[Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.04"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Wei, Yi"] [Black "Piorun, Kacper"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C53"] [WhiteElo "2753"] [BlackElo "2557"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "1130420"] [PlyCount "51"] [GameId "2240995128153717"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {Kacper Piorun is well known as a brilliant solver of chess compositions, but in this game Wei Yi does an even better job of navigating the complications.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 d6 {Inviting White to take a break from the endless nuances of the modern Italian lines with 4...Nf6 5.d3.} 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb6 7. Nc3 (7. Bb5 $5) 7... Nf6 8. Be3 $5 {Setting a trap.} Nxe4 $2 {The so-called Fork Trick is often the solution to Black's problems in 1.e4 e5 openings, but here it seems to be a mistake.} (8... O-O $1) 9. Nxe4 d5 10. Bb3 $1 (10. Bd3 {is generally the automatic response in Fork Trick positions, and it's possible that Piorun missed White's idea altogether.} dxe4 11. Bxe4 O-O $11 {is fine for Black, who will aim for long-term pressure against White's d-pawn.}) 10... dxe4 11. Ng5 $16 Be6 $2 (11... Qe7 {was best. Yes, it's unpleasant for Black to allow} 12. Bxf7+ {, but Black's choices are already limited to greater or lesser evils; there are no moves that lead to good positions.} Kf8 13. Bb3 Nxd4 $1 14. Bxd4 Qxg5 15. h4 $1 Qe7 $8 (15... Qxg2 $4 16. Bc5+ $1 Ke8 (16... Bxc5 17. Qd8#) 17. Qh5+ Qg6 18. Qe5+ Be6 {King moves get mated.} 19. Bxe6 $18 Bxc5 20. Bf5+ $18) 16. h5 $16 {Black's position isn't quite lost, "merely" terrible.}) 12. Nxe6 $2 (12. Bxe6 fxe6 13. Nxe6 $18 {followed by Qg4 gives White a winning advantage. The knight is great for many reasons, not the least of which is that it prevents Black from castling in either direction.}) 12... fxe6 13. O-O $11 {Errare humanum est and all that. Wei Yi has let Piorun off the hook, objectively speaking, but Black's position is still hard to handle.} (13. Qg4 $142 $14) 13... Bxd4 $2 (13... Qf6 {was best, looking to meet 14.Qg4 with ...Qf5. White can play that way and then continue with 15.Bxe6, but it's also possible for White to go for a fork trick of his own.} 14. Bxe6 (14. Qg4 Qf5 15. Bxe6 Qxg4 16. Bxg4 Nxd4 $11) (14. Qh5+ g6 15. Qg4 Qf5 16. Bxe6 Qxg4 17. Bxg4 Nxd4 $11) 14... Qxe6 15. d5 {with approximate equality.}) 14. Qh5+ $1 $16 g6 15. Qg4 $2 (15. Qb5 $1 {shows that Black's problems are spread throughout the board.} O-O $1 16. Qxb7 Bxe3 17. fxe3 Qd6 18. Rfd1 Qc5 19. Bxe6+ Kh8 20. Qxc7 Qxe3+ 21. Kh1 Qb6 $8 22. Qxb6 axb6 23. Bd5 Rac8 24. Bxe4 $16 {With an extra pawn and the superior minor piece I think the evaluation is more like +- for a human-human game.}) 15... Qf6 $2 (15... Bxe3 16. fxe3 Qe7 $11) 16. Bxe6 $1 $18 Ne5 {At first glance it seems that White has erred. Neither of the most obvious moves, 17.Qh3 and 17.Bxd4, offer any advantage to speak of. Wei Yi's move is much better.} 17. Qxe4 $1 Bxe3 {The only move that puts White to the test - but what in the world is he up to?} 18. Bf7+ $3 {This fantastic move is the point of White's play, and it's a clear winner.} (18. Qxe3 $2 Qxe6 19. Rfe1 $11 {gets the piece back and nothing more. Black castles in either direction and the game liquidates to a very drawish equality.