[Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.14"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2719"] [BlackElo "2779"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "2023.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,103,23,25,30,24,55,20,27,28,38,23,23,45,45,60,26,53,33,35,62,37,29,21,13,18,61,58,58,33,30,44,92,10,5,5,5,5,14,19,25,23,15,10,22,19,19,26,19,-44,-75,-59,53,24,18,18,0,0,11,0,-14,-20,-16,-14,41,31,29,22,29,26,26,31,54,46,93,89,103,4,6,60,51,55,55,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,59,60,63,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 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 Bf5 10. Qc2 Na6 11. a3 Bg6 12. c5 Bb8 13. Nc3 f5 14. Ne2 Nc7 15. Nf4 Be8 16. Ne5 g5 17. Ne2 Ne6 18. f3 Qf6 {It looks exciting, and if you're discovering this for the first time at the board in a tournament game, it might be a little more exciting than you'd like. But this has all been killed by correspondence players in the 2010s, and nothing in this game overturns that verdict.} 19. fxe4 fxe4 20. Ng4 Qg6 21. Bxe4 Qxe4 22. Qxe4 dxe4 23. Nc3 (23. Be3 Bh5 24. Nf2 Bf4 25. Ng3 Bxg3 26. hxg3 Bg6 $11 {was the usual song-and-dance.}) 23... Nxd4 24. Nxe4 Nc2 25. Bd2 $146 {Not a bad new try, but Nepo is either well-prepared or does a nice job of working everything out at the board.} (25. Bxg5 h5 26. Nef6+ Kf7 27. Rf1 Nxa1 28. Nd7+ Kg6 29. Nxf8+ Kxg5 30. Ne6+ Kg6 {½-½ Bolhari,O (2309)-Skeels,J (2298) POR-USA email ICCF email 2018 [7]}) 25... Nxe1 26. Rxe1 (26. Bc3 {is possible, with the threat of 27.Nh6#.} h5 27. Ngf6+ Kf7 28. Nh7 $1 Nd3 29. Rf1+ $1 Bf4 $1 30. Nxf8 Kxf8 31. g3 Ke7 32. gxf4 gxf4 33. Rd1 Bg6 34. Rxd3 Bxe4 35. Rd4 $11) 26... h5 $1 27. Nh6+ Kg7 28. Nxg5 $1 Kg6 $1 (28... Kxh6 $4 29. Ne6+ Kh7 30. Nxf8+ $18) 29. Re7 $1 Bf4 30. Re6+ $1 Kxg5 $1 31. g3 $1 {Spectacular play all around. Just because a line has been or can be figured out by an engine doesn't mean that a person will have memorized it or can work it out at the board. These guys are up to the task, though.} Bg6 (31... Bxd2 $4 32. h4#) 32. Bxf4+ Rxf4 33. gxf4+ Kxh6 34. f5 {Everything just works out - it's almost magical.} Rg8 35. Kf2 Kg5 $1 {Even this is important.} ({You might be tempted to play} 35... Kh7 $2 {, to avoid losing a pawn as in the game. But this would lose, remarkably enough:} 36. Re7+ Rg7 37. fxg6+ Kxg6 38. Rxg7+ Kxg7 39. Kf3 Kf6 40. Kf4 $18 {Black will run out of pawn moves first, and will lose due to zugzwang.}) 36. fxg6 Rxg6 37. Re7 (37. Rxg6+ Kxg6 38. Kf3 Kf5 {The extra rank makes a difference, and now it's White who has reason to be concerned, though he can in fact hold the draw in this case.}) 37... Rf6+ 38. Kg2 Rf5 39. b4 (39. Rxb7 Rxc5 40. Rxa7 (40. b4 Rc2+ $11) 40... Rc2+ $11) 39... b6 40. cxb6 axb6 41. Re6 Rd5 42. Rxc6 Rd2+ 43. Kg1 Rd1+ 44. Kf2 Rd2+ 45. Kf1 Ra2 46. Rxb6 Rxa3 47. Re6 Rb3 {The position is an easy draw, despite the extra pawn. Great preparation by both players!