[Event "FIDE Candidates 2024"] [Site "Toronto CAN"] [Date "2024.04.11"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Gukesh, D."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2743"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2024.04.04"] {[%evp 0,79,12,26,28,28,28,27,51,25,51,19,36,31,34,40,35,47,32,20,23,-10,-5,-15,-8,-12,1,-15,-15,-10,-3,-9,-9,9,-7,-11,-11,-4,-4,-4,0,-86,-10,-71,-85,-88,-67,-97,-75,-133,-45,-84,-89,-107,-42,-33,-44,-44,0,0,0,0,-12,-12,5,-8,0,0,0,-24,-6,-19,-16,-16,66,11,135,258,877,29986,29997,29998]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 d5 3. e3 c5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Nbd2 Qb6 6. Rb1 cxd4 7. exd4 Bd7 8. c3 Bb5 9. h4 {It's an Exchange Caro-Kann-like structure, but there are some French Defense elements at play here. Black is trying to swap his bad bishop, and White wants kingside play with the h-pawn advancing both to do whatever damage it can and to allow a rook lift. White doesn't want to take on b5 but will wait for Black to swap, so the king can then castle by hand.} Nbd7 10. Rh3 $146 Be7 (10... h5 {is worth considering, surrendering the g5 square but not ceding an overall space advantage on the kingside.}) 11. h5 h6 12. a4 Bxf1 13. Kxf1 O-O 14. Kg1 Qc6 (14... Rac8 $11) 15. Ne5 Nxe5 16. dxe5 Nd7 17. Rg3 Kh8 18. a5 (18. Ra1 {was perhaps a better way to deal with the a-pawn. It's not as if the rook is doing much on b1.}) 18... Qc7 19. Nf3 Qxa5 20. c4 (20. Bxh6 gxh6 21. Qd2 Kh7 22. Qc2+ Kh8 23. Qd2 {forces an immediate draw. To Firouzja's credit (unless he's playing on tilt) he still has the confidence and fighting spirit to play for more, even at -3 against the tournament's co-leader.}) 20... Rg8 21. Ra1 $6 {Objectively bad, but Firouzja is playing for complications.} (21. cxd5 Qxd5 22. Qxd5 exd5 23. Rd1 Nc5 24. Nd4 $11) 21... Qb4 $15 {/?} 22. b3 Nc5 23. Nd4 Ne4 24. Re3 Qc5 (24... Qb6 $1 {This would have stayed away from the b4 trick we'll see a little later.}) 25. Rc1 {So far, Gukesh is playing like a champ, and he's also well ahead on the clock, though both players had burned a lot of time at this point. The Nakamura-Nepomniachtchi game had already been drawn, so Gukesh undoubtedly knew that if he won he'd finish the first half of the tournament in clear first.} Rgd8 (25... Rac8 $1 {and now there's no b4:} 26. b4 $2 (26. f3 $142 Ng5 27. Rec3 Qa5 $15 {/?}) 26... Qxb4 27. Rb3 (27. cxd5 $4 Rxc1 ({or} 27... Nxf2 {, if you want to be fancy.}) 28. Qxc1 Qxd4 $19) 27... Qa4 28. Rxb7 Qxd1+ 29. Rxd1 Bc5 {Threatening ...Nc3 followed by ...Bxd4 and ...Ne2+.} 30. Be3 dxc4 $19) 26. b4 $1 Qxb4 27. cxd5 Nxf2 $1 (27... exd5 28. Rb3 Qa4 29. Rxb7 Qxd1+ 30. Rxd1 Bc5 {As above, White must beware of the threatened ...Nc3 followed by ...Bxd4 and ...Ne2+, so there's no time for 31.Rxf7.} 31. Be3 Re8 32. Rxf7 Rxe5 $11 {Objectively, this isn't as good for Black as the move Gukesh played, but it would have been much safer.}) 28. Kxf2 Rxd5 29. Re4 Rad8 30. Be3 Bc5 {Maybe Gukesh thought he was winning here. With very little time on the clock - less than two minutes to make 10 moves, if I recall correctly - Firouzja finds the only move.