[Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.14"] [Round "3.1"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Shankland, Sam"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "2756"] [BlackElo "2654"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "2004887"] [PlyCount "75"] [GameId "2233118609012098"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. h4 h5 5. c4 e6 6. Nc3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 Nd7 {If you're not familiar with this line it may look terrific for Black. It looks like Black can unshakeably blockade the d5 square, and what is White going to do? Fortunately, chess is more complicated than the old Nimzowitschian formula restrict-blockade-destroy, and White has his trumps as well.} 8. Nge2 Be7 {A nice finesse, aiming to take g3 away from White's knight. In fact White can and often does play Ng3 anyway, but the move in the game is quite standard as well.} 9. g3 Nh6 10. Bf4 Qb6 (10... Nb6 11. Bb3 Qd7 12. O-O Bg6 13. Qd2 Nf5 14. Rad1 $14 {is slightly better for White. Black has a couple of terrific light squares under his control, d5 and f5, but White will have his own grip over dark squares like c5, g5, and ideally d6. He'll play Bg5, aim to swap off Black's dark-squared bishop, and then a knight (e.g. on e4) will have several attractive squares to choose from.}) 11. O-O O-O-O $146 {A questionable novelty. In the past Black has preferred to put the rook on d8 without the king hopping to c8, and this seems safer for his majesty's well-being.} (11... Rd8 12. Qc1 (12. Rc1 $5 $146) 12... a6 13. Bb3 Ng4 14. Bg5 Bxg5 $1 $146 15. Qxg5 O-O $11) 12. a3 $14 Kb8 $6 (12... Bh3 $142 13. b4 $1 (13. Re1 Nf5 14. d5 $1 cxd5 15. Bd3 Nc5 $1 16. Bxf5 Bxf5 17. Nd4 $44) 13... Bxf1 14. Kxf1 $14 {White's queenside play is very dangerous, and Black should probably return material as soon as possible to break White's initiative. A possible line:} Ng4 15. f3 (15. Qb3) 15... Ngxe5 $1 16. dxe5 Nxe5 17. Qb3 Nd3 18. Bxd3 Rxd3 19. Kg2 Bf6 20. Qc4 Bxc3 21. Nxc3 Rhd8 22. Ne4 Qd4 23. Qxd4 R3xd4 24. Be3 {White's position is slightly preferable, but Black should probably manage to hold.}) 13. b4 $14 {/? Black is already in some trouble.} Ka8 {Black has spent three tempi on queenside castling and burying the king in the corner, and it's far from clear that it's safe there.} (13... Rc8 $142) 14. b5 $16 Ng4 (14... cxb5 $142 15. Bxb5 Ng4) 15. a4 (15. Na4 $1) 15... Qa5 16. bxc6 bxc6 17. Qc1 Rb8 18. Rd1 Rhd8 19. Ba2 Nb6 $2 (19... Bb4 $16 {was better, avoiding White's next.}) 20. Bg5 $1 $18 {If the bishops come off Black's dark-squared weaknesses will be a huge problem; if they don't (because he plays ...f6), then the e6-pawn will be the problem.} f6 21. exf6 Nxf6 22. Nf4 e5 (22... Nbd5 $2 {loses the e-pawn all the same:} 23. Ncxd5 cxd5 24. Qc6+ Rb7 25. Nxe6 $18) 23. Ne6 Bxe6 24. Bxe6 Rxd4 (24... exd4 {was better, though not fully satisfactory.} 25. Ne4 $1 c5 (25... Nxe4 $2 26. Qxc6+ Rb7 27. Bxe7 $18) 26. Nxf6 gxf6 27. Bd2 Qa6 28. Bh3 {Black has desperate problems everywhere.