}) 18... Kxf7 (18... Qxf7 19. Qxe5+ {wins the h8 rook and more unless Black plays} Kd7 20. Rad1+ Kc6 {, but this leads to a speedy mate:} 21. fxe3 $18 {and if Black doesn't surrender the queen 22.Rf6+ will mate in a move or two.}) 19. fxe3 {This wins the queen while maintaining the initiative and an attack. Black could resign here, but prefers to get the game out of the "miniature" category (<= 25 moves) before throwing in the towel.} Rhe8 20. Qxb7 Qxf1+ 21. Rxf1+ Kg8 22. Qxc7 a5 23. a4 Rad8 24. Qxa5 Nc4 25. Qc3 Nd2 26. Rd1 {Despite a couple of errors, there was much to appreciate in Wei Yi's play: a nice opening trap, a sustained attack, and a beautiful tactical sequence near the end.} (26. Rd1 Nf3+ 27. Kf2 Rxd1 28. Qb3+ {is hopeless for Black.}) 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.04"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Aronyak, Ghosh"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C24"] [WhiteElo "2728"] [BlackElo "2520"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "25072846"] [PlyCount "59"] [GameId "2240995128166013"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 {Avoiding some of Black's most solid options.} Nf6 3. d3 c6 {One of Black's standard ideas, taking advantage of the knight's not having come to c6.} 4. Nf3 d5 5. exd5 (5. Bb3 {is the main line, but Aronian isn't exactly breaking new territory with the text.}) 5... cxd5 6. Bb3 (6. Bb5+ {is about as common as 6.Bb3, but both engine and database results suggest that it's worse.}) 6... Bb4+ {A common idea in multiple lines of the Bishop's Opening (2.Bc4). White would like to play Nc3 after castling, but can't do it here because of ...d4. The pawn blocks the check, and while it's useful it's not as useful as a later Nc3 might be. Meanwhile, Black's bishop retreats to d6, where it can also go immediately.} 7. c3 Bd6 8. O-O O-O 9. Bg5 Be6 10. Nbd2 (10. c4 {(arguably best)}) ({and} 10. Re1 {are more popular.}) 10... Nbd7 11. Re1 h6 12. Bh4 Qc7 (12... Rc8) 13. c4 $146 {Creating some weaknesses to fight for the e4 (and potentially the c4) square(s).} Bf5 (13... Rac8 14. Bxf6 Nxf6 15. cxd5 Bxd5 16. Bxd5 Nxd5 17. Nc4 {is another reasonable option. White will continue with Rc1 and Qb3, while Black's active options include moves like ...Nf4 and ...f5.}) 14. cxd5 Bxd3 15. Rc1 Qb8 {Not a happy square for the queen - at least with the rook shut in on a8 - but other moves allow Bxf6 and Nxe5 (if Black recaptures on f6 with the knight).} 16. Nc4 {Inviting complications. The chances are level according to the engine, though I'm not sure how easy it is to know that at the board unless one is still in their prep.} Bxc4 17. Rxc4 e4 18. Nd2 Bxh2+ 19. Kh1 g5 ({The unobvious} 19... b5 $1 {is the engine's preference, resulting in the much-beloved 0.00 evaluation. One speedy way to terminate the game is} 20. Rc6 Qf4 21. g3 Qf5 22. Bxf6 $1 Bxg3 $1 23. fxg3 Qh3+ 24. Kg1 Qxg3+ 25. Kf1 Qh3+ 26. Kg1 Qg3+ $11) 20. g3 gxh4 (20... b5 $1 {was still best. After} 21. Rcxe4 $1 Qb6 $1 22. Bxg5 $1 hxg5 23. R4e3 Qd4 $1 24. Nf1 Qxd1 25. Rxd1 Ng4 26. Re2 Rfe8 27. Rdd2 Rxe2 28. Rxe2 Bxg3 29. Nxg3 $11 {and Black has again reached the safe haven.}) 21. Nxe4 $14 hxg3 22. fxg3 Nxe4 23. Rcxe4 {Black is hanging over the precipice...} Nf6 $2 (23... Qd6 $1 {Everything else loses.} 24. Kxh2 (24. Rg4+ Kh8 25. Qd4+ Qf6 26. Kxh2 Rae8 $11) 24... Nf6 25. Rf4 Rae8 $1 26. Ref1 Re3 {The queen on d6 is doing great work: it protects the knight both directly and indirectly (27.Rxf6 Qxg3+) while blockading the d-pawn and thereby blunting White's bishop. Black's position remains dangerous, but objectively he may not even be worse.