[Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.04"] [Round "2.4"] [White "Karthik, Venkataraman"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D30"] [WhiteElo "2565"] [BlackElo "2787"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "100"] [EventDate "2023.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 e6 3. c4 c5 {A surprising choice from Nakamura, who has long preferred the traditional QGD to the Tarrasch.} 4. cxd5 exd5 5. g3 Nc6 6. Bg2 Nf6 7. O-O {This move order, without Nc3, avoids Dubov's Tarrasch line.} Be7 (7... cxd4 $6 8. Nxd4 Bc5 $2 {is fine with a knight on c3 (and Black castled), but here White has} 9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. Qc2 Qb6 11. Nc3 {with a serious advantage. Black is essentially forced to retreat the bishop, and after} Be7 {White has a pleasant choice between the famous plan used by Rubinstein against Salwe in 1908 (Na4, Be3, blockade c5 and d4 and try to positionally destroy Black) or just open the board with} 12. e4 $1 $16) 8. dxc5 (8. Nc3 O-O {transposes to the starting position of the traditional main line of the Tarrasch.}) 8... Bxc5 {Here 9.Qc2 used to be the main move, and is still employed from time to time. (It was also the move used by Grischuk against yours truly in an ICC blitz game roughly 20 years ago.) For at least a decade or so, however, 9.a3 has been the rage.} 9. a3 O-O (9... Ne4 {is also possible, when White typically chooses between 10.b4 and} 10. Nfd2 {.}) 10. b4 $14 {According to both the database and the engine, White is doing well here.} Bb6 (10... Bd6) 11. Bb2 Bg4 (11... Ne4) 12. Nc3 $14 {/?} Re8 13. Na4 Bc7 14. Nc5 $16 Rb8 15. Rc1 Ne5 16. Bxe5 $2 (16. h3 $1 $146 {? This forces Black to give up the bishop pair or else retreat the bishop along the diagonal towards c8, in both cases releasing any potential pressure against e2.} Bh5 $2 17. Nxe5 Bxe5 18. Bxe5 Rxe5 19. g4 Bg6 20. f4 $18) 16... Bxe5 17. h3 Bxf3 18. exf3 $5 (18. Bxf3 $14) 18... a5 19. Qb3 axb4 20. axb4 g5 $5 {Potentially weakening, obviously, but preventing White from playing the desirable f4.} 21. Rfd1 Bd6 $6 (21... Qb6) 22. Qd3 Qe7 23. Qd2 h6 24. Re1 (24. Bf1 $14) 24... Qf8 25. Qd4 Rxe1+ 26. Rxe1 Qg7 $2 ({The tactically astute} 26... Re8 $1 {equalizes, e.g.} 27. Rxe8 Nxe8 28. Nxb7 Bxb4 29. Qxd5 Qe7 $11) 27. Bf1 $16 h5 $5 {Objectively bad, but it livens up the play - an especially good idea when one is positionally worse in a game with a short time control.} 28. Bd3 $2 (28. Rd1 $16 {/+-} h4 29. g4 b6 30. Na6 $18 {Here (compare the 29.g4 line below) 30...Re8 does nothing - White just takes on b6 and wins. Black is therefore busted.}) 28... h4 $11 29. gxh4 $5 (29. g4 b6 30. Na6 Re8 $1 $11) 29... Qh6 $6 (29... Nh5 $1 30. Qxg7+ Kxg7 31. hxg5 Nf4 32. Bf1 Kg6 {Despite being two pawns down, Black enjoys full equality.} 33. h4 Rh8 34. Nxb7 Bxb4 35. Rb1 Be7 36. Rb6+ Kg7 37. Nd6 Bxd6 38. Rxd6 Rxh4 $11 {is one possible line, and here it's clear that if anyone's better, it's Black.}) 30. Bf5 $1 $14 gxh4 31. Kh1 $1 Re8 $1 32. Rg1+ $1 Kf8 33. Nd3 $1 Qh5 $1 34. Bg4 Qh6 35. Bf5 Qh5 36. Bg4 Qh6 {Now 37.Bf5 would repeat the position a third time, but Karthik decides to keep going.