[Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2022"] [Site "Chess24 INT"] [Date "2022.11.16"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E20"] [WhiteElo "2732"] [BlackElo "2750"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "66"] [EventDate "2022.11.14"] {[%evp 0,66,25,32,18,5,4,-3,30,-51,-21,-30,-17,-10,0,17,17,5,21,14,-5,-11,-11,-13,-3,-95,-72,-85,-91,-143,-74,-109,-108,-121,-129,-141,-106,-90,-88,-106,-101,-141,75,75,14,-255,-80,-111,-106,-106,-95,-236,-259,-342,-331,-374,-352,-554,-575,-580,-578,-630,-635,-659,-687,-687,-673,-734,-734]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 c5 5. a3 (5. d5 {is far more popular here than heading for a regular (4.a3) Saemisch.}) 5... Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Nc6 7. e4 d6 8. Ne2 b6 9. Ng3 O-O (9... Na5) 10. Be2 Ba6 11. O-O Na5 12. f4 {This exact position is new, but the situation is entirely typical for the Saemisch. White's c-pawn is weak - in this case, it's dropping off right away - and in return White gets lots of space and reasonable hopes of a successful kingside attack. The general consensus is that Black's pluses outweigh White's, but the line can be very dangerous for Black, as we'll see later in the match.} cxd4 13. cxd4 Bxc4 14. f5 $44 h6 15. Bxc4 Nxc4 16. Rb1 e5 17. d5 Rc8 18. Nh5 Na5 19. Rb4 $2 {This clumsy way of defending e4 turns out poorly, unsurprisingly.} (19. Qf3 $44) 19... Rc3 $1 $17 ({Of course not} 19... Rxc1 $4 {, because of the zwischenzug} 20. Nxf6+ $18) 20. Bd2 Rd3 $2 (20... Rxa3 $19) 21. Qc2 $1 {Using a form of the trick mentioned in the note to Black's 19th move.} Rxa3 22. Nxg7 $4 {It's not a blunder in the sense that Giri missed that Black could take the knight, obviously. But there's no justification for the piece sac, and what was a balanced situation is now completely won for Praggnanandhaa.} Kxg7 $19 (22... Qc8 $1 {is even stronger, taking advantage of the knight's lack of a safe retreating square}) 23. Qc1 {The intended payoff: White threatens both Qxa3 and Bxh6+.} Rd3 24. Bxh6+ Kh7 25. Bg5 (25. Qg5 Rg8 26. Qh4 {would win, were it not for} Rg4 $19 {, which ends the game immediately.}) (25. Bxf8 Qxf8 $19 {leaves White down material (two knights for a rook, with no compensating pawn) and Black enjoying the more active position to boot.}) 25... Rg8 26. h4 Nb3 27. Qe1 Nc5 {White is down a full piece, with no way to rev things up on the kingside. Black can start pushing the queenside pawns, and the win will be a snap.} 28. Kh1 a5 29. Rc4 b5 30. Rc3 Rxc3 31. Qxc3 Ncxe4 32. Qe3 Qc8 33. Rf3 Qc2 0-1 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2022"] [Site "Chess24 INT"] [Date "2022.11.16"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Le, Quang Liem"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A33"] [WhiteElo "2775"] [BlackElo "2774"] [PlyCount "104"] [EventDate "2022.11.14"] {[%evp 0,104,18,3,5,-24,31,25,20,8,1,1,1,-5,4,-39,-5,-18,6,-14,-9,-120,-11,1,11,5,42,35,34,20,67,38,89,-23,33,17,91,96,124,85,97,94,71,88,88,32,58,54,28,7,0,-12,0,0,0,-56,-43,-81,-45,-14,-11,-45,-62,-38,0,-33,-9,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,5,17,0,0,49,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,-1,0,0,-46,-32,-1,-1,-1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 c5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 e6 6. g3 Qb6 7. Ndb5 Ne5 8. Bf4 Nfg4 9. e3 a6 10. Qa4 g5 11. Bxe5 Nxe5 12. O-O-O Rb8 13. Nd4 Bg7 14. Be2 h6 15. Kb1 Nc6 16. f4 Qc7 17. Qc2 b5 18. Ncxb5 axb5 19. cxb5 Bb7 20. Bf3 O-O 21. bxc6 dxc6 22. Nb3 c5 23. Bxb7 Qxb7 24. Rhe1 Rfc8 25. Re2 Bxb2 26. Qxb2 c4 27. Rc2 cxb3 28. Rxc8+ Rxc8 29. Qxb3 Qg2 30. fxg5 hxg5 31. Rc1 Rd8 32. Rc2 Qh1+ 33. Kb2 Qa8 34. Qc3 Rb8+ 35. Ka1 Qh1+ 36. Rc1 Qxh2 37. Qe5 Qh8 38. Qxh8+ Kxh8 39. Rc5 g4 40. Rh5+ Kg7 41. Rg5+ Kf6 42. Rxg4 Ke5 43. Rf4 f5 44. g4 Rg8 45. gxf5 exf5 46. Rb4 Rg3 47. Rb3 Ke4 48. Kb2 Rg2+ 49. Kb1 Rg1+ 50. Kb2 Rg2+ 51. Kb1 Rg1+ 52. Kb2 Rg2+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2022"] [Site "Chess24 INT"] [Date "2022.11.16"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Erigaisi Arjun"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A04"] [WhiteElo "2733"] [BlackElo "2848"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "148"] [EventDate "2022.11.14"] 1. Nf3 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. e4 d6 4. Bc4 Nc6 5. h3 Nf6 6. Qe2 e5 7. dxe5 Nxe5 8. Nxe5 dxe5 9. O-O O-O $14 10. Rd1 Qe7 11. Kh2 $146 {A computer recommendation, so Erigaisi is very likely still in his prep.