[Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.19"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Robson, Ray"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2664"] [BlackElo "2722"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "56"] [GameId "2234757690337575"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,56,24,22,26,150,13,13,26,21,12,18,9,-2,22,27,36,57,58,4,27,28,65,51,58,63,41,102,30,46,27,36,-102,43,-124,6,31,32,28,63,43,38,-69,34,44,9,1,-14,73,-1,23,1,-1,207,9,1,-1,79,1]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. O-O O-O 6. Re1 {Not the top choice, and this game gives an argument why.} (6. c3) 6... Ng4 7. Re2 Kh8 8. h3 f5 {All well-known.} 9. Bg5 (9. hxg4 $2 $146 fxg4 10. Nh2 (10. Ng5 g3 $19) 10... g3 $19 11. Nf3 $2 Rxf3 12. gxf3 Qh4 13. Rd2 Qh2+ 14. Kf1 g2+ 15. Ke2 Nd4+ 16. Ke3 Qf4#) 9... Nf6 10. Nc3 d6 11. Nd5 (11. exf5 Bxf5 12. Na4 Bb6 13. Nxb6 axb6 14. d4 h6 15. dxe5 dxe5 16. Bh4 e4 17. Nh2 {is the alternative, and Black is happy here too.} Qe8 (17... Qe7 18. Nf1 Bg6 19. Rd2 Qb4 20. Bxf6 Rxf6 21. Bb3 Ne5 22. Ne3 c6 23. Rd8+ Rf8 24. Rxa8 Rxa8 25. a3 Qc5 26. Be6 Rf8 27. Qd2 Qe7 28. Qb4 Qf6 29. Rf1 b5 30. Bg4 Kh7 31. Be2 Rd8 32. Rd1 Rf8 33. Rf1 Rd8 34. Qc3 Rf8 35. Qa5 Qg5 36. Kh1 Qh4 37. Kg1 Nf3+ 38. Kh1 Ng5 39. Kg1 Rf3 40. Qc7 Rxh3 41. gxh3 Nxh3+ 42. Kg2 Nf4+ 43. Kg1 Nxe2+ 44. Kg2 Nf4+ 45. Kg1 Qg5+ 46. Kh2 Bh5 {0-1 Dominguez Perez,L (2754)-Aronian,L (2775) FTX Road to Miami Prelim chess24.com INT 2022 (14)}) 18. Qe1 Qg6 (18... Rd8 19. Rd1 Rxd1 20. Qxd1 Be6 21. Bxe6 Qxe6 22. Bxf6 Qxf6 23. c3 e3 24. f3 Qe6 25. Qb3 Qxb3 26. axb3 Rd8 27. Nf1 Rd1 28. Rxe3 Na5 29. b4 Nc4 30. Re2 Rb1 31. Kf2 Nxb2 32. Re8+ Kh7 33. Ne3 Nd3+ 34. Kg3 Re1 35. f4 Nb2 36. Kf2 Rc1 37. f5 c6 38. Re7 Kg8 39. Rxb7 Rxc3 40. Ke2 h5 41. g4 hxg4 42. hxg4 Nc4 43. Nxc4 Rxc4 44. g5 Rxb4 45. Kf3 c5 46. g6 Kf8 47. Rf7+ Kg8 48. Rb7 Kf8 49. Rf7+ Kg8 50. Re7 Kf8 51. Rb7 Rb1 52. Rf7+ Kg8 53. Rb7 Kf8 54. Rf7+ Kg8 55. Rb7 {½-½ Dominguez Perez,L (2756)-Caruana,F (2781) American Cup-ch Saint Louis 2022 (3.2)}) 19. Re3 Nd4 20. Rc1 Ra4 21. Bb3 Nf3+ 22. Nxf3 exf3 23. Bg3 Re4 24. gxf3 Rh4 25. Be6 Rxh3 26. Bxf5 Qxf5 27. Rd1 Rh5 28. Re5 Qxf3 29. Rxh5 Qxh5 30. Bxc7 Ne4 31. Rd8 Qg5+ 32. Kh2 Qh5+ 33. Kg1 Qg6+ 34. Kh1 Rxd8 35. Bxd8 Qc6 36. f3 Ng5 37. Bxg5 Qxf3+ 38. Kh2 hxg5 39. Qe7 Qc6 40. Qxg5 Qh6+ 41. Qxh6+ gxh6 42. c4 Kg7 43. Kg3 Kf6 44. Kg4 Ke5 45. Kh5 Kd4 46. Kxh6 Kxc4 47. Kg5 Kd3 48. Kf5 Kc2 49. Ke4 Kxb2 50. Kd4 Ka3 51. Kc4 Ka4 52. Kc3 b5 53. Kd4 Ka3 54. Kc5 b4 55. Kc4 Ka4 56. Kc5 Ka5 57. Kc4 b6 58. Kd5 Kb5 59. Kd6 Ka5 60. Kc6 Ka6 61. Kd6 Kb5 62. Kd5 Ka4 63. Kc6 Ka3 64. Kb5 b3 65. axb3 Kxb3 66. Kxb6 {½-½ So,W (2773)-Mamedyarov,S (2759) Zagreb SuperUnited Rapid 2022 (9)}) 11... fxe4 12. dxe4 Be6 13. Nxf6 Bxc4 (13... gxf6 {is the alternative, and Black has done very well here.