ Kxe8 28. Nc7+ $18) 26. Rxe8 Be6 27. Bxd5 $18) 25. Ned5+ Kf8 26. Nb6 Rb8 27. Re5 $18 {White picks up a pawn while keeping a good grip on the game.}) 23... f6 24. exf6+ Nxf6 25. f4 Be6 26. f5 {This gives up control over e5, but aims to get his remaining kingside pawns rolling.} Bd7 $6 (26... Bg8 {was better, keeping the bishop on a decent diagonal while staying out of everyone else's way.}) 27. g4 (27. Na4 $1 $16 {and So is back in business.}) 27... Nf7 28. h4 h6 29. Kf2 Rg8 (29... Ne5) 30. Kg3 $6 (30. Ne4 $142 $16) 30... Nd6 31. Re1 Kd8 32. Rd1 (32. Kf4 Rf8 33. Bf3 {maintains the position, but So presumably thought that there were no promising breakthroughs available down the road.}) 32... Ke7 33. Re1 Kd8 34. Rd1 Ke7 1/2-1/2 [Event "8th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2021.08.24"] [Round "7.3"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E20"] [WhiteElo "2782"] [BlackElo "2806"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "76"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] {[%evp 0,76,26,26,26,-19,0,-11,27,-62,12,7,-8,21,54,-5,17,-5,10,2,30,-1,34,-37, 18,-16,45,-134,8,10,-6,11,-14,4,4,-7,8,15,129,144,61,56,54,76,109,0,81,93,55, 63,17,-12,-12,0,-90,-156,-125,-121,-86,-81,-105,-107,-114,-171,-151,-188,-147, -175,-150,-143,-148,-148,-160,-148,-160,-162,-155,-162,-182]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 c5 5. d5 d6 6. e4 b5 7. Bd2 Bxc3 8. Bxc3 b4 9. Bd2 O-O { Magnus Carlsen played this line with Black against Levon Aronian in 2019. Apparently it made an impression, because in 2020 Aronian took the black side of this against Caruana - and won. Now Caruana is on the black side of this - and also won - so it seems we should be on the lookout for someone taking the white side of this against Mamedyarov in 2022.} 10. Ne2 {As played by Caruana himself - and only by Caruana, prior to this game.} (10. Be3 exd5 11. cxd5 Nfd7 (11... a5 12. a3 bxa3 13. Rxa3 Nbd7 14. Ne2 Rb8 15. Bd2 Rxb2 16. Bxa5 Qe7 17. Bc3 Rb7 18. Ng3 Ne5 19. Be2 h5 20. h4 Bd7 21. Kf2 Rfb8 22. Qd2 Rb3 23. Rha1 Nh7 24. Rxb3 Rxb3 25. Qc2 c4 26. Bxc4 Rb8 27. Be2 Rc8 28. Qb2 Qf6 29. Bxe5 dxe5 30. Rh1 Nf8 31. Nxh5 Qh6 32. g4 Ng6 33. Ra1 Nf4 34. Ra6 f6 35. Ra7 Nh3+ 36. Kg2 Qe3 37. Ra1 Nf4+ 38. Nxf4 exf4 39. Ra3 Qc5 40. Rb3 Kh7 41. Bd3 Ba4 42. e5+ Kh6 43. Rb8 Bd1 44. Rxc8 Bxf3+ 45. Kxf3 Qe3+ 46. Kg2 Qg3+ 47. Kf1 {1-0 (47) Fedoseev,V (2664)-Wojtaszek,R (2748) Douglas 2019}) 12. Ne2 (12. Nh3 Qh4+ 13. Nf2 f5 14. exf5 Rxf5 15. Rc1 Nb6 16. Bd3 Re5 17. Be4 Ba6 18. g3 