[Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2025"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2025.05.11"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B47"] [WhiteElo "2747"] [BlackElo "2757"] [PlyCount "116"] [GameId "2176531662905761"] [EventDate "2025.05.07"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,116,21,22,-13,15,20,20,38,29,-26,40,34,34,13,103,38,26,18,-38,-72,-65,-63,-99,-95,-119,-24,-35,-57,-58,-115,-32,-59,-88,-181,-121,-180,-86,-63,-90,-48,-47,-67,-26,-43,-55,-64,-63,-58,-39,-57,73,-89,-103,-42,-92,-59,-54,-83,-56,-57,-72,-69,-65,-69,-66,-88,-100,-69,-72,-74,-64,-68,-60,-65,-55,-23,-56,-50,-144,-38,-51,-57,-29,-4,-83,-51,-145,-20,-97,-46,-115,-120,-138,-138,-143,-56,-104,-92,-98,-91,-91,-93,-91,-170,-214,-283,-185,-121,-259,-216,-154,-127,-142,2,-2,1,0,0]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Qc7 6. g3 a6 7. Bg2 Bc5 {Quite rare, except in the games of Denis Lazavik.} 8. Nxc6 dxc6 9. e5 $5 $146 {Fun and aggressive. White wants to play Ne4-d6.} Qxe5+ 10. Ne4 Nf6 11. Bf4 Qxb2 12. Rb1 Qd4 13. Nxc5 (13. Nd6+ Ke7 14. Nxc8+ Rhxc8 15. Rxb7+ {was also possible, but it's only equal after} Kf8 16. Qxd4 Bxd4 17. Bd6+ Kg8 18. O-O Nd5 $11 {when White clearly has enough for the pawn, but not more.}) 13... Qxc5 14. O-O Nd5 15. Be5 O-O {The engine doesn't think White has enough for two pawns. It's probably right in an engine-engine game, which this isn't.} 16. Bd4 (16. Re1 $1 {first is better.} b5 17. Bd4 Qc4 {isn't as good as in the game.} (17... Qe7 {is better, though White retains almost enough compensation for the sacrificed pawns after} 18. Rc1 {followed by c4.}) 18. Qd2 $1 $44 {stops ...Nc3, and Re4 is coming next. White's position is *much* easier to play.}) 16... Qc4 17. Qd2 ({Now} 17. Re1 $2 {is met by} Nc3 $17 {/-+, forcing White into an implausible exchange sacrifice or to surrender a key attacker.}) 17... f6 (17... c5 $142) 18. f4 $8 c5 (18... Rd8 $142) 19. Bf2 $1 $44 Bd7 $1 {Firouzja wisely returns one of the pawns to hasten his development.} 20. Rxb7 Bc6 21. Rb3 Rfd8 22. Re1 $1 {Not afraid of ghosts - there are no dangerous discoveries by the knight.} Nb4 23. Qc3 Qxc3 24. Rxc3 Bxg2 25. Kxg2 Rd2 26. Rxc5 Re8 27. Kf3 Nxc2 28. Re2 Nd4+ 29. Bxd4 Rxd4 30. Rc6 Ra4 31. Rcxe6 Rxe6 32. Rxe6 Rxa2 33. f5 {White's activity suffices for the draw.} h5 34. h4 a5 35. Ra6 a4 36. Ra8+ Kh7 37. Ke3 a3 38. Kf3 Ra1 39. Kg2 Ra2+ 40. Kf3 Ra1 41. Kg2 g5 42. hxg5 fxg5 43. Ra7+ Kh6 44. f6 Ra2+ 45. Kg1 Kg6 46. f7 Kg7 47. Kh1 h4 48. gxh4 gxh4 49. Kg1 h3 50. Kh1 Kf8 51. Ra4 $1 (51. Kg1 Rg2+ 52. Kh1 a2 {is what White is trying to avoid. It's still a draw if White plays perfectly, but there's no need for this hassle.