} 37. b5 (37. Qb6 Ng8 38. Qxb7 Ne7 39. Qb6 Qf6 40. f4 $14 {is another good idea.}) 37... Re7 $1 38. Bc8 Rc7 39. Bf5 Rc4 $2 {Now White can win.} (39... Qh5 $1 {was best, inviting a similar repetition to the one we saw a moment ago.} 40. Bg4 ({Perhaps Nakamura didn't have the time to work out the following line:} 40. Qxf6 Qxf3+ 41. Rg2 Rc1+ $1 {Nakamura would almost never miss this detail in a slow game, but in rapid it's possible to miss it if one is in a hurry.} (41... Qd1+ $4 42. Ne1 Qxe1+ 43. Rg1 Qb4 {saves the queen and the bishop, but not the king.} 44. Qd8#) 42. Nxc1 Qd1+ 43. Rg1 Qf3+ $11) 40... Qh6 41. Bf5 {Not forced - White has reasonable alternatives like} (41. Qb6) ({and} 41. Qa1) 41... Qh5 42. Bg4 Qh6 {etc.}) 40. Qb6 $2 (40. Qa1 $1 $18 {This cool move would have created the sensation of the tournament. White threatens 41.Qa8+, and there's an even bigger threat of 41.Rg6! Black is lost here.}) 40... Ne8 $11 41. Qxb7 $6 {To the computer, it's only an inaccuracy. As White must play almost miraculously good chess to survive from here, this may in reality be the losing move.} (41. Bd7 $11) (41. Re1 $11) 41... Qf6 $1 $15 42. Qd7 $4 {One more mistake, and now it's over.} (42. Bg4 $1 {had to be played. Black is only slightly better after} Rd4 43. Re1 $1 Rxd3 44. Qc8 Be7 45. b6 $1 Qc3 $1 (45... Qxb6 $4 46. Bd7 $18) 46. Rc1 $1 Qe5 47. Bd7 Bd6 48. f4 $1 Qe4+ 49. Kg1 Qxf4 50. Bxe8 $1 Qh2+ 51. Kf1 Qh1+ 52. Ke2 Qe4+ 53. Kf1 Kg7 54. Qg4+ $1 Qxg4 55. hxg4 h3 $15 {A very difficult line to produce at the board, with almost no time.}) 42... Rc7 $1 $19 {The queen is trapped. White gets out with an exchange sac, but after} 43. Rg8+ Kxg8 44. Qxe8+ Kg7 {Black's king is safe and White's is anything but. The game ended quickly.} 45. Bg4 Qe7 46. Qa8 {Trading queens would be a different sort of hopeless.} Qe2 47. Qa1+ Kg8 48. b6 Rc3 $1 (48... Rb7 {is winning, but not as nice as the text.}) 49. Qg1 Kf8 50. Nc1 Qc2 {The knight is mated. White's b-pawn isn't dangerous and Black's king is safe, so White surrenders the game (and the match) as he's about to be a rook down.} 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.04"] [Round "2.4"] [White "Safarli, Eltaj"] [Black "Esipenko, Andrey"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C47"] [WhiteElo "2607"] [BlackElo "2683"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2023.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. a3 (4. d4 Bb4 $5 5. Nxe5 Nxe4 $2 6. Qg4 $16 Nxc3 7. Qxg7 Rf8 8. a3 Nxd4 $2 9. axb4 $18 Nxc2+ $2 10. Kd2 Nxa1 11. Kxc3 Qe7 12. Bc4 d5 {Here White is winning after} 13. Bb5+ $18 {, which is unavailable to Black in the colors-reversed version thanks to White's 4.a3.}) 4... d5 5. Bb5 (5. exd5 $142 Nxd5 6. Bb5 (6. Nxe5)) 5... Nxe4 6. Nxe5 $6 Qg5 7. Nxc6 Qxg2 8. Rf1 {This has happened in 27 prior games. Why, from White's perspective, I don't know. It's entertaining but objectively pretty bad, and a nutty idea to trot out in the World Cup.} a6 9. Nxd5 axb5 10. Nxc7+ Kd7 11. Nxa8 Kxc6 12. Qe2 Bh3 (12... Bc5 $142 13. d4 Be6 $1 $146 14. f3 $8 Qxe2+ 15. Kxe2 Bc4+ 16. Ke1 Bxd4 17. fxe4 Bxf1 18. Kxf1 Rxa8 19. c3 $8 Be5 $15 {/? The tactical silliness has come to an end, and although material is equal Black is better thanks to his active pieces.