[Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.09.04"] [Round "3"] [White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2754"] [BlackElo "2792"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "84"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nf3 Be7 8. Bc4 O-O 9. O-O Qc7 10. Bb3 Nbd7 $6 (10... Be6 {is the main line and considered best.}) 11. a4 Nc5 12. Nd5 Nxd5 13. Bxd5 Be6 14. c3 Nd7 $6 {Another inaccurate knight move to d7. Now White is clearly better.} 15. Bxe6 fxe6 16. Qb3 Kf7 { Things are not going well when you have to play such a move.} 17. a5 Qc6 18. Ra4 $1 Rac8 19. Rd1 h6 20. Nd2 Bg5 21. Rc4 Nc5 22. Bxc5 Bxd2 $2 ({A blunder which Nepo played after only a 10-second thought. It is necessary to play} 22... dxc5 23. Nf3 {, when White is clearly better.}) 23. Rxd2 $4 ({Dominguez misses his chance and loses nearly all of his advantage. After} 23. Bxd6 Qxc4 ( {also} 23... Qxd6 24. Qxb7+ Qe7 ({or} 24... Kf6 25. Rxc8) 25. Qxe7+ Kxe7 26. Rxc8 Rxc8 27. Rxd2 {wins for White}) 24. Qxb7+ Kg8 25. Bxf8 Rc7 26. Qb6 Qe2 27. Rf1 Rf7 28. Bc5 {and White has two extra pawns and an easily won position.}) 23... dxc5 24. Qd1 Ke7 $6 (24... Qb5 $1 {would have secured equality.}) 25. b4 Qb5 26. bxc5 Rc7 27. Rb4 Qxc5 28. Qb3 Rb8 29. Rb6 Qc4 30. Qxc4 Rxc4 31. f3 Rc6 {The rook ending is equal and soon drawn.} 32. Rdb2 Rc5 33. Rxb7+ Rxb7 34. Rxb7+ Kf6 35. h4 Rxa5 36. Ra7 Rc5 37. Rxa6 Rxc3 38. Kh2 h5 39. Ra5 Rb3 40. Ra6 Rc3 41. Ra5 Rb3 42. Ra6 Rc3 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.09.04"] [Round "3"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2778"] [BlackElo "2775"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. h3 O-O 6. Nc3 Na5 $5 {A very rare move.} 7. a3 $6 ({Earlier this year, also in St. Louis, a game in this line continued} 7. Bb3 Nxb3 8. axb3 d5 9. Bg5 dxe4 10. Nxe4 Be7 11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. O-O Re8 13. Re1 Bf5 {, Oparin,G (2685)-Theodorou $146 (2567) St. Louis 2022, and now} 14. Qd2 {or 14.g4 would have given White a small but clear advantage despite Black's pair of bishops.}) 7... Nxc4 8. dxc4 d6 $6 ({Here, Black could have considered} 8... c6 $5) ({or} 8... Re8 $5 {.}) 9. Bg5 Be6 10. Qd3 h6 11. Bh4 g5 $2 ({Provocative and definitely wrong. A better choice was} 11... c6 12. O-O-O b5 {with sharp play and chances to both sides.}) 12. Nxg5 $1 hxg5 13. Bxg5 Kg7 14. f4 $5 {[%c_effect f4;square;f4;type;Interesting;persistent;true]} ({Opening the kingside. An interesting alternative is} 14. Qf3 $1 c6 15. h4 Rh8 16. O-O-O Rh6 17. Na4 {with a clear advantage for White.}) 14... exf4 15. Ne2 c6 ({Also} 15... Qe7 16. O-O-O Kg6 17. Bxf4 {looks scary for Black.}) 16. b4 Be3 17. Rf1 Kg6 18. h4 $6 ({Here,} 18. Bh4 $1 Rh8 19. Rxf4 Bxf4 20. e5+ { is even stronger and gives White a decisive attack.}) 18... Bxc4 19. Qxc4 d5 20. Qb3 Re8 $2 ({Making matters worse. A better choice is} 20... Qd6 21. Nxf4+ Bxf4 22. Bxf4 Qe7 23. e5 Ne4 24. O-O-O {although White obviously is much better in this line too.}) 21. Bxf4 Bxf4 22. Nxf4+ Kh7 23. O-O-O Nxe4 $2 24. Ne2 $4 ({Here, Firouzja, rather uncharacteristically missed a tactic:} 24. Nxd5 $1 cxd5 25. Rxf7+ Kg6 26. Rxd5 Qxh4 27. Qf3 Nf6 ({or} 27... Qe1+ 28. Rd1) 28. Rxf6+ Qxf6 29. Qh5+ Kg7 30. Rg5+ Qxg5+ 31. Qxg5+ {and White is winning the endgame.