}) 51... Kxf7 52. Rf4+ $1 Ke6 53. Rf3 $1 {Making the Vancura draw. The rook attacks the a-pawn so Black's rook is stuck on the a-file. If Black's king protects the a-pawn White will check him away from it, and if Black plays ...Ra1(+) followed by ...a2 White plays Ra3 and draws in that way.} Kd5 54. Rxh3 Kc4 55. Rf3 Ra1+ 56. Kh2 Rc1 (56... Kb4 57. Rf4+ $1 Kb5 58. Rf3 a2 59. Ra3 Kb4 60. Ra8 Kb3 61. Rb8+ $11 {etc.}) 57. Rxa3 Rc3 58. Rxc3+ Kxc3 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2025"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2025.05.11"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B86"] [WhiteElo "2758"] [BlackElo "2723"] [PlyCount "90"] [GameId "2176531662905762"] [EventDate "2025.05.07"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,90,14,27,36,25,16,29,21,-10,6,29,22,9,7,-5,-7,-6,0,-6,7,0,-19,-12,0,0,8,-13,2,-19,-1,-3,-13,45,6,-77,-111,-6,-115,-43,-33,-88,-27,-59,-275,-26,-176,-32,-165,-12,-175,-81,38,21,35,194,21,22,-118,8,17,-137,1,-9,-15,-240,-24,-13,-11,13,-58,-1,2,114,19,1,-11,14,-1,2,2,-1,59,59,73,59,49,67,12,78,3,53,-1] The game was sharp and lively throughout, but no one missed any serious winning opportunities, though MVL had the better chances at a couple of points.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 e6 7. a3 Be7 8. Be3 O-O 9. Qe2 b5 10. Ba2 Bb7 11. O-O-O Nbd7 12. f3 Rc8 13. Qe1 Ne5 14. h4 Nfd7 15. Kb1 Nc4 16. Bc1 Bf6 17. Bg5 Bxg5 18. hxg5 Qxg5 19. g4 Nf6 20. Nde2 Rfd8 21. Bxc4 Rxc4 22. Qf2 Rd7 23. Qh2 e5 24. Rd3 h6 25. Ng3 g6 26. Qxh6 Qxh6 27. Rxh6 Nh7 28. Kc1 Ng5 29. Rh1 Kg7 30. Nge2 Rc8 31. Kd2 Kf6 32. Ke3 Ke7 33. Rd2 Ne6 34. Nc1 Rdc7 35. Rhd1 Rxc3+ 36. bxc3 Rxc3+ 37. Rd3 Rxc2 38. Rxd6 Nd4 39. Rb6 Bc8 40. g5 Be6 41. Rxa6 Rc3+ 42. Kd2 Rc2+ 43. Ke3 Rc3+ 44. Kd2 Rc2+ 45. Ke3 Rc3+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2025"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2025.05.11"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Gukesh, D."] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2787"] [BlackElo "2739"] [PlyCount "97"] [GameId "2176531662905763"] [EventDate "2025.05.07"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Be7 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 b6 7. Rc1 c5 8. dxc5 bxc5 9. Bd3 Nc6 10. O-O Ba6 11. cxd5 Bxd3 12. Qxd3 Nxd5 13. Nxd5 Qxd5 14. Qb1 e5 15. Bg3 Qe6 16. h4 f6 17. h5 Rfd8 18. Rfd1 Rxd1+ 19. Rxd1 e4 20. Nd2 Rd8 21. Nf1 Nb4 22. Rxd8+ Bxd8 23. Qd1 Bb6 24. Nd2 Nxa2 25. h6 gxh6 26. Qh5 f5 27. Nc4 Qf7 28. Qxh6 Qxc4 29. Qg5+ Kf7 30. Qxf5+ Ke7 31. Qxh7+ Kd8 32. Bh4+ Kc8 {Gukesh's play has been risky, but to this point he has managed to retain sufficient compensation for the sacrificed piece.} 33. g4 $2 ({He needed to play} 33. Qf5+ $1 {first, and only after the forced} Kb7 $1 {play} 34. g4 $11 {. Now Black doesn't have ...Qe6, and the passed g-pawn is extremely dangerous.