} 48. Re4 h4 49. Kg2 Rb2+ 50. Kh3 Rb3+ 51. Kg2 Rb2+ 52. Kh3 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.14"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D41"] [WhiteElo "2779"] [BlackElo "2719"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "90"] [EventDate "2023.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,90,30,18,36,-4,-11,6,6,6,44,37,61,18,44,-10,26,6,15,11,5,-7,-1,13,13,-3,41,24,45,34,53,18,23,9,56,-12,-4,-16,-1,-17,-16,-7,-14,-19,-15,-20,-13,-7,-2,-15,-15,-9,-9,0,-19,-34,-21,-21,11,-21,-7,-11,-1,-13,-37,-60,-56,-56,-62,-61,-71,-66,-66,-71,-70,-75,-70,-75,-52,-50,-50,-55,-41,-68,-70,-68,-57,-62,-57,-64,-54,-68,-70]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c5 5. cxd5 cxd4 {The anti-1.d4 Berlin. White has been struggling mightily to prove anything against this.} 6. Qxd4 exd5 7. Bg5 ({If White prefers to achieve nothing in the endgame instead, then} 7. e4 dxe4 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Ng5 Be6 10. Nxe6+ fxe6 11. Bg5 Nc6 {is the way to go. Here White typically chooses between 12.Bc4 and 12.0-0-0.}) 7... Be7 8. e3 O-O 9. Qd2 {Very rare.} (9. Rd1 {is usual at the moment.}) 9... Be6 10. Bd3 h6 $146 11. Bf4 Nc6 $11 12. O-O Bb4 $146 (12... a6 13. h3 b5 14. Rac1 Rc8 15. a4 b4 16. Nb1 Qb6 17. Qe2 a5 18. Ba6 Ra8 19. Bb5 Rfc8 20. Nbd2 Na7 21. Nd4 Rxc1 22. Rxc1 Rc8 23. Rxc8+ Bxc8 24. N2b3 Ne4 25. Qc2 Nc5 26. Nxc5 Qxc5 27. Bd3 Bd7 28. Bc7 Bxa4 29. b3 Bd7 30. Qxc5 Bxc5 31. Bxa5 Nc6 32. Nxc6 Bxc6 33. Bc7 {½-½ Zhou,J (2565)-Wei,Y (2625) CHN-ch Xinghua 2014 (9)}) 13. a3 Ne4 14. Bxe4 Bxc3 15. Qxc3 dxe4 16. Rfd1 Qa5 17. b4 Qa4 18. Ne5 Rac8 19. Nxc6 Qxc6 20. Qb2 Qc3 21. Qxc3 {Equivalent to a draw offer, but} (21. Qe2 Rfd8 {isn't exactly brimming with possibilities either. (Indeed, only Black can be better here.)}) 21... Rxc3 22. Be5 Rc2 23. Bd4 a6 24. Bc5 Rc8 25. h3 Rc6 26. Rd4 b6 27. Be7 R2c4 28. Rad1 Kh7 29. Bd8 Rc3 30. a4 Bb3 31. Ra1 Rd3 32. b5 axb5 33. axb5 Rxd4 34. exd4 Rd6 35. Bc7 Rxd4 36. Bxb6 Rb4 37. Be3 Rxb5 38. Rb1 f5 39. g4 Kg6 40. Kg2 h5 41. gxf5+ Kxf5 42. Kg3 g5 43. h4 g4 44. Rc1 Bf7 45. Rc5+ Rxc5 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.14"] [Round "5.5"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A13"] [WhiteElo "2779"] [BlackElo "2719"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "120"] [EventDate "2023.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,119,30,-11,6,6,6,-24,-34,-18,-13,-13,-7,-7,18,1,21,3,1,25,12,29,26,29,17,15,51,25,21,19,28,33,10,26,14,-19,-11,-25,5,0,20,-39,-4,-7,-15,-44,0,1,-35,-95,-22,-22,7,0,0,0,-6,-6,37,15,55,51,9,29,0,-10,-92,11,0,-5,11,31,0,0,0,-41,-61,-61,-61,-97,-61,-70,-97,-118,-118,-118,-62,-102,-99,-161,-161,-291,-271,-239,-239,-248,-262,-204,-212,-218,-240,-248,-253,-254,-226,-298,-240,-350,-310,-333,-333,-375,-357,-433,-482,-515,-511,-534,-534,-613,-726,-718]} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 d4 5. O-O Nc6 (5... c5) 6. d3 Bc5 7. Nbd2 O-O (7... a5) 8. Nb3 Be7 9. e3 dxe3 10. Bxe3 Ng4 11. Bc5 Bxc5 12. Nxc5 b6 13. Nd2 $146 ({Vidit had the position last year - with White - and there played} 13. Ne4 {, eventually drawing with another up-and-comer.