[Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.06"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Gledura, Benjamin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C84"] [WhiteElo "2787"] [BlackElo "2645"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2021.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,77,57,25,18,23,20,25,35,7,3,10,11,1,21,17,12,9,5,16,7,-9,32,3,3,6,13,-11,5,-4,0,1,1,-23,-9,2,3,30,3,16,55,-79,0,15,36,39,48,28,0,27,21,5,1,16,28,28,20,8,46,32,152,82,195,154,174,195,195,185,182,173,224,149,234,234,233,250,271,266,271,271]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. Bd2 O-O 9. h3 Bb7 10. Re1 Qd7 11. a3 Nd8 12. c4 Ne6 13. Nc3 c6 14. Ba2 Bd8 15. b4 Bb6 16. Rb1 Nd4 17. Nxd4 Bxd4 18. Ne2 Bb6 19. Ng3 a5 20. Bg5 Ne8 21. Bb3 axb4 22. axb4 g6 23. cxb5 cxb5 24. Nf1 Kh8 25. Be3 Bxe3 26. Nxe3 Nf6 27. Qd2 Rfe8 28. Qb2 {White has been better and pressing throughout, but nothing too terrible has happened to Black yet. But now things go wrong, and fast.} Kg8 $2 ({Black should have defended the knight, e.g. with} 28... Qe7 {, when White's advantage is minimal.}) 29. f4 $16 (29. Rf1 $16 {/+- first was even better.}) 29... Nh5 $4 (29... exf4 $8 30. Qxf6 fxe3 31. Rxe3 d5 32. Rf1 Re6 33. Qd4 Qd6 {is still tenable for Black.}) 30. Ng4 $1 $18 {Black obviously can't take on f4 with the knight, and taking with the pawn is terrible too. But then, what can he do about the simple threat to collect the e-pawn, not to mention the idea of Nh6+ and Nxf7? (Spoiler: Nothing.)} Re7 31. fxe5 dxe5 32. Nxe5 Qd6 33. Ng4 {Black is a pawn down and still has a horribly weak king. Now White threatens mate in two with 34.Nh6+ and 35.Qh8#.} g5 34. Rf1 Bc8 35. Ne3 {Unnecessarily slow, but it doesn't spoil anything.} (35. Nf6+ $142 {trades the knights, something that happens two moves later by a circuitous route.}) 35... Nf4 (35... Be6 $142) 36. Nd5 Nxd5 37. Bxd5 Bb7 38. Rf5 Qg6 39. Bb3 {Black is a pawn down, b5 is hanging, f7 is weak, g5 is weak, his king is weak...I don't know if he resigned or lost on time, but if it was the latter he can at least be comforted in the knowledge that an additional half an hour on the clock wouldn't have made any difference.} 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.06"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Yilmaz, Mustafa"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E15"] [WhiteElo "2639"] [BlackElo "2782"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "76"] [EventDate "2021.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,76,20,29,38,-10,-9,-5,31,14,31,-22,9,14,12,15,17,5,14,9,35,12,24,27,29,19,16,1,5,0,22,10,15,24,13,11,16,7,21,12,36,-5,13,0,0,-5,14,6,12,-28,14,26,30,26,15,-17,43,54,76,-5,-40,-49,80,45,58,-40,45,-179,-39,-59,0,-57,-57,-120,-57,-137,-137,-137,-115]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. Nc3 d5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Bg2 O-O 10. O-O Nbd7 11. Ne5 Bb7 12. Rc1 Re8 13. Rc2 h6 14. Bf4 Nf8 15. Bc1 Ne6 16. Bb2 c6 17. e3 Bd6 18. Ne2 Rc8 19. Nf4 Rc7 20. Qa1 Nxf4 {Nothing too interesting has happened so far, but that's about to change in a big way.