[Event "SuperUnited Rapid 2022"] [Site "Zagreb CRO"] [Date "2022.07.20"] [Round "1.3"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D41"] [WhiteElo "2864"] [BlackElo "2766"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2022.07.20"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,77,30,30,30,-15,-11,2,4,6,44,37,76,20,1,-26,106,62,60,70,66,43,35,49, 49,21,6,29,29,62,56,53,39,41,47,42,43,40,45,40,34,41,35,26,46,26,46,22,33,39, 26,29,31,32,22,3,3,0,27,27,20,8,9,0,-14,-7,-11,-6,-5,-1,0,-1,-1,-5,-1,-1,-1,-5, -1,0] What could have been!} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c5 5. cxd5 cxd4 {Wesley So put this variation on the super-GM map in a big way last year. Black goes straight for what looks like a very poor ending, but the reality is that it's extremely difficult for White to prove even a small edge.} 6. Qxd4 exd5 7. e4 (7. Bg5 {avoids the ending.} Be7 8. e3 O-O {is very solid for Black after some combination of ...Be6, ...Nc6, ...h6, and ...Qb6.}) 7... dxe4 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Ng5 Be6 10. a3 (10. Nxe6+ {is usual.} fxe6 11. Bg5 {, and here one typical line goes} h6 12. O-O-O+ Ke7 13. Bxf6+ gxf6 14. Nxe4 Bg7 {, generally followed up with ...f5 and ...Nc6. In 12 games in the database, 11 were drawn and Black won the other. Of the 11 draws, seven were in GM-GM games; five in super-GM games involving players like Carlsen, So, Nepo and Radjabov.}) 10... Nbd7 11. Nxe6+ (11. g3 Bc5 12. Nxe6+ fxe6 13. Bg2 Ne5 14. Ke2 Nd3 15. Rd1 Ke7 16. Nxe4 Nxc1+ 17. Raxc1 Nxe4 18. Bxe4 Bd6 19. Rd2 Rad8 20. Bxb7 Be5 21. Rxd8 Rxd8 22. b3 Bb2 23. Rc7+ Rd7 24. Rxd7+ Kxd7 25. a4 Bc3 26. Be4 h6 27. f4 a5 28. Kf3 Ke7 29. g4 Kf6 30. h4 g5 31. fxg5+ hxg5 32. h5 Kg7 33. Bd3 Bb4 34. Bc4 e5 35. Ke4 Kh6 36. Kxe5 Bc3+ 37. Kf5 Bb4 38. Bd5 Bc3 39. Ke6 Bb4 40. Be4 Bc3 41. Kf7 Bb4 42. Bf5 Bc3 43. Kg8 Bb4 44. Kf7 Bc3 45. Bd3 Bb4 46. Ke6 Bc3 47. Kd5 Bb4 48. Kc4 Kg7 49. Kb5 Kh6 50. Be4 Kg7 51. Bc2 Kh6 52. Kc6 Kg7 {1/2-1/2 (52) Vidit,S (2727)-Le,Q (2709) Kolkata 2021}) 11... fxe6 12. g3 Rc8 13. Bg2 $146 (13. Bh3 Ke7 14. O-O Kf7 15. Bg2 Rc4 16. Re1 Nc5 17. Be3 Nd3 18. Re2 Bc5 19. Bxc5 Nxc5 20. Nb5 Rd8 21. Nxa7 Nb3 22. Rb1 Nd4 23. Re3 Ra4 24. Rc1 Rxa7 25. Rc7+ Rd7 26. Rxd7+ Nxd7 27. Rxe4 Nf5 28. Rb4 Nd6 29. h4 Ke7 30. Rg4 g6 31. Rb4 Nf6 {0-1 (31) Praggnanandhaa,R (2624)-Giri,A (2773) Oslo 2022}) 13... Nc5 14. O-O Bd6 15. Rb1 Be5 16. b4 Nd3 17. Nxe4 {Forced. White regains his pawn, but now almost all of the pieces disappear, leaving a dead drawn rook and opposite-colored bishop ending.} Nxc1 18. Rfxc1 Rxc1+ 19. Rxc1 Nxe4 20. Bxe4 Bb2 {The game could be abandoned here, but maybe the Sofia Rules are in effect, forcing the pretense to continue a while.} 21. Rb1 Bxa3 22. Rb3 Bc1 23. Bxb7 ( 23. f4 {shuts in Black's bishop, but the only way for White to collect it without letting it escape is bringing the king over. Black will break out long before then with ...g5, or ...e5, or he could safeguard it with ...Ke7 followed by ...Rd8. There are no real chances here.