} Nd5 29. Bg2 Qc6 30. Qc4 Rd7 31. Rab1 a6 32. Rxb8+ Kxb8 33. Bf4+ Ka7 34. Rxd4 $18 {offers a small sample of the miseries facing Black.}) 25. Rxd4 (25. Bxf6 $142 gxf6 26. Rxd4 exd4 27. Nb5 $1 Kb7 28. Qf4 $1 cxb5 29. Qe4+ Kc7 30. Rc1+ Kd8 31. Qc6 $18) 25... exd4 26. Ne2 (26. Bxf6 $142 $1) 26... Qc5 {White's last two moves have slightly shrunk his advantage, and now he must be accurate to keep a winning plus. So rises to the challenge.} 27. a5 $1 Nbd5 28. Nxd4 $1 Nc3 (28... Qxd4 $2 29. Qxc6+ Rb7 30. Bxf6 Nxf6 (30... gxf6 31. a6 $18) (30... Nb4 31. Qc8+ Rb8 32. Qxb8+ Kxb8 33. Bxd4 $18) 31. Rb1 $18) 29. Be3 $1 Rd8 (29... Qxd4 30. Bxd4 Ne2+ 31. Kg2 Nxc1 32. Rxc1 $18 {Black has managed to get rid of the queens, and yet his position is still bereft of hope. The c-pawn is a goner, and its exchange won't liberate his position into something where he'll have legitimate drawing hopes.}) 30. Qf1 $1 Nfd5 (30... Rxd4 31. Qa6 $1 Bd6 (31... Ne2+ 32. Qxe2 $18) 32. Rb1 $1 {Not the only winning move, just the nicest.} Nxb1 33. Bxd4 Qc1+ (33... Qxd4 34. Qc8+ (34. Qxc6+ Kb8 35. Qc8#) 34... Bb8 35. Qxc6#) 34. Kg2 Bb8 35. Bc8 {mates.}) 31. Bxd5 Qxd5 (31... Nxd5 32. Rb1 $1 Nxe3 33. Qa6 Rb8 34. Rxb8+ Kxb8 35. Nxc6+ Kc7 36. Nxe7 Ng4 37. Qc8+ Kd6 38. Nf5+ Kd5 39. Qxc5+ Kxc5 40. Nxg7 $18) 32. Qa6 {Threatening to move the knight and thereby threaten mate on a7 (thanks to the bishop's help).} Bc5 33. Nxc6 Bxe3 34. Nxd8 {Threatening Qc8#.} Bxf2+ 35. Kxf2 Qf5+ 36. Kg1 Qc5+ 37. Kg2 Qd5+ 38. Kh2 {I believe Shankland lost on time here, but the position is gone in any case.} (38. Kh2 Qd2+ 39. Kh3 Qd7+ 40. Qe6 Qxd8 41. Qc6+ Kb8 42. Qxc3 Qd7+ 43. Kh2 {Black has no (good) checks and is simply down a rook for nothing.}) 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.14"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Liang, Awonder"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B22"] [WhiteElo "2710"] [BlackElo "2789"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "72"] [GameId "2233118609012099"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,72,15,22,22,3,19,0,10,7,13,12,-17,13,14,16,21,26,18,4,-4,-40,-4,-25,-18,-41,-38,-7,34,8,12,28,19,79,20,33,63,26,30,23,17,7,48,90,93,21,30,35,16,9,1,4,9,6,-1,60,42,32,38,33,29,38,43,25,30,14,18,12,13,14,12,14,21,18,21]} 1. e4 c5 2. c3 Nf6 3. e5 Nd5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. d4 cxd4 6. cxd4 d6 7. Bc4 Nb6 8. Bb5 dxe5 9. Nxe5 Bd7 10. Nc3 (10. Nxd7 {is far more popular, and thus also far less likely to surprise Black.} Qxd7 11. Nc3 e6 12. O-O {etc.}) 10... Nxe5 11. dxe5 Bxb5 12. Nxb5 Qxd1+ 13. Kxd1 Nd5 14. Ke2 a6 15. Nc3 (15. Rd1 {is far more common.} O-O-O 16. Nd4 (16. Nd6+ exd6 17. Rxd5 dxe5 18. Rxe5 Bd6 $11) 16... e6 17. Bg5 Rd7 18. Rac1+ Kb8 $11 {There doesn't seem to be anything for White to do with his temporary lead in development.}) 15... Nxc3+ 16. bxc3 e6 (16... O-O-O {is usual, and now White (always one K. Amann - no one else has had this position with White) has always played 17.Be3. Perhaps Caruana was mildly concerned about 17.e6, and thus chose the move order in the game.