}) 24... Nd6 $4 ({Aronian counterblunders. After} 24... Kg8 $1 25. Rf4 Qe7 {, Black has some chances of survival.}) 25. Qd3+ {Now, Black's king is very open and vulnerable.} Kh8 26. Qd4+ Kh7 27. Ng3 Qb6 28. Qd3+ Kg8 29. Nf5 Nxf5 30. Qxf5 {In pure heavy-piece endings with both queens and rooks on the board, king safety is crucial, and to the surprise of no one, Black's kingside does not represent the concept of safety particularly well. In other words, death is knocking heavily on Black's door.} Qe3+ 31. Kb1 Qe6 32. Qf2 a5 33. Rd3 axb4 34. Rg3+ Kf8 35. Rf3 Kg8 ({Or} 35... Re7 36. Qd4 Qh6 37. Qxb4 Qg7 38. Re3 Rae8 39. Qd6 {and Black is completely tied and will lose material.}) 36. Rxf7 Rxa3 37. Rf8+ Kh7 38. Qf7+ {and Black resigned on account of} (38. Qf7+ Qxf7 39. R1xf7+ Kg6 40. h5+ {, winning the e8-rook.}) 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.09.04"] [Round "3"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2773"] [BlackElo "2776"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "133"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,133,19,29,30,25,40,0,43,24,29,11,20,7,14,2,14,-3,12,5,20,20,42,42,22, -5,-11,-16,-9,-9,39,19,2,-10,-13,-18,3,-27,-18,-18,18,-19,10,10,36,0,77,91,62, 75,68,67,94,66,76,57,47,78,92,54,92,92,70,94,108,105,111,81,141,100,109,51,127, 127,144,99,192,214,214,198,206,224,216,213,213,195,146,140,173,155,173,173,154, 141,141,141,140,121,131,84,90,98,99,99,112,86,273,145,136,159,147,90,42,201, 221,221,255,265,339,339,373,378,387,389,1113,1256,29987,29984,29985,29986, 29987,29988,29989,29986,29989,29988]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Bd3 Nf6 6. O-O Be7 7. h3 ({After} 7. Re1 O-O 8. h3 d5 9. c3 Bd6 10. Bc2 Nbd7 11. d4 h6 12. Nbd2 Re8 13. Rxe8+ Qxe8 {the chances were fairly equal in So,W (2773)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2792) Chess.com INT 2022.}) 7... O-O 8. c3 d5 9. Bc2 Bd6 10. d4 h6 11. Re1 Re8 12. Rxe8+ Qxe8 13. Be3 Nc6 14. Nbd2 Ne7 15. Nh4 g5 $6 ({A bizarre decision, riddling his position with some uncurable structural defects. In a previous game, Black had tried} 15... Qb5 16. Rb1 Be6 17. Qf3 Qa6 18. a4 Re8 19. Kh1 Nd7 20. Nf1 Nf6 21. Nd2 Nd7 {, and a draw was agreed, ½-½, in Benz,G (2542)-Mayer,R (2485) ICCF email 2019}) 16. Nhf3 Nf5 17. Nf1 Bd7 18. Bd3 c6 19. Qb3 (19. Qc2 $5 Nxe3 20. Nxe3 Qe7 21. Re1 {would possibly be better.}) 19... Ne4 20. Re1 Nxe3 21. Nxe3 Be6 22. Qxb7 $2 ({ Too greedy, giving Caruana the counterplay he craved. Instead,} 22. Qc2 $1 f5 23. g4 fxg4 24. hxg4 Qf7 25. Bxe4 dxe4 26. Qxe4 Rf8 27. Re2 {would have given White an extra pawn and a clear advantage. Possibly So was unsure how to assess this position from afar.}) 22... Rb8 23. Qa6 f5 $2 ({Not sure why Caruana didn't capture on b2. After} 23... Rxb2 {, it is difficult for White to prove any kind of advantage.}) 24. Re2 Qd7 25. Qa4 Bf4 26. Qc2 h5 27. g3 g4 28. hxg4 hxg4 29. Bxe4 fxe4 30. Ne5 Bxe5 31. dxe5 Qc7 32. Qa4 c5 33. Rd2 Rd8 34. Ng2 ({Also} 34. b4 $5 {could be considered.}) 34... Bf7 35. Qb5 d4 36. e6 $1 Bxe6 37. cxd4 Qb6 38. Qe2 Rxd4 39. Rxd4 cxd4 40. Qxe4 Bxa2 41. Qxg4+ Kf8 42. Qf3+ Bf7 43. Qa3+ Ke8 44. Qa4+ ({Here, the immediate} 44. Nh4 Bd5 45. Nf5 Qc7 46. Qd3 {is more accurate.}) 44... Kd8 45. Qa3 Ke8 $2 (45... Bd5 $1 {should have been played.