}) 23... Ke7 24. b5 Rd8 25. Be4 h6 26. Kg2 Rd2 27. Rc3 Bb2 28. Rc7+ Rd7 29. Rc2 Bd4 30. f3 Bb6 31. Kh3 Rd4 32. Rb2 Kf6 33. Kg4 Rc4 34. h4 Rc5 35. Rb1 Ke7 36. Rb3 Kf6 37. Rb1 Ke7 38. Rb3 Kf6 39. Rb1 1/2-1/2 [Event "SuperUnited Rapid 2022"] [Site "Zagreb CRO"] [Date "2022.07.20"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B23"] [WhiteElo "2864"] [BlackElo "2760"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "38"] [EventDate "2022.07.20"] [EventType "rapid"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4 Nc6 5. Qd2 {The so-called Carlsen Variation, though he abandoned his intellectual offspring after just one game. (To be fair, he was not the first person to play this line, but his use of the move generated a great deal of interest.)} e6 (5... g6 {has been the most popular move, preparing the long fianchetto.} 6. b3 Bh6 7. f4 {and now} f5 ({ and} 7... Nf6 8. Bb2 O-O (8... e5)) 8. Bb2 Nf6 {are the principal battlegrounds.}) (5... Nf6 {is also popular. Here Black goes for ...e6 and ... d5, as in the game.}) 6. b3 d5 {Very direct. If it works, it's the end of the Carlsen variation.} 7. exd5 exd5 8. Qxd5 $146 ({Here are the three predecessors:} 8. Nxd5 Nf6 9. Ne3 Qc7 10. Bd3 Qe5 11. c3 Bg4 12. h3 Bh5 13. Ne2 Bxe2 14. Bxe2 Bb4 15. cxb4 Qxa1 16. O-O Qd4 17. Nf5 Qxd2 {1/2-1/2 (17) Laduke, M (1941)-Cleto,D (2093) FICGS email 2021}) (8. Bd3 d4 9. Qe2+ Be6 10. Ne4 Bb4+ 11. Bd2 Nf6 12. Nf3 Bxd2+ 13. Qxd2 O-O 14. O-O h6 15. h3 Nd5 16. Rfe1 Qb6 17. Ng3 Rfe8 18. Nh5 Rad8 19. Nf4 Nxf4 20. Qxf4 Nb4 21. Rad1 Nxa2 22. Qe4 g6 23. Qh4 Kg7 24. Bf1 Nc3 25. Rxd4 Rxd4 26. Nxd4 Bd7 27. Rxe8 Bxe8 28. Qf4 Qf6 29. Qe3 Nd5 30. Qd2 Nf4 31. c4 Bd7 32. Qe3 a5 33. Kh2 h5 34. g3 Ne6 35. Nxe6+ Bxe6 36. Bg2 Qb2 37. Bxb7 {0-1 (37) Harika,D (2422)-Matlakov,M (2652) Riga 2021}) ( 8. a3 Nf6 9. Bb2 d4 10. Nce2 Bc5 11. Nf3 O-O 12. Nexd4 Ne4 13. Qd3 Qa5+ 14. b4 Nxb4 15. axb4 Qxb4+ 16. Bc3 Nxc3 17. Be2 Re8 18. O-O Bxd4 19. Nxd4 Qxd4 { 0-1 (19) Yang,K (2481)-Matlakov,M (2674) Chess.com INT 2022}) 8... Qf6 (8... Qe7+ 9. Qe4 Bf5 10. Qxe7+ Ngxe7 11. Bb2 O-O-O {is the computer's recommendation, intending ...Nd4 or ...Nb4.}) 9. Bb2 (9. Qd2 {seems to be better, but I don't know how deeply the players' computer analysis of this position happened to go - if at all. My engine thinks White is clearly better, and doesn't seem to be at all concerned about Black's potential counterplay. So either they're freewheeling it, or they've gone extremely deeply in their preparation.}) 9... Ba3 {This standard trick equalizes.} (9... Bb4 $2 10. Qf3 $18) 10. O-O-O Qxc3 11. Bxa3 Nf6 12. Qc4 (12. Qd6 Bf5 13. Bd3 Rd8 14. Ne2 $8 Qa1+ $8 15. Kd2 Ne4+ 16. Ke3 Nxd6 17. Rxa1 O-O $11) 12... Qa1+ 13. Kd2 Qxa2 14. Re1+ Be6 15. Rxe6+ fxe6 16. Qxe6+ Kd8 17. Qd6+ Ke8 ({It would be amusing if} 17... Kc8 $4 {failed to 18.Ba6, echoing Black's 9th move, but that would lose to 18...Rd8. Instead, White wins with} 18. Bd3 Nd4 19. Ne2 Nxb3+ 20. Ke3 $18 { , leaving Black without a sensible defense to 21.Bf5+.