} Be6 12. Nc3 Rfd8 13. Be3 a6 14. Bxe6 (14. a4 $142 $14) 14... Qxe6 15. Bg5 (15. a4) 15... h6 (15... Rd4 $1) 16. Bxf6 Bxf6 17. Nd5 Rac8 $11 18. Qe3 Bg5 19. Qb3 b5 20. Nb4 (20. g3 $142) (20. a4 $142) 20... Qb6 21. Qf3 h5 22. Nd5 Qe6 23. Qg3 c6 24. Qxg5 cxd5 25. c3 d4 26. Rd3 Rd7 27. a4 b4 28. cxb4 Rc2 {The position is still equal, but Carlsen has managed to unbalance it. From here, Erigaisi has an increasingly difficult time maintaining control.} 29. b5 $6 (29. Rd2 $11) 29... Rxf2 30. Rc1 axb5 31. axb5 Kg7 32. Rc6 (32. Rc5 $142) 32... Qe7 33. Qxe7 Rxe7 34. Rb3 $1 Rf6 35. Kg3 Rd7 {Erigaisi is still hanging on, but the need for accuracy is becoming acute. White is understandably concerned about his king's being cut off from the d-pawn, but he had to maintain the tension, counting on the c6-rook's ability to return to the first rank if necessary to handle Black's passer.} 36. Rxf6 $2 (36. h4 $1 $15) 36... Kxf6 $19 37. Kf2 Ke6 38. Ra3 Rb7 39. Ra5 Kd6 (39... f5 $1) 40. Ke2 Kc5 41. b6+ Kd6 $1 42. Rd5+ Ke6 43. Rb5 f6 $2 (43... h4 $19 {was correct, clamping down on White's pawns.}) 44. g4 $1 $11 hxg4 45. hxg4 g5 46. Kd3 Kd6 47. Kc4 Kc6 48. Rb3 $2 (48. b4 $1 Rxb6 49. Rd5 $11 {followed by b5(+) somehow keeps the balance. It's critical in this, of course, that White's pawn is on g4, holding up Black's kingside majority. (Thus the importance of 43...h4.)}) 48... Rxb6 $19 49. Rf3 Kc7 50. b4 Rc6+ 51. Kb5 Rd6 52. Ra3 Kb7 (52... d3 $142) 53. Kc4 Rc6+ 54. Kd5 Kb6 $2 {It's a complicated ending, even for Magnus Carlsen.} (54... Rc3 $19) 55. Ra6+ $2 {This allows both sides to promote, but the resulting queen ending is winning for Black. (Not that *that* goes perfectly smoothly, either.)} (55. Ra1 $3 $11 Rc2 56. Rf1 $1 Kb5 57. Rxf6 $1 d3 58. Rd6 d2 59. Kxe5 {and White holds.}) (55. Ra2 $2 Rc1 $1 56. Rf2 Kb5 $1 57. Rxf6 d3 $1 58. Rd6 d2 59. Kxe5 {Here, obviously, White does not hold, as the rook on c1 enables Black to safely promote. White does have some pawns, but Black is in time to round them all up:} d1=Q 60. Rxd1 Rxd1 61. Kf6 Kxb4 62. Kxg5 (62. e5 Kc5 63. e6 Kd6 64. e7 Rf1+ $19) 62... Kc5 63. Kf6 Rf1+ 64. Ke6 Rg1 65. Kf5 Kd6 $19) 55... Kxa6 56. Kxc6 Ka7 57. Kc7 Ka6 58. Kc6 d3 59. b5+ Ka5 60. b6 d2 61. b7 d1=Q 62. b8=Q Ka4 $2 (62... Qd3 $1 $19 {was the only winning move.}) 63. Qb5+ Ka3 64. Qd5 $2 (64. Qa5+ Kb2 65. Qb4+ Qb3 (65... Kc2 66. Qc5+ $1 Kd3 (66... Kb2 67. Qb4+ {we've already seen.}) 67. Qd6+ Ke2 68. Qxf6 Qa4+ 69. Kd5 Qd4+ 70. Ke6 Qxe4 71. Qxg5 $11) 66. Qxb3+ $1 Kxb3 67. Kd6 Kc3 68. Ke6 Kd3 69. Kxf6 Kxe4 70. Kxg5 $11) 64... Qxg4 $19 65. Qd3+ Kb2 66. Qd2+ Kb1 $1 67. Qd3+ Kc1 $1 68. Qf1+ Kd2 69. Qxf6 Qxe4+ 70. Kd6 Qb4+ 71. Kd7 (71. Kxe5 Qc3+ 72. Kf5 Qxf6+ 73. Kxf6 g4 $19) 71... Qf4 72. Qa6 e4 73. Ke6 e3 74. Qa2+ Ke1 {A good, tough win for the champ.} 0-1 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2022"] [Site "Chess24 INT"] [Date "2022.11.16"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D84"] [WhiteElo "2756"] [BlackElo "2798"] [PlyCount "110"] [EventDate "2022.11.14"] {[%evp 0,110,25,21,27,0,24,37,65,25,22,25,18,-18,16,16,19,13,24,-7,-15,0,0,0,0,0,0,8,18,21,13,12,13,16,33,30,23,37,28,15,9,25,16,16,14,25,25,14,11,0,0,0,0,0,16,-20,-8,0,-11,-15,-22,0,0,0,4,0,15,0,10,20,22,20,7,12,12,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bf4 Bg7 5. e3 O-O 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Nxd5 Qxd5 8. Bxc7 Na6 9. Bxa6 Qxg2 10. Qf3 Qxf3 11. Nxf3 bxa6 12. Rc1 Bb7 13. Ke2 f6 14. Rc5 e6 15. Rhc1 Rf7 16. Bg3 Bf8 17. Rc7 Re8 18. Nd2 g5 19. a3 h5 20. h4 Rxc7 21. Rxc7 Re7 22. Rc1 Rg7 23. hxg5 fxg5 24. Be5 Rf7 25. f3 Kh7 26. e4 a5 27. Kf2 g4 28. Rc7 Rxc7 29. Bxc7 Bg7 30. Be5 Bxe5 31. dxe5 gxf3 32. Kxf3 a4 33. Kf4 Kg6 34. Nf3 Bc6 35. Nh4+ Kh6 36. Nf3 Kg6 37. Nd4 Bd7 38. Kg3 Kg5 39. Nf3+ Kg6 40. Kh4 Bc6 41. Ng5 Bb7 42. Nxe6 Bxe4 43. Nc5 Bc6 44. e6 Bd5 45. Nxa4 Bxe6 46. b4 Bg4 47. Nc3 Kf6 48. Nb5 a6 49. Nc7 Be2 50. a4 Ke5 51. Nxa6 Bxa6 52. Kxh5 Kd5 53. b5 Bxb5 54. axb5 Kc5 55. Kg5 Kxb5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2022"] [Site "Chess24 INT"] [Date "2022.11.16"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2750"] [BlackElo "2732"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "149"] [EventDate "2022.11.14"] {[%evp 0,149,25,20,11,11,30,28,9,7,2,-7,21,26,32,-7,-7,-35,-8,-21,-9,-12,10,-23,-32,-33,-28,-33,-4,-25,-26,-25,-5,-27,-27,-22,-17,-38,-18,-87,-61,-68,-25,1,-4,-18,-28,-27,-35,-36,-3,-24,90,90,89,95,95,101,91,92,82,87,63,84,93,93,80,89,89,90,53,67,59,7,13,26,47,48,65,64,66,65,58,87,58,54,50,45,45,39,55,39,50,49,67,59,73,0,0,0,0,0,34,17,24,2,8,1,52,31,37,0,-2,0,0,15,24,0,0,0,0,0,0,-28,0,0,0,36,8,30,30,2,125,113,118,109,163,151,93,26,20,0,213,222,344,471,505,560,621,782,1360,1415]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 d6 6. O-O a6 7. Bb3 O-O 8. Nbd2 Re8 9. h3 h6 10. Re1 Be6 11. Bc2 Ba7 12. Nf1 d5 13. exd5 Bxd5 14. Ng3 Qd6 15. Nh4 Ne7 16. Be3 Bxe3 17. Rxe3 g6 18. Qe2 Nc6 19. Re1 Rad8 20. Nf3 Kg7 21. a3 b5 22. Kh2 Bxf3 23. Rxf3 Nd5 24. Qd2 Qe7 25. Bb3 Qg5 26. Qxg5 hxg5 27. Ne4 Nf4 28. Nxg5 f6 29. Nf7 Rb8 30. d4 Na5 31. Ba2 exd4 32. Rxe8 Rxe8 33. Rxf4 dxc3 34. bxc3 Re2 35. Bd5 c6 36. Bxc6 Nxc6 37. Nd6 f5 38. c4 b4 39. axb4 Nxb4 40. c5 Nc6 41. g4 fxg4 42. hxg4 Ne5 43. Kg3 Rc2 44. Ne8+ Kg8 45. Nf6+ Kg7 46. Ne8+ Kg8 47. Ra4 Rc3+ 48. Kf4 Nd3+ 49. Kg5 Nxc5 50. Rb4 Kf7 51. Nd6+ Ke6 52. Nb7 Nd3 53. Rb6+ Ke5 54. Rf6 Rc4 55. Rf8 Nf4 56. Nd8 Nh3+ 57. Kh4 Nf4 58. f3 a5 59. Kg5 a4 60. Nf7+ Ke6 61. Nh8 a3 62. Ra8 Nh3+ 63. Kh4 Nf4 64. Ra6+ Ke7 65. Kg5 {The game has been equal for a long time, though with Pragg doing most of the pressing. Here Giri has only one move to maintain equality, and he doesn't play it.} Nh3+ $2 (65... Ne6+ $1 66. Kxg6 Rc3 67. Ra7+ Kd6 68. Nf7+ Kd5 69. Ng5 Nxg5 70. Kxg5 Rxf3 $11) 66. Kh6 $1 $18 (66. Kxg6 Rc3 $11) 66... Rc3 67. Nxg6+ $1 Kd7 $2 (67... Kd8 $142) 68. g5 Kc7 (68... Rxf3 $4 69. Ne5+ $18 {is the obvious reason why it was better to play 67...Kd8.}) 69. f4 $2 {The adventures are not over yet. That's both the fun of these g/15s, and their curse: lots of excitement, but too many big mistakes as well. It's good to be reminded that these 2700-2800 players are human like the rest of us, but the reminders don't need to be constant.} Rc6 $1 70. Ra4 a2 $2 {Hoping for 71.Rxa2?? Nxf4, with an immediate draw.} (70... Kb7 $1 {was correct. If White takes on a3, then once again 71...Nxf4 draws on the spot. If White doesn't take, however, he'll have to contend with 71...Ra6. So one way or another, Black is getting his draw.}) 71. f5 $18 Rc5 72. Nh4 Rc2 73. g6 Nf2 74. g7 Ng4+ 75. Kg5 1-0 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2022"] [Site "Chess24 INT"] [Date "2022.11.16"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2798"] [BlackElo "2756"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "163"] [EventDate "2022.11.14"] {[%evp 0,128,19,23,28,-12,6,6,6,-23,-20,-11,3,19,48,-11,6,-16,3,-1,13,3,17,34,24,20,39,27,37,24,77,40,40,30,30,60,87,106,104,95,85,85,102,102,92,71,56,86,103,32,0,36,45,43,85,72,73,80,85,95,85,112,112,105,91,112,89,114,95,115,110,115,93,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,180,181,176,176,188,191,191,191,191,191,191,191,165,165,165,165,165,173,160,160,355,356,345,311,289,253,262,246,360,356,394,391,391,315,391,391,391,287,282,239,347,298,325,259,257,277,282,252,365]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 a6 6. O-O Nc6 7. e3 Bd7 8. Qe2 b5 9. b3 cxb3 10. axb3 Bd6 11. Bb2 O-O 12. Rc1 Nb4 13. Ne5 Rc8 14. Na3 c5 15. dxc5 Rxc5 16. Rxc5 Bxc5 17. Nc2 a5 18. Rd1 Qc7 19. Nxd7 Nxd7 20. Na3 Nf6 21. Nxb5 Qb8 22. Bxf6 gxf6 23. Rd7 Rd8 24. Rb7 Qe5 25. Na3 f5 26. Qh5 Qf6 27. Nc4 Rf8 28. Rd7 Na6 29. Bb7 Nb8 30. Rc7 Bb4 31. e4 Qd8 32. Rc8 Qd7 33. Qg5+ Kh8 34. Qf6+ Kg8 35. Qg5+ Kh8 36. exf5 Rxc8 37. Bxc8 Qxc8 38. Ne5 Qf8 39. Qf6+ Kg8 40. Ng4 {White has shown great resourcefulness in keeping the game going, when he could easily have allowed it to conclude in a draw for quite some time. Mamedyarov was up on the clock at this point, but despite a fairly long think he couldn't find a satisfactory answer to White's threatened 41.Nh6+. There were two or three ways to keep the game relatively balanced, though.} Bd2 $2 (40... Qe8 $1 $11 {is best, but it's not an obvious move. Mamedyarov didn't see it, nor did commentators Peter Leko and Rustam Kasimdzhanov, themselves elite GMs.