}) 24. d6 $2 {Such an attractive move, shutting out the queen while opening the bishop's diagonal. Even so, to quote an old Men at Work song title, it's a mistake.} (24. Rg4+ $1 Nxg4 25. Qxg4+ Kh8 26. Qd4+ $1 f6 (26... Kg8 27. Re4 $1 $18) 27. d6 $1 Bxg3 {transposes to the game. White has only one winning move here, and Aronian finds it.}) 24... Bxg3 $2 {Allowing White to win as in the 24.Rg4+ line.} (24... Qc8 $3 25. Kxh2 Nxe4 26. Rxe4 Qc5 $11) 25. Rg4+ $1 Nxg4 (25... Kh8 26. Rxg3 Rg8 27. Rxg8+ Qxg8 28. d7 $18) 26. Qxg4+ Kh8 27. Qd4+ $1 f6 (27... Kg8 28. Rg1 $18) (27... Kh7 28. Bc2+ f5 29. Re7+ Kg6 30. Qg4+ Kf6 31. Qg7#) 28. Qd2 $3 (28. Qe3 {looks as if it would be a better version of the same idea, but it's not.} Rf7 29. Bxf7 Qf8 $1 $11) 28... Rf7 29. Bxf7 Kg7 (29... Qf8 30. Re7 $1 $18 {is why the queen must go to d2 rather than e3.}) 30. Qd3 $1 {A nice final touch.} (30. Qd3 $1 Bxe1 (30... Qxd6 31. Qg6+ Kf8 (31... Kh8 32. Qxh6#) 32. Qg8#) (30... Qf8 31. Qg6+ Kh8 32. Re3 Bxd6 33. Rh3 Bf4 34. Qxf6+ Qg7 35. Qxf4 $18) 31. Qg6+ Kf8 32. Qg8#) 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.05"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Stremavicius, Titas"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2544"] [BlackElo "2764"] [WhiteFideId "12804444"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "142"] [GameId "2240995128166067"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,142,22,11,19,19,11,-47,11,18,20,13,11,12,22,11,37,47,29,19,19,16,42,48,24,29,18,38,40,98,36,32,55,59,22,39,35,19,50,141,43,39,47,41,113,197,119,230,119,170,127,56,145,30,182,266,167,98,166,168,182,162,182,186,167,180,179,213,154,207,142,302,141,132,154,88,153,144,168,169,149,131,141,130,120,130,143,131,190,133,136,143,141,145,153,149,158,149,142,134,131,150,113,158,124,122,152,140,150,175,174,178,177,169,197,190,173,298,155,228,153,291,244,268,297,279,276,286,422,396,407,412,410,126,235,268,293,296,303,301,321,44,32,88,34]} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bf4 c6 7. h3 Qb6 8. Qc2 g6 9. e3 Bf5 10. Qc1 O-O 11. g4 Be4 12. Be2 Nbd7 13. O-O Bxf3 14. Bxf3 Qd8 15. Qc2 Ne8 16. e4 dxe4 17. Bxe4 Ndf6 18. Rad1 Nc7 19. Bg2 Qd7 20. Qb3 Ncd5 21. Be5 Rfe8 22. g5 Nxc3 23. gxf6 Nxd1 24. fxe7 Nxf2 25. Bf6 Rxe7 26. Bxe7 Qxe7 27. Rxf2 Rd8 28. d5 cxd5 29. Bxd5 Qg5+ 30. Bg2 Rd7 31. Qc3 Qe7 32. Rf1 b6 33. Re1 Qd8 34. Qe5 Rd1 35. Rxd1 Qxd1+ 36. Kh2 h5 37. a3 h4 38. Qe8+ Kg7 39. Qe3 Kg8 40. Qf2 Qd8 41. Kg1 Qg5 42. Qd4 Qg3 43. Kf1 Kh7 44. Qc3 Qg5 45. Bc6 Qe7 46. Bf3 Qd6 47. Be2 Qf4+ 48. Ke1 f5 49. Kd1 Kh6 50. Qd2 Kg5 51. Bb5 Qxd2+ 52. Kxd2 Kf4 53. Be8 g5 54. Bd7 g4 55. hxg4 fxg4 56. Ke2 g3 57. Bc6 Ke5 58. Ke3 h3 59. Bd7 h2 60. Bc6 Kd6 61. Bg2 Kc5 62. b3 a5 63. Kd3 b5 64. Bf3 Kd6 65. Kd4 Ke6 66. Be4 Kf6 67. Kd5 Kg5 68. Ke5 Kg4 69. Bg2 Kg5 {White is an has been winning. Sooner or later White will win Black's kingside pawns and that will be that - especially since there's no problem with White's bishop and a-pawn. (The bishop controls the queening square.) White assumed the thing to do was to fix the queenside pawns and then win the kingside pawns, and as So apparently believed the same thing the game ended in two moves with White victorious. Alas, things are much more complicated.} 70. a4 $4 {It seems so logical to do this, as the pawns can be defended by the bishop when they're on light squares. Unfortunately for Stremavicius, it turns out that this configuration is the only one that lets Black save the king and pawn ending.