[Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.01"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Abugenda, Nagi"] [Black "Erdogmus, Yagiz Kaan"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C01"] [WhiteElo "1972"] [BlackElo "2651"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "44599790"] [PlyCount "34"] [GameId "2239616954525145"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,34,22,-8,36,2,36,8,19,12,31,48,6,3,9,5,5,9,2,9,2,-179,-177,-183,-161,-184,-297,-356,-371,-385,-255,-470,-277,-473,-505,-29999,-29999]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 {Guaranteed to make a draw for White - just ask Mikhail Gurevich, who used this against Nigel Short to qualify for the Candidates. (Famously, this did not happen. Gurevich cracked under the pressure and lost to Short, who went on to defeat Karpov in the Candidates [it would be the first time in 19 years that Karpov would not be in or have earned the right to play a World Championship match] and ultimately earn a World Championship against Kasparov. That was when they broke from FIDE, resulting in a split world championship for 13 years and endless mischief. It's fair to say that the Exchange French nearly ruined chess.) Let's be less jocular for a moment. I don't want to insult anyone. People play chess for all sorts of reasons, and many people are afraid that studying openings will require endless amounts of time. If you're preparing for a World Championship match then yes, it will. But if you want something solid and decent against the French, the Tarrasch variation (3.Nd2) can be learned pretty quickly. The main lines don't require a huge amount of theory and often lead to positions that can be grasped without being a French specialist. Anyway, I don't know what Abugenda's normal repertoire is for the French, if this is what he normally plays or if he thought this was a practical decision against a much stronger player. The odds are overwhelmingly great that he would have lost no matter what he played. All I can say about this is that if he hoped that the Exchange Variation would at least give him easy play and safe equality well into the middlegame, he was mistaken.} exd5 4. Bd3 (4. Nf3 {is the alternative.}) 4... Nc6 5. c3 Bd6 6. h3 (6. Qf3 {may be the best of an uninspiring lot.}) 6... Nge7 {Looking to play ...Bf5, swapping off Black's bad bishop for White's good one on d3.} 7. Qf3 O-O 8. Ne2 Ng6 $5 9. h4 $2 $146 {? So much for the solid Exchange Variation! Unfortunately for White, this ambitious move is bad.} (9. Qh5 $11) (9. Qxd5 $4 {should be avoided.} Nb4 $1 10. Qf3 (10. cxb4 Bxb4+ 11. Nbc3 Qxd5 $19) 10... Nxd3+ 11. Qxd3 Nh4 $1 12. O-O Bf5 13. Qd1 Qd7 $19 {White is already helpless against the threat of ...Bxh3. Black is winning - REALLY winning here (+6 territory). For example:} 14. Nf4 Bxf4 15. Bxf4 Bxh3 $19) 9... Re8 $1 10. g3 $4 ({White needed to try something uninspiring and discouraging like} 10. Kf1 {, when his position is merely lousy after} Nge5 $1 11. dxe5 Nxe5 12. Qg3 Bg4 $1 13. Nf4 Nxd3 14. Qxd3 Qf6 $1 15. g3 Bxf4 16. Bxf4 Be2+ 17. Qxe2 Rxe2 18. Kxe2 Re8+ 19. Kd1 Qb6 $17 {White's small material advantage is very temporary; his king problems, by contrast, are likely to last forever. (Or at least until the end of the game.)}) 10... Nce5 $1 $19 {The rest is a massacre, handled brilliantly by Erdogmus.} 11. dxe5 Nxe5 12. Qxd5 (12. Qe3 Bg4 $19) 12... Be6 $1 13. Qe4 (13. Qb5 c6 $19 {separates the queen from the bishop.}) 13... f5 14. Qe3 Bd5 $1 {Threatening to take the rook, but even more damagingly to play ...Nf3+ and ...Rxe3.} 15. Kf1 Bxh1 16. Bxf5 {Allowing another nice shot.} Bc5 $1 {Threatening the queen and...well, you'll see in a moment if you don't already.