}) 33... Qe6 $1 34. g5 Qg4+ 35. Bg3 $1 {A sad necessity.} (35. Kf1 $2 Qh3+ $1 36. Kg1 (36. Ke1 Ba5+ 37. Kd1 Qf1+ 38. Kc2 Qd3#) (36. Ke2 Qf3+ 37. Kf1 Qh1+ 38. Ke2 Ba5 {generally mates or wins the queen once White's checks run out. Granted, this will take a little while:} 39. Qg8+ Kb7 40. Qb3+ Kc6 41. Qe6+ Kb5 42. Qd7+ Kc4 43. Qa4+ Bb4 44. b3+ Kc3 45. Qxa2 {White avoided both mate and the loss of the queen, but it's still hopeless after} Qxh4 $19 {followed by rounding up the g-pawn.}) 36... Bc7 $19) 35... Qxg5 36. Qh3+ Kd8 $1 (36... Kb7 $2 37. Qd7+ Ka6 $8 38. Qa4+ $11) 37. Qh8+ Kd7 38. Qh3+ Kd8 39. Qh8+ Kd7 40. Qh3+ Ke7 41. Qh7+ Kf6 42. Qh8+ Ke6 43. Qc8+ Kf7 $2 (43... Ke7 $1 {was the only winning move - or rather, the only move that preserves a winning advantage.} 44. Qb7+ Kf8 45. Qxe4 Nb4 $19) 44. Qd7+ $11 Qe7 45. Qf5+ Qf6 46. Qd7+ Qe7 47. Qf5+ Qf6 48. Qd7+ Qe7 49. Qf5+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2025"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2025.05.11"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "Deac, Bogdan-Daniel"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A20"] [WhiteElo "2771"] [BlackElo "2668"] [PlyCount "113"] [GameId "2176531662905764"] [EventDate "2025.05.07"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,113,20,25,9,9,-47,-9,16,5,35,17,38,37,29,18,14,12,7,15,-15,26,-22,25,25,38,41,44,33,38,22,12,12,10,130,42,67,164,64,7,40,51,45,63,72,56,63,79,14,80,77,63,39,39,-44,25,1,27,-59,-36,-46,-40,-43,-99,-42,-67,-35,-31,-37,-61,-44,-137,-115,-76,-71,-218,-39,-37,-34,-33,-37,-82,-54,-48,-5,-20,0,1,1,-1,-155,-49,-1,-29,-14,-28,-27,-16,-20,-14,-9,0,-9,-1,-17,-1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 c6 4. d4 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Bxd2+ 6. Qxd2 d6 7. Nc3 O-O 8. e3 Be6 9. Rd1 Na6 10. b3 exd4 11. Qxd4 Qa5 12. Qd2 Nc7 13. Nge2 d5 14. cxd5 Ncxd5 15. Na4 Nb4 16. O-O Rad8 17. Qc3 Rxd1 18. Rxd1 Qh5 19. Rd2 Nbd5 20. Qd4 Bg4 21. Nac3 c5 $2 (21... Nxc3 22. Nxc3 Qa5 23. e4 Be6 24. f4 c5 25. Qe3 Rd8 $11 {White's central pawn majority is more effective than Black's queenside majority, but with Black having only two (of the original four) minor pieces left they're not especially cramped. The board is also open for the queens to roam around, so White should be unable to keep Black bottled up enough to win the game.}) 22. Qc4 (22. Qd3 $1 Nxc3 23. Nxc3 b6 24. e4 Be6 25. f4 $18 {This version turns out to be much better for White. He has the d-file and Black's pieces are jumbled up on the kingside.}) 22... Nxc3 23. Nxc3 $16 b6 24. Qf4 h6 25. Nd5 $6 {Surprisingly, this helps Black.} Nxd5 26. Rxd5 g5 $1 $11 {This looks awful, but it's not as bad as it looks.