} (70. Ke4 {will do the job, and it won't matter if Black pushes the a-pawn, the b-pawn, or no pawn at all.} a4 (70... b4 71. axb4 axb4 72. Kf3 Kh4 (72... Kf5 73. Kxg3 Ke5 74. Kxh2 Kd4 75. Bf1 Kc3 76. Bc4 $18) 73. Kf4 h1=Q 74. Bxh1 Kh3 75. Ke4 Kh2 (75... g2 76. Bxg2+ Kxg2 77. Kd4 $18) 76. Bf3 g2 77. Bxg2 Kxg2 78. Kd4 $18) (70... Kg4 71. Ke3 Kh4 72. Kf3 h1=Q 73. Bxh1 Kh3 74. Ke4 Kh2 75. Bf3 g2 76. Bxg2 Kxg2 77. Kd4 $18) 71. b4 $1 Kg4 72. Ke5 $1 (72. Ke3 Kf5 {is trickier. If White goes for the kingside pawns as usual Black's run to the queenside saves the day.} 73. Kf3 Ke5 74. Kxg3 $2 Kd4 75. Kxh2 Kc3 76. Bc6 Kb3 77. Bxb5 Kxa3 78. Bxa4 Kxb4 $11) 72... Kg5 73. Bh1 $1 Kg4 74. Ke4 Kg5 75. Kf3 {Now the dash to the queenside isn't in time, and} Kh4 76. Bg2 h1=Q 77. Bxh1 Kh3 78. Ke4 $18 {wins as usual.}) 70... b4 $1 71. Ke4 Kg4 {and So apparently resigned here - in a drawn position. That cost him the match, and thus his World Cup campaign, and his quest for next year's Candidates, is at an end.} (71... Kg4 72. Ke3 Kh4 73. Kf4 {If Black's king retreats to h5, then sure, it's a trivial win. But let's go forward, as in the lines we've seen above.} h1=Q $1 74. Bxh1 Kh3 {Now White has two options for his king: stick around and win the g-pawn, or fly to the queenside. Surprisingly, both draw.} 75. Kf3 (75. Ke4 g2 (75... Kh2 76. Bf3 g2 77. Bxg2 Kxg2 {comes to the same thing, but buys Black a little extra thinking time - not that he'd need it at this point.}) 76. Bxg2+ Kxg2 77. Kd4 Kf2 78. Kc4 Ke3 79. Kb5 Kd3 80. Kxa5 Kc3 {Just in time!} 81. Kb5 Kxb3 82. a5 Kc3 83. a6 b3 84. a7 b2 85. a8=Q b1=Q+ {and there's nothing there for either side, as long as the players avoid having their queens skewered.} 86. Ka6 $11 (86. Kc5 $11)) 75... Kh2 76. Bg2 Kg1 {White is stuck. Taking on g3 is an immediate stalemate, while 77.Bh3 Kh2 lets Black's king give a perpetual pursuit of the bishop until and unless White returns to the stalemate idea.} 77. Bh3 (77. Kxg3 $11) 77... Kh2 78. Bf1 Kg1 79. Bg2 Kh2 80. Bf1 Kg1 81. Bh3 Kh2 82. Bg2 Kg1 83. Kxg3 $11) 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.05"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Ghosh, Diptayan"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C88"] [WhiteElo "2732"] [BlackElo "2573"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "5045207"] [PlyCount "92"] [GameId "2240995128166074"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,92,23,10,14,11,8,7,19,10,15,19,8,9,14,24,24,15,26,79,-4,4,19,15,13,48,-61,3,19,12,-47,-40,-82,-97,-143,-87,-113,-113,-110,-92,-260,-53,-102,-94,-224,-107,-184,-151,-159,-129,-147,-126,-142,-167,-159,-168,-141,-134,-151,-216,-185,-205,-219,-229,-236,-259,-241,-162,-237,-279,-310,-309,-250,-309,-301,-319,-292,-334,-301,-333,-345,-432,-369,-471,-439,-453,-271,-499,-255,-275,-393,-410,-416,-451,-457] Whenever one Ghosh finds a door, another Ghosh finds a window. Ghosh Aronyak lost to Aronian and is out of the World Cup, but Diptayan Ghosh has advanced after this convincing win (and big upset) of Ian Nepomniachtchi.} 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 b4 9. d4 d6 10. dxe5 Nxe5 11. Nbd2 a5 {Relatively rare, but elite players including especially Vincent Keymer (multiple times) have employed this.} 12. Nxe5 dxe5 13. Qe2 {Sort of a novelty. The move had never been played there, but it transposed into 33 games that had reached this position through a different move order, including games where Carlsen and Ding had Black.