[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"] [Site "Yekaterinburg RUS"] [Date "2020.03.21"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D87"] [WhiteElo "2842"] [BlackElo "2774"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "110"] [EventDate "2020.03.17"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 c5 8. Ne2 O-O 9. O-O Nc6 10. Be3 b6 11. Qd2 Bb7 12. Rfd1 cxd4 13. cxd4 Rc8 14. Rac1 Na5 15. Bd3 Qd7 16. h4 $146 {A novelty, but the engine likes it and it's part of the official Alpha Zero approach to chess: push your pawn to h6 and expect to give mate 30 moves later.} Rxc1 17. Rxc1 Rc8 18. h5 {Transposing to an old game.} Rxc1+ 19. Qxc1 Qc8 $146 (19... e6 20. h6 Bf8 21. Bg5 Qa4 22. Qb1 Nc6 23. Bc2 Qc4 24. Bd3 Qa4 25. Bb5 Qa5 26. Be3 {1/2-1/2 (26) Hort,V (2595) -Chiburdanidze,M (2555) Biel 1988}) 20. h6 {Mission accomplished, as they say. Now all White has to do is give mate. Exaggerations aside, White is better, and the h-pawn is a pain in the neck. But this is not yet winning--not even close.} Bf8 21. d5 e6 22. Nc3 Nc4 23. Bxc4 Qxc4 24. Qd2 exd5 25. Nxd5 Bxd5 26. exd5 Qb4 27. Qd3 Qa3 $2 (27... Bd6 $142 $11) 28. Qc2 $6 (28. Qd1 $142 $16) 28... Qa5 29. Qd1 $1 Bd6 30. g3 Kf8 31. Qf3 $2 (31. Qd4 {is obvious, and on this occasion the obvious move is also a good one.} Ke7 $8 32. Qe4+ Kf8 33. Bd4 Qb5 34. Bg7+ Kg8 {and here it's not clear if White has anything concrete, but Black is suffering, tied down with a vulnerable king.}) 31... Qe1+ 32. Kg2 f5 $11 {Now Black is fine.} 33. g4 Qb1 34. Bd4 Kf7 35. Qe3 Qe4+ 36. Qxe4 fxe4 37. f3 exf3+ 38. Kxf3 {This is completely drawn.} Ke7 39. Ke4 Kd7 40. a4 Bc7 41. Be3 a6 42. Bd2 b5 43. axb5 axb5 {White can't trade bishops, as the resulting pawn ending would be lost, but Black isn't going anywhere either thanks to White's space advantage.} 44. Kd4 Bb6+ 45. Kd3 ({If} 45. Ke5 {Black can prevent Kf6, but he doesn't even need to do that.} Bc5 46. Kf6 b4 47. Kg7 b3 48. Bc3 Ke8 49. Kxh7 Kf7 {is only dangerous for White, who must play} 50. Bb2 { to prevent ...Ba3 followed by ...b2, winning. Now it's just a draw: Black will move his bishop along the a3-f8 diagonal, and White will play Kh8-h7-h8. One exception:} Bf8 {Now it would be silly to play Kh8 - though even that is still a draw - but now that Black's bishop isn't able to safely reach the a1-h8 diagonal White can play} 51. Bc1 {. It's a draw.}) 45... Bc5 46. Bc3 Ba3 47. Bg7 Bc5 48. Bc3 Bf8 49. Bg7 Be7 50. Kd4 Bd6 51. Bf6 Kc7 52. Bg5 Kb6 53. Bd8+ Ka6 54. Kd3 Bf8 55. Kd4 Bd6 (55... Bxh6 {could be played, but White wouldn't be unhappy to see this:} 56. Be7 {and the d-pawn's ready to run. But it's still a draw.