} 21. gxf4 $6 (21. exf4 $142 $11) 21... Qc8 $1 $15 22. Qd1 c5 23. dxc5 bxc5 24. Kh1 $6 {The combination of the bishop on b2 and a rook coming to g1 looks lively. As we'll see, though, Black's active pieces are even more promising.} Bf8 $6 (24... Qf5 $1 25. Rg1 d4 $1 26. Bxb7 Rxb7 27. exd4 cxd4 28. Bxd4 Qxf4 29. Nf3 $8 Rb5 $17 {and it's White who has more cause for alarm on the kingside.}) 25. Rg1 Rd8 (25... Bd6) 26. Rd2 (26. Bc3 $1 d4 $5 27. Ba5 dxe3 28. Qe2 exf2 29. Qxf2 Rd4 $5 30. Bxc7 Ne4 $1 31. Qe3 Qxc7 $11 {looks like a lot of fun. Do note that Black isn't hanging a rook here:} 32. Qxd4 $4 cxd4 33. Rxc7 Nf2#) 26... Qe6 (26... d4 $142 $1 $15) 27. f3 (27. Bf3 $142 $11) 27... Rdc8 $6 (27... d4 28. e4 $8 Nh5 29. Nd3 $8 Ba6 30. f5 Qb6 31. Bf1 c4 32. bxc4 Bxc4 $15) 28. Bf1 $14 {Black's delay in breaking in the center has given White the chance to harmoniously arrange his pieces. Now he's ready to double rooks on the g-file, and Black has a worrying dilemma when it comes to White's bishops. The bishop on b2 is obviously a scary piece in conjunction with White's (soon-to-be) doubled rooks, but if he plays ...d4 then the light squared bishop gets the fantastic c4 square.} d4 $2 (28... c4 $1 29. Bd4 c3 30. Rc2 Bc5 {was necessary, neutralizing the dark-squared bishop without letting the other bishop become dominant.} 31. Rxc3 Bxd4 32. Rxc7 Rxc7 33. Qxd4 $14) 29. e4 $16 {/+- Caruana is in huge trouble now.} Nh5 30. Bc4 Qd6 31. Rg6 $1 Qd8 $8 32. Qg1 Qh4 $2 (32... Nxf4 $1 33. Rxh6 g5 $1 34. Rh4 $1 Qf6 $1 {is the best Black can do, though he's still in deep trouble after} 35. Rg4 Bh6 36. Nd3 Nxd3 37. Rxd3 $18) 33. Rdg2 $4 {Even though material is even (for the moment) and every white piece except the bishop on b2 is apparently (very) well-placed, there's nothing for the pieces to do after Black's next move.} (33. Rxh6 $1 Ng3+ 34. Qxg3 Qxg3 (34... Qxh6 35. Ng4 $1 Qg6 36. f5 Qg5 37. Bc1 Be7 38. Rd1 Qh4 39. Nh6+ Kf8 40. Nxf7 $18 {is positionally catastrophic for Black.}) 35. Rh8+ $1 Kxh8 36. hxg3 Kg8 37. f5 $1 {is winning. White's idea is to play Ng6 and Rh2-Rh8#. This can be prevented, but not by any pleasant means.} g6 (37... Bd6 38. Ng6 $1 Bxg3 39. Kg2 Bd6 40. Rd1 {just delays the inevitable: White is ready to play Rh1 and give mate on h8.}) 38. fxg6 $18) (33. Rg4 Qf6 34. Nd3 $18 {isn't as good as 33.Rxh6, but it's enough to retain a winning advantage.}) 33... Qxf4 $19 {White has nothing to do.} 34. Re6 $1 {Flashy and best, but it shouldn't be good enough.} (34. Nd3 $2 Qxf3 $19 {leaves White two pawns down and awaiting a catastrophe on the a8-h1 diagonal.}) 34... fxe6 $1 35. Bxe6+ Kh7 36. Bf5+ {The king can't go to h8 because of the Ng6+ fork, and ...g6 is also terrible. So it's a draw, right? That's what happens, but...