[Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2022"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2022.11.16"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Le, Quang Liem"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E53"] [WhiteElo "2750"] [BlackElo "2775"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2022.11.14"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Nf3 c5 6. Bd3 d5 7. cxd5 exd5 8. dxc5 Nbd7 {The main move, chosen by Nakamura, Duda, and by Caruana as well - repeatedly.} (8... Bg4 {is rarer, but it is becoming popular and can include Carlsen and So among its adherents.}) 9. O-O (9. Bd2) 9... Nxc5 10. Ne2 Nxd3 (10... Bg4) 11. Qxd3 Be6 $6 $146 (11... Bg4 {is common, while}) (11... Ne4 {is the engine's (initial) preference.}) 12. b3 Qe7 13. Bb2 $16 Ba3 14. Bxa3 Qxa3 15. h3 Rac8 16. Nf4 Qa5 17. Ng5 {Nh5 is looming.} Rc6 $6 18. Rac1 $1 $18 (18. Nh5 $143 $6 {isn't ready for prime time:} Ne4 19. Nxe4 $2 dxe4 20. Qxe4 $4 Qxh5 $19) 18... Rfc8 19. Rxc6 Rxc6 20. Nh5 $1 {But now it is!} Ne4 21. Qd4 Qc3 22. Nxe6 fxe6 23. Qxa7 {No mate; it's only a pawn. Here, that's a big deal, as Black's king is exposed, his b-pawn is weak, and he has nothing to show for his material deficit. Well, nothing except for the nice tactical trick he uncorks:} Nd2 24. Rd1 $8 Qc1 $1 {Taking allows an immediate perpetual, and since the rook cannot be defended it seems as if Black has escaped. Not quite.} 25. Qb8+ (25. Kh2 {also works:} Qxd1 26. Qb8+ Kf7 27. Qxb7+ Kg6 (27... Kf8 $2 28. Qxg7+ Ke8 29. Nf6+ Kd8 30. Qd7#) (27... Ke8 28. Qxc6+ Kd8 29. Qd6+ Kc8 30. Qxe6+ Kc7 31. Ng3 $18) 28. Qxg7+ $1 (28. Qxc6 $2 Nf1+ 29. Kg1 {and now Black has a draw for the taking - though he has even better:} Nxe3+ 30. Kh2 Nf1+ 31. Kg1 Ng3+ 32. Kh2 Nxh5 $19 {/? and White will have to work hard (and probably need some luck) to make a draw.}) 28... Kxh5 (28... Kf5 29. Ng3#) 29. g4+ Kh4 30. Qh6#) 25... Kf7 26. Qxb7+ Ke8 27. Nxg7+ Kf8 28. Nxe6+ Ke8 29. Ng7+ Kd8 30. Qa8+ Kd7 31. Qe8+ Kc7 32. Qh5 {Good enough. With four extra pawns and Black lacking any way to intensify his pressure, White's only task is to avoid blundering in time trouble.} Qb2 33. Qe2 Rc1 34. Kh2 Rxd1 35. Qxd1 Qxa2 36. Ne6+ Kd6 37. Nf4 d4 38. exd4 Nxb3 39. Qd3 Qxf2 {This cuts the deficit to two pawns, but it comes at a heavy price.} 40. Qxb3 Qxf4+ 41. Qg3 {No queens, no problems (for White).} (41. Qg3 Qxg3+ 42. Kxg3 Kd5 43. Kf4 Kxd4 44. g4 Kd5 45. Kf5 Kd6 46. Kf6 ({or} 46. Kg5 Ke6 47. Kh6 $18) 46... Kd7 47. g5 $18) 1-0 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2022"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2022.11.16"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2798"] [BlackElo "2732"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2022.11.14"] {[%evp 0,81,24,12,27,13,9,6,6,15,34,9,10,1,10,-30,-14,-13,0,-7,-3,5,-2,2,6,18,11,4,0,0,0,9,32,17,55,-22,-22,-1,3,7,8,8,0,-18,-18,-13,-16,0,0,0,0,-7,-10,-6,64,67,78,76,83,103,85,98,111,110,98,92,122,120,131,139,134,152,152,164,215,215,215,220,344,243,243,421,429,448]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 O-O 8. e3 Bf5 9. Be2 (9. Qb3) 9... Nbd7 10. Qb3 Qe7 11. O-O c6 12. a3 Bxc3 13. bxc3 b5 14. a4 a6 15. Ra3 $146 g5 16. Bg3 Ne4 17. axb5 (17. Rfa1) 17... axb5 18. Rfa1 Rxa3 19. Qxa3 Qxa3 20. Rxa3 Rc8 $11 21. Ne1 Nb6 22. f3 Nd2 23. Nd3 Na4 24. Nb4 Nb1 25. Ra1 Nbxc3 {So far, so good for Giri. His extra pawn gives him sufficient compensation for White's bishop pair.