}) 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"] [Site "Yekaterinburg RUS"] [Date "2020.03.21"] [Round "4.2"] [White "Wang, Hao"] [Black "Alekseenko, Kirill"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D78"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2698"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2020.03.17"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. d4 Nf6 5. O-O O-O 6. c4 c6 7. Nbd2 a5 8. b3 Bf5 9. Bb2 a4 10. bxa4 Qa5 11. Qb3 Nbd7 12. cxd5 cxd5 13. Rfc1 Ra6 $146 { A dubious novelty, criticized by Alekseenko himself.} 14. e3 (14. Ba3 $14) 14... Qxa4 15. Bf1 Qxb3 16. axb3 Rxa1 17. Rxa1 Nb6 (17... Rc8 $11) 18. Ra7 Rb8 19. Ne5 Nfd7 20. Bb5 f6 21. Nxd7 Bxd7 22. Ra5 (22. Bxd7 Nxd7 23. Nf3 {followed by Ne1-d3 may give White a small plus.}) 22... Bf5 23. Ba3 Bf8 24. Bc5 Nd7 ( 24... Nc8 $142) 25. Ra7 Nxc5 26. dxc5 e5 27. b4 b6 28. c6 Bxb4 29. e4 dxe4 30. Nxe4 Bxe4 31. c7 Rf8 32. Bc4+ Kh8 33. Be6 Bf5 34. c8=Q Rxc8 35. Bxc8 Bxc8 36. Ra8 Kg7 37. Rxc8 Bc5 38. Rc7+ Kh6 39. h4 f5 40. Kg2 e4 41. Kf1 {There's no way for White to exploit the slight weakness of Black's king, especially when all his pawns are sitting on dark squares.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"] [Site "Yekaterinburg RUS"] [Date "2020.03.21"] [Round "4.3"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2767"] [BlackElo "2777"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "106"] [EventDate "2020.03.17"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 h5 11. Bf4 Be7 12. Rad1 Be6 13. Ng5 Rh6 14. Rfe1 Bb4 15. a3 Bxc3 16. bxc3 h4 17. g4 hxg3 18. fxg3 Ne7 (18... Kf8 19. Kf2 Ne7 20. g4 Nd5 21. Bd2 Nb6 22. Kg3 Nc4 23. Bc1 Bd5 24. Re2 Re8 25. Rde1 Kg8 26. Ne4 Rhe6 27. Nc5 Rxe5 28. Rxe5 Rxe5 29. Rxe5 Nxe5 30. Nxb7 Nc4 31. Nc5 Nd6 32. Bf4 Ne4+ 33. Nxe4 Bxe4 34. Bxc7 f6 35. Bd6 Bxc2 36. Bc7 Bd3 37. Bd6 Bc2 38. Bc7 Bd3 39. Bd6 {1/2-1/2 (39) Giri,A (2779)-Nakamura,H (2754) Zagreb 2019}) 19. h4 $146 (19. g4 Nd5 20. Bd2 Nb6 21. Kg2 Rd8 22. Kg3 Nc4 23. Bf4 Rxd1 24. Rxd1 Nxa3 25. Ra1 Nb5 26. h4 Nxc3 27. Bd2 Ne2+ 28. Kf2 Bxg4 29. Rxa7 Rxh4 30. Rxb7 Rh2+ 31. Ke3 Ng3 32. Bb4 Nf1+ 33. Kf4 Bd1 34. Rb8+ Kd7 35. Be1 Rg2 36. e6+ fxe6 37. Ne4 Bxc2 38. Bh4 c5 39. Nxc5+ Kd6 40. Nb7+ Kc6 41. Na5+ Kc5 42. Be7+ Kd4 43. Rd8+ Kc3 44. Rc8 Re2 45. Rxc7+ Kd2 46. Nc4+ Kc1 47. Ba3+ Kb1 48. Bd6 Bd3 49. Ne5 Rf2+ 50. Kg5 Be4 51. Rxg7 Rf5+ 52. Kh6 Ne3 53. Rg1+ Kc2 54. Kg7 Rf2 55. Bc5 Rf5 56. Bxe3 Rxe5 57. Kf6 Rf5+ 58. Kxe6 Rf3 59. Bd4 Bd3 60. Be5 Kb3 61. Rg3 Bc4+ 62. Kd6 Be2 63. Rxf3+ Bxf3 64. Kc5 Be2 65. Bd4 Bd3 66. Be5 Be2 67. Bd4 { 1/2-1/2 (67) Vachier Lagrave,M (2779)-Nakamura,H (2777) chess.com INT 2018}) 19... Nd5 20. Bc1 Nxc3 21. Rd3 Na4 22. Rf3 Bd5 23. Rf4 Nb6 24. Ref1 Rg6 25. Rf5 Bc4 26. Re1 Ke7 (26... Rd8) 27. h5 (27. e6 f6 28. h5 Rh6 29. Ne4 Rh7 30. a4 $44 ) 27... Rh6 (27... Be6 $1) 28. g4 Rhh8 $2 (28... Be6 $11) 29. a4 $1 Nxa4 $2 { This should have lost.} ({Now} 29... Be6 {*had* to be played, though by now White enjoys an advantage after} 30. Nxe6 ({or} 30. Ba3+ Kd7 31. Rd1+ Nd5 32. Rf4 b5 33. c4 bxc4 34. Nxe6 Kxe6 35. Rxc4 Kd7 36. Rf1 f6 37. exf6 gxf6 38. Rd4 $14) 30... Kxe6 31. Ref1) 30. Ba3+ $2 (30. Re4 $1 {is devastating. White's pieces worth together perfectly for the attack.