[Event "Superbet Rapid 2022"] [Site "Warsaw POL"] [Date "2022.05.21"] [Round "7.3"] [White "Gavrilescu, David"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C45"] [WhiteElo "2518"] [BlackElo "2751"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "50"] [EventDate "2022.05.19"] [EventType "rapid"] [SourceVersionDate "2020.07.21"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. Bd3 (6. e5) 6... d5 7. exd5 cxd5 8. O-O Be7 9. c4 O-O 10. cxd5 Nxd5 11. Be4 (11. Qf3) 11... c6 ( 11... Be6) 12. Bd2 $6 $146 {Anand hasn't done anything out of the ordinary here, so this looks like bad prep by Gavrilescu.} (12. Nc3) (12. Qd3) (12. Qf3) 12... Rb8 $15 13. Qc2 Bf6 14. Bc3 Nxc3 (14... h6 $15) 15. Nxc3 g6 16. Rac1 (16. Bxc6 $142 {is playable, though he probably needs to return the pawn immediately after} Bf5 {, e.g.} 17. Qa4 Rxb2 {, with a tolerable position for both sides after} 18. Rad1 Qb8 19. Nd5) (16. Rad1 $142 {also improves.}) 16... Qa5 17. Na4 $2 (17. Bxc6 $142) 17... c5 $1 (17... Rd8 $1) 18. b3 $2 {Aimed against ...c4? Better aim again.} c4 $1 $19 19. Rfd1 $2 (19. Qxc4 $2 Ba6 $19) ( 19. bxc4 $2 Rb4 20. Bc6 Be6 21. Bb5 Rc8 {Threatening ...Rxb5.} 22. Qd1 Kg7 23. a3 Rxb5 24. cxb5 Rxc1 25. Qxc1 Qxa4 $19) (19. Nb2 {is best, with a lousy position after} Qxa2 20. Nxc4 Qxb3 $19 {Black's extra pawn and bishop should win the day.}) 19... Be6 20. Rb1 Rfc8 $1 {All of Black's pieces are perfect, while White is suffering from various tactical liabilities, most obviously the knight.} 21. b4 Rxb4 22. Rxb4 Qxb4 23. g3 c3 24. Bd5 Bxd5 25. Rxd5 Rc4 { Goodbye knight, goodbye game.} 0-1 [Event "Superbet Rapid 2022"] [Site "Warsaw POL"] [Date "2022.05.21"] [Round "8.3"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2786"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "2022.05.19"] [EventType "rapid"] [SourceVersionDate "2020.07.21"] {[%evp 0,53,38,26,26,26,60,-9,58,45,24,7,8,8,-3,-2,84,10,58,38,37,25,32,54,33, 56,57,5,27,21,19,19,19,19,34,29,36,22,23,23,12,-13,-3,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0, 0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bf5 7. O-O Be7 8. Re1 O-O 9. Nbd2 Nd6 10. Nf1 c6 11. Bf4 Bxd3 12. Qxd3 Na6 13. Re2 (13. h4 { is the move of the moment, played by Caruana himself a couple of months ago.} Nc7 14. Ng5 g6 15. Nh2 Qd7 16. h5 Bxg5 17. Bxg5 Rfe8 18. hxg6 hxg6 19. Bf6 Rxe1+ 20. Rxe1 Re8 21. Rf1 Na6 22. Be5 Qe6 23. f4 Nb8 24. Qa3 Ne4 25. f5 gxf5 26. Qh3 f6 27. Rxf5 Nd7 28. Bf4 Kf8 29. Qa3+ Kg7 30. Rh5 a6 31. Qb3 b6 32. Qf3 Rh8 33. Rxh8 Kxh8 34. Qh5+ Kg8 35. Qg6+ Kf8 36. Ng4 Ke7 37. Nh6 Kd8 38. Nf7+ Ke7 39. Nh6 Kd8 40. Nf5 Kc8 41. Qg4 Kd8 42. Qh3 Qe8 43. Qh7 Ng5 44. Bxg5 fxg5 45. Qg7 Qe1+ 46. Kh2 Qd2 47. Qe7+ Kc7 48. Qd6+ Kd8 49. Ne7 Qxc2 50. Nxc6+ Kc8 51. Ne7+ Kd8 52. Nc6+ Kc8 53. Ne7+ Kd8 54. Nxd5 Qh7+ 55. Kg1 Qb1+ 56. Kh2 Qh7+ 57. Kg1 Qb1+ 58. Kf2 Qc2+ 59. Ke3 Qc1+ 60. Kd3 Kc8 61. Qe6 Qf1+ 62. Kc3 Qc1+ 63. Kb3 Qd1+ 64. Ka3 Qd3+ 65. b3 Qb5 66. Kb2 {1-0 (66) Caruana,F (2786) -Mamedyarov,S (2759) Bucharest 2022}) (13. Ne3 {was preferred in the distant past - 2019.