} 26. Bf1 c5 $6 {Playing for activity, at the cost of weakening his b- and d-pawns.} 27. dxc5 Nxc5 (27... Rxc5 {would keep the extra pawn for a while, but Giri makes the right decision, returning the pawn to eliminate one of White's bishops.}) 28. Be5 N5a4 29. Bxb5 Nxb5 30. Rxa4 $14 Be6 (30... Re8 $142) 31. Ra5 Nc3 32. Kf2 g4 $2 (32... Kh7) 33. Nd3 $18 gxf3 34. gxf3 Nb1 35. Ra1 $1 Bf5 36. Nf4 {The d-pawn is weak, Black's knight is in a little danger, and Black's king is subject to attack from different directions.} Rc2+ 37. Kg3 Nd2 38. Nxd5 Kh7 39. Ne7 {Not only threatening the bishop, but Ra1-a8-h8# as well.} f6 40. Bxf6 Be4 $5 41. Kf4 $1 (41. Kf4 $1 Bxf3 42. Rg1 {and the mating threats will cost Black dearly.}) 1-0 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2022"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2022.11.16"] [Round "3.1"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B51"] [WhiteElo "2774"] [BlackElo "2733"] [PlyCount "98"] [EventDate "2022.11.14"] {[%evp 0,98,20,21,43,43,68,44,59,59,52,53,65,62,67,66,54,49,36,36,28,25,33,47,58,59,80,95,118,85,95,74,80,77,106,116,110,108,114,109,125,125,117,93,88,48,54,54,70,76,80,82,82,90,91,55,111,122,159,157,154,154,150,115,141,139,182,130,128,111,113,57,67,0,41,-159,-150,-145,-144,-165,-130,-138,-124,-124,-115,-115,-112,-163,-44,-43,-43,-43,-31,-32,-32,-32,-32,-51,-51,-42,-42]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. a4 Ngf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. a5 Bg7 7. O-O a6 8. Be2 O-O 9. d3 b5 10. axb6 Bb7 11. Nd2 Nxb6 12. Nb3 Ra7 13. Be3 e5 14. Qd2 Bc8 15. Na5 Qc7 16. Nc4 Nxc4 17. dxc4 Qc6 18. f3 Rd7 19. Ra3 Kh8 20. Rfa1 Nh5 21. Nd5 f5 22. c3 fxe4 23. fxe4 Nf4 24. b4 Rdf7 25. b5 axb5 26. cxb5 Qd7 27. Nb6 Qb7 28. Nxc8 Rxc8 29. Bc4 Rff8 30. Qc2 Qd7 31. Kh1 Qg4 32. Ra7 h5 33. b6 Rb8 34. b7 h4 35. h3 Nxh3 36. Ra8 Rxb7 37. Bd5 Rbb8 38. Rxb8 Rxb8 39. gxh3 Qxh3+ 40. Qh2 Qf3+ 41. Qg2 Qxe3 42. Qxg6 Qf3+ 43. Kg1 h3 44. Ra8 Rxa8 45. Bxa8 Qg2+ 46. Qxg2 hxg2 47. Kxg2 Bh6 48. c4 Kg7 49. Bd5 Kf6 1/2-1/2 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2022"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2022.11.16"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D78"] [WhiteElo "2848"] [BlackElo "2756"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2022.11.14"] {[%evp 0,69,26,20,16,-7,23,21,6,2,8,8,-2,1,6,7,4,-6,-12,-20,-21,-22,-24,62,60,55,78,74,47,25,94,35,72,99,91,114,74,34,61,59,59,18,102,67,111,144,137,130,133,151,134,139,126,135,132,120,118,120,147,106,96,112,99,93,129,96,128,124,130,146,161,160]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. d4 Nf6 5. O-O O-O 6. c4 c6 7. Nc3 dxc4 8. e4 b5 ({They've been here before:} 8... Bg4 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Bxf3 e5 11. dxe5 Nfd7 12. e6 fxe6 13. Be3 Qe7 14. Bg2 Na6 15. Qe2 Nb4 16. Qxc4 Nc2 17. Nd5 cxd5 18. Qxc2 d4 19. Bd2 Rac8 20. Qb3 Nc5 21. Qa3 