} Kg8 $6 (36... Qxf5 $1 37. exf5 Re7 $1 {Black's material deficit is minor, and will erased almost immediately. If the knight moves anywhere sensible other than g6, then ...Bxf3 is crushing, and it can't be defended with 38.Re2 or 38.Qe1 because there too ...Bxf3(+) is crushing. So that leaves} 38. Ng6 {, but after} Re3 39. Nh4 Rce8 40. Rf2 {(else ...Re1 will win the queen)} Nf4 $1 {Stopping Qg6+.} 41. Bc1 Be7 $1 42. Bxe3 dxe3 43. Re2 $1 Bxh4 $1 (43... Nxe2 $4 44. Qg6+ $18) 44. Rxe3 Rd8 $19 {Black is completely winning. White's queen has no targets, and Black's minor pieces can gang up in all sorts of vicious ways.}) 37. Be6+ Kh7 38. Bf5+ Kg8 $2 {A lucky escape for both players.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.06"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Sindarov, Javokhir"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C78"] [WhiteElo "2739"] [BlackElo "2659"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "68"] [EventDate "2021.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,68,24,14,14,21,17,9,26,1,3,11,7,10,28,-31,-25,-114,-74,-84,-84,33,180,104,116,116,183,23,31,47,47,65,89,75,75,93,93,68,91,57,137,85,106,95,102,31,-16,-87,-41,0,0,0,-37,-133,-196,-272,-322,-323,-318,-574,-394,-379,-394,-381,-381,-547,-543,-543,-401,-401,-383]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Bc5 6. c3 b5 7. Bc2 d5 8. a4 dxe4 9. axb5 exf3 10. Qxf3 e4 11. Bxe4 Ne5 12. Qe2 O-O 13. d4 Bg4 14. Qc2 Nxe4 15. Qxe4 {All well-known theory (at least for those who play this line). Now something new, at least for tournament play.} Bd7 $5 $146 {A new move, thought it seems to transpose to one prior game.} (15... Nf3+ {had been played in all 26 prior games in this variation.} 16. gxf3 Bh3 17. dxc5 Bxf1 18. Kxf1 Qd1+ 19. Qe1 Qxf3 20. Be3 axb5 21. Rxa8 Rxa8 22. Nd2 Qh1+ 23. Ke2 Qxh2 24. Nf3 Qh3 {is all standard, with White perhaps enjoying a small plus. (Or so it seems. I'm sure the correspondence players have analyzed this into the ground.)}) 16. bxa6 Bb5 17. Qxe5 Bxf1 18. Kxf1 Ba7 19. Nd2 $146 {Novelty #2.} (19. Qf5 Re8 20. g3 Rb8 21. Nd2 Rb6 22. Qd3 Qd5 23. Nf3 Rf6 24. Kg2 Re1 25. Ra5 Qxa5 26. Nxe1 Qxa6 27. Qxa6 Rxa6 28. Kf3 Kf8 29. Bf4 Rf6 30. h4 c6 31. Ke2 c5 32. c4 Rb6 33. Nd3 cxd4 34. b4 Ke7 35. b5 Rb7 36. Nb4 Bc5 37. Nc6+ Kd7 38. Kd3 Kc8 39. Be5 g6 40. Bxd4 Rd7 41. Kc3 Bxd4+ 42. Nxd4 Re7 43. c5 Re1 44. Nc6 Kd7 45. f4 f6 46. Na5 Rc1+ 47. Kb4 Rb1+ 48. Nb3 Rb2 49. b6 Kc6 50. Kc3 Ra2 51. Nd4+ Kb7 52. Nc2 g5 53. Kb3 Ra5 54. Kc4 {1-0 Bulbarela Garcia,C (2198)-Glopper,J (2191) MEX-NED email ICCF email 2021 [12]}) 19... c5 20. Nf3 (20. d5 Re8 21. Qh5 $8 Qe7 22. Qd1 c4 $1 $11 {is also equal. White should not capture on c4, desirable though it seems.} 23. Nxc4 $2 Bxf2 $1 24. Bf4 (24. Kxf2 $2 Qh4+ 25. Kf1 Qxc4+ $19) 24... Ba7 $15 {/? Despite his material advantage and four(!) connected passed pawns, White is worse due to his exposed king.}) 20... cxd4 (20... Re8 $142 21. Qf5 cxd4 22. cxd4 $11 {was the right way to reach the game position.