} Bb7 14. d4 Rb8 15. Re1 Nf6 16. Nc3 Ne7 17. Ne5 Bxg2 18. Kxg2 c6 19. Qd3 Qc7 20. Rad1 Rbd8 21. Qf3 Rd6 22. b4 Ng6 23. h4 Ne7 24. b5 a6 25. a4 axb5 26. axb5 Qc8 27. h5 h6 28. g4 Nd7 29. Nxc6 Nxc6 30. bxc6 Rxc6 31. Nb5 Qb7 32. Nd6 Qc7 33. Nb5 Qb7 34. Ra1 Nf6 35. Re5 Nh7 36. Na7 Rc7 37. Qxb7 Rxb7 38. Nb5 Nf6 39. f3 Rd8 40. Kf2 Ne8 41. d5 exd5 42. Rxd5 Rc8 43. Rd4 Re7 44. Ra6 Re6 45. Ra7 Rec6 46. Ke3 Re6+ 47. Kd3 Rf6 48. f4 g6 49. Nc3 Kf8 50. Nd5 Re6 51. hxg6 fxg6 52. f5 gxf5 53. gxf5 Rd6 54. Nf4 Kg8 55. Nd5 Kf8 56. Ke4 Rc5 57. Ra8 Kf7 58. Ra7+ Kf8 59. Ra8 Kf7 60. Rb8 Rdc6 61. Kd3 Nd6 62. Nb4 Rc8 63. Rxb6 Nxc4 64. Rb7+ R5c7 65. Rd7+ Rxd7+ 66. Rxd7+ Kf6 67. Ke4 Nd2+ 68. Ke3 Nf1+ 69. Kf2 Nh2 70. Kg3 Nf1+ 71. Kf2 Nh2 72. Kg3 {½-½ Vidit,S (2727)-Keymer,V (2664) Berlin FIDE GP 1 Pool-C 2022 (6)}) ({Vidit mentions} 13. Nh4 Nge5 14. d4 {in his notes, saying he didn't consider it seriously as it "leads to very complex positions, which I couldn't easily evaluate over the board." Subsequently this was tried in a GM game:} Nxd4 15. Nb3 Nxb3 16. axb3 Rb8 17. Rxa7 Bd7 18. Re1 Nc6 19. Ra1 Ne7 20. Nf3 Bc6 21. Ne5 Bxg2 22. Kxg2 Qxd1 23. Rexd1 Rfd8 24. Rxd8+ Rxd8 25. Ra7 Rc8 26. b4 f6 {½-½ Suleymanli,A (2560)-Nguyen,T (2645) Sharjah Masters 6th 2023 (6)}) ({Still another move that was tried in two more recent games (than Vidit-Keymer):} 13. Nb3 Bb7 14. Qe2 (14. h3 Nf6 15. d4 Qc8 16. Qe2 a5 17. Rad1 a4 18. Nbd2 a3 19. b3 Nb4 20. Nb1 Rd8 21. Nc3 c5 22. dxc5 Qxc5 23. Ne5 Bxg2 24. Kxg2 h6 25. f4 Qe7 26. Nb5 Qb7+ 27. Kh2 Ne4 28. Nd3 Nxd3 29. Rxd3 Nc5 30. Rdd1 f5 31. Rxd8+ Rxd8 32. Nxa3 Ne4 33. Nb1 Qd7 34. Rg1 Qd4 35. Rg2 Kh7 36. g4 Qd6 37. Qf3 Rd7 38. gxf5 exf5 39. h4 Qf6 40. Qh3 Rd1 41. Na3 Nd2 42. Rf2 Ne4 43. Rg2 Rf1 44. Rxg7+ Qxg7 45. Qxf1 Qb2+ 46. Qg2 Qxa3 47. h5 Qd6 48. Kh3 Qf6 49. b4 Qf7 50. Kh4 Nf6 51. Qg6+ Qxg6 52. hxg6+ Kxg6 53. a4 Nd7 54. a5 bxa5 55. bxa5 Nc5 56. Kg3 Kg7 57. Kh4 Kh7 58. Kg3 Kg6 59. Kh4 Kf6 60. Kg3 Ke7 61. Kh4 Ke6 62. Kh5 Kf6 63. Kxh6 Na6 64. Kh5 Nb4 65. Kh4 Na6 66. Kh5 Nc5 67. Kh4 Kg6 68. Kg3 Kh5 69. Kh3 Kg6 70. Kg3 Kh6 71. Kh4 Kg6 72. Kg3 {½-½ Gelfand,B (2668)-Keymer,V (2693) Julius Baer GenCup Prelim chess24.com INT rapid 2022 (10)}) 14... a5 15. h3 Nf6 16. Ne5 Qd6 17. Nxc6 Bxc6 18. Bxc6 Qxc6 19. Nd4 Qd6 20. Nf3 e5 21. Qxe5 Qxd3 22. Kg2 Rac8 23. Qd4 Rfd8 24. Qxd3 Rxd3 25. Rfe1 Kf8 26. Re2 Re8 27. Ne5 Rd4 28. Rae1 g5 29. c5 Kg7 30. cxb6 cxb6 31. b3 h6 {½-½ Vakhidov,J (2607)-Aditya,M (2522) Sharjah Masters 6th 2023 (2)}) 13... Nge5 14. Ncb3 Bb7 15. d4 Ng6 $11 16. Re1 a5 17. Nf3 (17. a4 {was also playable, despite the ugliness of the hole on b4.