}) (17... Nd7 {is the only move since White's 12.Qc4 by either player that isn't absolutely forced. White is at most slightly better after} 18. Ne2 ({or} 18. Bb5 {.})) 18. Qe6+ Kd8 19. Qd6+ Ke8 1/2-1/2 [Event "SuperUnited Rapid 2022"] [Site "Zagreb CRO"] [Date "2022.07.20"] [Round "3.4"] [White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Black "Saric, Ivan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2754"] [BlackElo "2680"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2022.07.20"] [EventType "rapid"] 1. e4 c5 (1... e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 Nxe4 8. O-O Bxc3 9. d5 Bf6 10. Re1 Ne7 11. Rxe4 d6 12. Bg5 Bxg5 13. Nxg5 O-O (13... h6 $1) 14. Nxh7 Kxh7 15. Qh5+ Kg8 16. Rh4 f5 17. Qh7+ Kf7 18. Rh6 Rg8 19. Re1 Qf8 20. Bb5 $1 {See White's 29th move in the game, and the note to Black's 29th move as well.} Rh8 21. Qxh8 gxh6 22. Qh7+ Kf6 23. Rxe7 Qxe7 24. Qxh6+ Ke5 25. Qe3+ Kf6 26. Qh6+ Kf7 27. Qh7+ Kf8 28. Qh8+ Kf7 29. Qh7+ { Because Black's king can't access e8, it's a draw.}) 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. f3 Be6 9. Qd2 Nbd7 10. g4 O-O 11. g5 Nh5 12. O-O-O b5 13. Kb1 Nb6 14. Na5 Rc8 15. Nd5 Nxd5 16. exd5 Bxd5 17. Qxd5 Qxa5 18. c4 Nf4 19. Bxf4 exf4 20. h4 Qa4 21. Bd3 bxc4 22. Qe4 g6 23. Bc2 Qe8 24. Rde1 Rc7 25. h5 d5 26. Qe5 Qc6 27. hxg6 fxg6 28. Rxh7 ({White can also maintain equality with the prosaic} 28. Rh6 Qd6 29. Bxg6 Qxe5 30. Bxh7+ Kg7 31. Rxe5 Bxg5 32. Rh2 Bf6 33. Rxd5 Rh8 34. Rg2+ Kf8 (34... Kxh7 $4 35. Rh5#) 35. Be4 $11) 28... Kxh7 29. Ba4 {I would love to shower this spectacular move with the verbal equivalent of gold pieces, but it is, alas, just an attractive way to make a draw that could have been achieved by other means.} ({There was again a prosaic alternative:} 29. Rh1+ Kg8 30. Rh6 $8 {Checks on h8 only help Black's king escape to safety.} Bf6 $1 31. gxf6 Rxf6 32. Bxg6 $8 Rxg6 33. Rh8+ Kf7 34. Rh7+ Kf8 $8 35. Rh8+ Kf7 36. Rh7+ $11) 29... Qxa4 (29... Qd6 $4 30. Rh1+ Kg8 31. Rh8+ Kf7 32. Rh7+ {and now we see a key point to Ba4; viz., it prevents Black's king from escaping to e8. For a similar idea from opening theory, see the note to Black's first move.}) 30. Qxc7 Rf7 $8 31. Rh1+ (31. Rxe7 $4 {wins against most of Black's moves. There is one exception.} Qd1#) 31... Kg8 32. Qe5 Rh7 33. Qxd5+ Kg7 34. Qd4+ Kg8 35. Qd5+ Kg7 36. Qe5+ Kf8 37. Qb8+ Kg7 38. Qe5+ Kf8 39. Qb8+ Kg7 40. Qe5+ Kf8 1/2-1/2 [Event "SuperUnited Rapid 2022"] [Site "Zagreb CRO"] [Date "2022.07.20"] [Round "3.5"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2773"] [BlackElo "2678"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "127"] [EventDate "2022.07.20"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,127,29,24,24,24,31,7,7,17,17,7,8,9,15,-42,-4,-48,-17,-1,13,2,42,-1,14, 20,10,15,20,10,32,-5,6,12,12,8,30,5,15,11,12,8,11,9,0,-3,9,0,9,14,14,19,54,14, 34,-2,16,-36,62,67,118,13,25,-33,-74,-74,-29,-16,-3,-17,81,55,62,59,64,60,60, 