} 14. Bxe6 fxg5 $11 15. Bf5 (15. Bg4 Qf6 16. c3 Qg6 (16... Ne7 17. Qd2 Rg8 18. b4 Bb6 19. a4 a5 20. Qa2 Qg6 21. Qe6 Qg7 22. bxa5 Bxa5 23. Rb1 Ra7 24. Qc4 Qg6 25. Rb5 c6 26. Nxe5 dxe5 27. Rxe5 Rd8 28. Re6 Qg7 29. g3 Raa8 30. Kg2 Ng6 31. e5 Bc7 32. Bf5 Nxe5 33. Qb4 Rf8 34. Re7 Rf7 35. Qxb7 Raf8 36. Rxf7 Qxf7 37. Be4 h5 38. Bxc6 Qc4 39. Bb5 Qxc3 40. Qe4 Qc5 41. Rc2 Qd6 42. Be2 h4 43. gxh4 Ng6 44. Kf1 Bb6 45. Bf3 Ne5 46. Rd2 Qc5 47. Rc2 Nxf3 48. Rxc5 Nd2+ 49. Ke2 Nxe4 50. Rc6 Bxf2 51. hxg5 Nxg5 52. a5 Ne4 53. Kd3 Nc5+ 54. Kc4 Nb7 55. Rh6+ Kg7 56. Rh5 Ra8 57. Rf5 Nd6+ {0-1 Carlsen,M (2847)-Nakamura,H (2736) FTX Crypto Cup KO chess24.com INT rapid 2021 (1.21)}) 17. b4 Bb6 18. Bf5 Qg7 19. Qd2 Ne7 20. Bg4 h6 21. g3 Rf6 22. Kg2 Raf8 23. Bh5 g4 24. Bxg4 Qf7 25. Rf1 h5 26. Ng5 Qg6 27. Bd7 h4 28. gxh4 Qh5 29. Bg4 Qxh4 30. f4 Rxf4 31. Rxf4 Rxf4 32. Nf3 Rxg4+ 33. hxg4 Qxg4+ 34. Kh2 Qxf3 35. Qh6+ Kg8 36. Rg2+ Kf7 37. Rg7+ Ke8 38. Qe6 Qf8 39. Rh7 Be3 40. Kg2 Qf2+ 41. Kh3 Qf1+ 42. Kg3 Bf4+ 43. Kh4 Qf2+ {0-1 So,W (2772)-Nihal,S (2650) Speed Chess Chess.com INT blitz 2021 (3.19)}) 15... Qf6 16. Qd2 Rg8 17. g4 Ne7 18. Kg2 Raf8 19. Rh1 Ng6 20. Ree1 Nf4+ 21. Kg3 h5 22. h4 gxh4+ 23. Rxh4 Kg7 24. Reh1 Rh8 25. g5 Qf7 26. b4 Bb6 27. a4 a6 28. a5 Ba7 29. Rxf4 exf4+ 30. Kg2 Qc4 31. Rh4 Re8 32. Rxf4 Rhf8 33. Nh4 Bd4 34. Qd1 Rh8 35. Bd7 Be5 36. Nf5+ Kg6 37. Bxe8+ Rxe8 38. Nh4+ Kg7 39. Qxh5 Bxf4 40. Nf5+ Kf8 41. Qh8+ Kf7 42. Qf6+ Kg8 43. Qg7# {1-0 Navara,D (2682)-Narayanan,S (2662) Prague Cez Trophy m rapid 2022 (7)}) 14. Nxh7 $1 Rxf3 $1 $146 {A novelty, but not really.} (14... Bxe2 15. Qxe2 Rxf3 $1 16. Bxd8 {transposes to the game.}) 15. Bxd8 Bxe2 16. Qxe2 Rxf2 17. Qxf2 Bxf2+ 18. Kxf2 Nxd8 $146 {Not a meaningful novelty - Black is drawing either way.} (18... Rxd8 19. Ng5 Rf8+ 20. Ke3 {½-½ Stalmach,K (2569)-Perevertkin,V (2603) CZE MT-Boukal email ICCF email 2018 Another game went another half move before the handshake:} Rf6 {1/2-1/2 Paramzina-Miron, Batumi 2018}) 19. Ng5 Kg8 20. Rf1 Nf7 21. Nxf7 Kxf7 22. Kg3+ Ke6 23. Rf3 c6 24. Kf2 a5 25. Rg3 Kf6 26. Rf3+ Ke6 27. Rg3 Kf6 28. Rf3+ Ke6 {It looks like Robson was checking if Aronian had done his homework; the answer is that he had. The game was spectacular for us as spectators, but for them it was just a memory contest.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.19"] [Round "7.2"] [White "Swiercz, Dariusz"] [Black "Liang, Awonder"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A13"] [WhiteElo "2577"] [BlackElo "2710"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "79"] [GameId "2234757690341672"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,29,29,1,9,15,15,17,16,0,14,10,28,54,19,22,20,-5,33,16,3,10,33,-12,-21,2,-1,-15,-36,-37,-38,-46]} 1. c4 e6 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 d5 4. Nf3 dxc4 5. Qa4+ c6 6. Qxc4 b5 7. Qc2 Bb7 8. O-O Be7 9. a4 O-O 10. d3 Nbd7 11. Nc3 Rc8 12. Nd2 Qb6 13. Nde4 Nd5 14. Bg5 f6 15. Bd2 $2 {Taking d2 away from the knight on e4.} b4 $17 16. Nd1 Qc7 (16... f5 $142 17. Ng5 c5 $17) 17. Bh3 $6 (17. Ne3 $15) 17... Kf7 $2 (17... f5 $1 18. Ng5 Qd6 $17 {It seems that both sides underestimated the strength of ...f5, or overestimated the weaknesses it might leave in its wake.}) 18. Rc1 $11 c5 19. Ne3 (19. f4 $5) 19... Nxe3 20. Bxe3 Bxe4 21. dxe4 c4 $15 22. Rfd1 {Black is better, but there are tactical worries he must attend to.