} Nc7 14. Rad1 Ne6 15. Bxd6 Bxd6 16. g3 Re8 17. c4 dxc4 18. Qxc4 Qc7 19. Qa4 b5 20. Qc2 Bf8 21. Ng4 Rad8 22. Re5 h6 23. Re3 Rd6 24. Nge5 Red8 25. Rc1 Nxd4 26. Nxd4 Rxd4 27. Qb3 Rb4 28. Qc3 Rbd4 29. Qb3 Rb4 30. Qc3 Rbd4 { 1/2-1/2 (30) Anand,V (2773)-Vidit,S (2695) Wijk aan Zee 2019}) 13... Nc7 14. Rae1 Ne6 15. Bxd6 Bxd6 16. g3 Qd7 $146 (16... Qf6 17. c3 Rae8 18. Kg2 Re7 19. Ne3 Qg6 20. Qxg6 hxg6 21. Kf1 Rfe8 22. h4 Nc7 23. Ng2 f6 24. Rxe7 Rxe7 25. Rxe7 Bxe7 26. Ke2 Kf7 27. Ne3 Nb5 28. Nd2 Nd6 29. Nf3 Bd8 30. Nd2 Bc7 31. Kd3 Ke6 32. Ke2 Nf7 {1/2-1/2 (33) Danin,A (2511)-Volokitin,A (2634) Austria 2019}) 17. Ne3 Rae8 18. Nf5 ({This game got here via a 13.Ne3 move order.} 18. b3 Nc7 19. c4 Bb4 20. Ra1 f6 21. a3 Be7 22. Rae1 Bd8 23. Kg2 Re6 24. cxd5 cxd5 25. Rc1 Rc6 26. Rec2 Rxc2 27. Qxc2 Re8 28. Qc5 a6 29. a4 Re6 30. Qb4 {1/2-1/2 (31) Anand,V (2767)-Yu,Y (2738) Stavanger 2019}) (18. c4 $146) (18. Qf5 $146 {This is playable, though nothing special. (Then again, it's not clear that anything "special" is lurking in these parts.) However, it does have a nice cheapo that could catch a club player:} g6 $6 19. Ng4 $1 $16 Qd8 {Everything else loses, and once again there's a nice trick to be seen (see the preceding parentheses). } (19... gxf5 $4 20. Nf6+ Kg7 21. Nxd7 Rh8 22. Nh4 $1 $18) (19... Be7 $2 20. Qf6 $1 {The same trick, part two.} h5 $8 21. Rxe6 $1 hxg4 22. Rxe7 gxf3 $1 23. h4 Rxe7 24. Rxe7 $18) 20. Qf6 h5 $8 21. Rxe6 $1 hxg4 $8 22. Rxd6 $8 Qxf6 23. Rxf6 gxf3 24. Re3 $1 Re4 25. c3 $16 {/+- I think this ending is winning in the long run.}) 18... Bc7 $6 ({Here} 18... g6 {was correct, leaving White with only a minimal edge.}) 19. c3 $2 (19. Ne5 $16) 19... g6 $11 20. N5h4 f6 21. Nxg6 {Not forced, and not bad. The real opportunity was on move 19.} hxg6 22. Rxe6 Rxe6 23. Qxg6+ Kh8 24. Qh6+ Kg8 25. Qg6+ Kh8 26. Qh6+ Kg8 27. Qg6+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet Rapid 2022"] [Site "Warsaw POL"] [Date "2022.05.21"] [Round "9.4"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C46"] [WhiteElo "2776"] [BlackElo "2751"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2022.05.19"] [EventType "rapid"] [SourceVersionDate "2020.07.21"] {[%evp 0,71,26,26,26,12,58,21,20,-10,38,41,65,32,40,30,18,27,61,49,64,17,31,15, 19,21,33,-28,-43,-2,32,-14,22,8,-6,-12,15,18,21,-56,-7,-14,6,19,33,-23,68,34, 100,96,114,17,36,36,50,33,33,-41,66,95,103,-24,-19,-19,70,-4,71,81,115,-13,177, 82,770,985]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. a4 {Believe it or not, there are 84 games with this in the database. Don't get the wrong idea: there are more than 33,000 games with 4.Bb5, almost 29,000 with 4.d4, and almost 19,000 with 