Qd7 22. Rac1 b6 23. e5 Bxe5 24. Rfe1 Bg7 25. b4 Na4 26. Rxc8 Rxc8 27. Qb3 Nc3 28. Rxe6 Kh8 29. Kh2 Re8 30. Rxe8+ Qxe8 31. Qc4 h6 32. a3 a5 33. bxa5 bxa5 34. Bf1 Qf8 35. Kg2 Ne4 36. Be1 Qxa3 37. Bd3 Nd6 38. Qa6 Nf5 39. h4 h5 40. Bxa5 Kh7 41. Qb5 Qf8 42. Qd5 Qd6 43. Qf3 Qe5 44. Bd8 Qe6 45. Qb7 Nd6 46. Qc6 Qb3 47. Bxg6+ Kxg6 48. Qxd6+ Kh7 49. Qd7 Kg6 50. Qc6+ Kf7 51. Qc5 Qb7+ 52. f3 Ke8 53. Bc7 Qb2+ 54. Kh3 d3 55. Qxh5+ Kd7 56. Qf7+ Kc6 {1-0 (56) Carlsen,M (2864)-Mamedyarov,S (2759) Stavanger 2022}) 9. Qe2 a5 (9... b4 10. Nd1 Ba6 11. Re1 e6 12. h4 c5 13. dxc5 Nc6 14. a3 Qa5 15. e5 Nd7 16. h5 Nxc5 17. h6 Bh8 18. Bf4 Nd3 19. Ne3 Nxe1 20. Qxe1 Qb6 21. Ng4 c3 22. bxc3 b3 23. Rb1 Bd3 24. Rb2 Bf5 25. Ne3 Rad8 26. Nxf5 exf5 27. e6 Bf6 28. Bg5 Bxg5 29. Nxg5 Ne7 30. exf7+ Rxf7 31. Bf1 Qf6 32. Nxf7 Qxf7 33. Rxb3 Qxb3 34. Qxe7 {1-0 (34) Carlsen,M (2861)-Petrosyan,M (2609) Chess.com INT 2022}) 10. Rd1 Nbd7 11. d5 (11. Bf4 b4 12. Na4 Ba6 13. Qc2 Bb5 14. Nd2 Nb6 15. Nxb6 Qxb6 16. Nxc4 Qa6 17. Rac1 Rfd8 18. a4 bxa3 19. Nxa3 Rac8 20. h4 Be2 21. Rd2 Bg4 22. Qc4 Qb7 23. Qc5 Qb4 24. Qxb4 axb4 25. Nc4 Nd5 26. Bg5 f6 27. Ne3 fxg5 28. Nxg4 Nb6 29. hxg5 Rxd4 30. Rdc2 b3 31. Rxc6 Rxc6 32. Rxc6 Nc4 33. Rc8+ Kf7 34. Rb8 Nxb2 35. Rxb3 Nc4 36. Rb4 Rd1+ 37. Kh2 Ne5 38. Nxe5+ Bxe5 39. f4 Bg7 40. e5 h6 41. gxh6 Bxh6 42. Rb6 Rd4 43. Kh3 Bg7 44. Rb5 g5 45. f5 Bh8 46. Bd5+ Kg7 47. f6+ exf6 48. e6 g4+ 49. Kg2 Rd2+ 50. Kf1 Rd1+ 51. Ke2 {1-0 (51) Mamedyarov,S (2747)-Rapport,R (2754) chess24.com INT 2022}) 11... cxd5 12. e5 b4 13. exf6 Nxf6 14. Nb5 e6 $146 {Black's three glorious center pawns are enough for the piece.} (14... Ba6 15. a4 Re8 16. Ne5 Bxb5 17. axb5 Qb6 18. Rxd5 Nxd5 19. Bxd5 e6 20. Bc6 c3 21. bxc3 Qc7 22. Ng4 Bxc3 23. Bb2 Red8 24. Bxc3 bxc3 25. Qc4 Rac8 26. Qxc3 Qd6 27. Nf6+ Kh8 28. Rxa5 e5 29. Qf3 Qd2 30. Ra7 Kg7 31. Rxf7+ Kh6 32. Rxh7+ Kg5 33. h4# {1-0 (33) Mayrhuber,N (2101)-Weichhart,D (1949) Vienna 2022}) 15. a4 Ba6 16. Nfd4 Bxb5 {Removing the superfluous knight? ("Desuperfluousizing"?)} (16... Re8 {looks good, intending to expand with ...e5.}) 17. axb5 Re8 $2 {Allowing White to carry out his plan.} (17... a4) 18. b3 $16 cxb3 19. Ra4 $1 Nd7 20. Nxb3 $16 Nb6 $2 (20... Ne5 $142 {followed by ...Nc4, and it's not over yet.}) 21. Rxa5 Rxa5 22. Nxa5 $18 {Black is down to two not overly threatening-looking pawns for the piece.} Na4 23. Nc6 Nc3 24. Qd3 Qb6 25. Re1 Qxb5 26. Qxb5 Nxb5 27. Bxd5 Bc3 28. Re2 Kg7 29. Bc4 Nd6 30. Bd3 Rc8 31. Na5 e5 32. Kg2 f5 33. Rc2 Kf6 34. Nb3 g5 35. Ra2 {Black's resignation (if he did resign rather than losing on time) is premature, in the sense that there's no danger to his king and the material deficit isn't yet overwhelming. But Black has next to nothing for the piece, so he isn't really cheating himself out of a meaningful opportunity by giving up here.