} a5 $2 (22... Rfd8 $15) 23. Qd2 $1 $18 {Threatening both the knight and 24.Bxe6+, with the point that 24...Kxe6 25.Qd5 is mate.} Nb6 24. Bxe6+ $1 Kxe6 25. Bxb6 Qe5 (25... Qxb6 $4 26. Qd5#) 26. Qd5+ (26. Qc2 {was at least as strong, keeping the queens on to keep the attack going.}) 26... Qxd5 27. exd5+ Kd7 28. Bxa5 (28. d6 $1 Bxd6 $2 29. Bxa5 Rc6 30. Bxb4 $18) 28... Bc5 $1 29. d6 ({Of course not} 29. Rxc4 $2 Bxf2+ 30. Kxf2 Rxc4 31. b3 $1 $11 {Surprisingly the position is still equal - not that White has any reason to go in for this.}) 29... Rc6 30. Bc7 $2 (30. Kf1 Rxd6 31. Rxd6+ Bxd6 32. Rxc4 Ra8 $1 33. Bb6 (33. Bxb4 $2 Rxa4 34. Bxd6 Rxc4 $11) 33... Rxa4 34. Bd4 $16 {/+- is probably winning for White in the long run.}) 30... Rc8 $14 31. Kf1 Bxd6 32. Bxd6 Rxd6 33. Ke1 Rc7 $2 (33... Rc5 $14 {More active is "more better".}) 34. Rxd6+ Kxd6 35. Kd2 $18 b3 $2 {Strange play by Liang, but it's a long and tough tournament and fatigue (and maybe time trouble) probably played a role. Letting White's king park itself on c3 is terminal for Black's chances.} 36. Kc3 Re7 37. Rd1+ Kc5 38. Rd4 Rxe2 39. Rxc4+ Kd5 40. Rd4+ {The rook comes back to d2, after which Black either trades into a dead lost king and pawn ending or moves the rook and goes down two pawns. Either way, it's hopeless.} (40. Rd4+ Kc5 41. Rd2 Rxd2 42. Kxd2 Kb4 43. a5 Kxa5 44. Kc3 Ka4 45. Kc4 $18 {Black loses the b-pawn once he runs out of pawn moves on the kingside.}) 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.19"] [Round "7.3"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Woodward, Andy"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D41"] [WhiteElo "2756"] [BlackElo "2590"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "99"] [GameId "2234757690353961"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,31,9,23,11,8,11,11,19,23,3,1,-5,32,13,18,15,15,8,15,5,2,17,14,39,16,21,24,37,-9,21,8,-18,-41]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 c5 {It's not that the opening variation "belongs" to So, but it's a bit cheeky playing So's pet line against him.} 5. cxd5 cxd4 6. Qxd4 exd5 7. Bg5 ({So was especially tested in the line} 7. e4 dxe4 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Ng5 Be6 10. Nxe6+ fxe6 {, going even against many top GMs (two wins, two losses, and mostly draws; one of the wins and one of the losses was against Magnus Carlsen, so he passed the highest test human chess has to offer).}) 7... Be7 8. e3 Nc6 (8... O-O {was always So's preference in this branch of the 4...c5, 5...cxd4 system.}) 9. Bb5 {The price Black must pay for not castling first - not that White has a substantial advantage at this point.} a6 (9... O-O {is literally 80 times more popular than Woodward's move - though only 40x more popular after this game.}) 10. Bxc6+ bxc6 11. Qa4 $146 Bb7 12. O-O O-O 13. Nd4 Qd7 14. Qc2 {After the game So expressed his unhappiness with this move, preferring Rfd1 and Rac1. The engine agrees.