} Bc5 14. Nf3 (14. Nc4 {is the main line.}) 14... Qe7 (14... Qd6) 15. h3 $6 {A poor novelty almost certainly devised at the board.} (15. Be3 Ba6 (15... Bg4 16. Bxc5 Qxc5 17. h3 Bxf3 18. Qxf3 Rad8 19. Rad1 h6 20. Rd3 Rxd3 21. Qxd3 g6 22. Rd1 Rb8 23. Qe2 {½-½ Baules,J-Pereira,N (2339) CADAP GML/pr02 email ICCF email 2017}) 16. Bxc5 Qxc5 17. Qe3 Qxe3 18. Rxe3 Rfe8 19. c3 Ng4 20. Ng5 Nxe3 21. Bxf7+ Kf8 22. Bxe8 Rxe8 23. fxe3 bxc3 24. bxc3 h6 25. Nf3 Bd3 26. Rd1 Bxe4 27. Rd7 Re7 28. Rd8+ Kf7 29. Nd2 Bc6 30. Nc4 Ke6 31. Nxa5 Bxa4 32. Nb7 Re8 33. Nc5+ Kf6 34. Rxe8 {½-½ Karjakin,S (2753)-Carlsen,M (2834) Tata Steel-A 80th Wijk aan Zee 2018 (13)}) 15... Ba6 16. Qd1 $6 (16. Bc4 {was presumably Nepo's original intention, and I'm guessing he was scared away from it because of} Bxf2+ {when 17.Kxf2 allows ...Qc5+ and then taking the bishop. Nevertheless, it was correct to play 16.Bc4, and now} 17. Qxf2 Bxc4 18. Bg5 $15 {/? isn't amazing for White but it is better than the game.}) 16... Rad8 $17 17. Nd2 $2 (17. Bd2) 17... Bd4 $17 {/-+ White's position is awful. He has been trying to avoid giving up any material but the bind is getting more and more severe by the move.} (17... Rd6 $1 $19 {was even better.}) 18. Qf3 $6 {Finally trying to buy his way out of prison, but it's too late to save him.} (18. Rb1 $142 {was a little better, trying to play Qf3 without giving up the b-pawn. All the same, White's position is horrid after 18...Rd6 followed by ...Nd7 and ...Rf6 or the showy} Bc3 $5) 18... Bxb2 19. Bxb2 Rxd2 20. Qe3 Rdd8 $19 {White's position looks almost okay with his bishops pointing in the general direction of Black's kingside. That illusion is dispelled once one notices the idea of ...c5-c4.} 21. f4 exf4 $1 22. Qxf4 c5 23. Bd5 (23. e5 Nd5 $19 {reiterates the dilemma: White either takes on d5 or faces ...c4. (Note that even if White's queen covers the c4 square Black can still play it because Bxc4 is met by ...Qc5+.)}) 23... Nxd5 24. exd5 Qd6 25. Qg4 Qg6 26. Qxg6 hxg6 {Despite the opposite-colored bishops White is dead lost. Not only is he a pawn down, he's got the further problem that his queenside pawns are all pretty weak, so it's almost guaranteed that he will lose a second pawn sooner or later. It should also be noted that opposite-colored bishop endings aren't *that* drawish when there are rooks on the board - especially with all four rooks remaining. Ghosh's technique the rest of the way is impressive.} 27. Rad1 Rd7 28. d6 Rfd8 29. Be5 Bb7 30. Bg3 Bc6 31. Ra1 f6 32. Kf2 Kf7 33. h4 c4 34. Red1 Re8 35. Bf4 c3 36. g3 Re6 37. Rd4 g5 38. hxg5 fxg5 39. Bxg5 Rdxd6 40. Rc4 Rd5 41. Be3 Rde5 42. Rf1 Kg8 43. g4 Rxe3 44. Rxc6 Re2+ 45. Kf3 Rxc6 46. Kxe2 Rd6 (46... Rd6 47. Rc1 Rd2+ 48. Ke3 Kf7 49. Ke4 Ke6 50. g5 g6 {puts White into a fatal zugzwang - not that Black needs it - he can win without help by bringing his king to the queenside and supporting the ...b3 advance.}) 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.05"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Jobava, Baadur"] [Black "Le, Quang Liem"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C45"] [WhiteElo "2577"] [BlackElo "2729"] [WhiteFideId "13601520"] [WhiteFideId "12401137"] [PlyCount "44"] [GameId "2240995128166075"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {The first game of their match had been drawn, so Jobava didn't need to do anything crazy. He just does because it's his crowd-pleasing style. On this occasion it boomerangs.