}) 17... a4 18. Nc1 a3 19. b3 {And so there's a hole on b4 anyway, so perhaps White should have played 17.a4 after all.} Qd6 (19... Qf6 $142 $15) 20. Nd3 $2 (20. Ne2 $11) 20... Nxd4 21. Nxd4 Bxg2 22. Nxe6 fxe6 23. Kxg2 Rad8 {Despite the weakness on e6, Black's superior pieces give him a big advantage.} 24. Re3 Ne7 $1 $19 25. Qg4 $2 (25. Qe2) 25... Nf5 $2 (25... Qc6+ $1 {first gave Black a winning advantage. The point is that White can't play Rf3 here (Black takes on d3), which he can in the game thanks to Black's inverted move order.} 26. Kg1 Nf5 27. Rf3 Rd4 28. Qh5 g6 29. Ne5 Qd6 30. Nxg6 hxg6 31. Qxg6+ Ng7 $19) 26. Rf3 Qc6 $17 {/-+ This is still bad for White, but it's not completely lost.} 27. Ne5 Qa8 28. Kg1 Rd4 $2 (28... Rd2 $19) 29. Rf4 $11 Rd2 30. Nf3 Rb2 31. Ng5 Qc6 32. Re1 Rf6 {Nepo had various ways of maintaining equality, but Vidit's time shortage encouraged him to be overly optimistic.} 33. Qd1 (33. Ne4 Rf8 34. Ng5 Rf6 $11) (33. Rxf5 $5 Rxf5 $1 (33... exf5 $4 34. Qh5 h6 35. Re8+ Rf8 36. Rxf8+ Kxf8 37. Qf7#) 34. Nxe6 Rf7 (34... Qg2+ $1 {is a funny way to make a draw, and one worth remembering.} 35. Kxg2 Rfxf2+ 36. Kg1 (36. Kh3 $4 Rxh2#) 36... Rg2+ 37. Kh1 (37. Kf1 $4 Rbf2#) 37... Rxh2+ 38. Kg1 Rhg2+ $11) 35. Rd1 Rd7 36. Rd5 $1 $11) 33... h6 34. Ne4 $2 (34. Qd8+ $5 Rf8 35. Qxf8+ Kxf8 36. Nxe6+ Kg8 37. Rxf5 Rxa2 38. Rf8+ Kh7 39. Rd8 $11) 34... Rf8 $2 (34... Rf7 $17) 35. g4 $5 Nd6 $11 36. Rxf8+ Kxf8 37. Nxd6 $2 (37. Nc3 $8 $11) 37... Qxd6 $19 {Because of the problem of the a2-pawn, White is losing whether he trades the queens or keeps them on. Of course he's right to keep them on the board, especially given the short time control.} 38. Qf3+ Ke7 (38... Kg8) 39. Qc3 Kf7 40. Qf3+ Ke7 41. Qc3 Kf7 42. Qf3+ Kg8 $1 {After adding a little time thanks to the 10-second increment and girding up for battle, Vidit rightly plays on.} 43. Rd1 Qf8 44. Qe3 Rxa2 45. g5 $5 Qf5 $1 46. Rd8+ Kh7 47. gxh6 Ra1+ 48. Kg2 Qg4+ 49. Qg3 Qxg3+ 50. hxg3 Kxh6 51. Ra8 e5 52. b4 a2 53. c5 b5 $1 {Keeping the b-file closed is useful, so Black's king can head to b2 and not get checked away from the a-pawn.} 54. Kf3 Kg5 55. Ra7 e4+ $1 {Entombing White's king.} 56. Kg2 (56. Kxe4 Re1+ $19) (56. Ke2 e3 $1 57. fxe3 Rh1 $19) 56... Kf6 57. g4 g5 58. c6 Ke6 59. Kh2 Kd5 60. Ra6 Kc4 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.14"] [Round "5.6"] [White "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A80"] [WhiteElo "2719"] [BlackElo "2779"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "2023.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] 1. d4 f5 {Probably not an entirely correct opening, but when you're Black in a must-win situation it's not a bad choice (assuming you know what you're doing!) as it's much harder for White to create a simple and stale position against the Dutch then against, say, something in the Queen's Gambit family. Or in the case of the Gruenfeld, there are sharp lines that lead to draws, which is also unacceptable for Black.