} c5 15. Nf5 Bd8 16. Na4 Ne4 $1 $11 {So had overlooked this move (presumably before playing 14.Qc2), which equalizes.} 17. Bxd8 Raxd8 18. Ng3 d4 19. Nxc5 Nxc5 20. Qxc5 d3 $6 (20... dxe3 21. Qxe3 Rfe8 $44 {was a better choice according to So, and (again) the engine concurs. So's diagnosis was not so much that Woodward overlooked something but that he was overly ambitious.}) 21. Rad1 $6 (21. Rfd1 $142 $14 {/?}) 21... d2 $6 (21... Rc8 $1 $44) 22. Qc3 Rfe8 $2 (22... Qd3 23. f3 Qxc3 24. bxc3 Rd3 25. e4 $14 {is still a little better for White, but a draw is the likeliest and most appropriate result.}) 23. f3 $18 {Now Black will be a pawn down for nothing.} Qd3 24. Qxd3 Rxd3 25. Rf2 Rdxe3 26. Rfxd2 g6 27. Kf2 R3e5 28. Rd8 Rxd8 29. Rxd8+ Kg7 30. Ne2 Rb5 31. Rd2 g5 32. Nd4 Rd5 33. b4 Kf6 34. Ke3 Ke5 35. g3 {White can put everything on dark squares, leaving Black's bishop with nothing to do.} Rd7 36. a4 h5 37. h4 $1 {A good if basic idea: in such knight vs. bishop endings you almost always want to fix your opponent's pawns on the same color square as their bishop. That way (a) your own pawns are safe, and (b) no diagonal piece (except the king) can guard the opposite-colored squares your knight will use.} gxh4 38. gxh4 Rc7 39. Rc2 Rxc2 40. Nxc2 Bc6 41. a5 Kd5 42. Nd4 $1 Bd7 43. b5 $1 {This buys White several tempi in the race.} Bxb5 44. Nf5 Bd7 45. Ng3 Kc5 46. Kf4 Ba4 47. Nxh5 Bc2 48. Nf6 Kb5 49. h5 Kxa5 50. Ne4 {White's h-pawn queens far more quickly than Black's a-pawn.} 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.19"] [Round "7.4"] [White "Shankland, Sam"] [Black "Mishra, Abhimanyu"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A05"] [WhiteElo "2654"] [BlackElo "2652"] [WhiteFideId "2004887"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "91"] [GameId "2234757690353962"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,46,11,18,10,0,0,2,13,-9,31,22,1,-14,9,-2,17,16,18,20,5,-4,46,61,45,12,28,29,-107,43,29,26,36,71,44,38,48,39,58,-5,68,67,40,41,-47,28,-54,27,50]} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 e6 4. O-O Be7 5. d3 O-O 6. Nc3 $5 {A little offbeat.} Nc6 (6... c5 $142) 7. e4 dxe4 8. dxe4 e5 $1 {Yes, Black has lost a tempo, but White's bishop is worse on g2 than Black's on e7.} 9. h3 Be6 10. Qe2 Nd4 11. Nxd4 Qxd4 12. Rd1 Qc4 13. Qxc4 Bxc4 14. b3 Be6 15. Bb2 c6 16. Ne2 Nd7 17. f4 exf4 18. gxf4 f5 $6 (18... g6 $142) 19. Nd4 $14 Bc5 20. e5 (20. Kh2 $142) 20... Rfd8 (20... Kf7 $142) 21. Ba3 $1 Kf7 (21... Bb6 $142) 22. Bxc5 Nxc5 23. Kf2 $16 a5 24. Ke3 g6 25. c4 (25. h4 $1 $16) 25... Rd7 26. Rd2 Rad8 27. Rad1 {Black is severely restricted. White can push the h-pawn to h4 (if not further) and play a3 and b4 to chase Black's knight to a lousy square. All Black can do is try to anticipate White's ideas and hope to avoid a dead lost minor piece ending. (Black's main problem is that almost all his pawns are on light squares, which White's bishop likes and Black's bishop hates.)} Ke8 $1 28. a3 (28. h4 $142 $14) 28... Bf7 29. b4 axb4 30. axb4 Ne6 31. b5 {Objectively hasty, but it worked.} Nxd4 $2 (31... cxb5 $1 32. cxb5 Nc5 {followed (if possible) by ...Na4 lets Black survive.