[Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.07"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Mamedov, Rauf"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B22"] [WhiteElo "2636"] [BlackElo "2779"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "74"] [EventDate "2023.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c3 d5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. d4 Nf6 6. Na3 a6 7. Nc4 Nbd7 8. Be2 b5 9. Na5 Bd6 10. c4 bxc4 11. Nxc4 O-O 12. O-O Bb7 13. Nxd6 Qxd6 14. dxc5 Qxc5 15. Be3 Qe7 16. Qa4 h6 17. Rac1 Nd5 18. Bd2 a5 19. Rfe1 Rfb8 20. Bb5 N5f6 21. Nd4 Qd6 22. Bxd7 Nxd7 23. Nb3 Qd5 24. f3 Ne5 25. Re3 Nd3 26. Rc7 Ba6 27. Qg4 a4 28. Bc3 Qg5 29. Qxg5 hxg5 30. Nc5 Nxb2 {The game has been and still is complicated, and all three results are possible. Here White has two good moves, one of them chosen by Mamedov.} 31. Re5 (31. Rxe6 $1 {was the alternative.} Nd3 $11 (31... Nd1 32. Bd4 Rd8 33. Re4 Bb5 34. Ne6 $1 Rac8 $1 $11) (31... fxe6 $2 32. Rxg7+ Kh8 (32... Kf8 $2 33. Nd7+ (33. Nxe6+ Ke8 34. Bf6 Rb7 35. Rg8+ Kf7 36. Rxa8 $18 {isn't as good, but it also wins.}) 33... Ke8 34. Nxb8 $18) 33. Rxg5+ Kh7 34. Rg7+ Kh8 (34... Kh6 $2 35. Nxe6 $18 {is even worse for Black.}) 35. Nxa6 $18)) 31... Nd1 32. Bd4 Rb1 33. Rxg5 $4 {White's pieces look great. Unfortunately, they're also forkable, as we'll see.} (33. Re1 $11) 33... Nc3+ 34. Kf2 Rf1+ 35. Kg3 (35. Ke3 Nd5+ $19) 35... Ne2+ 36. Kh3 Nxd4 $19 37. Rd7 Nf5 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.07"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Abasov, Nijat"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A34"] [WhiteElo "2775"] [BlackElo "2632"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "92"] [EventDate "2023.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] 1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nc7 7. O-O e5 8. a3 Rb8 9. Rb1 f6 10. d3 Be6 11. Be3 Qd7 12. Rc1 Be7 13. Ne4 b6 14. b4 Nd5 15. bxc5 Nxe3 16. fxe3 O-O 17. cxb6 axb6 18. Rc3 Rfc8 19. d4 exd4 20. exd4 Na5 21. d5 Qxd5 22. Nd4 Rxc3 23. Nxc3 Qxd4+ 24. Qxd4 Bc5 25. e3 Bxd4 26. exd4 Rc8 27. Re1 Rxc3 28. Rxe6 Rc1+ (28... Rxa3 $11 {should draw without any headaches.}) 29. Kf2 Rc2+ 30. Re2 Rxe2+ 31. Kxe2 {This should also be drawn. Nevertheless, in a B vs. N ending I'd prefer a situation where all the pawns are on the same flank or close to it if I've got the N.} Kf8 32. Kd3 Ke7 33. Kc3 Kd6 34. Kb4 Nc6+ $6 (34... f5 35. Kb5 Kc7 36. a4 g5 $11 {seems more sensible to me.}) 35. Kb5 Nxd4+ $2 (35... Na5 $142) 36. Kxb6 {Black "only" needs to give up his knight for the a-pawn and then give up as many pawns as necessary to get rid of White's g-pawn, as he can draw with his bare king on h8 against White's king, bishop and h-pawn. But it's not as easy to accomplish this as he might hope - as we'll see.} f5 37. a4 Nb3 {Otherwise the knight will have a very hard time giving itself up for the a-pawn.} 38. Kb5 $1 g5 39. Kc4 $2 (39. Kb4 $142) 39... Nc5 $2 (39... Nd2+) 40. a5 $18 h5 $2 (40... Na6 $142) 41. h4 $1 g4 (41... gxh4 42. gxh4 {is not "mission accomplished for Black. White will go Bf3xh5, and without the king's help Black's knight won't be able to defend against White's a-pawn by itself.}) 42. Bd5 Nd7 43. Kd4 Nc5 44. Bf7 f4 45. gxf4 g3 46. Ke3 Nd3 {I guess Black either lost on time here, or gave up without waiting for White to find the only (but sufficient) move 47.Kf3. With this win, Giri seemed assured of entry to the fourth round, but Abasov proved remarkably resilient.