}) 17. Be3 (17. Rd1 {prevents long castling, but doesn't offer any advantage after} Rc8 18. Rb1 Rc7 $11 {followed by ...Bc5.}) 17... O-O-O {Black has no problems here, and the game looks likely to glide into the drawing harbor - as have previous games to reach this position.} 18. c4 (18. Bb6 Rd7 19. Rhd1 Be7 20. a4 Rxd1 21. Rxd1 Bd8 22. Bd4 Kc7 23. Ke3 {½-½ Amann,K (2106)-Vujadinovic,M (2050) LSS RM-2008-0-00009 LSS email}) (18. Rhd1 Be7 19. Bd4 Rd7 {½-½ Amann,K (2041)-Kosulin,V (2174) IECG WC-2011.P.00015 email IECG email 2007}) 18... Be7 $146 (18... Bb4 19. Rab1 Bc3 20. f4 Rd7 21. Rb3 {½-½ Amann,K (1992)-White,K (2300) IECG CP.2002.Q.00013 email IECG email 2003}) 19. Bb6 Rd7 20. Rhd1 f6 21. Rab1 fxe5 22. Rxd7 Kxd7 23. Be3 Kc7 24. Rb6 Rc8 25. Rxe6 Kd7 26. Rb6 Rxc4 27. Rxb7+ Rc7 28. Rxc7+ Kxc7 29. Kd3 Kd6 30. Ke4 Ke6 31. Bd2 g6 32. Bc3 Bd6 33. Bb2 Bc7 34. Bc3 Bd6 35. Bb2 Bc7 36. Bc3 Bd6 {Scintillating. Snark aside, this often happens: the player with White finds a small idea or chooses a slightly offbeat line. If Black is unfamiliar with the idea and/or fails to work out the details, White gets a little something, but if Black has done his homework or figures things out at the board, then things dry up.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.14"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Swiercz, Dariusz"] [Black "Mishra, Abhimanyu"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E28"] [WhiteElo "2577"] [BlackElo "2652"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "107"] [GameId "2233118609012100"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. d4 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 d6 7. Ne2 Nfd7 8. Ng3 Nc6 9. Bd3 f5 10. O-O Na5 11. Re1 Qh4 12. f4 Nf6 13. Ra2 b6 14. e4 Ng4 15. Nf1 Ba6 16. exf5 exf5 17. h3 Nf6 18. Bxf5 Bxc4 19. Rf2 Rae8 20. Rxe8 Rxe8 21. Ne3 Bf7 22. Bc2 Nc4 23. Nf5 Qh5 24. Qf1 Bd5 25. Ng3 Qf7 26. Re2 b5 27. Qe1 Kf8 28. Nf5 Rxe2 29. Qxe2 Qe6 30. Qxe6 Bxe6 31. Ne3 Nxe3 32. Bxe3 g6 33. g4 Kf7 34. Kf2 a5 35. Kg3 a4 36. Bd3 Bc4 37. Bc2 Bb3 38. Bd3 Bc4 39. Bc2 Bd5 40. Bd3 c6 41. Kh4 Kg7 42. g5 Ne4 43. Bxe4 Bxe4 44. f5 Bxf5 45. Bf4 d5 46. Kg3 Kf7 47. Bd6 Ke6 48. Bb4 Be4 49. Kf4 Bf5 50. h4 Be4 51. Kg4 Bf5+ 52. Kf4 Be4 53. Kg4 Bf5+ 54. Kf4 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.14"] [Round "3.4"] [White "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Black "Robson, Ray"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2738"] [BlackElo "2664"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "81"] [GameId "2233118609012101"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. Re1 Re8 9. c4 c6 10. Nc3 Nxc3 11. bxc3 Rxe1+ 12. Qxe1 h6 13. c5 Bc7 14. Ne5 Nd7 15. Bf4 Nxe5 16. Bxe5 Bd7 17. Rb1 b6 18. Qe3 bxc5 19. dxc5 Rb8 20. Rb4 a5 21. Rxb8 Qxb8 22. Bxc7 Qxc7 23. Qe7 Qc8 24. h3 Bf5 25. Bxf5 Qxf5 26. Qe8+ Kh7 27. Qxc6 Qb1+ 28. Kh2 Qxa2 29. Qd6 Qc4 30. c6 a4 31. c7 a3 32. Qxa3 Qxc7+ 33. Kg1 Qe5 34. Qc1 g6 35. Qd2 Kg7 36. Kf1 h5 37. Qd3 Kf6 38. Qf3+ Kg7 39. Qd3 Kf6 40. Qf3+ Kg7 41. Qd3 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.14"] [Round "3.5"] [White "Woodward, Andy"] [Black "Oparin, Grigoriy"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D30"] [WhiteElo "2590"] [BlackElo "2661"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "94"] [GameId "2233118609012102"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,94,21,4,20,20,18,18,18,8,32,25,31,35,37,25,-34,27,-34,21,24,-2,40,32,30,-23,47,-61,16,31,21,40,55,92,33,37,48,27,37,33,2,36,42,35,32,77,11,14,3,-21,53,-7,13,-28,41,-19,-27,-18,-31,-27,38,-30,-41,-53,-149,-135,-199,-227,-174,-176,-288,-169,-239,-261,-146,-280,-328,-377,-374,-305,-276,-345,-200,-359,-434,-457,-624,-1153,-322,-363,-374,-330,-351,-399,-370,-518,-378]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 Bd6 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O h6 7. b3 b6 8. Bb2 Bb7 9. Nc3 Nbd7 10. Rc1 Re8 11. Nd2 Bb4 12. a3 Bf8 13. e4 dxe4 14. Ndxe4 Nxe4 15. Nxe4 Rb8 16. Re1 Nf6 17. Nxf6+ Qxf6 18. Bxb7 Rxb7 {It may seem as if nothing has or is happening. It's true that this isn't a barn-burner of a game, but positions like this can arise through a number of openings, including the French and the Caro-Kann. (Yes, there's no pawn on c6, but don't worry, it will get there. The relevant elements are the swap of Black's d-pawn for White's e-pawn and White's pawns on c4 and d4, with Black's pawns on c6 [stay tuned!] and e6 typically in place as well.) If White can use the e5 square or can play d5 under favorable conditions, or if his temporary space advantage can be used (e.g.) to build up an attack, White can be better. But if it's a situation where there's no attack and Black is not meaningfully cramped, then Black can be better by piling up on the exposed pawn on d4.} 19. Qc2 Qd8 20. Qe4 Rb8 21. b4 a6 22. Bc3 Qd7 23. Qc2 c6 24. Bd2 Ra8 25. Rcd1 b5 26. Bc3 Red8 {Note that White's d-pawn is starting to look a little unhappy, and the d5 square may well turn out to be a nice asset for Black. Another salient issue is the relative value of the bishops. White's is largely locked in by its own pawns, while Black's can take aim at those same pawns. A draw is still the likeliest and most appropriate result, but if anyone is going to have fun here it's Black.} 27. Qa2 Qb7 28. a4 g6 29. Ra1 Bg7 30. Red1 h5 31. h4 a5 32. Qb1 $4 {White's position was a little uncomfortable, but this is just a blunder.} (32. Qb3) 32... bxc4 $19 33. b5 (33. bxa5 Qxb1 34. Raxb1 c5 $19 {is the real problem and presumably what Woodward missed. Black will not just have a doubled extra pawn but two connected passers on White's half of the board.}) 33... c5 34. Qb2 Qf3 35. Rac1 {Defending c3, but the problem with this is that White remains pinned - he can't play dxc5 because the rook on d1 is loose - and even if it wasn't Black would take on d1 and then on c3. So because White is stuck Black has time to keep building pressure on d4.} Rd5 $1 36. b6 Rb8 37. Rd2 cxd4 38. Rxd4 (38. Bxd4 Rxd4 $1 39. Rxd4 c3 $1 40. Rxc3 Bxd4 41. Rxf3 Bxb2 $19) 38... Bxd4 39. Bxd4 {As long as Black doesn't fall asleep and allow something like Bh8 followed by Qg7# he can't help but win.