}) 13. a4 $1 $11 Qxf1+ 14. Qxf1 Bxf1 15. Kxf1 b4 {All this has happened before, believe it or not.} 16. a5 $146 (16. d3 Nxf2 $11 {happened in the earlier games.}) 16... Bc5 17. Nb6 Nxf2 18. Nc4 Re8 19. d3 (19. a6 $1 bxa6 20. d3 $11) 19... b3 $1 $15 20. a6 $2 bxc2 $1 $19 21. Na5+ Kb5 $2 (21... Kd5 $1 22. Nxb7 Bb6 $1 $19 {is the difference. With Black's king on b5, White wins with 23.Nd6+.}) 22. d4 $2 (22. Nxb7 Nxd3 23. Nxc5 Kxc5 24. a7 Ra8 $17 {/-+}) 22... Bxd4 (22... Nd3 $1 23. dxc5 Re1+ 24. Kg2 Kxa6 $1 25. Nb3+ Kb5 $19 {Amazingly, White has no good answer to the coming ...Kb4 (or sometimes ...Kc4).}) 23. Nxb7 Ra8 $2 (23... Ne4 $19) 24. Nd6+ $2 (24. Ke2 $11 {/?}) 24... Kc6 $2 (24... Kb4 $17) 25. Nf5 $15 Bb6 26. Ke2 Ne4 $11 (26... Re8+ $142) 27. Ra4 (27. Nxg7 $142 $11) 27... Nc5 $15 28. Rc4 g6 29. Ne3 $2 (29. Rxc2 gxf5 30. b4 Rxa6 31. Be3 {and White will make a draw.}) 29... Kb5 $19 {Black is winning again, and stays that way.} 30. Rxc2 Nb3 $1 31. Nd5 Nd4+ 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.04"] [Round "2.5"] [White "Liang, Awonder"] [Black "Yilmaz, Mustafa"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A17"] [WhiteElo "2649"] [BlackElo "2639"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "36"] [EventDate "2023.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,36,20,20,22,22,9,15,6,23,19,-23,16,18,-9,5,5,-10,18,5,3,16,-26,-26,-34,-29,-19,-32,-28,-50,-43,-105,-205,-205,-207,-343,-291,-626,-784]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. e3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Bd6 5. b3 c5 6. Bb2 Nc6 7. cxd5 exd5 8. d4 cxd4 9. Nxd4 O-O 10. Be2 Nxd4 11. Qxd4 Re8 12. Rd1 Be5 13. Qd3 (13. Qd2 {is usual, but the text is playable.}) 13... Bg4 14. Bxg4 $6 (14. O-O Bxe2 {Now White would like to take with the knight, but because the queen is on d3 rather than protecting the bishop from d2, he can't.} 15. Qxe2 d4 16. Nb5 Qb8 17. Nxd4 Bxh2+ $11) 14... Nxg4 15. Qxd5 $4 {Disastrous greed.} (15. h3 Qh4 16. g3 Qh6 $15 {White must be careful to avoid a tactical nightmare. If he can do that, he's only a bit worse.}) 15... Qh4 $1 $19 16. g3 Qf6 17. Qd2 (17. Ne4 {saves the knight while covering f2, but now we see the point of the preliminary 15...Qh4:} Qf3 {and the game is over. Note that if} 18. Bxe5 {Black can do even better than 18...Qxh1+ by first taking the bishop:} Rxe5 19. Qd8+ $5 Re8 $19 {and now White is in danger of losing practically everything.}) 17... Rad8 18. Nd5 (18. Qc2 Bxc3+ 19. Bxc3 Nxe3 $1 $19 {is the fanciest win, but there are many less flamboyant ways of putting White out of his misery.}) 18... Rxd5 {Too obvious to merit punctuation. What a disaster for the youngster.} (18... Rxd5 19. Qxd5 Qxf2#) 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.04"] [Round "2.6"] [White "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Black "Azarov, Sergei"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A45"] [WhiteElo "2710"] [BlackElo "2589"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "45"] [EventDate "2023.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,45,17,20,22,3,-2,-1,12,-2,-8,39,46,56,51,0,82,24,4,-19,3,3,-2,-1,38,26,18,-32,-4,-73,-40,-17,-60,-16,-61,0,-33,-37,-37,-37,-18,-18,147,263,758,720,718,697]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 Ne4 3. Bf4 d5 4. f3 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 {Playable but unnecessary.