} 31. Qb3 $3 Qxb3 (31... Rxd4 $6 32. Rxd4 $1 {The only move.} Qxb3 33. Rxd8+ Kh7 34. Rxc5 {is only slightly better according to the engine, but that's predicated on Black's finding multiple only-moves. I doubt Gukesh would survive this, given that he too was in time trouble.} Qb4 $8 35. Kf3 $1 Qh4 $8 36. Rd4 (36. Rd7 Qxh5+ 37. Kf2 Qh4+ 38. Kf1 Qe4 39. Bd2 b5 $1 40. Rcc7 a6 41. Rxf7 Qd3+ 42. Ke1 Qg3+ $8 43. Kd1 Qxg2 {etc.}) 36... Qxh5+ 37. Kf2 a6 38. Rc7 b5 $8 39. Rf4 Kg8 $1 {and so on.}) 32. Nxb3 Bxe3+ 33. Rxe3 a5 {Objectively fine, but practically a very bad move as Firouzja's knight gets active and starts creating threats. By now the players were down to seconds.} ({Had Gukesh played} 33... b6 {, it's very likely he would have drawn.}) 34. Rc7 a4 35. Nc5 Ra8 (35... b5 36. Rf3 Rxe5 37. Rfxf7 a3 $1 38. Rxg7 Rxc5 $11) 36. Nd7 $3 {An incredible move to find with just seconds on the clock, and in such a high-pressure situation. Gukesh clearly didn't see this coming, and now Black must worry about both Nb6 and the mating trick after the intended 36...a3. Now Gukesh fell below Firouzja on the clock.} Kh7 $2 {Trying to avoid a back-rank check (compare the 36...a3 37.Rxa3 line) before playing ...a3, but this walks into a new problem.} (36... a3 37. Rxa3 $1 Rxa3 $4 ({Believe it or not, Black is fine after} 37... Rd8 $1 {, e.g.} 38. Nc5 Rxe5 39. g4 b6 40. Nd7 Rd5 41. Nxb6 Rd2+ 42. Kg3 f5 {and Black will survive, especially having made the time control.}) 38. Rc8+ Kh7 39. Nf8+ Kg8 40. Ng6+ Kh7 41. Rh8#) 37. Rf3 $3 a3 (37... Kg8 38. Nb6 Rd2+ 39. Kg3 Rf8 40. Ra3 $18 {and White will prosaically win the ending as Black's queenside pawns disappear into thin air.}) 38. Rxf7 $1 Kh8 (38... a2 39. Nf6+ Kh8 40. Rxg7 a1=Q 41. Rh7#) 39. Nf8 $1 a2 (39... Rxf8 40. Rxf8+ Kh7 41. Rcc8 g5 42. Rf7#) 40. Ng6+ {It's mate next move by 41.Rxg7, no matter which square Black's king chooses. Gukesh lost on time before resigning (or getting mated), and spent the next few minutes at the board, understandably stunned and distraught. The end of the game was a tragedy for him, but I was awestruck at Firouzja's tactical prowess with literally just seconds on his clock. Anyway, by no means is all lost for Gukesh; at the end of the day, he's just half a point out of first with seven rounds to play, and his fate remains in his own hands.} 1-0 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2024"] [Site "Toronto CAN"] [Date "2024.04.11"] [Round "7.2"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2789"] [BlackElo "2758"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2024.04.04"] 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 (9. Nc3 {was Praggnanandhaa's try in round 5, which Nepo drew with difficulty.}) 9... Bf5 10. Qb3 Qd7 11. c5 Bc7 12. g3 (12. Nc3 {has had very good results for White, but Nepo held with Black against Maghsoodloo earlier this year.} Re8 (12... Nxc5 13. Bxf5 Nxb3 14. Bxd7 Nxa1 15. Bf5 Na6 16. Bd2 g6 17. Bd3 Nb4 18. Bf1 Nac2 19. Rc1 a5 20. a3 a4 {½-½ Dragnev,V (2565)-Cheng,B (2574) Vienna Challenge m 2023 (1) is at least initially the computer's recommendation against 12.Nc3, and Black managed to hold from here in a 2023 game.