86,67,63,75,60,62,100,103,103,151,88,88,76,64,78,78,68,92,66,58,3,40,-44,-9, -37,-34,-42,172,179,182,179,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,386,392,415,381, 440,450]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 a6 7. Re1 Ba7 8. a4 h6 9. Nbd2 O-O 10. h3 Re8 11. Qc2 Be6 12. Bxe6 Rxe6 13. b4 Qd7 14. Rb1 Ne7 15. Nf1 Ng6 16. Ng3 Ree8 17. c4 c6 18. c5 Rad8 19. Be3 d5 20. Nf5 Bb8 21. Rbd1 Ne7 22. Ng3 Ng6 23. Nf5 Ne7 24. N3h4 Nxf5 25. Nxf5 Kh7 26. Ng3 Kg8 27. f3 Bc7 28. Qf2 Kh7 29. Nf5 Ng8 30. d4 Ne7 31. Nd6 Bxd6 32. cxd6 exd4 33. Bf4 Ng6 34. Bg3 dxe4 35. Rxe4 Rxe4 36. fxe4 Re8 37. Qxd4 f6 38. b5 axb5 39. axb5 Ne5 40. bxc6 bxc6 41. Qb6 Ng6 42. Qc7 Nf8 43. Rb1 Rc8 44. Qa5 c5 45. Qa6 Qe6 46. Rb7 Nd7 47. Qa7 Rd8 48. Qa5 Qxe4 49. Ra7 Rb8 50. Qd2 Ne5 51. Re7 Rb3 52. Bxe5 fxe5 53. d7 Rd3 54. d8=Q Rxd8 55. Qxd8 Qe3+ 56. Kf1 Qf4+ 57. Ke2 Qe4+ 58. Kd2 Qf4+ 59. Kc3 Qc1+ 60. Kb3 Qb1+ 61. Kc4 Qc2+ $2 (61... Qb4+ $1 62. Kd3 (62. Kd5 $4 {eludes the perpetual, but it's inadvisable due to} Qd4+ $19) 62... Qb1+ {keeps the perpetual going.}) 62. Kb5 {Black runs out of checks, and White's rook in the hand beats Black's two passers in the bush.} c4 63. Qc7 Qxg2 64. Qxe5 1-0 [Event "SuperUnited Rapid 2022"] [Site "Zagreb CRO"] [Date "2022.07.21"] [Round "4.3"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2766"] [BlackElo "2754"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2022.07.20"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,89,30,22,24,44,22,3,45,45,16,-2,9,-4,-16,-2,27,1,43,40,59,55,56,56,51, 34,53,45,62,53,58,44,46,42,61,71,65,65,58,51,51,42,49,32,68,67,66,39,66,54,65, 42,61,33,21,25,33,25,23,13,13,-2,0,0,0,0,-15,0,0,-3,-8,-1,16,0,43,41,50,50,244, 241,295,276,275,280,302,296,296,300,519,523,925,963]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. O-O Be7 8. Nbd2 Bf5 9. Re1 Nxd2 10. Qxd2 Bxd3 11. Qxd3 O-O 12. Re2 Qd7 13. Bf4 Rfe8 14. Rae1 Bf8 15. c3 Rxe2 16. Rxe2 Ne7 17. Ne5 Qf5 18. Qxf5 Nxf5 19. Nd3 c6 20. g4 Nd6 21. Kf1 b6 22. a4 Rc8 23. Ne5 Rc7 24. Nd3 Rc8 25. h4 Nc4 26. Nb4 f6 27. Kg2 Kf7 28. Kf3 Bd6 29. h5 Bxf4 30. Kxf4 a5 31. Nd3 g5+ 32. hxg6+ hxg6 33. g5 Rh8 34. gxf6 Kxf6 35. Kg4 g5 36. f4 gxf4 37. Nxf4 Rg8+ 38. Kf3 {So far, it has been a successful Petroff for Dominguez, in the sense that he equalized and is on the verge of achieving a draw. Alas, it is almost never too late to lose a game (especially one with a short time control), even for a super-GM.} Kf5 $4 (38... Rc8 39. b3 Na3 $11 { It's hard to believe, but Black's knight is fine.}) (38... Kf7 $1 {is simplest, though. Black gets out of the way of Re6+, and allows the knight safe passage to d6. Here the draw would be very likely after, e.g.,} 39. b3 Nd6 40. Re6 Ne4 $1 41. Rxc6 Rg3+ 42. Ke2 Nxc3+ 43. Kd2 Rf3 $11) 39. b3 Na3 40. Re5+ Kf6 41. Re6+ Kf5 42. Rxc6 $18 Nb1 43. Nxd5 Nd2+ 44. Ke3 Rg2 $2 (44... Nxb3 $2 45. Ne7+) (44... Nf1+ $142) 45. Ne7+ {Next up: 46.Rg6+, 47.Rxg2, and 48.Kxd2.