}) 46. Nh4 $1 Bd5 47. Nf5 Qc7 48. g4 Kf7 49. f3 $6 (49. Qb4 $1 {is more precise.}) 49... a5 50. Kg2 Qe5 51. Kh3 Qe2 52. f4 d3 $4 ({Now Black loses almost by force. A better try was} 52... Kg6 {although White also seems to be winning after} 53. Qd6+ Be6 54. Nh4+ Kf7 55. f5 Qe3+ 56. Kh2 Ba2 57. Qd7+ {, but there is still work to be done.}) 53. Qd6 Bf3 54. Qd7+ Kf8 55. Qd8+ Kf7 56. Qd7+ Kf8 57. Nh6 Bg2+ 58. Kg3 Qf3+ 59. Kh4 Qf2+ 60. Kg5 Qc5+ 61. Nf5 Bd5 62. Qd8+ Kf7 63. Qd7+ Kf8 64. Qd8+ Kf7 65. Nd6+ Kg7 66. Qe7+ Kg8 67. Kh6 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.09.04"] [Round "3"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D27"] [WhiteElo "2758"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "70"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 {No Grunfeld Indian today.} 3. c4 dxc4 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 c5 6. O-O a6 7. dxc5 ({This capture is not the biggest threat to the viability of the Queen's Gambit Accepted, but it can be quite annoying for Black. This year, Mamedyarov and other top GMs have been quite fond of} 7. b3 {which has been featured in several of MVL's games this year, for instance,} cxd4 8. Nxd4 Be7 9. Be2 O-O 10. Bb2 b5 11. Nd2 Bb7 12. a4 (12. Rc1 h6 13. Bf3 Qd7 14. Qc2 Ra7 15. Bxb7 Qxb7 16. Rfd1 Rd8 17. N2f3 {with some pressure for White, Radjabov,T (2753)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2750) Stavanger 2022.}) 12... bxa4 13. Rxa4 Nbd7 14. Qa1 Nc5 15. Ra5 Qb6 16. Nc4 Qc7 17. Rc1 Bd5 18. b4 {and White had the upper hand in Mamedyarov,S (2759)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2750) Stavanger 2022.}) 7... Bxc5 ({The alternative is} 7... Qxd1 8. Rxd1 Bxc5 9. Be2 {which seems a little uncomfortable for Black albeit still quite solid. Vachier-Lagrave, however, has not tried this as Black.}) 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Be2 ({Some other games by the French GM have seen White try other approaches: a)} 9. Nbd2 Nc6 10. a3 Ke7 11. b4 Bd6 12. Bb2 b5 13. Be2 Bb7 14. Rac1 Rac8 15. Nb3 {was played in Nihal,S (2620)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2784) Chess.com INT 2020, and here} Rhd8 {seems to lead to something close to equality.}) ({b)} 9. Ne5 Ke7 10. Be2 Nbd7 11. Nc4 b6 12. Nbd2 a5 13. Nb3 Ba6 14. Nxc5 bxc5 15. f3 Rhb8 16. e4 Nb6 17. Nxb6 Rxb6 18. Bxa6 Raxa6 19. Rf2 a4 20. Rc2 Nd7 {and draw agreed, ½-½, L'Ami,E (2621) -Vachier Lagrave,M (2761) Germany 2022.}) 9... Ke7 10. Nc3 b5 11. Nd2 Bb7 12. Nb3 Nbd7 13. Nxc5 Nxc5 14. b4 Nce4 15. Bb2 (15. Nxe4 Nxe4 16. Bb2 Rac8 { leads to similar play.}) 15... Rac8 16. Rfc1 Rhd8 17. Nxe4 Nxe4 18. Bxg7 f6 19. Bf3 Kf7 20. Bh6 Kg6 21. Bf4 e5 {White has won a pawn and has the bishop pair, yet Vachier-Lagrave seems unconcerned.} 22. Bg3 Rc4 23. a3 Rxc1+ 24. Rxc1 Nxg3 25. hxg3 Bxf3 26. gxf3 Rd3 {White's extra pawn is of no importance due to Black's active rook.