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 {The eternal dilemma: 4...Nf6 or 4...Bc5? Black decides on door #3.} Qf6 5. Nf5 {Somewhat rare here, but if Black plays 5...Bc5 it transposes to well-known theory. Either way, the usual idea behind Nf5 is to play Ne3 and (eventually, hopefully) Nd5.} (5. Be3 {invites a transposition to the} Bc5 {line. This move order is a mild success for Black in that White lost the options of 5.Nxc6 and the trendy 5.Nb3.}) ({Other options:} 5. Nf3 Bb4+ 6. c3 Bc5) (5. Nxc6 Bc5) (5. Ne2 Bc5 6. Nf4 Nge7 7. Nc3 O-O) 5... Bb4+ {There are only two games in the database to reach this position, and one of them is another Jobava effort.} 6. c3 Bc5 {Back to more predecessors. This ...Bb4+, ...Bc5 idea is known in multiple Scotch lines.} 7. Be3 d6 (7... Bxe3 8. Nxe3 Nge7 9. g3 d6 10. Bg2 h5 11. h4 Bd7 12. Nd2 O-O-O 13. f4 Qg6 14. Kf2 f5 15. Re1 Rhf8 16. a4 Rde8 17. a5 a6 18. b4 fxe4 19. Nxe4 Nf5 20. Nxf5 Bxf5 21. Qd5 Bd7 22. Bf3 Rf5 23. Qd3 Ref8 24. Re3 Nd8 25. Ng5 Bc6 26. Rae1 Bxf3 27. Kxf3 Kd7 28. Re7+ Kc8 29. R1e3 Nc6 30. R7e6 R8f6 31. Kg2 Nd8 32. Re8 Kd7 33. R3e7+ Kc8 34. Qe4 d5 35. Qe3 Rc6 36. Qa7 {1-0 Jobava,B (2578)-Kazakouski,V (2567) EU-ch Blitz Skopje 2024 (6)}) 8. Bxc5 (8. Nd4 $142 $146) 8... Bxf5 $1 (8... dxc5 $11 {isn't bad, but the text is better.}) 9. exf5 $146 (9. Be3 $2 {is a bad move, despite the successful result.} Bxe4 10. Nd2 Bf5 $17 {1-0 Gevorgyan,M (2255)-Styazhkina,A (2289) Wch Rapid (Women) Moscow 2019 (11)} (10... Bd5 $1 $17 {/-+})) 9... dxc5 10. Bb5 Nge7 11. O-O O-O $15 {Good prep by Le, who enjoys both a lead in development and what will most likely be an extra pawn in the near future.} 12. Qf3 $2 {This saves the pawn or at least makes its capture unappealing (taking on f5 will lead to Black's "enjoying" tripled c-pawns). Le finds a better idea: instead of winning a pawn he'll sac one for the initiative.} Ne5 $1 13. Qxb7 $2 {Grabbing a pawn and ruining Black's queenside seems appealing at first glance, but it quickly leads to disaster.} Rab8 $19 14. Qa6 c6 $1 15. Be2 Rxb2 {Material is even once again, the f5-pawn is still weak, and now White can add to his list of woes his difficulty in developing his pieces and Black's very active forces.} 16. f4 Nd7 17. Bf3 Nxf5 18. Na3 Qxc3 19. Qxc6 Nf6 20. Nb5 Qb4 21. Nxa7 {Re-establishing material equality. However...} Nd4 22. Qd6 Qd2 {Threatening to take on f3 and give mate on g2, but the knight check on f3 - or e2 for that matter - discovers an attack on White's queen. About the best White can do is play 23.Kh1, when 23...Nxf3 "only" wins a piece for nothing.} 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.05"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Supi, Luis Paulo"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B22"] [WhiteElo "2740"] [BlackElo "2575"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "2106388"] [PlyCount "53"] [GameId "2240995128166076"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,53,15,32,27,11,-46,14,18,4,26,21,33,27,14,27,10,19,25,2,10,15,22,21,44,35,35,45,35,8,34,23,29,-109,-79,-3,-87,-12,25,16,24,41,31,144,45,159,50,53,71,51,72,-103,123,84,546,583]} 1. e4 c5 2. c3 {Rapport already won the first game of the match, so he's playing 2.c3, which seems to be the official drawing weapon of super-GMs (most notably Carlsen) when they want a draw with White in a match-clinching situation. I can't say I've been impressed by the efficacy of the approach, but even though White gets absolutely nothing out of the opening in this game and was even very slightly worse at one point, he does get the happy ending he desired.