}) 21. cxd4 Re8 $6 (21... Rb8 $142) 22. Qf5 $6 (22. Qa5 $1 $14 {is why Black should have started with 20...Re8.}) 22... Bxd4 23. Ng5 $5 {It's hard to resist this move, and it's not bad. But it's not best, either, and turns out to be the first step on MVL's way over the edge and out of the tournament.} (23. Qd3 Ba7 (23... Qe7 24. Bg5 Bf6 (24... f6 25. Bd2 $11) 25. Be3 $11) 24. Qxd8 Rexd8 25. Bd2 $11) 23... h6 24. Qh7+ Kf8 25. Nf3 Qb6 26. Nxd4 $2 (26. Bd2 $1 {is not an obvious move. In fact, it's White's only move.}) 26... Rxa6 $3 $19 {Just like that, it's game over.} ({White is okay after the routine} 26... Qxd4 $2 27. Be3 Rxa6 $1 28. Re1 Qc4+ (28... Rxe3 $5 29. Qh8+ $8 Ke7 30. Rxe3+ Re6 31. Rxe6+ fxe6 $8 32. g3 Qxb2 $11) 29. Kg1 $11) 27. g3 $1 {Perhaps this is what MVL was counting on. It keeps at least equality after every move, except for} (27. Rxa6 Qxa6+ 28. Kg1 Re1#) (27. Qb1 Qxd4 $1 28. Be3 Rxa1 29. Qxa1 Qe5 $19) (27. Rb1 Qxd4 28. Be3 Rxe3 $1 29. fxe3 Qxe3 {leaves Black without a good answer to the threatened ...Rf6+.} 30. Qh8+ (30. g3 Rf6+ 31. Kg2 Rf2+ 32. Kh3 Qe6+ 33. g4 Qe3+ 34. Kh4 Rxh2#) 30... Ke7 31. Qxg7 (31. Re1 Rf6#) 31... Qd3+ $19 (31... Rf6+ $19)) 27... Qb7 $1 28. Qh8+ (28. Rxa6 Qh1#) 28... Ke7 29. Qxg7 Rxa1 $19 {White's tactical problems aren't over.} 30. Nf5+ (30. Qxh6 Qh1+ $19) (30. Qe5+ Kd7 31. Qf5+ Kd8 32. Qf6+ Kc8 33. Qf5+ Kb8 34. Qf4+ Ka8 35. Nf3 Qc6 $19) 30... Ke6 $1 {The only winning move.} (30... Kd8 $2 31. Qf6+ Kc7 32. Qxf7+ Kb6 $8 33. Qxe8 Rxc1+ 34. Ke2 $11 {White survives, and may even be able to play for a win.}) 31. Nd4+ Kd5 32. Nf3 Rxc1+ 33. Kg2 Rc4 34. Qxh6 Re6 {It's quite rare for Vachier-Lagrave to be outcalculated, but that's what happened.} 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.06"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Black "Svidler, Peter"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D11"] [WhiteElo "2693"] [BlackElo "2688"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2021.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 a6 5. Nbd2 Bf5 6. b4 Nbd7 7. a4 g6 8. Bb2 Bg7 9. Be2 O-O 10. O-O Ne4 11. Nxe4 Bxe4 12. Nd2 Bf5 13. Nb3 dxc4 14. Bxc4 e5 15. Re1 Be4 16. Nd2 Bd5 17. e4 Bxc4 18. Nxc4 exd4 19. Bxd4 b5 20. axb5 cxb5 21. Bxg7 Kxg7 22. Qd4+ {Having won the first game, Svidler needed only a draw here to advance. White is a little better, and the limited material makes the position look safe. It's a bit of an illusion, though Black should save the game.} f6 $2 (22... Kg8 {was necessary. Svidler may have been afraid that White could play Nd6 and e5 - an understandable worry - but there's a good defense.} 23. Nd6 Qb6 $1 {Otherwise, White would be much better.} 24. Qd2 Ne5 $11 {/?}) 23. Nd6 Ne5 24. f4 Nc4 25. e5 $18 {White gets in e5 anyway, so Black gets the worst of both worlds.} Nxd6 26. exd6 Rf7 27. h3 $6 (27. Qd2 $1 $18 {first was best, preventing ...a5.