} 41. Nh6+ (41. Qg5+ Kf8 42. Nf6 Qd8 43. Nxh7+ Ke8 44. Qg8+ Kd7 45. Qxf7+ Kc6 46. Qxe6+ Qd6 $11 {Somehow, White's four pawns do not outweigh the piece.}) 41... Kf8 42. Qh8+ Ke7 43. f6+ Kd7 44. Qxh7 Kc8 45. Nxf7 Nd7 $11) (40... h5 {isn't as reliable as 40...Qe8, but it's good enough.} 41. Nh6+ Kh7 42. Nxf7 exf5 43. Ng5+ Kg8 44. Qg6+ Qg7 $11) (40... h6 {is also better than 40...Bd2, but there's obviously no point in playing this rather than 40...h5.}) 41. fxe6 fxe6 42. Qxe6+ {Black cannot avoid losing one of his minor pieces, after which the eventual outcome will be clear.} Kg7 43. Qe5+ Kg6 44. Qe6+ Kg7 45. Qe5+ Kg6 46. Qe4+ Qf5 47. Ne5+ Kf6 48. Ng4+ Kg6 49. Qe8+ Kg5 50. Ne5 Qb1+ 51. Kg2 Qxb3 52. Nf3+ Kf6 53. Nxd2 {It took a while, but now it's gone.} Qd5+ 54. Ne4+ Kf5 55. f3 Nd7 56. Qh5+ Ke6 57. Qh6+ Ke5 58. Qg7+ Ke6 59. Qxh7 Qe5 60. f4 Qb2+ 61. Kh3 Qb5 62. Qg6+ Ke7 63. Qd6+ Kd8 64. Ng5 Qb6 65. Ne6+ Kc8 66. Qe7 Qb5 67. Qd8+ Kb7 68. Qc7+ Ka6 69. Qd6+ Ka7 70. Nd4 Qh5+ 71. Kg2 Nb6 72. Qe5 Qxe5 73. fxe5 a4 74. Kf3 Kb7 75. Nc2 Kc6 76. Ke4 Kd7 77. Kf5 Ke7 78. Na3 Nd5 79. Nc4 Kf7 80. h4 Ne7+ 81. Kg5 Ke6 82. h5 1-0 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2022"] [Site "Chess24 INT"] [Date "2022.11.16"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Erigaisi Arjun"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D10"] [WhiteElo "2848"] [BlackElo "2733"] [PlyCount "171"] [EventDate "2022.11.14"] {[%evp 0,171,19,-3,34,18,20,23,19,40,29,29,27,40,25,29,67,57,45,50,55,58,53,53,65,63,54,53,63,21,54,63,62,55,63,42,41,43,43,15,3,8,10,0,90,4,0,-98,-78,-104,-4,0,0,-39,-21,-41,-24,-31,-6,-6,-21,15,11,6,140,120,127,128,146,134,144,146,147,162,129,116,123,123,131,124,118,121,152,135,159,164,194,148,209,215,216,199,200,190,212,210,219,215,213,248,261,118,131,163,159,164,228,188,194,200,211,218,225,101,100,100,159,143,144,183,197,200,253,238,238,157,295,286,322,192,286,281,281,281,281,281,281,281,298,281,298,281,281,274,281,254,281,254,254,229,229,229,229,220,220,220,220,220,220,53,220,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. c4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. cxd5 cxd5 4. Bf4 Nc6 5. e3 Nf6 6. Bd3 Bg4 7. Qb3 Qd7 8. h3 Bh5 9. Nd2 e6 10. Ngf3 Bxf3 11. Nxf3 Bb4+ 12. Ke2 Bd6 13. Ne5 Qe7 14. Rhc1 Rc8 15. Rc2 O-O 16. Rac1 Bxe5 17. dxe5 Nh5 18. Bh2 f5 19. Kf1 f4 20. Kg1 fxe3 21. fxe3 Qg5 22. Be2 Na5 23. Qd3 Rxc2 24. Rxc2 Ng3 25. Bxg3 Qxg3 26. e4 Qf2+ 27. Kh2 Nc6 28. Bg4 Qf4+ 29. Qg3 Qxe4 30. Bxe6+ Kh8 31. Rc1 Nd4 32. Re1 Ne2 33. Bxd5 Qxd5 34. Rxe2 Qe6 35. Qa3 Ra8 36. Qd6 Re8 37. Qxe6 Rxe6 38. Rd2 h5 39. Rd7 Rxe5 40. Rxb7 a6 41. Rb6 Re2 42. Kg3 Kh7 43. a4 g6 44. a5 Kh6 45. b4 Rb2 46. h4 Kg7 47. Kf3 Kh6 48. g3 Rb3+ 49. Kf4 Kg7 50. g4 hxg4 51. Kxg4 Kf7 52. Kf4 Rh3 53. Ke5 Rxh4 54. Rb7+ Ke8 55. b5 Kd8 56. bxa6 Kc8 57. Kd6 Rh5 58. Kc6 g5 59. Kb6 Rh6+ 60. Ka7 Rc6 61. Rb8+ Kc7 62. Rg8 Rc1 63. Rxg5 Rc2 64. Rg8 Rc6 65. Rg7+ Kc8 66. Rb7 Rc1 67. Rb8+ Kc7 68. Rb2 Rc3 69. Rb1 Rc2 70. Rb7+ Kc8 71. Kb6 Rb2+ 72. Kc6 Rc2+ 73. Kd5 Rd2+ 74. Kc4 Rc2+ 75. Kb3 Rc7 76. Rb6 Rh7 77. Rb4 Ra7 78. Rb6 Rh7 79. Ka4 Rh4+ 80. Rb4 Rxb4+ 81. Kxb4 Kb8 82. Kc5 Ka7 83. Kb5 Ka8 84. Kb6 Kb8 85. a7+ Ka8 86. a6 1/2-1/2 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2022"] [Site "Chess24 INT"] [Date "2022.11.16"] [Round "2.2"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Le, Quang Liem"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E48"] [WhiteElo "2774"] [BlackElo "2775"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2022.11.14"] {[%evp 0,62,30,29,21,0,6,1,33,28,36,29,36,13,23,-2,17,1,-1,-16,-2,-23,-11,-27,-26,-10,-29,-57,-34,-25,-25,-38,-19,-31,10,-44,-42,-71,-59,-43,-66,-38,-23,-28,-56,-69,-46,-68,-44,-120,-21,-18,0,0,-77,-82,-70,-79,-79,-64,0,0,0,-907,-473]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. cxd5 exd5 7. a3 Bd6 8. Qc2 b6 9. Nge2 $146 (9. b4 $142) 9... c5 10. O-O $6 (10. dxc5) 10... c4 $15 11. Bf5 Nc6 12. f3 (12. Bd2 $142) 12... Re8 (12... Na5 $142 $17) 13. Kh1 Bf8 (13... Na5 $142) 14. Bxc8 (14. Bd2 $142) 14... Rxc8 15. Bd2 a6 (15... Rb8 $142) 16. g4 $6 (16. Rad1 $11) 16... b5 17. Nf4 (17. g5 $142) 17... Bd6 $17 18. Ng2 b4 19. axb4 Nxb4 20. Qf5 g6 21. Qg5 Rb8 22. Qh4 $2 (22. Nd1) 22... Nd3 $6 (22... Be7 $142 $19) 23. g5 $2 (23. e4 $1) 23... Nh5 $19 (23... Rxb2 $19) 24. Nxd5 Rxb2 (24... Bxh2 $1) 25. Ba5 Qd7 $4 (25... Qb8 $19) 26. Bc3 $4 (26. Qxh5 $1 Qf5 {This or 26...Qe6 was forced, and the two moves transpose after White's next.