Qe7 19. Bf4 Rxd5 20. Qb3 Nc6 21. Qe3 Qf7 22. Nh3 Re8 23. Kf2 Rd3 24. Qe1 h6 25. Kg2 Nd4 26. Qf2 Rxf3 27. Bxf3 Nxf3 28. Kxf3 Qd5+ 29. Kg4 Be2+ 30. Kh4 Qh5# {0-1 (30) Agibileg,U (2413) -Ter Sahakyan,S (2643) Paracin 2021}) 12... f5 13. exf5 Rxf5 14. Ng3 Re5 15. Kf2 Qh4 16. Qd2 Nf6 17. Rc1 Ba6 18. b3 Nxd5 19. Rc4 Qe7 20. Re4 Qe6 21. Bf4 Nxf4 22. Qxf4 Bxf1 23. Rxe5 dxe5 24. Qe4 Nc6 25. Rxf1 c4 26. Nf5 cxb3 27. Qxc6 Qxc6 28. Ne7+ Kf8 29. Nxc6 bxa2 30. Nxb4 Rb8 31. Ra1 Rxb4 32. Rxa2 Rb7 33. Ke3 Ke7 34. Ra6 {1/2-1/2 (34) Aronian,L (2758)-Carlsen,M (2876) Douglas 2019}) (10. Bd3 e5 11. Ne2 Nh5 12. Qc2 a5 13. Be3 Qh4+ 14. g3 Qf6 15. Rf1 a4 16. Qd2 a3 17. b3 Nf4 18. O-O-O Nxe2+ 19. Qxe2 Qe7 20. g4 Qh4 21. Rg1 Re8 22. Qd2 h6 23. g5 hxg5 24. Rxg5 Nd7 25. Qg2 Qh7 26. Rg1 g6 27. h4 Nf6 28. h5 Nxh5 29. Rxh5 { 1-0 (29) Smith,A (2449)-Westerberg,J (2534) Helsingborg 2021}) 10... exd5 $146 (10... Nh5 11. Be3 f5 12. dxe6 Bxe6 13. exf5 Rxf5 14. Qd2 Nd7 15. O-O-O Qa5 16. Kb1 Bxc4 17. Nc1 Bf7 18. Qxd6 Nhf6 19. Qc6 Re8 20. Bf2 Nb8 21. Qb5 c4 22. Qxa5 Rxa5 23. Rd4 Rc8 24. b3 Nc6 25. Rxc4 Bxc4 26. Bxc4+ Kh8 27. Rd1 Re5 28. Rd6 Ne8 29. Rd2 Nc7 30. Ne2 Nb5 31. Kb2 Na3 32. Ba6 Rd8 33. Rxd8+ Nxd8 34. Kc1 Ne6 35. Bd3 Nc5 36. Kd2 Nxd3 37. Kxd3 Rd5+ 38. Nd4 Rd7 39. g4 a5 40. Bg3 Kg8 41. Be5 g5 42. Ke4 Nb1 43. Kf5 Nc3 44. Nc6 Rd3 45. Ke6 Nxa2 46. Nxa5 Rxf3 47. Bd6 Rd3 48. Nc6 Re3+ 49. Kf6 Rxb3 50. Nd4 Rh3 51. Nf5 b3 52. Ba3 Rxh2 {0-1 (52) Caruana,F (2828)-Aronian,L (2767) Stavanger 2020}) 11. exd5 (11. cxd5 Nh5 12. Nf4 Qh4+ ({ Black need not go for/allow a draw:} 12... Nxf4 13. Bxf4 f5 14. exf5 Bxf5 $11 ( 14... Qf6 $11)) 13. g3 Nxg3 14. Ng2 {and Black cannot safely avoid the repetition.} Qh3 15. Nf4 Qh4 16. Ng2 Qh5 17. Nf4 Qh4 $11) 11... Nh5 12. Kf2 f5 (12... Qh4+ {is playable (though probably not as good), provided Black does not take on c4 next.} 13. g3 Qxc4 $4 (13... Qf6 $8 14. h3 $1 $14) 14. Be3 $1 $18 {leaves Black without a defense to the winning threat of Nf4, which traps Black's queen at the moment but is also a double attack due to the hit on Black's h5-knight.}) 13. Nf4 (13. a3 {is far from obvious, to put it mildly, but...engines. It's not completely crazy though: if Black has nothing special on the kingside, then White might as well open lines and squares for his pieces on the queenside. And if} a5 {, White's next move is odder still:} 14. Qc1 {. The game is unclear here, too. Something for future games?}) 13... Nxf4 (13... Re8 $2 {is inferior to the text, but has a cute cheapo.