}) 13. Be3 h6 14. Nh4 Bh7 15. g3 Bd8 16. Nf3 Bf6 17. Rad1 Na6 18. Bxe4 dxe4 19. Ne5 Bxe5 20. dxe5 Qe7 21. e6 Bf5 22. Rd7 Qxe6 23. Qxe6 Bxe6 24. Rxb7 Bc8 25. Rb3 Be6 26. Rb7 Bc8 27. Rb3 Bg4 28. Rb7 Reb8 29. Rxb8+ Rxb8 30. Rb1 Nb4 31. a3 Nc2 32. Bf4 Rb3 33. Nxe4 Rd3 34. Be5 Bf3 35. Nd6 Rd5 36. Bc3 Rxc5 37. h3 h5 38. Kh2 Nxa3 39. Re1 Nb5 40. Re8+ Kh7 41. Nxf7 Nxc3 42. bxc3 Ra5 43. c4 Ra2 44. Rf8 Be2 45. h4 Ra5 46. Ng5+ Kg6 47. Rc8 c5 48. Ne6 Bxc4 49. Nf4+ Kh7 50. Rc7 Kh6 51. Rc6+ Kh7 52. Nxh5 Be2 53. Nf4 Bf3 54. Rc7 Ra1 55. g4 Bxg4 56. Rxc5 {½-½ Maghsoodloo,P (2740)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2769) Tata Steel-A 86th Wijk aan Zee 2024 (7)}) (12. Qxb7 $4 {is of course a blunder due to} Bxh2+ {and 13...Qxb7, but after Nakamura's move the capture on b7 becomes a possibility.}) 12... a5 $146 {A new move, but both players had gone much more deeply in their prep.} ({Black's results after 12.g3 have been poor, but the one bright spot was a game with} 12... Ba5 {, which the engine approves of as well. If 12...a5 is a bit too exciting for your taste, it seems that this is a decent alternative.}) 13. Nbd2 (13. Nc3 Nxc5 14. dxc5 Bxd3 15. Qxb7 Ra6 $11) (13. Nh4 Na6 14. Nxf5 Qxf5 15. Bxe4 dxe4 16. Nc3 (16. Qxb7 $6 Qd7 17. Qb3 $8 Qxd4 $11 {/?}) 16... Nb4 $11) 13... Be6 $1 (13... Re8 {is less precise, giving White the more comfortable game after} 14. Nh4) 14. Qxb7 Nxf2 $1 15. Bxh7+ (15. Kxf2 $4 Bxg3+ $19 {is essentially the same small trap we saw with 12.Qxb7?? Bxh2+.}) (15. Qxa8 $2 Nxd3 $17 {/-+ There's no reason White shouldn't get essentially the same thing, but with the h-pawn thrown in for free and with Black's king on a more vulnerable square.}) 15... Kxh7 16. Qxa8 Nh3+ $1 (16... Nd3 $2 17. Re3 $16) 17. Kg2 Bg4 18. Qb7 Re8 19. Qb3 Rxe1 20. Nxe1 Qe6 21. Qd3+ {Everything so far squares with the computer, and both players were moving quickly to this point. Now Nepo slowed down, and either didn't remember his analysis or didn't trust what he remembered.} Bf5 $6 (21... Kg8 $1 {is the most precise move, though the bishop may yet come back to f5. The most basic difference between this move and the text is that} 22. Qf1 $4 {is a terrible move here because of} Be2 {when the queen is almost trapped. She can hide on h1, but that will be a disaster:} 23. Qh1 g5 24. Nef3 g4 25. Ng1 {Black has many ways to win, the fastest being} Bf4 $1 {Threatening 26...Bxd2 followed by 27...Qe4+, mating.} 26. gxf4 Qe3 27. Nxe2 (27. Nxh3 gxh3#) 27... Qf2#) ({After} 21... Kg8 $1 {White should instead prefer} 22. Nef3 {,} (22. Ndf3) ({or} 22. Kf1 {, with 0.00 according to the computer but mutual headaches for humans who haven't memorized all the computer analysis.})) 22. Qf1 Nd7 (22... Bd8 $5 {is possible, looking to reroute the bishop to f6, and}) (22... g5 $5 {is another reasonable move (intending ...g4), looking to cement the knight on h3 while keeping White's pieces off the f3 square.}) 23. Nef3 (23. a4 {isn't bad, looking to bring the rook into the game via the a3 square.