}) 27... a5 $1 $16 28. Rad1 $1 Qd7 $1 29. bxa5 Rxa5 30. Kh2 Ra7 31. Re3 Rb7 (31... Qf5 $5) 32. Rde1 Qc6 33. Re7 Rd7 34. Rxd7 Qxd7 35. Rd1 {Svidler has done well to reach this point, and though his troubles aren't over there's also no clear path for White, either. Unfortunately for Black, he now errs again.} Rf8 $2 {A wrong way to "do nothing".} ({To paraphrase an old Tony Miles quip, Black needs to do nothing, and he needs to do it well.} 35... h5 $1 36. Rd2 h4 $1 37. Rd1 Kh7 38. Rd3 Kg7 $14) 36. Rc1 $1 Rf7 37. Rc7 Qd8 38. Qa7 $1 ({After} 38. Qa7 $1 {White's d-pawn will promote or cost Black practically everything.} Qe8 (38... Qxd6 39. Rxf7+ Kh6 40. Rxh7#) 39. Rxf7+ Qxf7 40. d7 b4 41. Qc7 b3 42. d8=Q $18) 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup Women 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.06"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Ju, Wenjun"] [Black "Fataliyeva, Ulviyya"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A28"] [WhiteElo "2564"] [BlackElo "2401"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "261"] [EventDate "2021.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,261,26,-12,2,-18,-20,-17,-17,-17,-17,-18,-6,-16,-15,-2,26,40,47,53,25,26,21,17,22,7,6,0,-2,-24,-12,-41,-38,-40,-40,-63,-59,-63,-52,-59,-52,-59,-59,-59,-42,-52,-52,-46,-52,-22,-56,-49,-16,-25,-8,-18,-15,-16,-18,-18,-17,-33,-33,-31,0,-31,0,-20,-15,-35,-9,-28,-24,-48,25,-46,-44,-41,-36,-46,-36,-44,-44,-44,-39,-39,-37,-37,-37,-44,-58,-106,-86,-80,-80,-119,-119,-122,-121,-123,-121,-134,-125,-125,-110,-136,-149,-140,-132,-180,-171,-159,-161,-167,-155,-182,-200,-228,-198,-200,-189,-280,-280,-281,-214,-262,-256,-253,-253,-244,-240,-252,-223,-223,-229,-227,-223,-241,-250,-220,-148,-270,-275,-268,-268,-293,-293,-280,-149,-109,-90,-93,-90,-205,-185,-291,-91,-90,-45,-66,-66,-96,-27,-28,-28,-28,-36,-28,-31,-63,-37,-66,-21,-17,-18,-11,-12,-12,-9,-12,-18,-18,-15,-14,-14,-14,-14,0,0,0,15,0,0,0,21,17,8,0,30,33,32,25,8,8,28,32,41,34,62,59,58,73,105,107,81,69,152,30,124,40,40,18,23,16,16,34,33,37,35,37,38,38,38,38,38,38,40,37,37,37,37,40,41,41,40,40,40,40,41,40,41,38,41,40,40,40,41,40,547,557,29985,29986,29987,557]} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e3 Bb4 5. Qc2 Bxc3 6. bxc3 e4 7. Nd4 Ne5 8. f4 Ng6 9. d3 exd3 10. Bxd3 d6 11. O-O O-O 12. e4 Re8 13. Bd2 Nd7 14. Nb3 a5 15. a4 b6 16. Rae1 Bb7 17. Re3 Nf6 18. Nd4 Nd7 19. Nb3 Nf6 20. Nd4 Nd7 21. Nb3 c5 22. Be1 Nf6 23. Nd2 Qd7 24. Qd1 Bc6 25. Bc2 Qg4 26. Qxg4 Nxg4 27. Re2 Ra7 28. Bg3 Nf6 29. Rb1 Rb7 30. f5 Ne5 31. h3 Nfd7 32. Bf4 h5 33. Kf2 g6 34. Rd1 Nf6 35. Kf1 Kg7 36. Bg3 g5 37. h4 gxh4 38. Bxh4 Nfg4 39. Bb3 f6 40. Bg3 Nf7 41. Bc2 Nfe5 42. Bb3 Kf8 43. Nf3 Rd7 44. Bf4 Ke7 45. Bxe5 dxe5 46. Rxd7+ Kxd7 47. g3 Rg8 48. Bc2 Nh6 49. Kf2 Nf7 50. Nd2 Rg4 51. Re3 h4 52. Bd1 hxg3+ 53. Rxg3 Rf4+ 54. Ke3 Ng5 55. Bc2 Kd6 56. Rg1 Rh4 57. Rg3 Rh2 58. Kd3 Nh3 59. Ke3 Nf4 60. Bd1 Rh1 61. Bf3 Rc1 62. Rg8 Rxc3+ 63. Kf2 Bxa4 64. Rb8 Rc2 65. Ke3 Rb2 66. Rb7 Bd7 67. Bd1 a4 68. Ra7 Ra2 69. Nb1 b5 70. Nc3 Ng2+ 71. Kd3 Nf4+ 