} 17. Qg5 {Choosing to die on an empty stomach.} (17. Qd2 Nf3 18. Qd7 (18. Qc2 Qd5 $19 {is also winning.}) 18... Re7 19. Qxd8+ Rxd8 20. Bc2 Nh2+ 21. Kg1 (21. Ke1 Bf3 22. Be3 Bxe3 23. fxe3 Rxe3 24. Bd1 Rde8 $19) 21... Rxe2 22. Kxh2 Bc6 $19) (17. Qxc5 {is the "dying with a full stomach" move.} Qd1#) 17... Qd1# 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.03"] [Round "1.7"] [White "Oro, Faustino"] [Black "Brkic, Ante"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A34"] [WhiteElo "2509"] [BlackElo "2578"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "54"] [GameId "2240182858487679"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,54,20,6,27,21,25,67,10,40,14,23,25,6,22,-22,-15,-35,-38,-40,30,49,49,57,62,38,51,17,85,74,168,91,84,11,152,121,129,194,120,119,101,137,90,145,82,139,163,291,159,203,161,162,231,236,632,655,886]} 1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 e5 {This line was all the rage for a while, in the early 2010s, when it was used as Grischuk's mighty drawing weapon in the Candidates. As always, life goes on and it's no longer a magic pill that solves all Black's problems against the English.} 4. e3 Nf6 5. d4 cxd4 6. exd4 e4 7. Ng5 (7. Ne5 {is much more popular (and successful in the database), but I'm sure Oro knew what he was doing. Additionally, this was a blitz game and it's possible that he and his coach(es?) thought that Ng5 might be trickier in this format?}) 7... Bb4 8. d5 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Ne5 {Not bad, but considerably less popular than 9...Na5. Perhaps Brkic was surprised by 7.Ng5.} ({The usual move,} 9... Na5 {, prevents or at least neutralizes} 10. Qd4 {, as Black doesn't have to spend a tempo on ...d6 but can just castle, rendering his e-pawn indigestible:} O-O $1 $15 11. Nxe4 $4 Nxe4 12. Qxe4 $2 Re8 $19) 10. Qd4 d6 11. Nxe4 Nxe4 12. Qxe4 O-O $44 {Black's compensation should suffice, and in a limited number of previous games he has done very well: no losses, three wins, and four draws.} 13. Be2 Bd7 $6 $146 {If Black wants to pressure the c4-pawn, this is too slow a way to do it.} (13... Re8 14. O-O b6 $44 {followed by ...Ba6 is more to the point. Black has threats down the e-file against c4, and they come before White has time to consolidate.}) 14. O-O $14 Re8 15. Qd4 b6 {Black could have had this position with the bishop on a6 instead of d7. There he's in great shape.} 16. f4 $6 {A natural move but an inaccuracy White gets away with. It is blitz, after all.} (16. Ba3 {first, and only after} Qc7 {, now} 17. f4 Ng4 18. Bd3 $14 {/?, with a position similar to the game.}) 16... Ng4 $6 (16... Bg4 $1 $11) 17. Bd3 $16 Qc8 $2 (17... f5 $142) 18. Ba3 ({The immediate} 18. h3 $1 $18 {was better - why allow the knight into e3?} Nf6 (18... Nh6 {might initially seem to prevent f5; in fact, it only makes it stronger.} 19. f5 $1 Nxf5 20. Qf2 $18 {Black's kingside, and its preeminent resident, are in fatal trouble.}) 19. f5 $1 $18) 18... Qc7 19. h3 Ne3 20. Rfe1 Nf5 21. Qf2 $18 {While 18.h3 was best, White is still winning here. Black tries to stem the tide of White's coming attack, but in vain. White has much more space on the kingside, and Black's queen and bishop are largely spectators to the coming action.} h5 (21... f6) 22. Qf3 $1 h4 {Black prevents White's pawn from going to g4, but it turns out that the queen is just as effective there.} 23. Qg4 g6 24. Bxf5 $1 Bxf5 25. Qxh4 {Black's kingside is porous. If White can get his bishop to the kingside the game will come to an almost immediate end.} Qxc4 $2 {Suicide.} 26. Bxd6 Rxe1+ 27. Rxe1 Qxc3 {and Black either lost on time or resigned without waiting for White to play 28.Be5, winning the queen.} 1-0