} 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.07"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Santos Latasa, Jaime"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2747"] [BlackElo "2656"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2023.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. Nc3 h6 6. h3 a6 7. a4 d6 8. Be3 Bxe3 9. fxe3 Be6 10. Nd2 O-O 11. O-O Bxc4 12. Nxc4 d5 13. exd5 Nxd5 14. Qh5 Nxc3 15. bxc3 Qd5 16. Rf3 b5 17. Rg3 Qe6 18. Nd2 Ne7 19. c4 bxc4 20. Nxc4 e4 21. Qa5 Nf5 22. Rg4 exd3 23. cxd3 Nxe3 24. Re1 Nxc4 25. Rxc4 Qd6 26. Qc3 Rfe8 27. Rxe8+ Rxe8 28. Rxc7 Re6 29. d4 Re4 30. Rc6 Qf4 31. Rxa6 Rxd4 {White's a-pawn is under fire and his king is a bit weak. With correct play, White should hold. What would you do?} 32. Ra8+ {Not a bad move in itself, but the idea behind it will cost White the game.} (32. Qe1 {is a good idea, safeguarding the king and indirectly defending the a-pawn (32...Rxa4?? loses the rook after 33.Qe8+).}) 32... Kh7 33. Qc2+ $2 (33. Qf3 $1 $11 Rxa4 34. Rxa4 Qxa4 35. Qxf7 $11 (35. Qf5+ Kg8 36. Qc8+ Kh7 37. Qf5+ $11)) 33... g6 {White's pawn is protected, he has no loose pieces, his king doesn't seem to be in instant danger and it's his move. What's the problem? The answer is that Black has two monster threats: 34...Rd2 followed by 35...Qf2+ or 35...Rd1+, depending on White's (sane) response, and 34...Rc4 followed by 35...Rc1+ after White's queen gets out of the way. Radjabov found no way to cope with these two threats, and for a good reason: there isn't one. A big blow to one of the top seeds.} 34. Rf8 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.07"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Bluebaum, Matthias"] [Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D43"] [WhiteElo "2672"] [BlackElo "2719"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "99"] [EventDate "2023.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Qd3 b6 6. cxd5 cxd5 7. Bg5 Ba6 8. Qc2 Be7 9. Bxf6 Bxf6 10. e4 Bxf1 11. Kxf1 dxe4 12. Qxe4 Nd7 13. g3 O-O 14. Kg2 Be7 15. Rac1 Nf6 16. Qb7 Bb4 17. Nb5 Qd5 18. Qxd5 Nxd5 19. Rc4 Rfc8 20. Rhc1 Rxc4 21. Rxc4 a6 22. Nc3 Bxc3 23. bxc3 b5 24. Rc5 Kf8 25. Ne5 Ke7 26. c4 bxc4 27. Rxc4 g5 28. Rc6 a5 29. a4 h5 30. Rc5 f6 31. Nc4 g4 32. Ne3 Nxe3+ 33. fxe3 f5 34. e4 Rd8 35. exf5 Rxd4 36. Rxa5 Rd2+ 37. Kg1 Rd1+ 38. Kf2 Rd2+ 39. Ke3 Rxh2 40. Re5 h4 41. Rxe6+ Kf7 42. gxh4 Rxh4 43. a5 g3 44. Kf3 Ra4 45. a6 Ra3+ 46. Kg2 Ra5 47. Rh6 {Black has been fine throughout this ending, and the position has been equal throughout. Things have slowly grown more dangerous for him, but he has managed to stay afloat...until now.} Rxf5 $4 {Losing in a literally elementary way:} (47... Kg7 $11) (47... Ra3 $11) 48. a7 $1 Ra5 49. Rh8 $1 {This is a trick everyone learned in books for beginners. Now kids all learn it from their coaches or from videos aimed at beginners. Of course Vidit knows this idea as well, but he either missed it in this slightly disguised form (and presumably without much time on the clock) or despaired of better alternatives on move 47 (I doubt that one, but anything's possible). This will not be the last dramatic finish in the match.} Ra2+ 50. Kxg3 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.07"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Wang, Hao"] [Black "Howell, David W L"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2709"] [BlackElo "2677"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "2023.