} 27. Nf6+ Qxf6 28. gxf6 gxh5 29. e4 Nf2+ 30. Kg1 Nh3+ 31. Kh1 $11) 26... Rb5 $19 27. e4 (27. Qxh5 Rxd5 $19) 27... Rxd5 $1 28. exd5 Qb5 (28... Qb7 $142) 29. Qg4 Re2 (29... Ng7 $142) 30. Qc8+ Kg7 31. Qxa6 $2 (31. Rxa6 Nf2+ $1 32. Kg1 Nh3+ $1 33. Qxh3 {Best.} Qxa6 34. f4 {Black is still winning, but the fight continues.}) 31... Qd7 $1 {There's no adequate defense to the threatened ...Qh3, looking for mates on h2 and g2.} 0-1 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2022"] [Site "Chess24 INT"] [Date "2022.11.16"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Le, Quang Liem"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2775"] [BlackElo "2774"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "165"] [EventDate "2022.11.14"] {[%evp 0,123,19,25,26,1,1,1,19,-15,-11,-17,1,1,-9,-16,-14,-7,13,11,41,27,7,27,28,33,6,28,4,21,28,31,31,24,39,43,29,35,41,23,86,77,93,116,121,106,130,123,116,114,113,97,97,126,167,172,182,159,155,167,165,167,179,109,119,121,121,134,130,137,132,129,132,135,135,116,111,113,103,102,103,105,129,95,101,79,81,79,81,81,104,104,104,117,111,104,104,80,74,80,72,75,72,71,106,90,99,94,95,92,102,108,147,108,157,132,128,129,130,131,132,127,132,127,126,199]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 c5 6. O-O Nc6 7. Qa4 Bd7 8. dxc5 Bxc5 9. Qxc4 Be7 10. Nc3 Rc8 11. Rd1 O-O 12. e4 Ng4 13. h3 Nce5 14. Qb3 Nxf3+ 15. Bxf3 Ne5 16. Bg2 Qc7 17. Bf4 Bc6 (17... Rfd8 $11) 18. Nb5 Qa5 $6 (18... Bxb5 {was a better choice, with what is still an approximately equal position. Of course, if So had been willing to make this exchange, he would have played 17...Rfd8 instead of wasting a tempo with the bishop.}) 19. a4 Nd7 $2 20. Nd6 $2 (20. Nd4 $18) 20... Ra8 $2 (20... Bxd6 21. Bxd6 Rfd8 $16 {isn't pleasant for Black, but in the game White's winning with his extra pawn.}) 21. Nxb7 $18 Qb6 22. Qxb6 Nxb6 23. Rdc1 Bxa4 24. Rc7 Bb4 25. Bd6 Bxd6 26. Nxd6 a5 27. e5 Rab8 28. Ra3 Rfd8 29. b3 Be8 30. Rxa5 Nc8 31. Rxc8 Rdxc8 32. Nxc8 Rxc8 33. b4 Kf8 34. b5 Rb8 35. Bf1 Ke7 36. f4 Kd8 37. Kf2 Kc7 38. Ke3 Kb6 39. Ra6+ Kc5 40. Ra7 h5 41. h4 g6 42. Bd3 Kb6 43. Re7 Kc5 44. Be2 Kb6 45. Kd4 Rc8 46. Bc4 Ra8 47. Be2 Rc8 48. g4 hxg4 49. Bxg4 Kxb5 50. h5 gxh5 51. Bxh5 Rc4+ 52. Ke3 Rc3+ 53. Kd2 Rc8 54. Bxf7 Bxf7 55. Rxf7 Kc6 56. Ke3 Rd8 57. Re7 Kd5 58. Kf3 Rg8 59. Rd7+ Kc5 60. Rd6 Re8 61. Kg4 Rg8+ 62. Kh5 Rh8+ 63. Kg5 Rg8+ 64. Kf6 Rf8+ 65. Kxe6 Rxf4 66. Rd5+ Kc6 67. Rd1 Rh4 68. Rc1+ Kb7 69. Kf7 Rf4+ 70. Ke7 Rh4 71. e6 Rh7+ 72. Kf6 Rh6+ 73. Kf7 Rh7+ 74. Kg6 Rh8 75. e7 Rc8 76. Rxc8 Kxc8 77. e8=Q+ Kb7 78. Kf6 Ka7 79. Qb5 Ka8 80. Ke7 Ka7 81. Kd7 Ka8 82. Kc7 Ka7 83. Qa5# 1-0 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2022"] [Site "Chess24 INT"] [Date "2022.11.16"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Erigaisi Arjun"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2733"] [BlackElo "2848"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "82"] [EventDate "2022.11.14"] {[%evp 0,82,26,26,38,1,6,6,16,-17,-17,-4,-2,0,-3,7,-7,-2,31,2,-8,-8,-18,0,-8,9,-16,3,-5,-19,28,-44,12,-2,-8,9,12,13,13,15,32,41,41,29,75,7,11,0,106,106,125,118,105,105,100,88,120,69,51,59,56,64,48,46,43,31,25,-39,-39,-39,-121,-156,-156,-156,-156,-209,-213,-221,-223,-430,-435,-429,-449,-447,-453]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 a5 7. a3 Bxd2+ 8. Nbxd2 b5 9. b3 cxb3 10. Qxb3 c6 11. O-O O-O 12. Rfc1 Bb7 13. Qb2 Nbd7 14. Ne1 e5 15. dxe5 Nxe5 16. Qxe5 Qxd2 17. Rd1 Qh6 18. Qc7 Rab8 19. Nd3 Qh5 20. Bf3 Qf5 21. Rac1 b4 $2 (21... Nd5 22. Qxa5 Ra8 23. Qd2 Rxa3 $14) 22. Nc5 $1 $16 Ba8 23. Qxa5 (23. Rd3 $142 $1 $16) 23... bxa3 $2 (23... Rb5 $1 24. Qa7 b3 $14 {/?}) 24. Qxa3 $16 {/+-} h6 25. e4 {Undermining the stability of the Bf3 is a slight inaccuracy.} (25. Kg2) (25. Qa7) (25. Rd3) (25. h4) 25... Qe5 26. Nd3 $6 (26. Qa7 $16) 26... Qe6 (26... Qc7 $142) 27. e5 $2 (27. Nc5 $16) 27... c5 $1 (27... Qf5 $1 $11) 28. exf6 (28. Bxa8 $142 Rxa8 29. Qxc5 $14 {/=}) 28... Bxf3 29. fxg7 Rfd8 $11 30. Re1 Qb3 31. Qxb3 Rxb3 {As in the first game Carlsen won, the position is equal in an objective sense that is of only limited relevance to the actual game, played by human beings with a short time control. Even if Black does "everything" wrong, he'll still have a probably drawn ending with his f- and h-pawns against White's f2-g3-h2 pawns. If White does something wrong, by contrast, he'll get mated or dominated by Black's c-pawn, and will lose.