}) 23... Nf6 24. Ng1 Kg8 (24... Ne4) 25. Qe2 $6 (25. Ndf3 $142 {was better, though there's still a ways to go before Black's compensation has been snuffed out.}) 25... Ne4 26. a4 $6 {We've seen this idea before, and it's a good one. Unfortunately for Nakamura, it's not a good idea here because of Black's rejoinder, which he didn't even notice until almost right after he made his move.} (26. Ndf3 $142) (26. Nxh3 $142) 26... Bxg3 $3 {White is fortunate that he isn't losing after this great shot.} 27. hxg3 $8 (27. Nxe4 $2 {loses, though not quickly. Black's initiative is just extremely difficult to quell.} Bxe4+ $1 28. Kxg3 Nxg1 29. Qf1 Nf3 30. Be3 Qg6+ 31. Kf2 Qh5 32. Ra3 Nxh2 33. Qg1 Qf3+ 34. Ke1 Qh3 35. Qf2 Nf3+ 36. Ke2 Qg4 37. Kd1 f6 $19) 27... Nf4+ 28. gxf4 Qg6+ 29. Kf1 $8 (29. Kh2 $2 Qg3+ 30. Kh1 Nf2+ 31. Qxf2 Qxf2 $19 {is a worse way to give up the queen. White's king remains vulnerable, and his f-, d-, and c-pawns are also weak.}) 29... Ng3+ 30. Ke1 Nxe2 31. Nxe2 Bg4 $1 32. Ra3 $1 Bxe2 33. Kxe2 Qg1 34. Nb3 (34. Rc3 Qxd4 35. Nf3 Qxa4 $11 {seems riskier for White, though it too maintains equality.}) 34... Qg2+ 35. Kd1 Qf3+ 36. Kc2 Qe4+ $8 {If White's king reaches b1, it's safe, and at that point White's extra material will start to count.} 37. Kc3 Qf3+ 38. Kc2 Qe4+ 39. Kc3 Qf3+ 40. Kc2 Qe4+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2024"] [Site "Toronto CAN"] [Date "2024.04.11"] [Round "7.3"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C02"] [WhiteElo "2803"] [BlackElo "2747"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "82"] [EventDate "2024.04.04"] {[%evp 0,82,22,25,36,36,38,13,13,8,-11,-9,14,-2,2,-5,-5,8,7,-3,-3,31,3,-2,1,-8,-8,-1,-11,-11,-9,-16,-11,-19,22,2,17,18,19,13,13,18,10,12,30,0,-8,0,-17,-14,25,20,26,27,19,19,22,12,2,-2,0,-2,-5,-7,5,0,27,21,32,0,7,7,7,16,11,9,9,6,15,0,10,0,6,13,13]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. a3 Bd7 (6... c4 {leads to a very different sort of game.}) (6... Nh6 {can lead to play similar to what we'll see.}) 7. b4 cxd4 8. cxd4 Rc8 9. Bb2 Nge7 10. Nc3 Na5 $1 {A standard trick, without which Black would be nearly lost.} 11. Na4 Qc6 12. Nc5 Nc4 13. Bc3 (13. Bc1 {is more common.}) 13... b6 14. Nxd7 Qxd7 15. Bd3 g6 $146 {Best, according to the engine.} 16. Qe2 h5 ({The immediate} 16... Bh6 {is also playable, but it's better, when possible, to first have the pawn on h5.}) 17. Bd2 (17. O-O $142) 17... Nxd2 18. Nxd2 Bh6 19. Bb5 (19. O-O $142) 19... Nc6 20. Nf3 O-O 21. O-O Qe7 (21... a5 $142) 22. Ba6 Rc7 23. Rfd1 (23. g3 $142) 23... Nb8 24. Bd3 a5 25. bxa5 (25. Rdb1 $142) 25... bxa5 26. Qe1 Nc6 27. Rdb1 Ra8 ({Switching attention to the kingside with} 27... g5 $142 $1 {was best, threatening ...g4 followed by ...Nxd4.} 28. Qe3 $1 Kg7 $15 (28... f5 $15)) 28. Bb5 (28. h4 $11) (28. g3 $11) 28... Qd8 (28... g5 $1 $15) 29. g3 $11 {White is fine, and soon the players start swapping their way to a draw.