72. Ke3 Ng2+ 73. Kd3 bxc4+ 74. Kxc4 Ne3+ 75. Kd3 Ra3 76. Ra6+ Ke7 77. Bxa4 c4+ 78. Kd2 Nf1+ 79. Kc2 Bxa4+ 80. Nxa4 Rd3 81. Ra7+ Ke8 82. Ra8+ Kf7 83. Ra7+ Kg8 84. Nc5 Ne3+ 85. Kc1 Rd4 86. Ra3 Rd1+ 87. Kb2 Rd2+ 88. Kc3 Rc2+ 89. Kb4 Rb2+ 90. Kc3 Re2 91. Ra7 Rc2+ 92. Kb4 Rb2+ 93. Kc3 Rc2+ 94. Kb4 c3 95. Kb3 Rc1 96. Nd3 Rf1 97. Kxc3 Rf3 98. Ra4 Ng4 99. Kd2 Rh3 100. Ra1 Rh2+ 101. Kc3 Kf7 102. Ra7+ Kg8 103. Nc5 Rh3+ 104. Kc4 Ne3+ 105. Kb5 Rf3 106. Kc6 Nxf5 107. exf5 Rxf5 {This ending *should* be a routine draw for Black, even if she loses both pawns. Should be...} 108. Kd6 Rf4 109. Ke6 e4 110. Nd7 Kg7 111. Nxf6+ Kg6 112. Nd5 Rf3 113. Ra4 e3 114. Re4 Kg5 115. Nxe3 {Black has "succeeded" in the first part of the quest, losing both pawns, and now it's time to fulfill the second part and lose the game.} Rf6+ {This is a good move.} 116. Ke5 Rf3 {But this isn't, though White is still nowhere near winning the game.} (116... Ra6 {is what I would play in a heartbeat, using a strategy well known from rook vs. rook and bishop endings.} 117. Rg4+ Kh5 118. Rg1 Ra5+ 119. Nd5 Rb5 {is the idea, and when White's king goes one way Black's king goes the other.} 120. Ke6 Kh4 {, and there's no progress to be made. By the way, it's good to look for little tricks. For instance, if White plays} 121. Nf4 {, hoping by some miracle to play Kf5 and Rg4#, then we should notice that White has stalemated Black's king and play} Re5+ {. Of course White could play 122.Kd6, but if she plays} 122. Kf6 {we can end the game at once with} Rf5+ $1 $11) 117. Nd5 Rf5+ (117... Ra3 $1) 118. Ke6 Rf2 119. Re1 Kg4 (119... Ra2) 120. Ke5 Kf3 121. Re3+ Kg4 122. Nf6+ Kh4 123. Re1 Kh3 (123... Ra2) 124. Ne4 Rf8 125. Rg1 Re8+ (125... Ra8 126. Kf4 Ra3 127. Rg8 Ra4 128. Kf3 Ra3+) 126. Kf4 Rf8+ 127. Ke3 Re8 128. Rg6 $1 {White knows what she's doing, as you'll see in a couple of moves. This square was chosen very purposefully!} Kh2 $4 (128... Ra8 {is still an easy draw.}) 129. Kf2 $1 $18 Kh3 (129... Rf8+ 130. Nf6 Rh8 131. Rg2+ Kh3 (131... Kh1 132. Rg1+ Kh2 133. Ng4+ Kh3 134. Rh1+ $18) 132. Rg3+ Kh4 (132... Kh2 133. Ng4+ Kh1 134. Rg1#) 133. Kg2 {Threatening both 134.Rh3+ and especially 134.Rg4#.} Rg8 134. Nxg8 $1 $18 (134. Rxg8 $4)) 130. Nf6 {Threatening both 131.Nxe8 and 131.Rh6#.} Rh8 131. Rg1 {The threat of 132.Rh1# forces a king move, and neither is satisfactory.} (131. Rg1 Kh2 (131... Kh4 132. Rh1+ $18) 132. Ng4+ Kh3 133. Rh1+ $18) 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup Women 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.06"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Muzychuk, Anna"] [Black "Ushenina, Anna"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2504"] [BlackElo "2434"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "2021.