} 27. Qa4 Be6 $1 28. Rd2 (28. Rd6 Qe2 $1 29. Qxa7 Qe1+ 30. Bf1 c4 $1 (30... Bh3 {also works, but only if he spots ...c4 after White's forced} 31. Qa6 {, e.g.} c4 $1 32. Qxc4 Rc8 33. Qxc8+ $1 Bxc8 34. Rd8+ Kg7 35. Rxc8 $11) 31. Qxb6 Bh3 (31... c3 32. Rxe6 $1 $11) 32. Rg6+ $1 {The only move.} fxg6 33. Qxg6+ Kh8 34. Qxh6+ Kg8 35. Qg6+ $11) 28... Qg6 $1 29. Be4 (29. Qxa7 $2 Qb1+ 30. Bf1 c4 $19) (29. Bf1 Qb1 30. Rd6 $11) 29... b5 $1 30. Bxg6 bxa4 31. Bc2 axb3 32. axb3 {A draw is inevitable.} Rb8 33. Rd3 Rb4 34. Kf1 c4 35. Rd8+ Kg7 36. bxc4 Rxc4 37. Bd1 a5 38. Ke2 Rc1 39. Rd4 Ra1 40. e4 g4 41. Ke3 Ra2 42. e5 h5 43. Ra4 Rxa4 44. Bxa4 f6 45. exf6+ Kxf6 46. f4 gxf3 47. Kxf3 Ke5 48. Ke3 Bg4 49. Be8 Bd1 50. Kd2 Bg4 51. h3 Bxh3 52. Bxh5 a4 53. Kc3 Kf5 54. Kb4 Kg5 55. g4 Bxg4 56. Bxg4 Kxg4 57. Kxa4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2025"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2025.05.11"] [Round "5.5"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B33"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2776"] [PlyCount "128"] [GameId "2176531662905765"] [EventDate "2025.05.07"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,128,21,17,24,87,19,19,14,7,24,16,-2,26,26,6,23,41,29,38,35,42,36,-12,57,32,3,18,20,20,18,18,24,14,11,-29,-13,1,16,13,-9,70,101,97,107,316,121,137,74,103,103,103,103,103,135,126,62,75,97,52,25,75,73,70,81,1,80,101,97,99,122,126,139,137,142,140,142,144,132,77,109,39,114,105,80,118,124,136,151,114,163,163,190,183,190,104,170,143,108,146,106,102,100,114,90,99,19,123,91,113,109,25,36,169,21,14,100,19,17,0,45,65,158,652,168,635,165,186,168,164,168] So was better throughout, but because of the opposite-colored bishops a draw was always the likeliest result.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bf4 e5 8. Bg5 a6 9. Na3 b5 10. Bxf6 gxf6 11. Nd5 f5 12. c3 Bg7 13. exf5 Bxf5 14. Nc2 O-O 15. Nce3 Be6 16. Bd3 f5 17. Qh5 e4 18. Bc2 Ne5 19. Rd1 Ng6 20. g4 f4 21. Nf5 Bxf5 22. gxf5 Qh4 23. Ne7+ ({The engine is initially excited about} 23. Qxh4 {, but it ultimately leads to a drawish ending with opposite-colored bishops.} Nxh4 24. Nxf4 Rxf5 25. Ne6 Ng2+ 26. Ke2 Nf4+ 27. Nxf4 Rxf4 28. Rxd6 Raf8 29. Rf1 Bf6 {followed by ...Bh4 wins the f-pawn, giving Black enough counterplay to draw.}) 23... Qxe7 24. fxg6 h6 25. Qd5+ Kh8 26. Qxe4 Qf6 27. O-O f3 28. Qg4 Rae8 29. Rde1 Re5 30. Kh1 Qf4 31. Qxf4 Rxf4 32. Re3 Bf6 33. Bd1 Kg7 34. Rxf3 Rxf3 35. Bxf3 Kxg6 36. Rd1 Be7 37. Kg2 a5 38. a3 Kf6 39. Rd4 Rg5+ 40. Kf1 Rc5 41. h3 Ke6 42. Bg4+ Kf7 43. Rd3 Bg5 44. b4 Rc7 45. Rxd6 Rxc3 46. bxa5 Rxa3 47. a6 b4 48. Rb6 Be7 49. Be2 Bc5 50. Bc4+ Ke7 51. Rxh6 b3 52. Rh7+ Kd6 53. Rb7 Ra4 54. Bxb3 Rxa6 55. h4 Rb6 56. Rxb6+ Bxb6 57. h5 Ke7 58. h6 Kf6 59. h7 Kg7 60. Bc2 Bxf2 61. Kxf2 Kh8 62. Kf3 Kg7 63. Kf2 Kh8 64. Kf3 Kg7 1/2-1/2