} 2. Bg5 h6 3. Bh4 g5 4. Bg3 Nf6 (4... f4 $2 5. e3 h5 (5... fxg3 6. Qh5#) 6. Be2 Bh6 7. exf4 gxf4 8. Bh4 $18) 5. e3 d6 6. Nc3 c6 7. h4 Rg8 8. hxg5 hxg5 9. Bc4 $14 {/?} d5 $6 (9... e6) 10. Bd3 $16 {/+- Black's position is already very bad.} Qb6 11. a3 Be6 (11... Qxb2 $4 12. Na4 $18) 12. Nge2 Nbd7 13. b4 $6 (13. f3 $142) 13... Bg7 $6 (13... Ne4 $142) 14. f3 Kf7 15. Na4 Qd8 16. c3 b6 17. Qc2 Rh8 18. Rf1 (18. O-O-O $142) 18... a5 {A nice indirect defense of the f-pawn that wouldn't have existed if White had castled long. (That would also have avoided the hassles down the h-file he experienced a bit later.)} 19. b5 {All the same, White's still doing brilliantly.} (19. Bxf5 $4 Bxf5 20. Qxf5 axb4 $17 21. axb4 $2 b5 $19) 19... cxb5 20. Bxb5 Nh5 21. Bh2 Bf6 22. Rb1 (22. e4 $142 $18) 22... Ra7 (22... Ng7 $142) 23. c4 $18 (23. e4 $18) 23... Ng7 24. cxd5 Bxd5 25. Bg3 e6 26. Nec3 $2 (26. Bd3 $18) (26. Nac3 $18) (26. e4 $18) 26... Ba8 $2 (26... f4 $1 {Suddenly White real problems to solve, as his d-pawn is undermined, a Black knight is coming to f5 and the rook is looking to enter h2.} 27. Bf2 $1 $16) 27. Bc4 f4 28. Bf2 $6 $16 (28. Nb5 $1) (28. exf4 Nh5 29. Bh2 Nxf4 30. Bxf4 gxf4 31. Nb5) 28... Rh2 $2 (28... Bc6) 29. Bg1 $18 Rc7 $5 30. Nb5 $1 Rh1 31. Nxc7 Qxc7 32. Bf2 $2 (32. e4 $142 $18 {is very strong and very natural.}) 32... Rh2 $2 (32... fxe3) 33. Rc1 $2 (33. e4) 33... Qd6 $2 (33... fxe3) 34. Bg1 $2 (34. e4) 34... Rh1 $2 (34... fxe3 $1 35. Bxh2 Qxh2 $16 {is a big mess, and there was no reason for Vidit to allow this.}) 35. exf4 $2 (35. Bb5 $1 $18) 35... gxf4 (35... Rxg1 $1 36. Rxg1 Qxd4 37. Rh1 $1 Bc6 38. Rd1 Qe3+ 39. Kf1 gxf4 {is winning for White if he finds precise moves, but it's clear that the position is not "accident-proof".}) 36. Bf2 Rh2 37. Bg1 $6 {Offering a repetition, but this is an unfortunate decision as Black is forced to put his rook on a better square!} (37. Bb5 $1) 37... Rh5 $1 38. Nc3 Nf5 $6 {After really struggling for a while, from here on out Vidit gets his bearings and plays like a man who belongs in the Candidates. (Not that this win gets him there. He still has to win the next match and then either win at least one more match or have Carlsen in the final four but not accept a spot in the Candidates.)} (38... Qxa3 $142 $16 {/+-}) 39. Nb5 $1 $18 Qe7 40. Bd3 Kg7 41. Bf2 Rh2 42. Qc8 $1 Rh8 43. Qc7 Bd5 44. Kd2 $1 Rh2 45. Bxf5 exf5 46. Rfe1 Be4 $5 (46... Qf7 {loses without a fight to} 47. Nd6 {.}) ({Likewise, allowing a queen trade is hopeless as well.} 46... Qd8 47. Qxd8 Bxd8 48. Re8 Bg5 49. Rc7 $18) 47. Nd6 $1 Qe6 48. fxe4 Rxg2 49. Rg1 $1 f3 50. Rxg2+ fxg2 51. d5 Bg5+ 52. Ke2 {Black can't save both his queen and the knight on d7, and if that's not bad enough he's also getting mated soon. Nepo is thus eliminated from the World Cup - which is a good thing since he has already qualified for the Candidates.} 1-0