} 1-0 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2022"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2022.11.16"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E42"] [WhiteElo "2732"] [BlackElo "2798"] [PlyCount "115"] [EventDate "2022.11.14"] {[%evp 0,115,20,16,28,9,14,14,24,24,32,21,37,48,55,55,51,14,55,48,99,87,82,5,21,11,40,22,48,44,17,7,23,19,62,-14,2,6,12,10,10,7,68,59,20,20,20,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,6,0,72,71,71,62,70,55,63,42,50,29,13,0,3,0,19,22,53,32,38,50,49,32,27,21,18,0,0,0,0,-10,-8,-13,-15,-15,-15,-15,-15,-15,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 c5 5. Nge2 d5 6. a3 Ba5 7. dxc5 dxc4 8. Bd2 O-O 9. Ng3 b6 10. Bxc4 bxc5 11. O-O Nbd7 12. Qc2 Bb7 13. Rfd1 h5 14. Nge4 Rb8 15. Rab1 Qc7 16. Ng5 Ba8 17. Bf1 c4 18. Ne2 Rb5 19. Bxa5 Rxa5 20. h4 Rc8 21. Nf4 Nf8 22. Rbc1 Rc5 23. Rd4 c3 24. b4 e5 25. bxc5 exd4 26. Bc4 dxe3 27. fxe3 Qxc5 28. Qxc3 Nd5 29. Bxd5 Qxc3 30. Rxc3 Rxc3 31. Bxa8 Rxe3 32. a4 Nh7 33. Nxh7 Kxh7 34. Nxh5 Kg6 35. g4 Rb3 36. Nf4+ Kh7 37. Be4+ Kg8 38. Kf2 Rb4 39. Ke3 Rxa4 40. Bd5 a5 41. g5 Kf8 42. h5 Ra1 43. g6 fxg6 44. hxg6 Ke7 45. Nh5 Kf8 46. Nf4 Ke7 47. Nh5 Re1+ 48. Kd4 a4 49. Nxg7 Kf6 50. Nh5+ Kxg6 51. Nf4+ Kf5 52. Nd3 Rd1 53. Kc3 a3 54. Ba2 Rxd3+ 55. Kxd3 Ke5 56. Kc3 Kd6 57. Kb3 Kc7 58. Kxa3 1/2-1/2 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2022"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2022.11.16"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2733"] [BlackElo "2774"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "142"] [EventDate "2022.11.14"] {[%evp 0,142,16,16,28,27,18,25,32,14,49,32,50,25,18,25,44,25,60,48,23,-9,56,34,39,19,125,84,62,21,76,23,27,24,36,41,32,23,26,35,27,39,44,64,74,78,63,63,65,58,68,67,57,55,60,62,59,64,84,72,75,31,51,50,66,68,68,68,65,58,65,44,63,47,37,56,63,53,63,63,57,58,57,57,57,57,56,52,52,52,52,52,52,22,52,-30,-23,-18,-28,-56,-16,-85,-85,-121,-112,-99,-109,-101,-97,-99,-30,-32,-42,-51,-51,-145,-161,-173,-179,-212,-226,-254,-207,-207,-243,-243,-277,-297,-314,-309,-275,-275,-275,-275,-318,-377,-369,-763,-799,-1046,-1076,-1093,-1099,-1097,-1112]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Bf4 c5 4. e3 e6 5. c3 Qb6 6. Qb3 Bd7 7. Nbd2 Bc6 8. Be2 Be7 9. Ne5 Nbd7 10. h4 a5 11. Ndf3 O-O 12. h5 a4 13. Qxb6 Nxb6 14. a3 Rfc8 15. g4 Nfd7 16. g5 Nxe5 17. Nxe5 cxd4 18. exd4 Nc4 19. g6 Nxe5 20. gxh7+ Kxh7 21. Bxe5 Rh8 22. Kd2 Bg5+ 23. Kc2 f6 24. Bg3 Kg8 25. Rae1 Kf7 26. Bd3 f5 27. Be5 Bf6 28. Bf4 Rh7 29. Be2 Rah8 30. Kd2 Ke7 31. Bf3 Rd8 32. Re3 Be8 33. Rhe1 Bf7 34. Bd1 Ra8 35. Be2 Kd7 36. Bb5+ Ke7 37. Be2 Rhh8 38. Kc1 Rac8 39. Kb1 Ra8 40. Ka2 Rac8 41. Bd1 Ra8 42. Be2 Rac8 43. Bf3 Kd7 44. Bd1 Ra8 45. Be2 Ke7 {Everything has been fine so far for White - he has been equal or a little better from the beginning until now. From here on out, it becomes a nightmare.} 46. Bc7 (46. b3 $14) 46... Kd7 47. Bb6 $2 Kc6 $19 48. Bc5 e5 $1 49. Rf3 (49. dxe5 $4 Kxc5 50. exf6 d4+ $19 {and gg. Presumably this is what White missed when deciding to swing his bishop to c5.}) 49... e4 50. Rxf5 Be6 51. Rf4 Bg5 {Another unfortunate tactical point, from White's perspective.} 52. Rg4 Bxg4 53. Bxg4 b6 $2 (53... Rae8 $19) 54. Bb4 b5 $17 55. Rg1 Bf6 56. Be2 (56. b3 $142) 56... Rh6 $2 (56... Rag8 $1 $19) 57. Bc5 $2 (57. f3 $1 $15) 57... g6 $19 {Again Black is winning, this time for keeps.