} (5... c5 $1 {is more popular, with lots of complications after} 6. e4 cxd4 7. Qxd4 Nc6 8. Bb5 Bd7 9. Bxc6 ({White should prefer the rare} 9. Qd2 $11) 9... Bxc6 10. e5 Nd7 11. e6 fxe6 12. O-O-O $15 {/?. White has done well here in blitz, but in a 10'+10" game Black has less to fear.}) 6. e4 e6 7. Qd2 b5 8. e5 Nfd7 9. Bg5 f6 $5 (9... Be7 {is a calmer alternative.}) 10. exf6 gxf6 ({Likewise with} 10... Nxf6) 11. Bh6 (11. Bh4) 11... Be7 $2 (11... c5) 12. O-O-O (12. f4 $142 $16) 12... c5 13. Re1 $6 (13. Nh3 $16) 13... b4 $6 14. Nb1 $2 (14. Na4 $16) 14... Nc6 $17 (14... cxd4 $142 15. Qxd4 Nc5 $1 16. Qh4 Qa5 17. Bg7 Rg8 18. Bxf6 (18. Qxh7 $4 Rxg7 $1 19. Qxg7 b3 $19 {Black threatens both ...Qxe1# and ...bxa2. One way or another, he's winning a rook for a pawn.}) 18... Bxf6 19. Qxf6 Nc6 $19 {Black's king is safe, and he's only down a pawn. Meanwhile, ...Qxa2 is coming, and White is in trouble.} ({But not} 19... b3 $2 20. Qc3 Qxc3 21. Nxc3 $11)) 15. Rxe6 Nxd4 16. Re1 Ne5 17. Ne2 Bf5 18. Nxd4 cxd4 19. Qxd4 Qc7 $6 {Very natural, but inaccurate.} (19... Qd7 $1 {was best, intending ...Rc8. The reason to play this first is as prophylaxis against 20.Rxe5, e.g.} 20. Rxe5 fxe5 21. Qxe5 {and now White is only threatening the rook and not the B@f5 as well.} Rg8 $17) 20. c3 $11 Kf7 $2 {Connecting the rooks and vacating the e-file are desirable aims. Unfortunately for Black, there's a big tactical problem.} (20... Rd8 $11) (20... O-O-O $5 $11) (20... Qd6 $11) 21. f4 $1 $18 {The only good move. Unfortunately for Azarov, it wins.} Ng4 $2 {Allowing a sparkling finish.} 22. Qxd5+ Kg6 {Black is equal or better against every move but one...} 23. Qxf5+ $1 (23. Qxf5+ $1 Kxf5 (23... Kxh6 24. Qxg4 $18) 24. Bd3#) 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.04"] [Round "2.7"] [White "Daneshvar, Bardiya"] [Black "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A28"] [WhiteElo "2577"] [BlackElo "2736"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "45"] [EventDate "2023.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,45,17,-10,14,-21,-25,-12,-9,-13,-12,-15,-13,-33,-6,-34,-34,-21,-56,-40,-19,-115,-22,-11,-22,-19,9,5,27,30,30,27,27,-13,-8,-5,-5,-32,-32,-39,-29,-29,-32,-51,-32,-32,-32,-41]} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e3 Bb4 5. Qc2 O-O {I used to play this way a couple of decades ago, but found the Nd5, Qf5 line we'll see in the game rather unpleasant.} (5... Bxc3 {is a much safer line. It's sad to make the exchange without having White first burn a tempo on a3, but even so it's a reliable variation.}) 6. Nd5 Re8 7. Qf5 d6 8. Nxf6+ gxf6 (8... Qxf6 $6 9. Qxf6 gxf6 10. a3 Bc5 11. b4 Bb6 12. Bb2 $14 {is more favorable for White than the 8...gxf6 line. You might find that surprising, as Black's king is likelier to be vulnerable with the queens on. The truth is that Black needs the queens on to generate counterplay; here, White just enjoys his extra space and better structure with minimal risk.}) 9. Qh5 e4 (9... d5 {is the other important line.