} Qb3 (39... e5 $1 40. Bxe5 Rbd8 41. Re1 Rd2 $19) 40. Qa1 Rbd8 (40... Qf3 $1) 41. Bf6 Rd1+ 42. Kg2 c3 $1 43. Bxc3 R8d3 (43... Qd5+ $1) 44. Be1 Rxc1 45. Qxc1 Qxb6 46. Qc8+ Qd8 47. Qa6 Rd1 0-1 [Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.14"] [Round "3.6"] [White "Sevian, Samuel"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E20"] [WhiteElo "2698"] [BlackElo "2722"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "88"] [GameId "2233118609012103"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,88,18,24,24,-22,27,12,7,12,18,5,31,5,17,15,23,2,13,0,1,0,4,48,16,15,57,49,54,54,57,173,54,47,55,48,72,77,57,68,58,65,74,35,-1,18,25,11,-35,11,-9,8,82,172,99,68,73,76,59,61,60,67,95,60,34,44,52,53,42,41,46,40,66,44,51,24,145,-6,40,-13,-17,27,0,7,1,9,18,1,10,13,12]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. g3 c5 5. dxc5 Ne4 6. Qd4 Qf6 7. Qxf6 gxf6 8. Bg2 Nxc3 9. Bd2 Na6 10. a3 Ba5 11. b4 Na4 $15 {I'm sure Dr. Tarrasch would have approved of Black's position - especially the handling of the minor pieces. Funny enough, Black is better here.} 12. bxa5 N4xc5 $2 $14 {Now White is better, though it's nothing serious yet.} (12... N6xc5 $142) 13. Rb1 d6 14. Nf3 e5 15. O-O Be6 16. Rfc1 Rb8 17. Nh4 b6 $6 {Tempting, but this makes the b-pawn more of a target, not less.} 18. axb6 Rxb6 19. Rxb6 axb6 20. Rb1 $16 Nd7 21. Bc6 $2 (21. e4 $1) 21... Kd8 $11 22. Bd5 Nac5 23. f3 f5 24. Rf1 Kc7 25. f4 Nf6 (25... Rd8) 26. fxe5 dxe5 27. Bc3 Ncd7 28. Bg2 f4 $1 29. gxf4 Rg8 30. fxe5 Ne4 31. Be1 Nxe5 32. Rf4 Nd6 33. Bg3 Nexc4 34. Rd4 Rg5 35. a4 Kd7 36. Nf3 Rd5 37. h4 Nf5 38. Rxd5+ Bxd5 39. Bh3 Be6 40. Bf2 h6 41. Bg2 Nce3 42. Bh3 Nc4 43. Bg2 Nce3 44. Bh3 Nc4 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.14"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Paikidze, Nazi"] [Black "Abrahamyan, Tatev"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E71"] [WhiteElo "2297"] [BlackElo "2406"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "63"] [GameId "2233118672520592"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,63,23,4,27,24,37,2,45,37,44,32,66,-6,41,28,11,4,2,17,18,-3,16,36,24,-10,33,35,55,68,75,32,69,35,66,67,-43,31,-120,54,-39,69,126,143,231,303,392,77,568,309,409,338,427,478,609,648,550,646,579,734,609,1091,29991,29992,29999,29999]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. h3 e5 6. d5 a5 7. Be3 Na6 8. g4 h5 9. g5 Nd7 10. h4 O-O 11. Nge2 Ndc5 12. Ng3 Bg4 13. Be2 Bxe2 14. Qxe2 $14 a4 15. O-O (15. O-O-O $14 {looks scarier, but since White's attack is more potent it's better to leave the kingside files open for her rooks.}) 15... a3 16. b3 (16. bxa3 $5) 16... c6 $2 (16... Nb4 $11 {is the argument for 16.bxa3: the knight doesn't get here, and there are no long-term worries about Black's a-pawn since it won't exist.}) 17. Kh2 $16 (17. Rad1 $16 {more pointedly highlights the problem with 16...c6.}) 17... Qa5 18. Bd2 (18. Rac1) 18... Nb4 19. Nd1 $1 $18 {A nice move, not only pinning the b4-knight but sending her c3-knight to the glorious f5 square.} Qb6 20. Ne3 f6 $2 {This makes things worse - and they were already bad enough.