}) 32. Rxd4 Rxd4 33. Rxd4 Rc8 34. bxc6 bxc6 35. c5 $16 {/+- The engine might save such a position, but it's almost impossible for a human to do so against one's peer.} Ke7 36. Ra4 Rc7 37. Ra8 $6 (37. Ra6 $1 Be8 38. Ra8 $1 $18) 37... Be8 $4 (37... Bc4 $1 $14) 38. h4 $2 (38. e6 $1 {followed by Kd4-e5 will win, as happens later.}) 38... Kf7 $2 (38... Bf7 $1) 39. e6+ $1 Ke7 40. Kd4 h6 41. Ke5 g5 (41... h5 42. Bf3 {is zugzwang.} Kf8 (42... Rb7 43. Rxe8+ Kxe8 44. Bxc6+ $18) 43. Kf6 $18) 42. fxg5 hxg5 43. hxg5 f4 44. Kxf4 (44. Bf3) (44. Be4) 44... Bh5 45. Rh8 Kxe6 46. Rh6+ $1 {A nice finishing touch.} (46. Rh6+ $1 Ke7 47. Rxh5 {and Black cannot avoid a rook trade over the next 2-3 moves.}) (46. Rxh5 {was also winning, of course.}) 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.19"] [Round "7.5"] [White "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2738"] [BlackElo "2789"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "56"] [GameId "2234757690353963"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,22,11,16,28,21,22,16,36,17,30,32,25,40,26,-17,39,-28,154,-33,0,-1,-1,-1,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 d6 {Not exactly the mainstream reply to the Italian Game, and Caruana was coy afterwards about whether he'd try it again. I doubt he'll ever play it again in Classical chess, and further doubt he'll use it against his peers in rapid or blitz in the near future. But as a one-off it's a great idea.} 4. c3 (4. d4 {is also possible, when} exd4 (4... Nf6 {is also possible. Note that going for a version of the Fried Liver isn't as good as you might expect.} 5. Ng5 d5 6. exd5 Nxd4 {The problem is that White's extra move compared to the standard Fried Liver was d2-d4, and Black was the beneficiary thanks to this snack. Now both sides need to find a good move or two to keep the balance:} 7. c3 Nf5 8. d6 $1 Nxd6 9. Nxf7 Qd7 $1 10. Nxd6+ (10. Nxh8 $4 Nxc4 $19 {will give Black two minor pieces for a rook, under ideal circumstances, after the inevitable capture of White's offside knight.}) (10. Nxe5 $5 Qe7 11. Qe2 Nxc4 12. Nxc4 Qxe2+ 13. Kxe2 Be6 $15 {Black's bishop pair outweighs White's extra pawn.}) 10... Bxd6 11. O-O Qf5 $11) 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. Nc3 Be7 {is a main line Philidor with White having committed to Bc4. (Through the standard move order White can choose between Bc4, Bf4, Be2, and g3.)}) 4... f5 {This feels like something out of the 19th century, but according to the database it first appeared in 1981, the second game with it was in 1992, and the third in 1999. It would be fun if this became trendy for a while.} 5. d3 Qf6 6. O-O $6 {This was a novelty, and it's unlikely to find many followers.} ({Better options:} 6. Qb3 {,}) (6. Nbd2 {,}) (6. Ng5 {, and}) (6. exf5 {.}) 6... f4 $1 {The problem: Black closes the center (as much as he can) and prepares a kingside attack starting with a pawn storm.} 7. b4 $6 (7. d4 $11) (7. Na3 $11) 7... Nge7 $6 $11 (7... g5 $17) 8. a4 $6 (8. d4 $142) 8... g5 $15 {/?