}) 10. Rg1 {This has been seen in a very few over-the-board games, but has been tested quite a lot in correspondence chess. Grischuk was taken by surprise here, which is inexcusable if the 5...0-0 line was part of his pre-tournament preparation. All of White's moves since then have been standard and right out of the database (the top choice every time in a line that has been known for decades), and now 10.Rg1, while less common than 10.a3, has been played at least 37 times. Even moderately serious amateurs will see the correspondence games that are included in ChessBase's online database - they don't have to go to exotic locations on the web looking for them. For a top GM not to have taken them into account is unbelievable. So I guess - I hope! - that Grischuk's decision to play 5...0-0 was more spur of the moment, based on unhappiness with 5...Bxc3 in his earlier tiebreak game, and that it had been a while since he had reviewed all the relevant variations.} (10. a3 {is the best-known move, when play generally goes} exf3 11. gxf3 Re5 12. Rg1+ (12. Qh6 $5 Bf5) 12... Rg5 13. Rxg5+ fxg5 {and now either 14.Bd3 or the more obvious 14.axb4.}) 10... d5 $1 (10... exf3 $6 $146 {isn't a disaster, but White will be a little better at the end of a semi-forced line:} 11. gxf3+ Kh8 12. a3 Bc5 13. Qh6 Rg8 14. Rxg8+ Kxg8 15. Bd3 f5 16. b4 Qf8 17. Qg5+ Qg7 18. Qxg7+ Kxg7 19. Bb2+ f6 20. bxc5 dxc5 21. f4 $14) 11. a3 (11. cxd5 $6 Ne5 $15) 11... Bf8 {A main point of 10...d5.} 12. d4 $1 Bg7 $146 {? A poor novelty, clearly devised at the board.} (12... Be6 13. Nh4 dxc4 (13... Na5 14. Bd2 Nb3 15. Rd1 Nxd2 16. Rxd2 c5 {Four correspondence games, four draws.} 17. g4 (17. cxd5 Qxd5 18. Qxd5 Bxd5 19. Nf5 (19. dxc5 Bb3 20. Be2 Re5 21. Kf1 Rxc5 22. g4 Rac8 23. Bd1 Rd5 24. Ke1 Rcd8 25. Rxd5 Bxd5 26. Nf5 Bd6 27. Rg2 Be6 28. Nxd6 Rxd6 29. Bc2 Rb6 30. b4 Kg7 31. Bxe4 Ra6 32. Bxb7 {½-½ Evans,C (2394)-Zunkovic,S (2279) WLS/SRCCC/19/D1 ICCF email 2019 [3]}) 19... Rac8 20. Bb5 (20. f4 Be6 21. g4 Kh8 22. Bb5 Red8 23. Ke2 c4 24. Rc1 a6 25. Ba4 b5 26. Bd1 c3 27. Rxc3 Rxc3 28. bxc3 Bxa3 29. Kf2 a5 30. Ng3 a4 31. Nxe4 Be7 32. f5 Bd5 33. Nc5 a3 34. Bb3 Bxb3 35. Nxb3 Rc8 36. Nc5 Bxc5 37. dxc5 Rxc5 38. Rd8+ Kg7 39. Rb8 h5 40. h3 h4 41. Kf3 Kh7 42. Rb6 Kh8 43. Ke2 Rxc3 44. Rxb5 Rc2+ 45. Kf3 Rh2 46. Ra5 Rxh3+ 47. Ke4 Rh2 48. Rxa3 Rf2 49. Ra1 h3 50. Rh1 h2 51. Kd3 Kg7 52. e4 Kh6 53. Ke3 Rb2 54. Kf4 Rc2 55. Kg3 Kg5 56. Rb1 Rb2 57. Ra1 Rd2 58. Rb1 Rd4 59. Kxh2 Rxe4 60. Rb7 Kxg4 61. Rxf7 Re2+ 62. Kg1 Kxf5 63. Kf1 Rh2 64. Rf8 Rh3 65. Kg2 Rc3 66. Kf2 Kg5 67. Ra8 Kf4 68. Ra4+ Kg5 69. Rb4 f5 70. Ra4 Rc2+ 71. Kf3 Rc7 72. Ra3 Rc4 73. Rb3 Rc2 74. Ra3 Rh2 75. Ra4 Rh3+ {½-½ Voigt,D (2211)-Edwards,K (2183) VW-Cup12 Gr24 email ICCF email 2019}) 20... Red8 21. dxc5 a6 22. Be2 Be6 23. Ng3 f5 24. Rxd8 Rxd8 25. Nh5 Bxc5 26. g4 f4 27. Nf6+ Kh8 28. Nxe4 Ba7 29. exf4 Rd4 30. Nc3 Rxf4 31. Nd1 a5 32. Rg3 b5 33. Bxb5 Bxg4 34. Be2 Bd7 35. Rg5 f5 36. Rg3 Be6 37. Rd3 Bd4 38. b4 axb4 39. axb4 Kg7 40. b5 Rh4 41. h3 Bc5 42. Kf1 Kf7 43. Kg2 Rb4 44. Ne3 {½-½ Loeschnauer,R (2458)-Brasier,J (2435) W-ch42 sf01 email ICCF email 2018}) (17. Be2 $5 $146) 17... cxd4 18. Rxd4 Qa5+ 19. Ke2 Bg7 20. Nf5 Qb6 21. b4 Rac8 22. c5 Qa6+ 23. Ke1 Qxa3 24. Bb5 Qa1+ 25. Rd1 Qc3+ 26. Kf1 Red8 {½-½ Frendzas,P (2549)-Lovakovic,F (2406) WC-2018-Q-00015 LSS email}) 14. g4 Qd5 15. Nf5 Ne7 16. Bd2 Kh8 17. Qh4 {has occurred in seven (correspondence) games, of which six were drawn and Black won the other.