} 27. a4 bxa4 28. Rc5 Rb3 29. Ra5 Rxb4 30. Rxa6 h5 31. Kg2 Rc4 32. Kh3 Rc2 33. Kg2 Rc4 34. Kh3 Rc2 35. Kg2 Rc4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.09.04"] [Round "3"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E20"] [WhiteElo "2864"] [BlackElo "2687"] [Annotator "Rafael Leitão"] [PlyCount "114"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [TimeControl "5400+30"] {[%evp 0,114,18,18,22,11,11,11,26,-12,-6,-12,-10,5,5,-1,-10,-24,-32,-7,-5,-24, 8,7,7,-10,-1,10,8,-11,-6,-8,-8,-10,-3,-43,-45,-42,-34,-37,-18,-18,-18,-17,-19, -35,-39,-47,-47,-36,-48,-56,-56,-45,-33,-57,-56,-71,-67,-84,-85,-99,-102,-99, -89,-94,-106,-104,-94,-94,-94,-101,-101,-101,-101,-101,-101,-101,-94,-94,-94, -122,-125,-126,-126,-126,-90,-148,-107,-102,-103,-103,-103,-101,-105,-111,-114, -199,-205,-240,-220,-353,-381,-368,-373,-386,-398,-398,-471,-636,-636,-709, -576,-1011,-1011,-1011,-1011] Last time Niemann with the black pieces beat Carlsen. This was just a few days ago, and he granted us one of the most iconic sentences in modern chess history. Will he be up to the challenge in future interviews after repeating the feat, this time in a classical game $2 But what he says, as we know, is not so important as chess speaks for itself.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 {Of all the world champions, Carlsen is the one of with the most flexible opening repertoire. He can play anything. I wonder how his opponents prepare against him.} Bb4 4. g3 {Not the most popular move against the Nimzo.} O-O 5. Bg2 d5 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 dxc4 8. Nf3 c5 9. O-O { Carlsen uses his usual strategy of going for a sideline with not so much theory and not so much advantage either. This worked like a charm in his first-round game, but it's going to backfire in this game. I admired his cleverness when he won, and I am going to criticize the same strategy now that he lost, since, as we say jokingly, \"The same hands that clap are the ones that boo.\"} cxd4 {9...Bd7 and 9...Nc6 are also possible.} 10. Qxd4 {Already a new move.} (10. cxd4 {was tried before.}) 10... Nc6 11. Qxc4 e5 $1 {A good move, preparing to develop the bishop to an active square.} 12. Bg5 h6 13. Rfd1 $6 {It seems smart to play this before capturing the knight, but this move is wrong for tactical reasons.} (13. Bxf6 {It's better to take immediately, although White has nothing special after} Qxf6 14. Nd2 Qe7) 13... Be6 $1 { An accurate move.} (13... Qe7 $6 {is exactly what White wants, as he wins a tempo compared to 13. Bxf6.} 14. Bxf6 Qxf6 15. Nd2 {and now it's possible to fight for the advantage.}) 14. Rxd8 {The best move to fight for equality.} (14. Qc5 Qa5 15. Be3 Nd5 {is unpleasant.}) 14... Bxc4 15. Rxa8 Rxa8 16. Bxf6 gxf6 { The opening phase is over, and the conclusion is clear: a sad outcome for Carlsen, who now must fight for a draw, after no more than 16 moves, without any winning chances whatsoever. This must have depressed him, as his play in this endgame is not up to his very high standards.} 17. Kf1 {A solid move. White can also sacrifice the e2-pawn in different ways with good drawing chances in all cases.} (17. Rd1 $5 Bxe2 18. Rd7) (17. Nd2 Bxe2 18. Ne4) (17. Nh4 Bxe2 18. Nf5) 17... Rd8 18. Ke1 Na5 19. Rd1 Rc8 $1 {It's necessary to keep the rooks in order to play for a win; otherwise, it will be much easier for White to protect his queenside weaknesses.} 20. Nd2 Be6 21. c4 $5 (21. Ne4 f5 22. Nd6 Rxc3 {The computer indicates drawing chances here with precise play, but it looks very scary for human eyes as the compensation for the missing pawn is not clear.}) (21. Rc1 {is too passive.