} 1-0 [Event "SuperUnited Rapid 2022"] [Site "Zagreb CRO"] [Date "2022.07.21"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D94"] [WhiteElo "2759"] [BlackElo "2864"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "95"] [EventDate "2022.07.20"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,95,30,30,30,-22,26,27,51,53,65,11,30,15,7,26,29,24,9,14,-5,-5,13,0,1, 0,-7,0,33,27,46,4,12,2,24,26,38,31,26,41,7,11,0,7,0,-2,-20,-45,-33,-6,-28,-38, 0,-17,-24,-15,-11,-48,-58,-77,-80,-85,-87,-85,-51,-86,-54,-62,-27,-34,-35,-35, 53,-6,58,72,51,50,50,37,37,60,68,55,77,71,93,69,84,56,167,180,220,242,300,300, 300,220]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. e3 O-O 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Bc4 Nb6 8. Bb3 c5 9. O-O cxd4 10. exd4 Nc6 11. d5 Na5 12. h3 Nxb3 13. axb3 e6 14. d6 Bd7 15. Bf4 Bc6 16. Ne5 Bxe5 17. Bxe5 f6 18. Bg3 Qd7 19. Qd3 Rad8 20. Rad1 Qf7 21. b4 a6 22. Qd4 Na4 23. Nxa4 Bxa4 24. Rd2 e5 25. Qb6 g5 26. Rc1 Bc6 27. f3 Qe6 28. Rxc6 bxc6 29. Qxc6 Rb8 30. Bf2 Rxb4 31. Qxa6 Rd8 32. Qa5 Rbb8 33. Bc5 Qc4 34. d7 Ra8 35. Qc3 Qf7 36. Qd3 {Up to now, Carlsen has been equal or better since early in the opening, but now things start to go wrong.} Rab8 ( 36... Qe6 $11) 37. Qa6 $14 Rxd7 $5 38. Rxd7 Qxd7 39. Qxf6 $14 Re8 (39... h6 40. Qxh6 (40. Bd6 $142 $14) 40... Qf5) 40. Qxg5+ Qg7 41. Qe3 {Objectively, Black is okay. Practically, with rapid time controls, the position is very difficult. White is playing with house money, with no losing chances, while Black must worry about his king, his e-pawn, and White's b-pawn.} e4 $2 42. b4 $2 (42. Bd4 $1 $16) 42... Qg6 $2 43. f4 $1 $16 {Black's e-pawn is going nowhere, and having opened the a1-h8 diagonal for White's bishop is just one more problem to cope with.} Rd8 44. Qe2 (44. Bd4) 44... Rd3 $2 {It looks natural to play this move, encroaching on White's territory and threatening to take on h3. But he missed something.} (44... Qe6) (44... Qf5) 45. Qa2+ $1 Kg7 $2 (45... Qf7 46. Qa8+ Kg7 47. Qxe4 $18) 46. Qa7+ Kg8 (46... Qf7 47. Bd4+ Kf8 48. Qc5+ Qe7 (48... Ke8 49. Qc6+ $18 {and Qxe4.}) 49. Qf5+ Kg8 50. Qd5+ Kf8 51. b5 $18) 47. Qa8+ Kf7 48. g4 {Threatening 49.Qf8+ followed by 50.f5+, winning the queen. Black has too many problems and not enough counterplay.} (48. Qb7+ $1 Ke6 49. g4 { was better.}) 1-0 [Event "SuperUnited Rapid 2022"] [Site "Zagreb CRO"] [Date "2022.07.21"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2766"] [BlackElo "2678"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "56"] [EventDate "2022.07.20"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,56,51,32,50,39,12,22,24,9,12,7,17,2,25,20,9,16,4,2,46,-30,5,-7,16,-12, 69,9,0,-28,-23,0,0,-57,-55,-54,-60,-91,-68,-80,-74,-79,-46,-107,-94,-169,-98, -194,-228,-236,-230,-367,-332,-482,-668,-726,-665,-1132,-1185]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. O-O O-O 6. c3 d5 {The interesting way to play the Giuoco.