} 32. Nf4 (32. Nxc5 Ra3 33. Ne4 $11) 32... Rc8 33. h3 (33. Rc4) 33... c4 34. Rc2 $2 (34. Ne2 $11) 34... c3 $17 35. g4 $2 (35. Ng2) 35... Rb2 $1 $19 36. Rcc1 c2 37. Nh5 Rcb8 38. Kh2 Rb1 39. Kg3 Bd1 $1 40. Rxc2 Bxc2 41. Re3 Bg6 0-1 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2022"] [Site "Chess24 INT"] [Date "2022.11.16"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A35"] [WhiteElo "2756"] [BlackElo "2798"] [PlyCount "122"] [EventDate "2022.11.14"] {[%evp 0,122,30,1,16,25,20,16,22,16,20,-22,-24,-8,-4,3,-9,10,-8,-7,24,-4,-4,10,33,31,42,23,14,-2,24,19,46,44,29,18,20,3,-8,2,10,-18,2,1,30,29,29,31,31,1,7,0,13,0,24,19,31,8,5,0,0,0,25,17,56,40,19,19,0,-37,-37,-43,-46,-44,0,0,0,0,29,36,43,29,43,52,52,52,84,68,68,60,65,70,82,70,68,0,5,5,5,5,5,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. b3 d5 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Bb2 Be7 8. Rc1 O-O 9. Na4 b6 10. d4 Ne4 11. Bb5 Nb4 12. a3 Ba6 13. Bxa6 Nxa6 14. Qd3 Qc8 15. O-O Qb7 16. Rfd1 Rfd8 17. Nc3 Nc7 18. Ne2 Ne6 19. Ng3 Rac8 20. Qb1 Nxg3 21. hxg3 cxd4 22. Nxd4 Rxc1 23. Qxc1 Nxd4 24. Bxd4 Rc8 25. Qb2 Bf8 26. b4 Qc6 27. Qe2 Qa4 28. Qd3 Qc2 29. Qxc2 Rxc2 30. Be5 f6 31. Bb8 a5 32. bxa5 bxa5 33. Rxd5 Rc8 34. Ba7 a4 35. Rd3 Rc1+ 36. Kh2 Ra1 37. Rd8 Kf7 38. Bd4 Ra2 39. Ra8 Rxf2 40. Rxa4 Ra2 41. Ra7+ Kg6 42. a4 h5 43. a5 Bd6 44. a6 Kf5 45. Kh3 g5 46. Rf7 Be5 47. a7 Bxd4 48. exd4 Ke6 49. Rh7 Ra1 50. g4 Ra3+ 51. g3 h4 52. Kh2 hxg3+ 53. Kg2 Kd5 54. Rf7 Kxd4 55. Rxf6 Rxa7 56. Rf5 Ke4 57. Kxg3 Ra3+ 58. Kg2 Ra2+ 59. Kg3 Ra3+ 60. Kg2 Ra2+ 61. Kg3 Ra3+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2022"] [Site "Chess24 INT"] [Date "2022.11.16"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E20"] [WhiteElo "2732"] [BlackElo "2750"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "115"] [EventDate "2022.11.14"] {Down 2-0, Giri needed to win the remaining games to stay alive. In this game, he repeated the Saemisch, and unlike the previous test of the variation White comes out smelling like a rose right out of the opening.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Nc6 7. e4 d6 8. Be3 b6 9. Bd3 Na5 10. Ne2 Ba6 11. O-O Nd7 (11... Qc7) (11... Qd7) 12. f4 Bxc4 13. f5 $146 exf5 $2 (13... e5 14. f6 g6 15. Bxc4 Nxc4 16. Bh6 Qc7 $11 {is complicated, but not worse for Black.}) 14. Ng3 $1 $16 fxe4 15. Nxe4 O-O 16. Nxd6 Bxd3 17. Qxd3 Nc6 18. Rae1 $18 cxd4 19. cxd4 Nf6 20. Nf5 Ne5 21. Qd1 (21. Qb1 $1) 21... Neg4 22. Bg5 (22. Bc1 $1) 22... Qc7 23. Rf4 $2 (23. Bf4 Qd7 24. Bc1 $1 Qc7 25. Rf4 $1 {is the right way.} Rae8 26. Ref1 $1 Re4 27. h3 $1 $18) 23... Qc3 $2 {Missing a well-hidden opportunity.} (23... Rae8 $1 24. Ref1 Re4 $1 25. h3 {and now the difference-maker:} h6 $1 $11 {This makes no sense with White's bishop on c1 (see the note to White's 23rd move), but here - surprisingly - it saves Black. Both sacs on h6 are playable, but Black should maintain equality or better in either case.}) 24. Rxg4 $18 Nxg4 25. Bd2 Nf2 26. Kxf2 {It takes a while for Giri to finish the game off, but Black is never close to saving it.} Qd3 27. Qg4 g6 28. Ne7+ Kg7 29. Qf4 Rad8 30. d5 f6 31. Kg1 Rf7 32. Bc1 Kh8 33. Bb2 Kg7 34. h4 Rd7 35. Kh2 Qc2 36. h5 Qc7 (36... Qxb2 37. h6+ Kf8 38. Qb8+ Rd8 39. Qxd8#) 37. h6+ Kf8 38. Qxc7 Rxc7 39. d6 Rcxe7 40. dxe7+ Rxe7 41. Rd1 Kf7 42. Rd6 Re6 43. Rd7+ Re7 44. Rxe7+ Kxe7 45. Kg3 b5 46. Bc3 Ke6 47. Kf4 f5 48. Ke3 Kd5 49. Kd3 f4 50. Bf6 a6 51. Kc3 a5 52. Kb3 Kc5 53. Bg5 a4+ 54. Kc3 b4+ 55. axb4+ Kb5 56. Bxf4 a3 57. Kb3 a2 58. Be5 1-0 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2022"] [Site "Chess24 INT"] [Date "2022.11.16"] [Round "2.4"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A47"] [WhiteElo "2798"] [BlackElo "2756"] [PlyCount "90"] [EventDate "2022.11.14"] {[%evp 0,90,24,24,35,24,47,18,33,13,24,17,7,4,8,3,22,25,16,-8,31,14,40,21,49,4,-13,14,5,13,22,22,14,17,27,13,20,29,46,5,5,-14,13,23,51,56,54,36,30,23,44,18,26,28,58,33,33,33,39,34,43,54,39,61,96,77,59,28,21,14,16,3,6,0,28,13,16,-188,-224,-197,-190,-190,-188,-188,-182,-174,-181,-181,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 