} 14. Nxh5 Qh4+ 15. Ng3 $4 (15. g3 Qxh5 16. a3 $16 (16. Be2 $16)) 15... Qd4+ 16. Be3 Qxe3#) ( 13... Qh4+ $5 14. g3 Nxg3 15. hxg3 Qxh1 16. Qe2 g5 17. Ne6 {is wild and dangerous for Black, but apparently playable. Caruana saw this, but didn't trust it.}) 14. Bxf4 g5 15. Bc1 Nd7 $15 (15... f4 $15 {also made sense, to prevent White from staking out more space, but it also allows possible counterplay with g3, with or without a preliminary Rg1.}) 16. f4 (16. g3) 16... Nf6 $1 (16... g4 17. Bd3 Re8 {was also possible. White needs to be careful though, playing Re1 and Be3. Taking on f5 is too risky.} 18. Bxf5 $2 Nf6 $17 19. Bd3 Ne4+ 20. Bxe4 Rxe4 21. Re1 Rxe1 22. Qxe1 Bf5 $17 {is very dangerous for White. Black's queen goes to f6 or f8, the rook comes to e8, and White's pawn is nowhere near enough to compensate for his many weaknesses.}) 17. Kg1 $6 (17. Bd3 $142) 17... Ne4 $5 {/?!} (17... g4 $142 $17 {was better, giving Black a very pleasant, risk-free advantage. White still has problems after the text move - but so does Black.}) 18. fxg5 $1 f4 $1 19. Bd3 $1 Qe7 $1 20. Qe2 Bf5 21. Bxf4 Qg7 $6 (21... Rae8 $142 22. Bxe4 Qc7 $1 $44) 22. Rf1 $6 (22. Bxe4 $1 Bxe4 $8 (22... Rae8 $2 23. Bxd6 $1 Rf7 24. Qd2 Rxe4 25. h3 Rxc4 26. Re1 $1 $18) ( 22... Rfe8 $2 23. Qf2 Rxe4 24. Bxd6 Rae8 25. h3 (25. Qxf5 $4 Qd4+ 26. Qf2 Re1+ 27. Rxe1 Rxe1#) 25... Qxg5 26. Kh2 Re2 27. Qg3 Qxg3+ 28. Kxg3 Rxb2 29. Bxc5 $18 ) 23. Bg3 Qd4+ 24. Bf2 {Black's attack has been neutralized, and the best he can do is to fight for a draw after} Qd3 25. Qxd3 Bxd3 $14) 22... Bg6 (22... Rae8 23. Be3 $8 Qe5 $44) 23. h3 $1 Rae8 24. Qc2 Qd4+ 25. Kh2 Rf7 $6 {Now the game got strange. Caruana was down to three minutes or so (plus the 30-second increments) to make it to move 40, while Mamedyarov had something like 16 minutes. Now he thought for 11 minutes and made a second-best move (though a very interesting one), but what was odd was that after Caruana made the obviously critical rejoinder he then thought for another 2-3 minutes and blundered.} (25... Nd2 $142 $1 26. Qxd2 (26. Bxg6 $2 Rxf4 $1 27. Re1 Ref8 28. Bxh7+ Kh8 $19 {Despite being three pawns down, Black's attack is decisive. The immediate threats White must concern himself with are ...Rf2, ...Nf3+, and ... Nf1+, and there's no way to deal with all of them.}) 26... Bxd3 27. Rf3 Bxc4 28. Qxd4 cxd4 29. Bxd6 Rxf3 30. gxf3 Re2+ 31. Kg3 Rxb2 $11) 26. Qe2 $5 (26. Bxe4 $1 Bxe4 (26... Rxe4 $2 27. Bg3 {brings Black's attack to a screeching halt. From here, Caruana would be fighting an uphill battle to save half a point.