} 58. hxg6 Rg8 59. b3 Rgxg6 60. Rf1 Rg2 61. bxa4 bxa4 62. Bd1 Rhh2 63. Bxa4+ Kc7 64. Kb3 Rxf2 65. Rb1 e3 66. Bb5 e2 67. a4 Bh4 68. a5 e1=Q 69. Rxe1 Rb2+ 70. Ka4 Ra2+ 71. Ba3 Bxe1 0-1 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2022"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2022.11.16"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D45"] [WhiteElo "2756"] [BlackElo "2848"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "96"] [EventDate "2022.11.14"] {[%evp 0,96,26,16,16,9,33,30,49,29,48,48,43,20,23,20,20,12,-10,-4,9,0,-2,-19,-17,-8,0,-35,-8,-42,-33,-29,-23,-28,-30,-37,-31,-50,-44,-40,-29,-41,-43,-52,-2,-24,7,16,-37,-51,-27,-54,-45,-30,-34,-34,-40,-70,-62,-72,-47,-90,-90,-90,-41,-82,-88,-91,-92,-88,-86,-78,-98,-101,-88,-83,-82,-97,-10,-73,-98,-110,-99,-129,-128,-262,-155,-166,-95,-126,-122,-126,-113,-119,-106,-104,-129,-138,-109]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Be2 b6 7. O-O Bb7 8. a4 {Unusual, both in this specific position and as a general idea in these sorts of Semi-Slav positions, at least as far as I'm aware.} (8. b3) (8. Qc2) 8... Bb4 $1 $11 {Not allowing a4-a5.} 9. Bd2 dxc4 (9... a5) 10. Bxc4 O-O 11. Qe2 c5 12. Rfd1 cxd4 13. Nxd4 (13. exd4 {is also playable, with an IQP middlegame that resembles the Karpov Variation of the Nimzo-Indian/Caro-Kann.}) 13... a6 14. e4 {Loosening White's grip on d4 and f4.} Ne5 $6 (14... Qb8 $1) 15. Ba2 $2 (15. Bf4 $1 $14) 15... Qe7 $17 16. f3 Rfd8 17. Be3 Bc5 18. Rd2 Rd7 19. Rad1 Rad8 20. Nc2 a5 $5 21. Nd4 $6 h5 $1 (21... Nh5 $1) 22. h3 h4 23. Qf2 Nh5 $2 (23... Ba6 $1 $19) 24. f4 Nc6 25. Nb3 $17 Bxe3 26. Qxe3 Rxd2 27. Rxd2 Qc7 28. f5 (28. Rxd8+ Qxd8 29. Bb1 $17) 28... exf5 29. exf5 $2 (29. Qg5 $142) 29... Nb4 $1 $19 30. Rxd8+ $6 (30. Bb1 $142) 30... Qxd8 31. Bb1 Ng3 (31... Nd5 $142 32. Nxd5 Qxd5 33. Qf3 Qxf3 34. gxf3 Bxf3 $19) 32. f6 $1 gxf6 33. Nd4 Qd6 $1 34. Nf5 Nxf5 35. Bxf5 Qe5 36. Qf2 Nd5 (36... Bc6 $142) 37. Nxd5 Bxd5 38. Bd3 (38. Bg4 $142) 38... Bc6 $2 (38... Qg3 $1 $19) 39. b3 $2 (39. Bb5 $1 Bxb5 40. axb5 $11 {and Black's problem is that the b6, f6, and h4 pawns are all under fire. White should hold this.}) 39... Qg3 $19 40. Bf1 Qxb3 41. Qxf6 Qe3+ 42. Kh1 Bxa4 43. Qxh4 Bb3 44. Qg4+ Kf8 45. Qc8+ Kg7 46. Qg4+ Kf8 47. Qc8+ Ke7 48. Qc7+ Kf6 {There's no perpetual, and Black's a-pawn will win him the game.} 0-1 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2022"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2022.11.16"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Le, Quang Liem"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2775"] [BlackElo "2750"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "92"] [EventDate "2022.11.14"] {[%evp 0,92,31,25,25,13,12,14,9,-3,-3,4,0,9,6,-39,-20,-1,0,0,4,-3,-25,-31,-23,-35,-42,-47,-40,-40,-45,-111,-22,-36,-36,-41,-50,-37,-48,-48,-48,-75,-36,-79,-66,-92,-79,-71,-75,-74,-66,-87,-82,-74,-84,-78,-77,-83,-83,-92,-97,-104,-101,-135,-110,-118,-130,-133,-70,-103,-94,-94,-94,-94,40,-53,-53,-182,-190,-190,-218,-233,-97,-233,-222,-233,-289,-382,-339,-538,-566,-29995,-1431,-2019,-1397]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 Bd7 6. Ne5 Bc6 7. Nxc6 Nxc6 8. O-O Qd7 9. e3 Rd8 10. Qc2 (10. Qe2) 10... e5 11. dxe5 (11. Qxc4 exd4 12. Qb5 $14 {is a good alternative.}) 11... Nxe5 12. f4 $2 $146 {An unfortunate novelty. Either Le was surprised by this line, or mixed things up, because he goes from slightly better to lost after his new move.