} 21. Nef5 $1 {Of course this was the point of the last two moves, but we'll throw in another exclamation point all the same. (We have to close out our 2025 inventory to make room for the shiny new 2026 exclamation points.) Black's kingside is little more than a collection of weaknesses under the dubious oversight of its monarch, while most of the army is in quixotic pursuit of queenside counterplay. (Do I win a Cyrus Lakdawala award for purple prose and corny humor?)} gxf5 22. g6 $1 {Burying the Black king. The obvious and very immediate threat is Qxh5 intending Qh7#.} f4 23. Nf5 (23. Qxh5 {also wins, but there's no need to sac the second knight.} fxg3+ 24. fxg3 Bh6 $1 (24... Rfe8 25. Qh7+ Kf8 26. Rxf6+ $1 Ke7 (26... Bxf6 27. Qf7#) 27. Qxg7+ Kd8 28. Raf1 $18) 25. Qxh6 Qc7 26. Bxb4 $18 {gives White two extra pawns to go with her attack.}) 23... Rfd8 24. Qxh5 Qc7 25. Qh7+ Kf8 26. Bxb4 {Here White has a smaller material advantage (for now) than at the end of the 23.Qxh5 line, but a more serious attack.} Nxe4 27. Nh6 $1 Ke8 28. Rae1 Nc5 29. Nf5 Kf8 30. h5 Qd7 31. h6 {Forcing mate. Abrahamyan decides, sportingly, to make the mate as quick as possible.} Bxh6 32. Qh8# 1-0 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.14"] [Round "3.4"] [White "Cervantes Landeiro, Thalia"] [Black "Pourkashiyan, Atousa"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2311"] [BlackElo "2291"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "93"] [GameId "2233118672561555"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. e3 Bf5 7. Qf3 Bg6 8. Bxf6 Qxf6 9. Qxf6 gxf6 10. h4 h5 11. Nh3 Bd6 12. g3 Nd7 13. Nf4 Nb6 14. f3 Nc8 15. Kf2 Ne7 16. Bh3 Kf8 17. e4 dxe4 18. fxe4 c5 19. d5 Be5 20. Kf3 Rd8 21. Rad1 Rg8 22. Rhe1 Nc8 23. Nd3 b6 24. Nxe5 fxe5 25. Bxc8 Rxc8 26. Nb5 Ke7 27. a4 Kd7 28. Nxa7 Ra8 29. Nc6 Kd6 30. Ra1 f6 31. a5 Be8 32. axb6 Bxc6 33. dxc6 Kxc6 34. Rxa8 Rxa8 35. g4 hxg4+ 36. Kxg4 Kxb6 37. Kf5 Ra2 38. Rb1 c4 39. h5 Kc5 40. h6 Ra8 41. h7 Kd4 42. Rh1 Rh8 43. Rh3 Kc5 44. Kxf6 Kd4 45. Kg7 Rxh7+ 46. Rxh7 Kxe4 47. Kf6 1-0 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.14"] [Round "3.5"] [White "Krush, Irina"] [Black "Atwell, Rose"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A15"] [WhiteElo "2388"] [BlackElo "2353"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "119"] [GameId "2233118672561556"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,119,16,1,20,16,18,0,36,10,6,4,23,9,12,-25,13,13,31,31,58,38,25,43,67,30,-33,26,23,29,12,31,29,26,62,21,61,53,54,56,61,50,55,41,24,33,67,53,11,43,39,52,63,63,67,152,-29,100,79,109,131,133,125,-1,130,145,133,204,227,83,245,-27,264,31,329,147,280,298,398,470,231,315,64,291,152,308,151,281,294,338,326,321,346,349,351,353,364,352,355,228,362,372,402,363,344,422,460,424,496,536,649,670,644,690,717,608,707,646,619,507,669,571] The 85-time champ (ok, just - "just"!? - 8-time champ) continues her comeback after a defeat in round 1.} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. b3 d5 4. Bb2 b6 5. cxd5 exd5 6. g3 Bb7 7. Bg2 Nbd7 8. O-O a6 9. Nc3 Bd6 10. Nh4 O-O 11. Nf5 Bc5 12. d4 Bb4 13. a3 Bxc3 14. Bxc3 Re8 15. Rc1 Nf8 16. Bb2 g6 17. Nh4 Qe7 18. e3 Ne6 19. Nf3 a5 20. Ne5 c5 21. Nf3 Ne4 22. Re1 Rac8 23. dxc5 bxc5 24. Nd2 Nxd2 25. Qxd2 d4 26. exd4 Bxg2 27. Kxg2 cxd4 28. Rxc8 Qb7+ 29. Kg1 Qxc8 30. Qxa5 Rd8 31. h4 Rd6 32. Rc1 Qd7 33. b4 Rd5 34. Qa8+ Kg7 35. Qc6 Qd8 36. b5 Kh6 37. a4 d3 38. Bf6 Qd7 39. Qxd7 Rxd7 40. Kf1 d2 41. Rd1 Ra7 42. Rxd2 Rxa4 43. Rb2 Nc5 44. b6 Nb7 45. Ke2 Re4+ 46. Kd3 Nc5+ 47. Kd2 Re8 48. f3 Nb7 49. g4 Re6 50. Bd4 f5 51. Rc2 fxg4 52. fxg4 Rd6 53. Ke3 Re6+ 54. Kf3 g5 55. Rc7 gxh4 56. Rxb7 Re1 57. Bf2 Rf1 58. Kg2 Rb1 59. Bxh4 Kg6 60. Rb8 1-0 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.14"] [Round "3.6"] [White "Paragua, Megan Althea"] [Black "Lee, Alice"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A48"] [WhiteElo "2259"] [BlackElo "2409"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "96"] [GameId "2233118672561557"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,96,23,23,14,14,35,13,12,18,-31,5,26,-4,37,-24,-8,-24,-19,-14,-24,-10,-10,-6,-15,-7,20,-6,-21,0,13,-21,-52,-30,-9,23,-48,-57,-55,-141,-73,-84,-71,-219,-99,-115,-123,-107,-114,-121,-122,-185,-247,-156,-146,-171,-141,-160,-177,-172,-150,-262,-71,-226,-198,-57,-221,-129,-195,-290,-283,-283,-307,-335,-310,-347,-341,-399,-259,-374,-449,-523,-442,-502,-537,-687,-482,-525,-472,-413,-557,-464,-592,-738,-487,-793,-427,-827,-768]} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. d4 g6 3. e3 Bg7 4. Be2 O-O 5. O-O d5 6. b3 c5 7. Bb2 cxd4 8. exd4 Nc6 9. Nbd2 Bf5 10. c3 {This sort of opening appeal much to me from White's point of view, but objectively it's not bad. It does seem more challenging to play for White, however, and I'm not surprised that within 10 moves White's position is already lost.} Rc8 11. Re1 Rc7 12. Nf1 h5 13. Ng3 {"Improving" the knight that was on d2.} Bc8 14. Bc1 {Reasonable, but then why b3 and Bb2?} Qd6 15. Bd3 {Okay, but then why not 4.Bd3?} Bg4 16. a4 $6 {Again, it's easy to understand the move, but then why 14.Bc1?} h4 17. Ba3 Qd7 18. Nf1 h3 $17 19. g3 $2 $19 {Bad, but the least outwardly "ugly" option.} Bh6 20. Bc1 {Walking into a tactic, but White's position was already awful.} Bxc1 21. Rxc1 Nxd4 $1 22. cxd4 Rxc1 23. Qxc1 Bxf3 24. Qe3 Be4 25. Bxe4 dxe4 {Returning the pawn, but there's so much wrong with White's position that this isn't at all charitable on Black's part.} 26. Nd2 Rc8 27. Nxe4 Nxe4 28. Qxe4 Rc3 $1 29. Rb1 Qc8 30. Qe1 Qf5 $1 31. Qf1 (31. Qxc3 Qxb1+) 31... g5 32. Re1 g4 33. Rxe7 Qf3 {Threatening ...Rc1 (to play ...Qg2#).} 34. Re8+ Kg7 35. Re1 Rxb3 36. Rd1 Rb2 {Now the threat is 37...Rxf2.} 37. Re1 Rd2 38. a5 Rxd4 39. Rb1 Ra4 40. Re1 Rxa5 {That's two extra pawns, and White's position remains irreparable. Unless one of the players was in desperate time trouble at this point it would have been a good moment for White to resign.} 41. Re3 Qd5 42. Re2 Kf8 43. Re1 Qf3 44. Rd1 Ra2 45. Rd8+ Kg7 46. Re8 {Black can't play 46...Ra1?? because White takes the rook with check, but after} Rb2 {Black *does* threaten to move her rook to the first rank.} 47. Re1 {White's pieces are all stuck, so Black can just push her passers until one's a queen.} a5 48. Ra1 b5 0-1