} Qxc4 28. Qxc4 Rxc4 29. Bxd6 $16) 27. Qe2 Qd3 $8 28. Qxd3 Bxd3 29. Rf3 Bxc4 30. Bxd6 Bxd5 31. Rxf7 Kxf7 32. Rd1 Bxa2 33. Bxc5 Re2 34. Bxb4 Rxb2 { will be easily held by Black.}) 26... Nf6 {Not forced, but it's the most obvious move, discovering an attack on the queen and discovering a second attack on the bishop on d3. It's hard to believe Mamedyarov could have overlooked this, but it seems that he did. (Alternatively, he analyzed it *very* superficially, and immediately recognized that he missed something critical early in his preliminary analysis.)} 27. Qd1 $2 ({White had two good options. First:} 27. Qf2 Bxd3 28. gxf6 Bxf1 29. Qg3+ $8 Kh8 30. Rxf1 Qxf6 ( 30... Rg8 31. Qe1 Qxc4 32. Bxd6 Rxg2+ 33. Kxg2 Qxd5+ 34. Rf3 Qxd6 $11) (30... Rxf6 $4 {wins in the game version, with White's queen on g4, but here it loses to} 31. Be5 $1 Qxe5 (31... Rxe5 32. Rxf6 $18) 32. Qxe5 Rxe5 33. Rxf6 $18) 31. Be5 $1 Rxe5 32. Rxf6 Rxf6 $11) ({The second line is more fun:} 27. Bxg6 Rxe2 28. Bxf7+ Kxf7 (28... Kg7 $5 29. Bxd6 (29. gxf6+ Kxf7 30. b3 Qb2 31. Rhg1 Qxa2 32. Rf3 $11) 29... Ne4 30. Bc7 $14) 29. Bxd6 Qxc4 30. Rxf6+ Ke8 31. Rhf1 Qxd5 32. R1f3 $11 {makes for a three-results game.}) 27... Bxd3 $19 28. gxf6 Bxf1 29. Qg4+ {In the 27.Qf2 line given above, White gave the queen check on g3 instead. That was good enough for equality, but here White doesn't have the control over the dark he needs, plus the bishop on f4 is pinned laterally.} Kh8 30. Rxf1 Rxf6 {There's no 31.Be5 this time - simply 31...Qxe5+ wins everything. So White is lost, though he could have put up more resistance than he did in the game.} 31. Rf3 $2 (31. b3 $142 Ref8 (31... Re4 $4 32. Rd1 $1 $11) 32. g3 Qb2+ 33. Kg1 Qxa2 34. Qd1 {stabilizes the position, though it won't save the game against accurate play. Caruana was living off the increment by this point, so there was still a modicum of hope here.}) 31... Rg8 32. Qh4 Qxb2 {Played with just three seconds left!} (32... Rgf8) ({and} 32... Rfg6) 33. Rg3 Rxg3 34. Bxg3 Qd4 $1 {The only winning move! This is why Caruana let his clock run so low; he had to make sure that White wouldn't have any sneaky perpetuals.} 35. Qh5 Qe4 {This and ...Qe3 were the only winning moves. Now Black's king is safe, and thanks to ...Qxb2 Black will run his a- and b-pawns down the board to finish things off.} 36. Qg5 Qg6 37. Qe3 Qf7 38. Qb3 Rg6 {Mamedyarov resigned here, as Black's win is very simple: double on the g-file, push the a-pawn, and then liquidate on g3 and promote a queenside pawn.