} (12. Nd2 $14) 12... Nd3 $19 13. Qxc4 Bc5 14. Nc3 Qe7 $1 15. Kh1 O-O $2 (15... c6 $19) 16. Bxb7 $15 Bxe3 17. Nd5 Nxd5 18. Qxd3 Bxc1 19. Bxd5 Bxb2 20. Rad1 {The smoke has cleared, the dust has settled, and the cliches have come home to roost. The opposite-colored bishops minimize the significance of Black's extra pawn; especially with such a beautiful bishop as the one on d5. It's important, of course, that 20...c6 doesn't work.} Rd6 (20... c6 21. Bxf7+ $1 Kh8 (21... Kxf7 22. Qb3+ Qe6 23. Qxb2 $11) (21... Qxf7 $4 22. Qxd8 $18) (21... Rxf7 $4 22. Qxd8+) 22. Qc2 $11) 21. Rfe1 $6 (21. Qc2 {was better, unpinning the bishop.}) 21... Qd7 22. Qf3 (22. Qb3 $142) 22... Bf6 $6 (22... g6 $142 $1 $17) 23. Kg2 c5 24. Bc4 Bd4 25. Rb1 $11 Rb6 26. Qd5 Qc7 27. Rb3 (27. Rxb6) 27... g6 28. Qe4 $6 (28. Rxb6) 28... Kg7 29. Qe7 Qc6+ 30. Kh3 $6 (30. Qe4 $142) 30... Qa4 $1 $17 {/-+} 31. Bd5 c4 $2 (31... Bf6 32. Qe4 Qd7+ 33. Kg2 Rd8 $19) 32. Ra3 $2 (32. Rxb6 axb6 33. Re4 Bf6 34. Qb7 b5 35. Re8 $1 $11 {Easy to miss, especially in time trouble. This equalizes on the spot.}) 32... Qb5 $19 33. Qe4 Qd7+ $6 (33... Bf6 $1 $19 34. Bxc4 Qh5+ 35. Kg2 Rd8 36. Re2 Rd4 37. Qc2 Rc6 38. Ra4 Rcxc4 39. Rxc4 Qd5+ $19) 34. f5 Bb2 35. Rf3 c3 36. Bb3 $17 Rb5 $2 {It must be time pressure.} 37. g4 $6 (37. Ba4 $1 Qb7 38. Bxb5 Qxe4 39. Rxe4 c2 40. Rf1 c1=Q 41. Rxc1 Bxc1 $11) 37... h5 $1 38. Kg2 $2 hxg4 $19 39. f6+ Kh7 40. Rf4 Rg5 $2 (40... Rf5 $1 $19) 41. Re2 $2 {The final error; this time, White stays dead.} (41. Qe7 $1 $11) 41... Ba3 42. Qe3 Bd6 43. Re4 Rh5 44. Qxc3 Qf5 45. Qc4 Qf3+ (45... Rxh2+ 46. Kg1 Rh1+ $1 47. Kxh1 Qf1#) 46. Kg1 Bc5+ {Good enough.} 0-1 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2022"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2022.11.16"] [Round "3.3"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D12"] [WhiteElo "2774"] [BlackElo "2733"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "99"] [EventDate "2022.11.14"] {[%evp 0,99,16,25,25,9,48,36,48,22,11,-7,3,-12,-12,21,39,39,59,59,75,97,135,128,167,142,155,109,123,119,119,119,131,107,163,165,175,186,195,209,216,234,230,239,250,188,330,326,333,335,322,357,360,366,375,350,350,350,365,372,419,425,431,360,366,178,362,334,327,349,341,340,345,350,350,350,371,383,384,392,384,392,406,393,401,317,436,463,476,641,1331,604,29979,29980,29981,29982,29983,29986,29987,29988,29991,29992]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nh4 $5 {Relatively rare.} ({White usually starts with} 5. Nc3 {, and only after} e6 {does he chase the bishop with} 6. Nh4 {. This has been seen in more than 11,000 games in the database.}) 5... Bxb1 (5... Be6) (5... Be4) 6. Rxb1 e5 {The right move, though it's not trivial to follow it up correctly.} 7. dxe5 Bb4+ $2 {See? Wrong already.} (7... Ne4 $1 $146 8. Nf3 $8 Bb4+ {Now this.} 9. Bd2 (9. Ke2 $5 O-O $11) 9... Nxd2 10. Nxd2 d4 $8 11. a3 dxe3 12. axb4 Qh4 $3 {The move deserves only one exclamation point, I think; the second one is because the whole sequence needs this move for its justification.} 13. g3 $1 exd2+ 14. Kxd2 $8 Qd4+ 15. Kc2 Qxf2+ 16. Qd2 Qxd2+ 17. Kxd2 $11 {Finally, a normal position has been reached, and it's equal.