} d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. d4 e6 6. Na3 a6 7. Nc4 Nbd7 8. Be2 b5 9. Na5 (9. Ne3 Qc6) 9... Bd6 10. c4 bxc4 11. Nxc4 O-O 12. Nxd6 Qxd6 13. O-O a5 14. Be3 $146 (14. dxc5 Qxc5 15. Be3 Qb4 16. b3 Nd5 17. Bd2 Qb6 18. Bc4 N7f6 19. Qe2 Ba6 20. Ne5 a4 21. bxa4 Bxc4 22. Nxc4 Qd4 23. Rfe1 Rxa4 24. Ne5 Rfa8 25. Bg5 Ne4 26. Nf3 Qb4 27. Qc2 h6 28. Bc1 Qc5 29. Qxc5 Nxc5 30. a3 f6 31. Bb2 Nd3 32. Re2 Rb8 33. Bc1 e5 34. g3 Nxc1 35. Rxc1 Rxa3 36. Nh4 Rab3 37. Nf5 Rb1 38. Rxb1 Rxb1+ 39. Kg2 Rb7 40. Rd2 Ne7 41. Nxe7+ Rxe7 42. h4 h5 43. Ra2 Kf7 44. Ra4 Ke6 45. Rb4 Kf5 46. Ra4 Rd7 47. Rb4 Rd4 48. Rb7 g5 49. hxg5 Kxg5 50. Rg7+ Kh6 51. Rg8 Kh7 52. Re8 h4 53. gxh4 Rxh4 54. Kf3 Kg6 55. Ke3 Kf5 56. f3 Ra4 57. Rb8 Ra3+ 58. Ke2 Kg6 59. Rb5 Kg5 60. Kf2 Rd3 61. Ke2 Rd4 62. Ke3 Ra4 63. Rc5 Kf5 64. Rb5 Ra6 65. Rb4 Ke6 66. f4 Ra3+ 67. Ke2 {½-½ Bjerre,J (2633)-Bacrot,E (2668) EU-chT 24th Budva 2023 (5.1)}) 14... cxd4 15. Bxd4 (15. Qxd4 $11) 15... Nd5 (15... Ba6) 16. Rc1 Ba6 17. Bxa6 Qxa6 18. Qa4 Qb7 (18... N7b6) 19. Rc2 Rfc8 20. Rfc1 Rxc2 21. Qxc2 f6 22. Qe4 {It's not that easy for Black to find something constructive given that he's in a must-win situation, but his "plan" over the next five moves is not the solution.} Ra6 {Rook goes up.} (22... Nf8 $11) 23. Rc4 Rd6 {Rook goes to its left.} 24. h4 e5 {The rook rests.} 25. Bc5 Ra6 $2 {The rook goes back to its right.} (25... Nxc5 26. Rxc5 Qb4 $11) 26. Be3 $2 (26. h5 $18) 26... Ra8 $2 {Aaaaand the rook goes down, home again. Just in time to see the game end.} (26... Rd6 $14 {/?}) 27. Rc7 $3 {A great final move, exploiting the poor placement of all five Black's pieces.} (27. Rc7 $3 Qb5 {This holds on for a move, but} 28. a4 {leaves the Black queen unable to save herself and both the knights as well.}) 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.05"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Black "Nesterov, Arseniy"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C43"] [WhiteElo "2690"] [BlackElo "2595"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "24198455"] [PlyCount "57"] [GameId "2240995128166086"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {Game 1 of the match was drawn.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. dxe5 Bc5 {The tactically frisky option.} (4... d5 {is considered the most reliable move, and after} 5. Nbd2 {the relatively recent discovery of} Qd7 {(in 2018, by Caruana, I believe) has fared well for Black since its inception.}) 5. Qd5 (5. Bc4 Nxf2 6. Bxf7+ Kxf7 7. Qd5+ Kg6 8. Qxc5 Nxh1 9. Nc3 h6 {is equal but crazy. Here are some high-level examples:} 10. Qc4 (10. Nd5 Re8 11. Qd4 Kh7 12. Bxh6 gxh6 13. O-O-O Re6 14. Nf6+ Kh8 15. Nh4 d6 16. Qf4 Kg7 17. Qg4+ Kh8 18. Ng6+ Kg7 19. Nf8+ {1-0 Theodorou,N (2619)-Radjabov,T (2745) EU-chT 24th Budva 2023 (6.1)}) 10... d6 (10... d5 11. Nxd5 Nc6 12. Be3 Kh7 13. Nf6+ {1-0 Erigaisi,A (2712)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2771) Chess.com Speed Chess Chess.com INT blitz 2023 (1.2)}) 11. Nd5 Nc6 12. e6 Kh7 13. Qe4+ Kg8 14. e7 Qe8 15. Nxc7 Qxe7 16. Qxe7 Nxe7 17. Nxa8 Kf7 18. Be3 Bd7 19. Nc7 Rc8 20. O-O-O (20. Bxa7 Rxc7 21. Kd2 Bf5 (21... Rc4 22. Rxh1 Ra4 23. Bb8 Bc6 24. Bxd6 Bxf3 25. Bxe7 Bxg2 26. Rg1 Bd5 27. Bc5 Rxa2 28. Ba3 g5 29. Ke3 b5 30. c3 Ke6 31. Kf2 Kf5 32. Kg3 Bc4 33. Re1 Bd3 34. h4 Kg6 35. Rh1 Kh5 36. hxg5+ Kxg5 37. Kf3 