} Ng8 18. Rg3 a5 19. Rh3 h6 20. Qg3 Qb5 $11 21. Bc3 Bxf5 22. gxf5 Bb4 23. Rd1 (23. Bxb4 axb4 24. Qg4 bxa3 25. Rg3 Qb4+ {½-½ Rosabal Perea,R (2153)-Maestro Hernandez,J (2158) WZ-ch sf20 email ICCF email 2021}) 23... Bxc3+ 24. bxc3 Qb3 25. Be2 Qxa3 26. Bh5 Qf8 27. Qxc7 b5 28. Qxf7 Qd6 29. Qb7 Rab8 30. Qa7 Ra8 31. Qb7 Rab8 {½-½ Probola,R (2415)-Au Cardero,R (2366) POL-CUB email ICCF email 2020 [8]}) 13. Nh4 (13. cxd5 $142 Ne7 14. Nh4 Qxd5 15. Qxd5 Nxd5 16. g4 $1 $16 {White will soon put the knight on f5.}) 13... Ne7 (13... Na5 $1 $14) 14. g4 $16 Be6 15. Nf5 ({It was better to be a little patient and play} 15. b3 $142 $16 {followed by Bb2 first.}) 15... dxc4 $14 16. Rg3 Qd5 17. Nxg7 (17. Bh3 $142 $14) 17... Kxg7 $11 18. g5 $6 {Scary, but after Grischuk's next, forced, move he even has the advantage.} (18. Bg2 $142 $11) 18... Kh8 $1 19. Qh6 $2 Ng8 $2 (19... Nf5 $1 20. Qxf6+ Kg8 $17 {/-+ brings White's attack to an end. There's a further, sneaky possibility to play ...a5 and ...Ra6, when White may have to play the highly undesirable Qe5 to avoid having his queen trapped. Black would have excellent winning chances here.}) 20. Qh4 $2 (20. Qh5 $15) 20... Ne7 $1 21. Qh6 Ng8 $2 22. Qh4 Ne7 23. Qh6 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.04"] [Round "2.7"] [White "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Black "Mastrovasilis, Dimitrios"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B40"] [WhiteElo "2719"] [BlackElo "2587"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2023.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,79,22,38,50,51,56,47,89,72,104,94,69,61,75,72,57,80,79,44,79,41,41,0,0,58,58,69,92,73,67,67,112,101,106,101,90,95,95,98,128,118,179,191,191,191,184,209,203,165,207,232,234,242,232,239,303,239,303,304,304,334,338,322,338,201,211,221,237,191,227,201,233,233,232,232,241,246,244,223,502,512]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. Nc3 a6 4. Be2 b5 5. O-O Bb7 6. d4 cxd4 7. Qxd4 Nc6 8. Qe3 Qc7 9. Rd1 Ne5 10. Nxe5 Qxe5 11. Qb6 Bc6 12. Be3 Nf6 13. Bd4 Qb8 14. Qxb8+ Rxb8 15. e5 {Mastrovasilis played a very good match against Vidit, but the following mistake more or less leads to his exit.} Nd5 $2 (15... Ne4 16. Nxe4 Bxe4 $11) 16. Nxd5 Bxd5 17. a4 $16 {White breaks through on the queenside before Black can get castled and bring the h8-rook into the action.} Be7 18. axb5 axb5 19. Ra7 h5 $2 (19... b4 20. Bf3 Bxf3 21. gxf3 O-O 22. Rxd7 Bg5 $16 {had to be tried, though it's still unlikely he'd manage to save the game.}) 20. Be3 $18 h4 21. Bf3 Bxf3 22. Rdxd7 (22. gxf3 {also wins.}) 22... Bh5 23. Rxe7+ Kf8 24. Reb7 $1 Rd8 (24... Rxb7 25. Rxb7 $18 {wins a second pawn, as Black must first deal with the threat of 26.Rb8+.}) 25. h3 Kg8 26. Rxb5 Bg6 27. Rc5 Rh5 {The rook is still out of play, so White can push his pawns in complete comfort.