} 9. b5 Nd8 (9... Na5 $1 {may be better, sidelining the knight to slow White's queenside play to a crawl.} 10. Ba2 $8 g4 11. Ne1 h5 $17 {This looks like fun for Black; not so much for White.}) 10. d4 g4 11. Ne1 h5 12. Na3 Ne6 (12... Be6 $142 $15) (12... Ng6 $142 $15) 13. b6 $1 $132 {A nice move, making a bit for counterplay with Nb5 (as well as pawn captures on a7 or c7, if permitted).} c6 14. Ba2 $6 (14. bxa7 $11) 14... Ng5 $6 (14... a5 $142 $15 {/?}) 15. Nd3 $2 {Everyone's abandoning the kingside! I guess it will have to be Caruana's pieces keeping White's king company on this chilly fall evening.} (15. bxa7 Ng6 16. Nc4 Rxa7 17. Nb6 Be6 18. Bxe6 Qxe6 19. d5 $11) 15... Ng6 $17 16. Nc4 $2 (16. bxa7 $1 {It's not about greed but opening lines so White's pieces can actually do something.} Rxa7 17. Nc4 Be6 18. Nb6 {White has made progress, even if Black enjoys a significant (but not winning) advantage after the precise} Be7 $1 {, the point of which is to meet} 19. d5 {with} Bd8 $1 $17) 16... Be6 $2 $17 {Both sides underestimate the importance of White playing bxa7 to clear b6 for the knight and create at least some limited avenues for counterplay before Black delivers mate.} (16... a5 $19) (16... a6 $19) 17. Ba3 $2 {After this the bxa7 issue isn't as important, as Black is getting too near the White king.} (17. bxa7 $17) 17... Bxc4 (17... f3 $19) 18. Bxc4 f3 $19 19. g3 h4 20. Qc2 axb6 {Not necessary, but why not?} 21. Rae1 Rd8 (21... d5 {is possible and objectively good (taking advantage of White's loose bishop on a3), but why create a tactical mess without reason when you're winning, easily, keeping everything under control?}) 22. d5 Rd7 {Heading for h7, continuing the plan initiated by his previous move.} 23. dxc6 bxc6 24. Bc1 Rdh7 25. Bxg5 Qxg5 26. Qb3 {Too late.} hxg3 27. Qxb6 Qh4 28. Qb8+ Ke7 (28... Ke7 29. Qc7+ Kf6 30. Qd8+ Be7 {No more checks, no more chances. It's mate in at most three more moves.}) 0-1 [Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.19"] [Round "7.6"] [White "Sevian, Samuel"] [Black "Oparin, Grigoriy"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2698"] [BlackElo "2661"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "89"] [GameId "2234757690353964"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,35,17,15,12,7,11,13,18,11,-36,14,5,18,40,-19,37,31,43,36,31,38,48,28,49,51,39,37,34,33,33,28,11,-5,6,2,21,62]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. e3 Be6 7. Bd3 Nbd7 8. h3 Be7 9. Nf3 O-O 10. O-O Ne8 11. Bf4 Nd6 12. Qb3 Nb6 13. Rad1 Re8 14. Rfe1 g6 15. Ne5 a5 16. g4 f6 17. Nf3 Bf7 18. Qc2 a4 19. Kg2 a3 20. b3 Nd7 21. h4 Nf8 22. Bg3 Rc8 23. h5 {White has been dictating the play in the early going, and the situation on the kingside looks scary. It's not that bad though, IF Black goes for counterplay immediately (if not sooner).} gxh5 $2 (23... c5 $1 {Just like the old books say: meet an attack on the flank with counterplay in the center (or as close to the center as you can get).} 24. hxg6 hxg6 25. Rc1 $1 cxd4 26. Nxd4 Ne4 $1 {Again, trying to open the board so White doesn't have a free hand for his kingside play.