}) 8. Ke2 $1 (8. Bd2 $4 Bxd2+ 9. Qxd2 Ne4 $17 {costs White the knight on h4.}) 8... Ne4 (8... Nfd7 $142 9. Nf3 dxc4 10. Qd4 $16 {/+- is nearly winning for White, notwithstanding the king on e2.}) 9. g3 $18 {Black has no way to put meaningful pressure on White's king. Meanwhile, he's down a pawn, White has the bishop pair, and Black's pieces are dangling in midair.} O-O 10. Bg2 Qc8 11. f3 Ng5 12. Qc2 dxc4 13. Qxc4 Na6 14. a3 Ba5 15. b4 Bb6 16. e4 Ne6 17. Nf5 Qc7 18. Bb2 Rad8 19. Rhd1 c5 20. b5 Nb8 21. f4 {With White in such a position, you almost hate to see your opponent resign.} Ba5 22. Rd6 Nd7 23. Rxe6 $1 fxe6 24. Qxe6+ Kh8 25. Qe7 Nxe5 (25... Rg8 26. e6) 26. Qxe5 Rd2+ 27. Kf3 Qxe5 28. Bxe5 {The rook on d2 makes Black's position look marginally better, but because of the material situation it's even worse than it was before.} Rf7 29. Bf1 Rfd7 30. Bc4 h5 31. Rb3 Rxh2 32. Nxg7 Kh7 33. Rd3 Rxd3+ 34. Bxd3 Ra2 35. Nxh5 Rxa3 36. Ke2 Ra2+ 37. Kf1 Rd2 38. Nf6+ Kh6 39. Ng4+ Kh7 40. Nf6+ Kh6 41. Be2 Rc2 42. g4 c4 43. g5+ Kg7 44. Nd5+ Kg6 45. Bf6 c3 46. f5+ Kh7 47. g6+ Kh6 48. g7 Rc1+ 49. Kg2 Kh7 50. Ne7 {It's mate in two, not counting spite checks. It was a disaster for Erigaisi, but almost all his troubles are due to his error on move 7.} 1-0 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2022"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2022.11.16"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B40"] [WhiteElo "2848"] [BlackElo "2756"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "36"] [EventDate "2022.11.14"] {[%evp 0,36,16,11,39,57,51,32,38,41,67,84,85,79,92,85,89,79,92,88,79,91,86,88,116,117,93,128,128,74,149,161,193,161,235,227,220,212,209]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 {Only the sixth most popular move, but even this position has arisen more than 9,000 times.} g5 {Well...okay. This has only appeared once before, and I expect its appearance is 99% due to the match situation. Down 2-0, with Black, against Magnus Carlsen, Mamedyarov wants as unbalanced and unkillable a game as possible. If he loses, so what? Only a win does him any good.} 4. h3 $146 Bg7 5. d4 $18 {It's a good day when you're winning after five moves against a super-GM and former world's #2.} cxd4 6. Nxd4 a6 7. Nc3 h6 8. Be3 Ne7 9. h4 gxh4 10. Rxh4 d6 11. Qd2 Ng6 12. Rh5 Nd7 13. Be2 (13. f3 Nf6 14. Rh1 h5 15. g3 b6 16. O-O-O Bb7 17. Nb3 $18) 13... Nf6 14. Rh3 Qa5 (14... h5 $142) 15. O-O-O Bd7 16. Nb3 Qe5 $2 17. f4 (17. Bd3 $1) 17... Nxe4 18. fxe5 Nxd2 {Any recapture on d2 followed by Bf3 is completely winning. Black didn't want to suffer any more, so it's 1-0 for the game and 3-0 for the match.} 1-0 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2022"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2022.11.16"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Le, Quang Liem"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E50"] [WhiteElo "2750"] [BlackElo "2775"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "105"] [EventDate "2022.11.14"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Nf3 b6 6. Bd3 c5 7. O-O Bb7 8. Na4 cxd4 9. exd4 Re8 10. a3 Bf8 11. b4 d6 12. Bb2 Nbd7 13. Re1 g6 14. Rc1 Rc8 15. Nc3 a6 16. Nd2 e5 17. Nce4 Nh5 18. Bf1 f5 19. Ng3 Nf4 20. dxe5 dxe5 21. Qb3 Kh8 22. Nf3 Bg7 23. Rcd1 Qe7 24. Rd2 Rc7 25. Red1 $14 e4 $2 {Black is optimistic, but underestimates the danger he'll face on the dark squares, and on the a1-h8 diagonal in particular.