} 28. Kh2 Kh7 29. b4 Rd1 30. b5 Rb1 31. Ra3 Be4 32. Rb3 Rxb3 33. cxb3 Kg6 34. b6 Rh8 35. Rc7 Rb8 36. Rc4 Kf5 37. f3 Bd5 38. Rf4+ Kxe5 39. Rxf7 Rc8 $2 (39... Kd6 {is a better way to deal with the threatened 40.Bf4+. Still,} 40. Rxg7 Bxb3 41. Rh7 {will leave White three pawns ahead with a dead won position. (They're playing with an increment, so there's no danger of being flagged in such a position.)}) 40. b7 {If Black doesn't surrender the bishop, White promotes the pawn and plays Bf4+ and Bxb8.} 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.04"] [Round "2.8"] [White "Ponomariov, Ruslan"] [Black "Kollars, Dmitrij"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E19"] [WhiteElo "2664"] [BlackElo "2618"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "27"] [EventDate "2023.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,27,22,20,18,6,20,20,34,14,14,14,24,13,1,8,17,18,44,48,63,-113,113,198,166,194,284,262,429,420]} 1. d4 Nf6 ({In must-win situations as Black, it's time to trot out the most imbalanced openings like} 1... f5 {or}) (1... g6 {.}) 2. c4 e6 (2... g6 {The King's Indian is another sensible must-win opening.}) 3. Nf3 b6 {Really? One of the softest openings in all of chess, and against a player who's technical prowess is so great that even as a teenager he was compared to Karpov. A strange choice.} (3... c5 {Yet another option when it's win-or-go-home for Black: the Modern Benoni.}) 4. g3 Bb7 {Another soft move.} 5. Bg2 Be7 {Yet another soft move. Maybe Kollars is taking his cues from Monty Python's "comfy chair" bit in their Spanish Inquisition sketch.} 6. O-O O-O 7. Nc3 Ne4 8. Qc2 f5 $2 (8... Nxc3 {is more common and inarguably better, but only increases the drawishness of the position.}) 9. Ne5 $1 d5 (9... Nd6 {is the alternative, but it looks pretty ugly:} 10. Bxb7 Nxb7 11. e4 $16) 10. Nd3 $5 {White is doing well here, but it was better to take on d5.} (10. cxd5 exd5 11. Bf4 $16) 10... Nd7 $4 $146 {This loses, and it's not to a surprise move. Ponomariov plays the move that was the main point of 10.Nd3.} 11. Nf4 $18 Rf6 12. cxd5 Nxc3 13. Qxc3 Nf8 $2 {Expediting the "0".} 14. d6 $1 {White wins a piece.} (14. d6 $1 Bxg2 (14... Bxd6 15. Bxb7 $18) 15. dxe7 Qxe7 16. Kxg2 $18) 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.04"] [Round "2.9"] [White "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Black "Daneshvar, Bardiya"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E11"] [WhiteElo "2736"] [BlackElo "2577"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "118"] [EventDate "2023.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,118,22,20,20,4,-12,6,6,-31,2,7,-8,-1,38,18,20,8,-2,-29,13,8,8,-13,8,0,-16,-27,21,16,42,25,8,7,-1,0,25,-11,30,31,144,127,93,48,113,111,113,75,105,105,94,105,105,88,75,56,51,63,117,109,101,134,203,181,157,168,141,149,136,118,93,98,116,126,126,115,134,133,118,120,127,120,127,107,1011,-54,-84,-70,-39,-70,-67,-69,-69,-146,-168,-245,-170,-168,-79,-86,-77,-59,-80,-245,-246,-256,-252,-285,-230,-230,-264,-271,-291,-372,-372,-406,-473,-795,-896,-948,-1011]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Bg2 c6 7. Qc2 O-O 8. h4 Nbd7 9. Bf4 h6 10. O-O Nh5 11. Bc1 Nhf6 12. Nbd2 b6 13. e4 Ba6 14. b3 Rc8 15. Rd1 c5 16. exd5 exd5 17. Bb2 cxd4 18. Nxd4 Bc5 19. Qf5 g6 20. Qf4 dxc4 21. Qxh6 Re8 22. Nxc4 Bf8 23. Qg5 Rc5 24. Qf4 Bxc4 25. bxc4 Rxc4 26. Rac1 Nh5 {Now White has two terrific queen sacs that both win.