} 27. Bxe4 Bb4 $1 28. Ndb5 $1 Bxc3 29. Nxc3 dxe4 30. Qe2 Qd3 $11 {Black's king is safe and the position is equal.}) 24. gxh5 $16 c5 {A move late, but better late than never.} (24... Bxh5 $6 {makes things worse after} 25. Rh1 Bg6 26. Rdg1 $18 {followed soon by Kf1.}) 25. Rh1 cxd4 $6 {This makes very good sense: Black is looking to pile up on the pinned knight on c3. Unfortunately for Oparin, Sevian's idea is even better.} (25... c4 $1 {was better, keeping chances for counterplay after} 26. bxc4 Nxc4 {followed by ...Bb4.}) 26. Nxd4 $16 {/+-} Qa5 $2 {Trying to tie White down to the pinned knight. But who cares about the knight when there's a king to hunt?} 27. Qe2 $3 $18 {Black is toast.} Ne6 (27... Rxc3 28. Qg4+ Kh8 29. Bxd6 Bxd6 30. Nf5 Ne6 31. Nxd6 $18 Rg8 {wins material - or it would if White didn't have mate in one.} 32. Nxf7#) (27... Qxc3 {is even worse than the capture with the rook - not that it matters.} 28. Qg4+ Kh8 29. Bxd6 Bxd6 30. Nf5 $18) 28. b4 $5 ({The straightforward} 28. Bxd6 Bxd6 29. Qg4+ Kf8 30. Ncb5 Be5 31. Bxh7 $18 {was better, but Sevian is still winning after his move.}) 28... Qa8 $2 {The queen is terrible here, and her permanent absence from the kingside makes Black's defensive situation intolerable.} (28... Qxb4 29. Nxd5 $18) (28... Qd8 {was best, though not great.} 29. Qg4+ Ng5 30. Nce2 $18) 29. Bxd6 Bxd6 30. Qg4+ Kf8 31. Ncb5 Be5 32. Bxh7 {This is essentially the same situation as in the 28.Bxd6 line. Black's position is hopeless.} Rc4 33. Bg6 {Eliminating one of Black's few defenders.} Bxd4 34. Nxd4 Qc8 35. Bxf7 Kxf7 36. Qg6+ Ke7 37. Nf5+ Kd7 38. Qf7+ (38. Rxd5+ $142 Kc6 39. Rhd1 {is a bit easier.}) 38... Kc6 39. Qxf6 (39. h6 $142) 39... Kb6 $1 40. Nd6 Rg4+ {Fortunately for Sevian, this came right at the end of the time control. Now he had plenty of time to think, and spent more than half an hour working out the details. (If only Caruana had done that yesterday - not that he needed half an hour for that position.)} 41. Kf3 $1 Qc2 42. Kxg4 Rg8+ (42... Qe2+ 43. Kh4 Rf8 44. Nc8+ $1 Rxc8 45. Qxe6+ Rc6 46. Qf5 $18) 43. Kh4 Rf8 44. Nf7 Ka7 45. Rhg1 $1 {Black is a rook and two pawns down, with only the meaningless check on e4 available to him and nothing else.} (45. Qxe6 Qxf2+ 46. Kg5 Rxf7 47. h6 $1 {also wins.}) 1-0 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.19"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Pourkashiyan, Atousa"] [Black "Lee, Alice"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B58"] [WhiteElo "2291"] [BlackElo "2409"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "88"] [GameId "2234757699676532"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,36,28,26,28,64,28,21,21,29,19,6,25,14,11,26,17,7,35,35,17,21,19,28,-74,42,56,50,55,60,-61,58,59,46,61,57,68,54,61]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nf3 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Bg5 Be6 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. Nd5 Bxd5 12. Qxd5 Qb6 13. Qb3 Qc7 14. c3 g6 15. Rad1 Rac8 16. Rfe1 Kg7 17. Nd2 Na5 18. Qd5 Bg5 {White has a pleasant advantage thanks to her grip on the d5 square and the concomitant weakness of the d6-pawn. White's next move is an error as it gifts Black a compensating target on c3.