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Be7 7. O-O Bf5 8. Re1 O-O 9. Nbd2 Nd6 10. Nf1 c6 11. Bxf5 Nxf5 12. Qd3 Nd6 13. Bf4 Na6 14. h4 Re8 15. Ng3 Nc7 16. Nf5 Nxf5 17. Qxf5 {The position is nominally equal, but as White's pieces are more active and not so far from Black's underprotected kingside the computer's evaluation is misleading. It won't have any difficulty keeping White at bay, but we're not as adept at defending.} g6 18. Qg4 Bf6 $6 {This is also makes ...Ne6 possible, but it's not as good.} ({I'm sure both players realized that the generally desirable} 18... Ne6 $2 {fails to} 19. Rxe6 fxe6 20. h5 $18 {, when White's attack is already decisive, but Ushenina gave up on the idea too quickly. If Black first plays}) (18... Qc8 $1 {everything is fine. Trading queens results in the sort of equality that doesn't requires consultation with Stockfish, and if} 19. Qg3 {now} Ne6 $11 {results in a position that's easier to defend.}) 19. h5 $14 Ne6 20. Be5 Bxe5 $6 (20... Bg7 $1) 21. Rxe5 $16 Qf6 $2 {It's hard to believe it, but this is the losing move.} (21... Ng7 {had to be played. White is clearly better after} 22. hxg6 hxg6 (22... fxg6 23. Rae1 Rxe5 24. Rxe5 $16) 23. g3 $16 {, but the win is still far away.}) 22. Rae1 $18 Kf8 (22... Ng7 23. hxg6 fxg6 (23... hxg6 24. Ng5 Rxe5 25. dxe5 Qf5 26. Qh4 $18 {is the problem with the more natural recapture with the h-pawn.} Nh5 27. g4 Qf4 28. Nh3 Qc4 29. Re3 {Now White will chase Black's queen off the 4th rank with his queenside pawns and then take the knight. If the knight retreats immediately, then White's knight returns to g5 and finishes Black off.} Ng7 30. Ng5 Nh5 31. b3 Qb4 32. c3 Qf4 33. Nh3 $18 (33. Rf3 $18)) 24. Qd7 $1 Rxe5 25. Rxe5 Rb8 26. c3 a5 27. Qc7 Qd8 28. Qxd8+ Rxd8 29. Re7 Rb8 30. Ne5 $18 {White's rook and knight are too dominant.}) 23. Qh3 $4 {Giving Black an undeserved chance to save the game.} (23. c3 $18 {is not the only move that keeps a clearly winning position, but it's a good one, taking away Black's only trick.}) 23... Kg7 $4 (23... Nxd4 $1 {is a colossal oops. It's not a particularly difficult idea to spot, either, so I guess the players both missed it outright, as I don't see any tricky tries for White.} 24. Rxe8+ Rxe8 25. Rxe8+ Kxe8 26. Qc8+ Ke7 27. Qxb7+ Kd6 {and it's obvious that Black has all the counterplay she needs for equality.} 28. Nxd4 Qxd4 29. Qxf7 Qd1+ 30. Kh2 Qxh5+ $11 {is one simple example.}) 24. Ng5 $1 Nxg5 (24... gxh5 25. Qxh5 Qg6 26. Qxg6+ hxg6 27. Nxe6+ fxe6 28. Rxe6 Rxe6 29. Rxe6 Kf7 30. Rd6 $1 {will make the game take more moves to come to an end, but Muzychuk will have no difficulties converting this advantage.}) 25. h6+ {The point of the last move.} Kf8 26. Qa3+ {Likewise. Without this trick, 24.Ng5 would be senseless. It's this idea that Muzychuk must have had in mind when she played 23.Qh3, and it's a good reason to avoid 23.c3. However, all this is trumped by the huge opportunity Ushenina missed on move 23.} Re7 27. Rxe7 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup Women 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.06"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Krush, Irina"] [Black "Shuvalova, Polina"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A20"] [WhiteElo "2447"] [BlackElo "2496"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "78"] [EventDate "2021.