4.Bc4. Even so, it's surprising that anyone would play this. If you're interested in the line, check out the games of Martin Kravtsiv, a specialist in the variation. (There are 17 of his games from here in the database. On the other hand, his results aren't very good, so maybe it's best to avoid the line. )} d6 $6 {A very strange reply. I guess Anand just wanted to "play chess" rather than worrying about all the possible finesses if he tries to play like White with 4...Bb4, 4...d5, or 4...Bc5, to say nothing of a return waiting move like 4...a6. But 4...d6 is awfully passive.} 5. d4 $14 exd4 6. Nxd4 Be7 7. Be2 O-O 8. O-O Re8 9. a5 Nb4 10. f4 $6 {Too optimistic.} (10. Bf4 $14) 10... c5 (10... Bf8 $142) 11. Nb3 $2 (11. Nf3 $14) 11... Bf8 12. Bf3 d5 $15 {/-/+} 13. e5 Bf5 $1 14. Rf2 d4 15. Na4 $6 (15. Na2 $142) 15... Nd7 $2 (15... d3 $1 16. c4 (16. exf6 $2 Nxc2 $19 {hits a1 and threatens ...Re1+.}) 16... Nc2 17. Rb1 Qd7 18. Nbxc5 Qd4 19. b4 Ne4 $17) 16. Bxb7 $11 Rb8 17. a6 d3 (17... f6 $142 $11) ( 17... g5 $142 $5 $11) 18. c4 (18. cxd3 $142 Nxd3 19. Rf1 $14) 18... Nb6 (18... f6 $142 $15) 19. Na5 Nxa4 20. Qxa4 Bd7 $2 (20... Re6 $142 $44) 21. Qd1 $16 Re6 (21... f6 $142) 22. Bd2 $18 Nxa6 23. Bd5 (23. Rf3 $142 $18) (23. Qf3 $142 $18) 23... Reb6 $2 (23... Rxb2 $1 24. Nb7 $1 Qb8 25. Bxe6 Bxe6 26. Nd6 Bxd6 27. exd6 Qxd6 28. f5 $1 Bxc4 29. Qg4 Qd4 $8 30. Qxd4 cxd4 31. Rc1 Rc2 32. Rf4 $16) 24. Bc3 $18 Nb4 25. f5 $2 {There are a lot of mistakes from a computer's-eye view, but it's a very complicated, nonstandard position and on almost every move there are multiple plausible options. Add the short time control and perhaps a bit of fatigue to the mix, and the errors aren't surprising.} (25. Bxb4 Rxb4 26. b3 Qc7 27. Qxd3 $18) 25... Nxd5 $2 (25... Ra6) 26. cxd5 Bb5 27. Qf3 c4 28. Kh1 $1 f6 $1 29. exf6 $2 (29. Nc6 $1 Bxc6 30. dxc6 Rc8 31. exf6 gxf6 32. Rxa7 Rbxc6 33. Qg4+ Kh8 34. Rf3 $1 {wins. The threat is to take on h7, followed by 35.Rh3+ Bh6 36.Qg6+ and 37.Rxh6#.}) 29... Rxf6 $14 {/+/-} 30. Nc6 Bxc6 31. dxc6 Rf7 $1 32. Ra4 (32. f6 Bb4 $1 33. Bxb4 Rxb4 $14 {/+/-}) 32... Rb5 $1 33. f6 Rc5 34. Qg4 {Anand has shown great resilience in a very complicated, difficult position. Unfortunately, he misses a tactical idea and it all falls apart.} h5 $2 (34... Rxc6 $1 35. fxg7 Rxf2 $1 36. gxf8=Q+ Kxf8 37. Bb4+ Rd6 $8 38. Kg1 Rff6 39. Ra6 Qb8 $8 40. Bxd6+ Rxd6 41. Qf4+ Ke7 $11) 35. Qe6 $2 (35. Qg6 { was the right way, with the same idea as in the game.}) 35... Qd6 $4 {One square short...} (35... Qd5 36. Qxd5 $8 Rxd5 37. Rxc4 Bc5 38. Rf1 gxf6 $11 { and a draw is the likeliest result, not counting time trouble blunders.}) 36. Qxf7+ $1 {Ouch. That'll make one's face turn red.} (36. Qxf7+ $1 Kxf7 37. fxg7+ Kg8 38. Rxf8+ Qxf8 39. gxf8=Q+ Kxf8 {White would be winning in any case, but it's convenient that he can finish things off with} 40. Bb4 $18) 1-0