} 27. Qd2 (27. Rxc4 Nxf4 28. Nc6 Nd3 $1 29. Nxd8 $1 Nxb2 30. Rxd7 Nxc4 31. Nxf7 {This is the boring way, but it's good enough. Even though Black is only a pawn down and there are opposite-colored bishops, White's 3-1 kingside majority and active pieces should carry the day.}) (27. Qxf7+ $1 {Of course, this is the one we all want to see.} Kxf7 28. Bd5+ Kg7 (28... Ke7 $2 29. Rxc4 Ne5 30. Nc6+ Nxc6 31. Rxc6 Qd7 32. Ba3+ Kd8 33. Bxf8 Rxf8 34. Bb3 Qxd1+ 35. Bxd1 $18 {Here too, as in the 27.Rxc4 line, White is only a pawn up, but with B vs. N this won't be competitive at all.}) 29. Ne6+ Kh7 30. Nxd8 Rxc1 31. Bxc1 Rxd8 32. Bc6 Bc5 33. Bg5 Nb8 34. Rxd8 Nxc6 35. Rd7+ Kg8 36. Rc7 Nb4 37. g4 $1 {Black was threatening ...Nxg3 in some cases, e.g. against 37.Rxa7.} Ng3 38. Be7 $1 Ne2+ 39. Kf1 Bxe7 40. Rxe7 Nc3 41. a3 Nbd5 (41... Nc6 $4 42. Rc7 $18) 42. Rxa7 $18 {Knights can be tricky, but White should win. It helps White that his rook will remain miles away from his king, out of reach of nasty knight forks.}) 27... Ne5 28. Ba1 Bg7 29. Rxc4 Nxc4 30. Qc2 Ne5 31. Ne6 Qe7 32. Nxg7 Nxg7 33. Qb2 f6 34. Qb3+ Kh7 35. a4 Rd8 36. Rxd8 Qxd8 37. Bxe5 fxe5 38. Qf7 $2 {This looks good, threatening Qxa7 and Be4, and in some cases Bd5. Unfortunately for Grischuk, it's a blunder.} (38. Be4 $18 {first was the right way, and should lead to an easy win.}) 38... Qd1+ $1 39. Kh2 Qxa4 {Defending the a-pawn and stopping Be4. White is still better, but now there is risk and the win is not automatic.} 40. Bd5 $1 {Threatening mate in two.} Kh6 $1 $16 41. Qe7 Qd4 $4 (41... Qe8 $142) 42. Bg2 $4 (42. Qf8 $1 {is game over, covering f2 and threatening 43.Qh8#. The only try is} g5 {, but now White has many ways to win.} 43. Qf6+ (43. hxg5+ Kg6 (43... Kxg5 {avoids mate for a while, but only at the low, low cost of the knight and his queen:} 44. Qxg7+ {Practically speaking, this is already enough for an easy win, so even if Grischuk wouldn't spot the following he'd still be on his way to round 3.} Kf5 (44... Kh5 45. Bf7#) 45. g4+ $1 Qxg4 (45... Kf4 46. Qf6+ Kxg4 47. Bf3#) 46. Be6+ $18 {and thanks for playing.}) (43... Kh7 44. Bg8+ Kg6 45. Qf6+ Kh5 46. Bf7+ Kg4 47. f3#) 44. Qf6+ Kh5 (44... Kh7 45. Qh6#) 45. Bf3+ Qg4 46. Qh6#) 43... Kh7 44. Bf7 Qd3 45. hxg5 Kh8 {and now the fastest win - which is not at all obvious - is} 46. g4 Qh7+ 47. Kg3 Qd3+ 48. f3 Qh7 (48... a5 49. Ba2 b5 50. Qf8+ Kh7 51. Bg8+ Kh8 52. Bf7+ Kh7 53. Qg8#) 49. Qd8+ Ne8 50. Qxe8+ Kg7 51. Bd5 a5 52. Qf7+ Kh8 53. Qf8+ Qg8 54. Qxg8#) (42. Qf7 $2 {is a mistake relative to 42.Qf8!, but it keeps an advantage.}) 42... Qxf2 {It's still a fight, but now Black is better.} 43. Qxe5 Qf7 $11 44. Bd5 Qf2+ 45. Bg2 Kh7 46. Kh1 $6 a5 47. Be4 $2 Qf1+ $2 (47... a4 $19) 48. Kh2 Qf2+ 49. Kh3 $1 Qf1+ 50. Kh2 a4 51. h5 $4 {A blunder reminiscent of his 38th move. Again Grischuk overlooks an intermediate check that spoils his plans.} (51. g4 $11 {was necessary, preparing h5. This would still make a draw.}) 51... Qe2+ $1 52. Kg1 Qxh5 {White is completely lost, and after his next move he no longer has any swindling chances.} 53. Qd4 $2 Qc5 54. Qxc5 bxc5 55. Kf2 Nf5 56. g4 a3 57. Bd5 Nd6 {Threatening ...c4.} 58. Ba2 Ne4+ 59. Ke3 Nc3 0-1