} (25... Ne6) 26. Bxg7+ Qxg7 27. Qe3 Ne6 28. Nd4 $16 {/+-} Ndf8 $2 (28... Nef8) 29. Nxe6 Nxe6 30. Ne2 $18 Rf7 31. Nf4 Nxf4 32. Qxf4 g5 33. Qe3 Qe5 34. Rd8 f4 35. Qxb6 Rxd8 36. Qxd8+ Kg7 37. Rd7 $2 {This gives away most of White's advantage. Most, but not all, and there's still no real danger of a loss. As he's leading 2-0, all he needs is a draw, and this doesn't endanger his safety net.} (37. c5 e3 38. Qd4 $18) 37... e3 $1 38. Rxf7+ Kxf7 39. Qd7+ Qe7 $4 (39... Kf8 {is the best try.} 40. Qd3 $1 (40. Qxb7 exf2+ 41. Kh1 (41. Kxf2 $4 Qe3#) 41... Qe1 42. Qc8+ Ke7 $8 43. Qc7+ $11 {and White will take the perpetual.}) 40... exf2+ 41. Kxf2 $16) 40. Qxe7+ Kxe7 41. fxe3 fxe3 42. b5 {Even if Black saves this by a miracle, there's no chance he will win.} Bc8 43. Bd3 Ke6 44. Bxh7 Kd6 45. Kf1 Kc5 46. Bd3 Kd4 47. Be2 a5 48. Ke1 Kc5 49. Bf1 Be6 50. h3 g4 51. hxg4 Bxg4 52. Be2 Be6 53. g4 1-0 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2022"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2022.11.16"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2798"] [BlackElo "2732"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2022.11.14"] {[%evp 0,65,23,25,25,15,15,15,15,15,37,10,8,7,30,-10,2,-1,6,6,6,16,16,15,17,18,72,55,-36,0,0,14,-23,11,68,4,-15,-22,0,0,59,29,151,178,190,123,224,183,267,187,167,253,375,450,450,450,450,108,108,29982,29983,29984,29985,29986,29987,29988,29989,29990]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. Rc1 {Pretty unpopular these days.} (7. e3) (7. Qc2) 7... h6 (7... c6 $11) 8. Bh4 g5 9. Bg3 Ne4 10. Qb3 Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 Nb6 $11 {Giri has an unbalanced position to work with. Trailing in the match, he could hardly do better with the black pieces.} 12. e3 h5 13. c4 h4 14. Be5 f6 15. cxd5 fxe5 16. Bb5+ Kf8 $6 (16... Bd7 17. Nxe5 h3 $11 {Nice and messy.}) 17. Nxe5 $6 (17. Bd3 $1 $16) 17... Kg7 $2 (17... Qxd5 $1 18. Qxd5 Nxd5 19. Ng6+ Kg7 20. Nxh8 Kxh8 21. f3 Nd6 22. e4 $11) 18. Bd3 $18 Nd6 19. O-O {Black's position has lost its coordination, and now White will start shoving his pawns up the board, with an attack that plays itself.} g4 20. f4 {Anyway. Black taking en passant would just let White's rooks into the game.} Rf8 21. e4 g3 22. f5 Qg5 23. Rxc7+ Kg8 24. Bb1 {Preventing ...Qe3+ while clearing a path for the queen to the kingside.} Qd2 25. Qf3 Bxf5 26. exf5 Qxd4+ 27. Kh1 Rac8 (27... Qxe5 28. Qg4+ Kh8 29. Qxh4+ Kg8 30. Qh7#) 28. Rg7+ $1 {Very nice. White finishes with style.} Kxg7 29. f6+ Kh6 30. Ng4+ $1 Kg5 31. Qf5+ $3 {At this point, it's the only move not to lose. (Of course, if White hadn't spotted this idea, he would have chosen a safer path to victory starting a few moves ago.)} Nxf5 32. Rxf5+ Kg6 {Again, only one move avoids a loss.} (32... Kxg4 33. h3#) 33. Re5+ $1 (33. Re5+ $1 Kf7 34. Re7+ Kg8 35. Nh6+ Kh8 36. Rh7#) 1-0