} f5 {followed by bringing the king to the center with a better pawn structure and more active pieces.}) 21... Bxc4 (21... Kf8 {followed by Ke7 is also possible.}) 22. Nxc4 (22. Ne4 { is the natural move and gives good drawing chances. Maybe Carlsen missed the correct reply after 22...Bb3.} Bb3 23. Nd6 $1 {An important move.} (23. Nxf6+ { is dangerous, although it's still possible to defend after} Kg7 24. Bh3 $1 (24. Nh5+ $2 Kg6 25. Rd6+ Be6 $1 {and Black wins.} (25... Kxh5 $4 {It's always possible to lose a winning game.} 26. Bf3+ Kg5 27. h4+ Kf5 28. e4#)) 24... Rc2 25. Rd6 {with drawing chances.})) 22... Rxc4 23. Rd8+ Kg7 24. Bd5 {Otherwise, Black closes off the bishop with e5-e4.} Rc7 {Black is a pawn up, but with an active rook and bishop against knight, it should be possible for White to secure a draw.} 25. Ra8 (25. f3 {This seems good technique, preparing Kf2 and hindering the advance of Black's central pawns.}) 25... a6 26. Rb8 f5 27. Re8 { Carlsen provokes the advance in order to break Black's pawn structure, but this is not a good strategy.} (27. f3 {This move, avoiding e5-e4, is useful again.}) 27... e4 28. g4 $2 {It's better to break the structure with 28.f3 or wait with 28.Rd8.} (28. f3) (28. Rd8) 28... Rc5 $1 29. Ba2 Nc4 $6 (29... fxg4 $1 {is the best. After} 30. Rxe4 f5 {Black should win with an extra pawn.}) 30. a4 $2 (30. Bxc4 $1 {\"All rook endgames are drawn.\" This quote is attributed to Siegbert Tarrasch, and even if it's not entirely true, it gives us some guidance to search for salvation in rook endgames.} Rxc4 31. gxf5 {And it's probably possible to escape, for instance:} b5 32. Rb8 $1 Ra4 33. Rb6 Rxa3 34. Kd2) 30... Nd6 $1 {Niemann now uses a nice tactical idea to achieve a winning position.} 31. Re7 (31. Rd8 e3 $1 {This is the point.} 32. fxe3 Ne4 33. Kf1 Rc1+ 34. Kg2 Rc2 {and the e2-pawn falls.}) 31... fxg4 {This doesn't spoil anything, but 31...Rc2 wins immediately.} (31... Rc2 $1 32. Bb3 (32. Bd5 Rc1+ 33. Kd2 Rc5 34. Bb3 fxg4 {and Black is simply two pawns up.}) 32... Rc3 33. Ba2 fxg4 34. Rd7 Nc4 $1 {and the b7-pawn cannot be captured because of mate.}) 32. Rd7 e3 $1 33. fxe3 (33. Rxd6 Rc1+ 34. Rd1 exf2+ $19) 33... Ne4 34. Kf1 Rc1+ $6 (34... Rf5+ $1 {is better.} 35. Kg1 b5 36. axb5 axb5 37. Bb1 Re5 {with a winning position.}) 35. Kg2 Rc2 36. Bxf7 Rxe2+ 37. Kg1 Re1+ 38. Kg2 Re2+ 39. Kg1 Kf6 {White still has drawing chances here, but it's nearly impossible to find it.} 40. Bd5 $2 (40. Rxb7 {is the best move. But after} Ng5 {It looks like the game is over, since the knight is too dangerous. But the machine indicates} 41. Bh5 $1 Nf3+ 42. Kf1 Ra2 {And now the fantastic (and forced)} 43. h4 $3 {is close to a draw, according to my PC. No human can play like this yet. }) 40... Rd2 $1 41. Rf7+ Kg6 42. Rd7 $6 (42. Rf4 {Going for a rook endgame is the best chance.} Rxd5 43. Rxe4) 42... Ng5 $1 {Now it's over.} 43. Bf7+ Kf5 44. Rxd2 Nf3+ 45. Kg2 Nxd2 46. a5 Ke5 $1 {A fine move, as the king must control the bishop's active attempts connected with Be6-c8.} 47. Kg3 Nf1+ 48. Kf2 (48. Kxg4 Nxh2+ 49. Kh5 Nf1 50. Kxh6 Nxe3 {followed by Kd4 and Nc4.}) 48... Nxh2 49. e4 Kxe4 50. Be6 Kf4 51. Bc8 Nf3 52. Bxb7 Ne5 53. Bxa6 Nc6 54. Bb7 Nxa5 55. Bd5 h5 56. Bf7 h4 57. Bd5 Ke5 {A convincing win. GM Niemann must be very proud of his efforts in this game.} 0-1