} Ne7 30. Kg2 Qc8 31. Qd1 Rc3 32. Rb3 Qc7 33. Rab1 Rb8 34. a4 Rc2 35. R3b2 Rc3 36. Ng1 Rc1 37. Rxc1 Qxc1 38. Qxc1 Bxc1 39. Rb1 Bd2 40. Nf3 Bb4 41. Rc1 Rc8 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2024"] [Site "Toronto CAN"] [Date "2024.04.11"] [Round "7.4"] [White "Abasov, Nijat"] [Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2632"] [BlackElo "2727"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "101"] [EventDate "2024.04.04"] {[%evp 0,101,22,25,25,25,25,25,22,17,9,-3,22,16,45,29,60,38,47,36,41,29,34,22,16,-4,-1,0,-6,1,-9,0,-7,-23,3,-11,-11,-17,-13,-13,-15,-28,3,-11,7,-19,-26,-16,-23,-13,-17,-13,5,-51,11,26,62,66,49,28,28,23,15,-18,-104,-108,-74,-98,-130,-130,-55,-47,-27,-43,-47,-48,13,27,38,-13,-16,-36,-14,-36,-40,-54,-54,-44,-53,-10,-10,-67,-60,-60,-60,-60,-69,-62,-68,-68,-68,-68,-69,-71]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. O-O Nd7 7. Nc3 (7. Nbd2 {is far more common.}) 7... Qe7 8. Be3 Bxe3 (8... O-O {was usual in the few preceding games (most of them Caruana-So battles from a 2021 blitz match).}) 9. fxe3 b6 10. a3 $146 Bb7 11. b4 a5 12. Ne2 O-O (12... c5) 13. Ng3 g6 14. Qd2 c5 15. Qc3 f6 (15... axb4 16. axb4 cxb4 {This looks odd, but it's surprisingly good.} 17. Qxc7 Ba6 {Threatening to win the trapped queen.} 18. Nxe5 $1 Qxe5 19. Qxd7 b3 20. cxb3 Rad8 21. Qg4 Bxd3 $11 {Although White is a pawn up, his b- and e-pawns are so weak that there can be no talk of a white advantage - especially when you throw in the superiority of Black's bishop to White's knight.}) 16. Rfb1 (16. b5) 16... Rf7 17. Nd2 h5 18. Nf3 Qe6 19. h3 Kg7 20. Kh2 Qd6 21. Nh4 Kh7 22. Qe1 Rg7 23. Qe2 Qe6 24. c3 Kg8 25. Rf1 a4 26. c4 Rd8 27. Qc2 $14 {Abasov has maneuvered more successfully than Vidit, and is starting to enjoy a genuine edge.} Nf8 28. bxc5 bxc5 29. Rf3 $6 (29. Ne2 $14 {followed by Nc3 looks nice for White.}) 29... Bc6 $11 30. Raf1 Nh7 31. Ne2 $2 (31. R3f2 $11) 31... Qd6 $17 {/-+ White's position has momentarily lost its coordination, and now Black gets a serious edge.} 32. Nc1 f5 $1 33. R3f2 (33. exf5 $4 e4+ 34. Rg3 g5 $19) 33... fxe4 34. dxe4 Qe7 35. Nf3 g5 36. g3 Nf6 37. Nd2 {Vidit has been taking full advantage of Abasov's mistake, but now he slips.} Rd6 $2 (37... Qd6 $1 $19) 38. Ne2 $11 Bd7 39. Nb1 $2 {White wants to maneuver this knight to c3 and keep the other knight in touch with the kingside. It makes sense in a general way, but the problem is that the e2-knight doesn't contact the key squares.} ({The obvious} 39. Nc3 $11 {was better, eyeing a4, b5, and d5. More often than not, the obvious move is the best move. (Though these players would not be in the Candidates if they *only* played "obvious" moves!)}) 39... h4 $1 $17 {/-+} 40. Nbc3 c6 41. gxh4 g4 $2 {A missed opportunity. Even here White's position is precarious, but Abasov finds the key defensive resource, without which he would lose, and quickly.} (41... Rh7 $1 $19 {is very unpleasant for White, whose position is probably lost.}) 42. Ng3 $1 gxh3 43. Rxf6 $1 Rxf6 44. Rxf6 Qxf6 45. Nh5 Qxh4 46. Nxg7 Kxg7 $11 {Black's extra pawn doesn't matter. His queen can't do anything useful, his bishop can't either, and he has to worry a little that White's knight will vacuum up Black's queenside pawns starting with a4 and c5.} 47. Qd2 Bc8 48. Qe2 Bg4 49. Qd2 Bc8 50. Qe2 Bg4 51. Qd2 1/2-1/2