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Nf5 11. c3 d5 12. a4 c6 13. a5 Re8 14. Bf4 Rxe1 15. Qxe1 Bd7 16. Nd2 Bg5 17. Bxg5 Qxg5 18. Nf3 Qe7 19. Qd2 Re8 20. Re1 Qd8 21. Ne5 Nd6 22. Bd3 f6 23. Nxd7 Qxd7 24. Rxe8+ Qxe8 25. h4 g6 26. f3 Kg7 27. Kf2 Qe7 28. Qf4 b6 29. a6 h6 30. b3 Qe6 31. Qg3 f5 32. Qf4 Qf6 33. Kf1 Qe6 34. Qg3 Qf6 35. Ke2 Qe6+ 36. Kd2 Qf6 37. Qe1 Kf8 38. g3 Qe7 39. Qc1 Kg7 40. Kc2 Qe6 41. Qf4 Qe7 42. Kd2 g5 43. Qe5+ Qxe5 $4 (43... Qf6 $11 {isn't fun for Black, who will always be on the back foot unless White blunders, but he's not in any real danger at this point.}) 44. dxe5 $18 Nf7 45. f4 gxf4 46. gxf4 Kg6 47. h5+ $1 Kxh5 48. Bxf5 Kh4 49. Bd7 Kg3 50. Ke3 c5 51. e6 Nd6 52. e7 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.07"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Vallejo Pons, Francisco"] [Black "Esipenko, Andrey"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C56"] [WhiteElo "2706"] [BlackElo "2683"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "44"] [EventDate "2023.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. e5 Ne4 ({The once-automatic} 5... d5 {remains a good option, but Black has been experimenting with 5...Ng4 (like 5...d5, an old idea) and the text.}) 6. Qe2 Nc5 7. c3 Ne6 8. cxd4 Bb4+ (8... Ncxd4 $142) 9. Nc3 d5 10. exd6 O-O 11. dxc7 $6 (11. Be3 $142 Re8 12. O-O Bxd6 13. Qd2 $14 {/? is pleasant for White.}) 11... Qxc7 $44 12. Qd3 $2 {Foul greed - it's one of the deadly sins for a reason.} Nexd4 $1 $19 13. Nxd4 Ne5 14. Bxf7+ $2 {This only makes things worse, but it's the only way to (*try to*) justify his 12th move. (Beware of the sunk cost fallacy.)} Qxf7 15. Qe3 Nd3+ $1 16. Kd2 (16. Qxd3 Qxf2+ 17. Kd1 Bg4+ 18. Nce2 Bxe2+ 19. Qxe2 (19. Nxe2 Rad8 $19) 19... Qxd4+ $19) 16... Nxf2 17. Re1 Bg4 18. Kc2 Rfe8 19. Qd2 Bh5 $1 20. Rxe8+ Rxe8 21. Qg5 Bg6+ 22. Kd2 Ne4+ {What a massacre! One of the first lessons I learned from the beginners' books as a kid was that one very good reply to gambits was to accept the sacrificed pawn, but then return it at a convenient moment shortly thereafter to catch back up in development or space or whatever it was that motivated and justified the gambit. Sometimes one should be greedy, and sometimes one shouldn't accept the gambit in the first place. Still, as a general rule the idea of accept-and-return is a good one that I've found reliable over the years. There are always going to be exceptions, but one should be sure that the alleged exception is a good one. In this case, Vallejo thought he'd found an exception, and his reward was to go from clearly better to lost in two moves. Ouch.} 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.07"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Grandelius, Nils"] [Black "Amin, Bassem"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2684"] [BlackElo "2694"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "129"] [EventDate "2023.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Re8 11. Bf4 Rxe1 12. Qxe1 Ne8 13. Nc3 Bxd4 14. Nd5 c6 15. Ne7+ Kf8 16. Nxc8 Qf6 17. Rd1 Rxc8 18. Qe4 Bb6 19. Rxd7 Rd8 20. Rxd8 Qxd8 21. Qb4+ Qe7 22. Qxe7+ Kxe7 23. Bd3 Nf6 24. Kf1 Ng4 25. Bf5 Nxf2 26. Ke2 g6 27. Bc8 Ne4 28. Bxb7 Kd7 29. Ba6 Nd6 30. a4 f6 31. b4 g5 32. Bd2 Ne4 33. Be1 f5 34. Bd3 Ke6 35. g4 Bd4 36. Kf3 Bc3 37. gxf5+ Ke5 38. Bxe4 Bxe1 39. Bxc6 Bxb4 40. Kg4 Kf6 41. Be4 h6 42. h3 Bc3 43. Kh5 Bd2 44. c4 Be3 45. Bd3 Kg7 46. Kg4 Bg1 47. Kf3 h5 48. Be2 Kf6 49. Ke4 h4 50. Bg4 Bf2 51. Kd5 Be3 52. Kd6 Bf4+ 53. Kd7 Be3 54. Kc6 Ke5 55. a5 Bd2 56. a6 Be3 57. Kd7 Bc5 58. Ke8 Kf6 59. Kd8 Ke5 60. Kc7 Bb6+ 61. Kc6 Be3 $2 (61... Ba5 $1 62. c5 Bb4 {was the only way to save the game. White doesn't have Kb6 here or after a preliminary 63.f6 Kxf6 (in parallel to 64.Kd6 as in the game), and in case of} 63. Kb5 {Black continues to survive after} Ba3 $11) 62. c5 Bd4 63. f6 $1 Kxf6 64. Kd6 Be5+ 65. Kd7 1-0