b6 3. Bg5 Bb7 4. Bxf6 gxf6 5. Nbd2 f5 6. e3 e6 7. Bd3 d5 8. Ne5 Bd6 9. f4 Bxe5 10. fxe5 Nd7 11. Qh5 Qe7 12. O-O-O O-O-O 13. g4 fxg4 14. Qxg4 Rdg8 15. Qh3 f6 16. exf6 Nxf6 17. Rhg1 h5 18. Qh4 Kd8 19. Nf3 Ng4 20. Qxe7+ Kxe7 21. Kd2 Bc6 22. Rdf1 Be8 23. h3 Nf6 24. Ne5 c5 25. b3 h4 26. Bg6 Ne4+ 27. Bxe4 dxe4 28. dxc5 bxc5 29. Rxg8 Rxg8 30. Rf4 Rg2+ 31. Kc1 Rg3 32. Rxh4 Rxe3 33. Kd2 Rg3 34. Rxe4 Rxh3 35. Nd3 Rh2+ 36. Re2 Rh5 37. Nf4 Rh6 38. Rxe6+ Rxe6 39. Nxe6 Kxe6 40. c4 Ke5 41. Kc3 a5 42. a3 Bf7 43. b4 axb4+ 44. axb4 cxb4+ 45. Kxb4 Bxc4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2022"] [Site "Chess24 INT"] [Date "2022.11.16"] [Round "2.4"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B11"] [WhiteElo "2750"] [BlackElo "2732"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "142"] [EventDate "2022.11.14"] {[%evp 0,133,24,11,67,63,58,43,78,49,20,33,74,16,77,66,60,27,32,34,34,24,69,38,34,45,29,36,50,41,53,41,30,40,75,40,36,21,29,43,34,22,24,20,19,6,3,4,0,1,56,26,16,5,39,-12,18,42,15,28,37,30,-7,-4,0,0,14,-25,-47,-41,-44,-40,-52,-43,-65,-66,-80,-80,-54,-33,-33,-43,-56,-53,-62,-62,-40,-80,-74,-82,-84,-352,-146,-184,-242,-293,-289,-312,-320,-341,-362,-362,-384,-380,-423,-431,-348,-348,-348,-352,-348,-353,-245,-257,-99,-244,-243,-257,-244,-257,-155,-143,-247,-257,-215,-213,-259,-200,-189,-173,-112,-241,-266,-263,-269,-267] Giri needed to win this game as well to push the game to a playoff - and he did it.} 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Nc3 Bg4 4. h3 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 e6 6. Be2 Bc5 7. O-O Ne7 8. Na4 Bd6 9. d4 dxe4 10. Qxe4 Qa5 11. b3 Nd7 12. c4 O-O 13. Rd1 b5 14. Bd2 Bb4 15. Bxb4 Qxb4 16. cxb5 Nf6 17. Qd3 Rad8 18. Rac1 cxb5 19. Qxb5 Qxb5 20. Bxb5 Nf5 21. Nc5 Rxd4 22. Nd7 Nxd7 23. Bxd7 Rxd1+ 24. Rxd1 g5 ({Black can create a pin with} 24... Rd8 {, but it's harmless. White can play Kf1-e1, or b4 and Ba4, or Rc1 (...Rxd7?? Rc8+ and mate next), so there's nothing there.} 25. Rc1 (25. b4)) 25. Bb5 (25. Bc6 {followed by Be4 looks like a good option.}) 25... Rc8 26. b4 (26. g3) (26. Rd7) 26... Kg7 (26... Rc2 27. Bd3 Rxa2 28. Bxf5 exf5 29. Rd5 $11 {would guarantee the draw.}) 27. a4 (27. Rd7) 27... Rc3 28. Rd7 Rb3 29. Rxa7 Rxb4 30. Bd7 $6 {The bishop is out of play here.} (30. Bd3 Nd4 31. a5 $11 {and White is still safe and sound.}) 30... Rb1+ 31. Kh2 Kf6 32. a5 Rf1 33. g4 $6 {Playable, but also creating invasion points around his king (h4, f4, and f3 in particular).} (33. a6 Rxf2 34. Rc7 Ra2 35. a7 $11 {gives White enough for the pawn, but it's understandable that Pragg doesn't want to be a pawn down. It's a bit of a hangover, IMO: the game was a "dead" draw earlier, so you don't want to make material concessions. It's very hard for even the world's best, but it's smart for all of us to forget about what came before in a game and only worry about the position we've got in front of us.}) 33... Nh4 34. Be8 $2 {Now White is in trouble.} (34. a6 $1 Rxf2+ 35. Kg1 Ra2 36. Bb5 $1 Nf3+ 37. Kf1 Nd4 38. Bc4 Ra4 39. Rc7 {and White is still holding on to an objectively equal position.}) 34... Rxf2+ 35. Kg1 Ra2 $19 36. Rxf7+ Ke5 37. Bc6 Rxa5 (37... h6 $142) 38. Rxh7 Kf4 $2 (38... Ra3 $1 $19) 39. Rb7 $1 $15 Ra1+ 40. Kh2 Ra2+ 41. Kg1 Ng6 42. Rb3 {White survived the earlier scare, but he's still not out of the proverbial woods. All the gaps around his king, together with Black's passed e-pawn, offer Giri plenty of opportunities to break Praggnanandhaa's resistance.} Ne5 ({A quick note: while Black will get the e-pawn moving at some point, this is not the right time.} 42... e5 $4 43. Rf3#) 43. Bg2 Rd2 $1 44. Rc3 $2 {Already the losing move.} (44. Kh2 $8 {had to be played (so that after ...Nd3 there's no need to worry about ...Kg3), and after} Nd3 {White must play} 45. Rb1 {, preventing ...Ne1. The testing will continue, of course, but for now White is keeping the wolf from the door.}) 44... Nd3 $19 45. Bb7 e5 (45... Kg3) 46. Ba6 e4 47. Kf1 Kf3 48. Kg1 Kg3 49. Kf1 Rf2+ 50. Kg1 Rf3 51. Rc2 Nf4 52. Bf1 Nxh3+ $6 ({Giri's method - followed up correctly - is good enough, but} 52... Ra3 {followed by ...e3 (and generally ...e2) would have been faster and easier.