} 0-1 [Event "8th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2021.08.24"] [Round "7.4"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Swiercz, Dariusz"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C88"] [WhiteElo "2714"] [BlackElo "2655"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] {[%evp 0,69,51,48,52,44,24,8,8,6,5,6,21,-2,2,10,0,-5,-5,5,0,-12,-15,-16,-2,-14, -9,-15,-15,0,0,10,10,0,7,0,24,15,48,1,-8,73,164,214,207,114,107,85,63,123,149, 127,313,309,323,299,310,329,379,359,370,389,366,379,384,342,338,338,414,414, 397,413]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4 Bb7 9. d3 d6 10. Nbd2 Nd7 11. c3 Nc5 12. axb5 axb5 13. Rxa8 Qxa8 14. Bc2 b4 15. d4 bxc3 16. bxc3 Nd7 17. Nf1 Qa1 18. Ne3 Qxc3 $2 {Too greedy.} ( 18... Bf6 $142 $11) 19. Nd5 Qa1 $2 (19... Qc4 $142 $16) (19... Qa5 $142 $16) 20. Re3 $2 (20. Ba4 $1 $18 {was correct, with the same idea as in the game but without allowing Black's queen to escape.}) 20... Qa7 $2 (20... Qa8 $142 21. dxe5 Bd8 $16 {is very nice for White, but it's just an advantage. After the error in the game, White is winning outright.}) 21. Ba4 $1 $18 Bd8 22. Ra3 Qa6 (22... Qb8 {would work, were it not for amusing and surprising} 23. Qc2 $18 { Were Black's queen anywhere else, he could retreat one knight or the other to b8, and all would be well. But here there's no defense: any move that saves the c6-knight loses its pal on d7.}) 23. Bc2 Na5 (23... Qb5 24. Bd3 {traps the queen.}) 24. Bd2 c6 25. Ne3 Qb5 26. Bxa5 Bxa5 27. Bd3 Qb6 28. Nc4 Qb4 29. Rb3 Qa4 30. Nb2 Qa2 {Black's desperate wriggling comes to an end. White cashes in, and the victory is won.} 31. Rxb7 Nb6 32. Qb1 Qxb1+ 33. Bxb1 exd4 34. Nxd4 Bc3 35. Nxc6 1-0 [Event "8th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2021.08.24"] [Round "7.5"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Xiong, Jeffery"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2710"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] {[%evp 0,57,26,24,24,24,13,8,13,22,9,24,56,62,69,67,54,68,68,47,83,78,91,80,83, 37,25,26,21,11,10,17,36,21,24,31,31,0,25,33,26,32,109,118,147,173,207,207,279, 269,261,226,309,311,324,342,369,539,539,591]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Bd7 10. Rd1 Be7 11. Nc3 Ke8 (11... Kc8 {is much more common - played by Xiong himself several years ago, and by Carlsen and Caruana as well.