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,78,26,-17,-17,-51,9,12,9,9,-4,3,3,13,5,21,21,41,49,37,37,44,55,64,49,61,53,30,22,43,28,-25,-20,-75,-64,-109,-117,-110,-124,-126,-125,-154,-160,-143,-140,-263,-274,-294,-274,-252,-235,-335,-288,-303,-306,-289,-323,-267,-399,-543,-536,-543,-551,-551,-273,-279,-261,-264,-270,-278,-212,-241,-243,-202,-201,-319,-313,-401,-443,-445,-445]} 1. c4 e5 2. g3 c6 3. d4 e4 4. Nc3 d5 5. Nh3 h6 6. cxd5 cxd5 7. Qb3 Nf6 8. Nf4 Nc6 9. Nfxd5 Nxd5 10. Qxd5 Qxd5 11. Nxd5 Nxd4 {You won't be surprised to learn that a variation this forcing and amusing has been played before. Indeed, I'm surprised that it has only happened in five previous games.} 12. Nc7+ Kd8 13. Nxa8 (13. Bf4 {might be better, as played in the highest-rated game to feature this line.} Nc2+ 14. Kd2 Nxa1 15. Nxa8 Be6 16. Kc3 Be7 17. Bg2 Bf6+ 18. Kd2 Ke7 19. Rxa1 Rxa8 20. Bxe4 Rd8+ 21. Bd3 Rc8 22. Rb1 Bxa2 23. Ra1 Bd5 24. e4 Bxb2 25. Rxa7 {½-½ Tikkanen,H (2537)-Grandelius,N (2556) Sigeman & Co 21st Malmo 2013 (1)}) 13... Nc2+ 14. Kd1 Nxa1 15. Be3 Be6 16. Kc1 $146 (16. Bxa7 Bxa2 17. Bd4 Nb3 18. Bc3 Bc5 19. e3 Kd7 20. Bb5+ Kd6 21. Kc2 Rxa8 22. Bc4 Nc1 23. b3 Nxb3 24. Bxb3 Ra3 25. Bxa2 Rxa2+ 26. Kb3 Rxf2 27. Bxg7 Bxe3 28. Re1 Rf3 29. Kc4 Kc6 30. Rb1 Rf2 {0-1 Akesson,J (2286)-Smith,A (2471) SWE-chT 1516 Sweden 2015 (6.1)}) 16... Bxa2 17. Bxa7 $2 {Now White is lost.} (17. Bh3 $11 {is a must, safeguarding the a8 knight and preparing Rd1+.}) 17... Bb4 $19 18. Be3 Ke7 19. Nb6 Rd8 {White has saved her knight, but her king is in huge trouble while Black's can breathe freely in the open air.} 20. Bg2 Nb3+ 21. Kc2 Nd4+ $1 22. Kc1 (22. Bxd4 Rxd4 23. Rd1 Rxd1 24. Kxd1 Bb3+ 25. Kc1 f5 $19 {is fine for White's king, but the knight is trapped and will soon perish.}) 22... Nxe2+ 23. Kc2 Nd4+ 24. Kc1 Bb3 25. Bxe4 Ba5 26. Na8 Ne2+ 27. Kb1 Rxa8 28. Bd3 {A nice try.} Nc3+ $1 29. bxc3 Bxc3 {Black is up a pawn, but the real problem is the threatened mate on a1.} 30. Kc1 Ra1+ 31. Bb1 b5 ({Why not} 31... Bd5 {followed by ...Be4?}) 32. f3 {Stopping the aforementioned idea. Unfortunately for Krush, she can't break the bind, so Black will still win quickly and easily.} Kf6 33. Rf1 b4 34. Rf2 Ba4 35. Re2 ({In case you're wondering why Krush first played 35.Re2 and only then 36.Ra2, here's the answer.} 35. Ra2 Rxa2 36. Bxa2 b3 37. Bb1 b2# {An amusing mate (though not for Krush or her friends, family, and fans).}) 35... Bb5 {Looking to play ...Bd3, returning to the idea we saw in the note to move 31.} 36. Ra2 b3 $1 {Very nice. White can't take the rook because 37...b2+! regains the rook and makes a queen.} 37. Rd2 Ke6 {Good, sadistic chess.} 38. Rd8 b2+ 39. Kc2 Bf6 {Threatening the rook *and* 40...Ba4+. Krush has had enough. A well played game by Shuvalova.} 0-1