h5 38. Rd1 Bc4 39. Rg1+ Kf5 40. Kg3 Ke4 41. Rd1 Ke3 42. Rh1 Kd3 43. Kh4 Rxa3 44. Rh3+ Kc2 45. bxa3 Kb2 46. Kg5 Kxa3 47. Kf4 b4 48. cxb4+ Kxb4 49. Rxh5 {½-½ Abdusattorov,N (2734)-Duda,J (2729) Duesseldorf WR Masters 2023 (7)}) 22. Nd4 Nf2 23. Nxf5 Ne4+ 24. Kd3 Nxf5 25. Kxe4 Rxc2 26. Kxf5 Rc4 {0-1 Erigaisi,A (2712)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2771) Chess.com Speed Chess Chess.com INT blitz 2023 (1.12)}) 20... Rxc7 21. Bxa7 b5 22. Bb6 Rc6 23. Bd4 Bf5 24. c3 b4 25. Rxh1 Nd5 26. Kd2 bxc3+ 27. Bxc3 Nxc3 28. bxc3 Ra6 29. Ra1 Be4 30. a4 Ra5 31. Nd4 Bxg2 32. c4 Rh5 33. a5 Rxh2 34. a6 h5 35. a7 h4 36. Kc3 Ba8 37. Nb5 Rh3+ 38. Kd4 g5 39. Nc7 Bc6 40. Ra6 Bb7 41. Rb6 Bh1 42. Rb1 Bc6 43. Rb6 Bh1 44. Ra6 Bb7 45. Rxd6 Ra3 46. Rd7+ Kg6 47. Nb5 Ra1 48. Rxb7 h3 49. Rb6+ Kg7 50. Rb7+ Kg6 51. Rb8 g4 52. Rg8+ Kh7 53. Rxg4 {1-0 Firouzja,A (2777)-So,W (2753) Chess.com Speed Chess Chess.com INT blitz 2023 (2.11)}) 5... Bxf2+ 6. Ke2 f5 7. Nc3 c6 8. Nxe4 $1 {A wonderful idea, but not one Harikrishna can take credit for. This was first played back in 1987.} cxd5 9. Nd6+ Kf8 10. Kxf2 Nc6 11. Be3 $1 d4 12. Bf4 Qb6 $6 $146 {Not so bad, but the engine prefers the move chosen by Paravyan in an earlier game.} (12... b5 13. Bd3 Qb6 14. Bxf5 g6 15. Bh6+ Ke7 16. Bg5+ Kf8 17. Bh6+ Ke7 18. Bg5+ Kf8 19. Be4 Nxe5 20. Nxc8 Ng4+ 21. Kg3 Rxc8 22. Kxg4 Qe6+ 23. Kg3 h6 24. Rhf1 Kg7 25. Bf4 Qxe4 26. Rae1 Qxc2 27. Be5+ Kg8 28. Nxd4 Qxb2 29. Rf6 Qc3+ 30. Nf3 Qd3 31. Rd6 Qc2 32. Bxh8 Kxh8 33. Rxd7 a5 34. Ree7 g5 35. h3 Qf5 36. Rf7 Qb1 37. Kh2 Qb2 38. Rh7+ Kg8 39. Rhe7 Qf6 40. Re4 Rf8 41. Red4 Rf7 42. Rd8+ Kg7 43. R8d6 Qf5 44. R6d5 Qe6 45. Re5 Qf6 46. Rxb5 a4 47. Rbd5 a3 48. Rd6 Qf5 49. Ra6 Qc5 50. Rdd6 Rxf3 51. gxf3 Qf2+ 52. Kh1 Qxf3+ 53. Kh2 Qf2+ 54. Kh1 Qf1+ 55. Kh2 Qe2+ 56. Kg1 Qe3+ 57. Kg2 Qe2+ 58. Kg1 Qe1+ 59. Kg2 Qe2+ 60. Kg1 {½-½ Karthikeyan,M (2610)-Paravyan,D (2612) Chessable Masters Div 3 Win Chess.com INT rapid 2024 (3.2)}) 13. Bd3 $14 Ne7 $2 {It would seem that Nesterov didn't prepare this line as carefully as he needed to - or he just forgot something. Either way, it's a bit strange as he chose the variation and Harikrishna has played moves that are among those you'd have to expect playing this variation with 4...Bc5.} 14. Bd2 $18 {Black's problem is that although he has a significant material advantage he can't use it--half his army is paralyzed.} (14. Rae1 $18) 14... Nd5 15. Bxf5 (15. Rhe1) 15... Ne3 16. Bd3 Ke7 17. Rhe1 Rf8 (17... h6 $142) 18. Rxe3 $1 dxe3+ 19. Bxe3 {Now the threat is 20.Bg5+ Ke6 21.Bc4#; never mind the queen! Black must start to return the generosity White has shown thus far.} Rxf3+ 20. Kxf3 Qxb2 {Now that White's e-pawn is unprotected Bg5+ followed by Bc4 is no longer mate. (Additionally, Bg5+ can be met by ...Kf8.) No problem, says White, and even though he's still down three point of material he is still functionally material ahead with Black's bishop and rook still imprisoned behind the pawns.} 21. Bg5+ $1 Ke6 (21... Kf8 22. Rf1 Qxe5 23. Kg4+ Kg8 24. Bc4+ $18) 22. Re1 $1 (22. Bc4+ $1 Kxe5 23. Rd1 $1 $18 {is good too.}) 22... b5 23. Bf5+ Kd5 24. Be4+ Ke6 25. Bxa8 {White still has an attack, only now he can finally enjoy a material advantage to go with it.} Qc3+ 26. Re3 Qxc2 27. Be4 Qd1+ 28. Kg3 Qh5 29. h4 {White is ahead in material and has threats against all Black's pieces. The bishop is stuck - 29...Ba6 30.Ra3 - but there are also ideas like Kh3 followed by g4, trapping the queen, or Bc2-b3#. It's too much.} 1-0