} 12. g4 (12. Bg5 h6 13. Bxe7 Nxe7 14. Rd2 c5 15. Rad1 Be6 16. Ne1 Ng6 17. Nd3 b6 18. Ne2 Bxa2 19. b3 c4 20. Ndc1 cxb3 21. cxb3 Bb1 22. f4 Kb7 23. Nc3 Bf5 24. g4 Bc8 25. Nd3 h5 26. f5 Ne7 27. Nb5 hxg4 28. hxg4 Rh4 29. Nf2 Nc6 30. Rc2 a5 31. Rc4 g6 32. Rdc1 Bd7 33. e6 fxe6 34. fxe6 Be8 35. Ne4 Rxg4+ 36. Kf2 Rf4+ 37. Ke3 Rf8 38. Nd4 Nxd4 39. Rxc7+ Ka6 40. Kxd4 Rd8+ 41. Kc3 Rf3+ 42. Kb2 Re3 43. Rc8 Rdd3 44. Ra8+ Kb7 45. Rxe8 Rxe4 46. e7 Rg3 47. Rc3 Re2+ 48. Rc2 Ree3 49. Ka2 g5 50. Rd2 Re5 51. Rd7+ Kc6 52. Red8 Rge3 53. Rd6+ Kb7 54. R8d7+ Ka6 55. Rd5 Re2+ 56. Ka3 Re6 57. Rd8 g4 58. Rg5 Rxe7 59. Ra8+ Kb7 60. Rag8 a4 61. Rxg4 axb3 62. R8g7 Ka6 63. Rxe7 Rxe7 64. Kxb3 {1/2-1/2 (64) Anand,V (2775)-Carlsen,M (2870) Chennai 2013}) (12. Bf4 b6 13. Rd2 Nh4 14. Nxh4 Bxh4 15. Ne4 h6 16. g4 Be7 17. Ng3 g6 18. Ne4 Be6 19. Nf6 a5 20. a3 a4 21. Re1 h5 22. Kg2 hxg4 23. hxg4 Ra5 24. Kg3 Rb5 25. c3 Rd8 26. Rxd8+ Kxd8 27. Bc1 Bxf6 28. exf6 Rd5 29. Re4 b5 30. Rd4 Rxd4 31. cxd4 Kd7 32. Bf4 Bb3 33. Kf3 Bd1+ 34. Ke4 Bxg4 35. Ke5 Be6 36. Bd2 Bd5 37. f4 Be6 38. Bb4 Bd5 {1/2-1/2 (38) Naiditsch,A (2705)-Caruana,F (2789) Dortmund 2014}) 12... Nh4 13. Nxh4 Bxh4 14. Bf4 b6 15. Kg2 h5 16. f3 Be7 17. Ne4 Be6 18. Bg5 Re8 19. Bxe7 Rxe7 20. Ng3 hxg4 21. hxg4 g6 22. b3 a5 23. a4 Kb7 24. Rd2 c5 25. c4 Bd7 26. Re1 Bc6 27. Kf2 Rh8 {1/2-1/2 (27) Erenburg,S (2563)-Xiong,J (2656) Montevideo 2018}) 12. g4 Nh4 13. Nxh4 Bxh4 14. Bf4 Rd8 $146 15. Kg2 Be7 16. Be3 a5 17. f4 {This is of course what White wants to do, but he needed to spend a few more tempi preparing it first.} (17. f3 $142 $14) 17... h5 $11 18. f5 $5 ( 18. Kg3 $11 {was safer, but MVL was feeling more aggressive.}) 18... hxg4 $4 ( 18... g6 {was critical. Vachier-Lagrave intended} 19. e6 fxe6 20. Bd4 $6 (20. fxg6 {is better, but if MVL realized that he had to play this way he wouldn't have played 18.f5.} hxg4 21. hxg4 Rg8 $15 {/-/+}) 20... Rg8 21. f6 {would be very good for White, were it not for the nasty shot} c5 $3 22. Be5 (22. fxe7 $2 Bc6+ 23. Kg3 Rxd4 $19) 22... Bc6+ 23. Kg3 Bd6 24. Bxd6 h4+ $1 25. Kf2 (25. Kxh4 $2 g5+ $1 26. Kg3 cxd6 $19) 25... cxd6 $19) 19. hxg4 g6 20. Rh1 $1 $18 { Without this resource, Black would stand better, as he did in the 18...g6 lines. But with this resource, White is completely winning.} Rf8 (20... Rg8 21. f6 Bb4 22. Ne4 Bxg4 23. a3 Bf8 24. Ng5 {Sooner or later - mostly sooner - White will break through along the h-file and win: Rh7, Rah1, Rh8, and Nh7 ought to do the trick.}) 21. f6 Bb4 22. Ne4 Be6 23. c3 Bd5 24. Kf3 Bd6 25. c4 Bxe4+ 26. Kxe4 Bb4 27. a3 Bd2 28. Bc5 Rg8 29. e6 $1 {Next up: Rh7, and Black will perish.} 1-0