} Be6 (30... b5 $2 {What, me worry?} 31. Rxc4 $1 bxc4 32. Rxf7+ Ke8 33. Rxc7 {Despite Black's extra exchange, the lack of coordination with his rooks leaves him in a helpless state. For example:} Rg8 34. Ne4 {Threatening Bg5, after which Nd6+ Kf8 Rf7 is mate.} Rd8 35. Bg5 Rd1+ 36. Kg2 Kf8 37. e6 {Threatening mate in two starting with Rc8+.} Nb6 38. Rb7 $18 {Same issue, and now Black has to toss away huge quantities of material to delay the inevitable.}) (30... Nb6 31. Ba3+ Ke8 32. Nxf7 $1 Bxf7 33. e6 Bxh5 (33... Bg8 $2 34. Rf8#) (33... Bxe6 34. Rxe6+ Kd7 35. Re7+ Kc8 36. Rxg7 $18 {I wouldn't like Black's chances even if the rook that's on a8 were somewere more sensible; as things stand, he has no chance to save this position.}) 34. Ref4 $1 Nd7 35. exd7+ Kxd7 36. gxh5 $18) 31. Nxe6 fxe6 32. Bg5+ Ke8 33. Rf3 b5 34. Ref4 Kd7 35. Rf7+ Kc8 36. Rxg7 Kb7 37. h6 c5 38. h7 { To coin a phrase, White has tenisserf pawns: they're too fast and too strong.}) 30... c5 $11 31. e6 f6 32. Bxc5+ Nxc5 33. Rxc5 fxg5 (33... Rhc8 $142) 34. Rxc7+ Kd6 35. Rxc4 a5 (35... Rhe8 $142) 36. Rd1+ (36. Rd4+ Kc6 37. Rd7 Rhg8 38. Red1 a4 39. e7 a3 40. Kg2 a2 41. Rd8 a1=Q 42. Rxa1 Rgxd8 43. exd8=Q Rxd8 $11) 36... Ke7 37. Re4 Rhd8 38. Rb1 Rdb8 39. Rb5 a4 40. Rxg5 Rg8 41. h6 gxh6 42. Rxg8 Rxg8 43. Rxa4 h5 44. Kf2 Rxg4 45. Rxg4 hxg4 46. Kg3 Kxe6 47. Kxg4 Ke5 48. Kf3 Kd4 49. Ke2 Kc3 50. Kd1 b5 51. Kc1 b4 52. Kb1 b3 53. cxb3 Kxb3 {The position appears drawish.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"] [Site "Yekaterinburg RUS"] [Date "2020.03.21"] [Round "4.4"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E00"] [WhiteElo "2805"] [BlackElo "2763"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2020.03.17"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 a5 5. Bg2 d5 6. Nf3 O-O 7. Qc2 c5 8. cxd5 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Qb6 10. e3 exd5 11. O-O Nc6 12. Nxc6 bxc6 13. Rc1 Rb8 $146 (13... Bd7 {had been usual.}) 14. Bxb4 (14. Qxc6 Qxc6 15. Rxc6 Bxd2 16. Nxd2 Rxb2 $11) 14... Qxb4 15. b3 h5 16. Nc3 (16. Qxc6 $2 Bf5 $15 {/-/+, intending ...Rfc8 even if the queen gets out of the way, gives Black far too much play for the pawn.}) 16... h4 17. Ne2 Bd7 18. Nf4 hxg3 19. hxg3 Rfc8 20. Bf3 (20. Nd3 $14 { looks natural, heading for c5 or e5.}) 20... a4 21. bxa4 Ra8 22. Nd3 Qxa4 23. Qxa4 Rxa4 24. Nc5 Ra5 25. a4 Rca8 26. Bd1 Be8 27. Kf1 Kf8 28. Rab1 Ne4 29. Nxe4 dxe4 30. Rb7 c5 31. Bb3 R5a7 32. Rxa7 Rxa7 33. Ke1 (33. Rxc5 Bxa4 $11) 33... Ke7 (33... Bxa4 $4 34. Ra1 $18 {This is a simple tactic, but it's worth highlighting so you'll see why White played 33.Ke1 rather than 33.Ke2. That's typical in situations like this, whether or not there's a concrete tactical point.}) 34. Ra1 c4 35. Bc2 Kd6 36. Kd2 Kc5 37. Kc3 Ra6 38. g4 g5 39. a5 Bc6 40. Ra2 Ra7 41. Ra1 Ra6 42. Ra2 1/2-1/2