} 7. exd5 Nxd5 8. Re1 Be6 (8... Bg4 {is standard, when play often continues} 9. h3 Bh5 10. Nbd2 Nb6 11. Bb3 (11. Bb5 {has fallen out of favor, as Black's results after} Bd6 {, intending a speedy ...f5, have been excellent. }) 11... Qxd3 12. Nxe5 Qf5 13. Nef3 Rad8 {and now 14.g4 is probably just drawn after 14...Bxg4, so White generally plays} 14. Qe2 {, when Black either recentralizes his knight with 14...Nd5 or runs away from a possible fork with 14...Qc8.}) 9. a4 (9. Nbd2 {is an important (and very successful) alternative.} ) ({As for greed, is it good? Not here:} 9. Nxe5 $4 Bxf2+ (9... Nxe5 10. Rxe5 Bxf2+ 11. Kh1 Bb6 $19 {is also very good for Black, with a kind of fantasy Marshall Gambit, sans the gambit.}) 10. Kxf2 Nxe5 11. Kg1 (11. Rxe5 $4 Qf6+ $19 ) 11... Qd6 $19) 9... Bb6 $146 10. Na3 (10. Ng5 $142 $14 {suggests itself, as the animistic Platonists might say. It's hard to see anything wrong with it, either.}) 10... h6 (10... f6 $1 {tak@s care of both g5 and e5. The usual danger is that it leaves the Bîe6 unprotected, but the customary "refutation" (when one exists)} 11. d4 {turns out to be harmless here:} Bf7 {and once again greed is not good:} 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Nxe5 $6 fxe5 14. Rxe5 $4 Bxf2+ 15. Kxf2 Qf6+ $19 ({But not} 15... Bh5+ $4 16. Kg1 Bxd1 17. Rxd5 Qe8 18. Re5+ Kh8 19. Rxe8 Raxe8 20. Bd2 $18 {As usual, the textbook equation of rook + pawn = bishop + knight is wrong. The two minor pieces are generally superior - significantly so - and this is another such case.})) 11. Bb3 (11. Bb5 $1 $14) 11... Re8 12. Nc4 (12. h3) 12... Nf6 13. Be3 (13. Nfxe5 $2 {still fails:} Bxf2+ 14. Kxf2 Nxe5 15. Nxe5 Bxb3 16. Qxb3 Rxe5 17. Rxe5 Ng4+ 18. Ke2 $8 Nxe5 19. d4 $8 Nc6 $17) 13... Bxe3 14. Rxe3 Nd5 $11 15. Re1 (15. Re4 $142) 15... Nf4 $15 16. Re3 Qf6 17. Nfd2 $2 (17. Qf1 $142 {was better, shoring up g2 and clearing the way for the a1-rook.}) 17... Rad8 18. Bc2 Bd5 $19 19. Rg3 Ne7 $1 {It's shocking to see Nepomniachtchi get so badly outplayed, especially when he has the white pieces. But he's clearly lost here, with Black's pieces all running over to White's king, while White's disjointed army tries to coordinate.} 20. Ne3 Nf5 ({There was nothing wrong with keeping the bishop, but also nothing wrong with VF's move.} 20... Bc6) 21. Nxf5 (21. Nxd5) 21... Qxf5 22. c4 $2 { This feels like a mistake, as if Nepo is forcing Van Foreest to finish him off. And that's probably true. The problem is that White is short on good ideas, so all he can do is pick his poison, hoping to find a line that forces Black to find an unobvious good move or to dodge a trick.} (22. Qf1) 22... Bxg2 23. Rxg2 $2 (23. d4 $142) 23... Nxg2 24. Kxg2 e4 {White is dead here.} 25. Bb1 (25. Nxe4 Rxe4 26. dxe4 {leaves Black the pleasant choice of taking on d1 and then a1 or winning the queen for his rook.} Rxd1 (26... Qg5+ 27. Kf1 Rxd1+ 28. Rxd1 Kf8 $19) 27. exf5 Rxa1 $19) (25. dxe4 $2 Qg5+ {and ...Rxd2 makes this line pointless for White.}) 25... exd3 26. h3 Qg5+ 27. Kf1 Re2 28. Nf3 Qc5 {White must surrender his queen to stop ...Qxf2#, and he won't get enough for the lady.} 0-1