}) 53. Bxh3 Kxh3 54. Rc4 Rf4 55. Rc5 Kxg4 56. Re5 Kh4 57. Kg2 Kg4 58. Kg1 Kh5 (58... Kf3 59. Rxg5 Ke2 $19) 59. Kg2 Kg6 $2 (59... Kh4 $1 $19) 60. Kg3 {Now it's a theoretical draw. Fortunately for Giri, it's no easier for White to hold the draw than it was for Black to prove the win.} Kf6 61. Re8 $2 (61. Ra5 $1 {White needs both to keep the king cut off and to have a great checking distance to save the game.} e3 62. Ra6+ $1 Ke5 63. Ra5+ $1 Kd4 64. Ra4+ Kc3 65. Ra3+ $11) (61. Rb5 $2 e3 62. Rb6+ Ke5 63. Rb5+ Kd4 64. Rb4+ Kc3 $19 {White needs Ra3+, but doesn't have it.}) 61... Kf5 $1 $19 {The only winning move.} 62. Rf8+ Ke5 $8 63. Ra8 Rf3+ $8 64. Kg4 Rd3 $2 {White gets one last chance!} (64... Rf6 $1 {was the only winning move.}) 65. Kxg5 $2 {And again, White cannot hold the draw. Chess is tough, especially with almost no time on the clock.} (65. Rg8 $3 {was the only drawing move.}) 65... Rg3+ 66. Kh4 Rg7 {Now, finally, it's easy.} 67. Kh3 Kf4 68. Kh2 Kf3 69. Rf8+ Ke2 70. Ra8 e3 71. Ra2+ Kf3 {On to the blitz tiebreaker.} 0-1 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2022"] [Site "Chess24 INT"] [Date "2022.11.16"] [Round "2.5"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A45"] [WhiteElo "2750"] [BlackElo "2732"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "58"] [EventDate "2022.11.14"] {[%evp 0,58,24,24,24,22,51,44,42,31,33,28,22,34,24,28,17,4,8,24,15,5,8,1,0,0,24,-88,17,34,257,227,227,223,207,213,338,-30,0,-105,388,-519,-652,-29987,-29988,-29989,-29990,-29991,-1399,-29987,-1618,-1618,-848,-876,-876,-874,-906,-937,-514,-566,-569]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. e3 Bg7 5. h4 h5 6. Nf3 O-O 7. Qd2 (7. Ne5) (7. Nb5) 7... c5 8. Ne5 Nc6 9. O-O-O (9. dxc5 $11) (9. f3 $11) 9... cxd4 10. exd4 Bf5 $11 {/?} 11. Bb5 $2 $146 (11. f3 $142 $11 {/?}) 11... Nb4 $1 $19 12. Ba4 b5 $1 {Very nice, especially if Giri found it at the board.} 13. Bxb5 Qa5 (13... Rc8 $142) 14. a3 Rfc8 $2 {Tempting, but bad.} (14... Rab8 $1 $19) 15. axb4 Qa1+ 16. Nb1 Ne4 17. Qe2 $2 (17. Qe3 $1 a5 $2 (17... Bxe5 $1 {is correct, with insane complications suitable only for computers.} 18. dxe5 a5 19. Rxd5 axb4 20. e6 f6 21. Rxf5 Ra2 22. Qd4 Nc3 23. Kd2 Qxb2 24. Bd3 Nxb1+ 25. Ke3 gxf5 26. Qd7 Rf8 $11) 18. Nc6 axb4 19. Nxe7+ Kh7 20. Nxc8 Ra2 21. Qb3 $18 {is the difference.}) 17... a5 18. Nc6 axb4 19. Nxe7+ Kh7 20. Nxf5 (20. Nxc8 Ra2 $19 {If the queen were on e3 (see 17.Qe3) he'd have 21.Qb3 here, winning. But it's not and he doesn't, and so he's losing.}) 20... Ra2 21. Rd3 Qxb2+ (21... Rxb2 {is fastest.}) 22. Kd1 Qxb1+ 23. Bc1 Raxc2 (23... Rcxc2 {mates quickly.}) 24. Qe3 Nxf2+ (24... Nc3+) 25. Ke1 (25. Qxf2 Qxc1#) 25... Re8 {Giri eschews the search for mate to win lots of material and guarantee a safe, easy victory.} (25... Nxh1) 26. Bxe8 Nxd3+ 27. Qxd3 Rxc1+ 28. Kd2 Qxd3+ (28... Qb2+ 29. Ke3 Rxh1) 29. Kxd3 Rxh1 {Despite Black's relative generosity, he's still up the exchange and two pawns. With no prospects or hopes of a swindle, White calls it quits.} 0-1 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2022"] [Site "Chess24 INT"] [Date "2022.11.16"] [Round "2.6"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E11"] [WhiteElo "2732"] [BlackElo "2750"] [PlyCount "118"] [EventDate "2022.11.14"] {[%evp 0,118,24,24,24,7,16,16,31,39,56,40,26,3,32,24,46,41,55,53,74,51,49,43,44,55,55,-31,-39,-58,-41,-33,-9,-32,-7,-8,-4,-15,-18,-8,-9,-41,-51,-48,-42,-36,-46,-63,-41,-27,-28,-31,-37,-49,-37,-57,-49,-38,-46,-38,0,0,-19,-6,0,-15,-33,-17,0,0,15,30,40,40,34,44,34,25,30,31,31,31,54,50,56,50,38,35,56,-25,-12,-28,0,-22,63,-18,-26,-8,-21,-13,0,-82,-79,-93,-97,-107,-97,-131,-103,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Qe7 5. g3 Nc6 6. Nc3 O-O 7. Bg2 d6 8. O-O Bxc3 9. Bxc3 e5 10. dxe5 dxe5 11. Qc2 Bg4 12. Rad1 Qe6 13. Ng5 Qxc4 14. Bd5 Qc5 15. Ne4 Qe7 16. Bxc6 bxc6 17. Nxf6+ Qxf6 18. f4 Qg6 19. Qxg6 hxg6 20. Kf2 exf4 21. gxf4 Rfe8 22. Rfe1 f6 23. Rd4 Be6 24. Ra4 Kf7 25. h4 Rh8 26. Kg3 a6 27. Rd1 Rh5 28. e4 Rah8 29. Rh1 g5 30. fxg5 fxg5 31. Rf1+ Kg6 32. hxg5 Rxg5+ 33. Kf2 Rh2+ 34. Ke3 Kh7 35. Rf2 Rg3+ 36. Rf3 Rxf3+ 37. Kxf3 Bc8 38. Ra5 Kh6 39. Rc5 Bd7 40. Ra5 g5 41. Rxa6 Kh5 42. Ra8 Rh3+ 43. Kf2 Kg4 44. Rg8 Be6 45. Rg7 Rf3+ 46. Ke2 Bxa2 47. Rxc7 Bc4+ 48. Kd2 Rd3+ 49. Kc2 Rd6 50. Rg7 Bd3+ 51. Kb3 Bxe4 52. Kc4 Rd5 53. Bf6 Rf5 54. Rxg5+ Rxg5 55. Bxg5 Kxg5 56. Kc5 Kf4 57. b4 Bd3 58. Kxc6 Ke5 59. b5 Bxb5+ 1/2-1/2