} 19. b4 $6 (19. Nb3 Nxb3 20. axb3 $14 {/? White can play for light-squared domination, but it's much harder for Black to achieve compensating counterplay on the dark squares.}) 19... Bxd2 20. Rxd2 Nc4 21. Bxc4 Qxc4 22. Re3 Qxd5 23. Rxd5 Rfd8 $11 {Black has no problems here; in fact, she can start playing for more. For now it's just pretend, but White must stay alert.} 24. Kf1 Kf6 25. Ke2 Ke6 26. Rb5 b6 27. a4 Rc6 28. a5 f5 {Breaking White's grip on the d5 square.} 29. exf5+ Kxf5 30. Rd3 Ke6 31. Rd2 d5 {After White's stranglehold over d5 earlier it must feel great to achieve this liberating move.} 32. axb6 axb6 33. Ra2 e4 34. Ra7 (34. f3 $142 $11) 34... Rxc3 35. Rxb6+ Ke5 $15 {Now Black has something to hope for. Her king is very active, while White's king could find itself in a mating net. The d-pawn is a dangerous passer, and enjoys more than mere moral support from the e-pawn.} 36. Ra2 $8 {If Black could have safely played ...Rc2+ it would have been all over.} Kd4 37. Rd2+ Kc4 38. Rb7 Kb3 39. Rxh7 $2 {The h-pawn doesn't matter, but Black's mobile d- and e-pawns do.} (39. Re7 $11) (39. b5 d4 40. b6 $11) 39... d4 $1 $19 40. Re7 d3+ $1 41. Ke1 (41. Ke3 Rc1 $1 42. f3 (42. Rxe4 Kc3 $1 $19) 42... exf3 43. Kxf3 Kc3 $19) 41... Rc1+ 42. Rd1 Rdc8 43. Ra7 (43. Rxe4 Kc2 $1 44. Rxc1+ Kxc1 45. Rd4 Re8+ 46. Kf1 d2 $19) 43... R8c2 {Threatening ...Re2+ followed by ...Rxd1 mate.} 44. Rxc1 $2 (44. Ra1 {is "better", but still dead lost.} d2+ 45. Ke2 Rxa1 46. Rxa1 Rc1 $19) 44... d2+ $1 {It's mate next move.} 0-1 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.19"] [Round "7.2"] [White "Yip, Carissa"] [Black "Yu, Jennifer"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C45"] [WhiteElo "2452"] [BlackElo "2256"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "92"] [GameId "2234757699680629"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,29,24,15,26,16,22,2,0,15,23,6,6,23,50,34,12,0,2,-5,-7,-10,20,12,13,-6,1,-18,-11,-34,63,-44]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. e5 Qe7 7. Qe2 Nd5 8. h4 {The primary idea of this odd-looking move is to develop the rook via h3.} a5 (8... Qe6 {is the other main line.}) 9. c4 Ba6 10. g3 f6 11. e6 $5 $146 {A logical novelty, looking to bust up Black's pawn structure.} dxe6 (11... Nb6 $1 {is suggested by the engine as the most precise reply.}) (11... Qxe6 $4 {blunders a piece:} 12. cxd5 $16 {/+-}) 12. Bg2 (12. Bh3 $142 $44) 12... Qf7 $1 13. O-O Bc5 (13... Bd6 $142 $15) 14. Nc3 $5 (14. b3 $142) 14... O-O 15. Na4 (15. Ne4 $142) 15... Bd4 $2 (15... Bd6 $1 $17) 16. Qe4 (16. Qd1 e5 17. cxd5 Bxf1 18. Qxf1 cxd5 $11) 16... e5 17. cxd5 f5 18. Qf3 Bxf1 19. Kxf1 $11 Rad8 20. Bg5 Rxd5 21. Rc1 h6 22. Be3 (22. Bd2 $142 $11) 22... e4 23. Qe2 Bxe3 24. Qxe3 $2 (24. fxe3 $11 {/?}) 24... Rd3 $17 25. Qc5 Qxa2 26. Qxc6 $6 Rfd8 $2 (26... Rd4 $1 $19) 27. Bh3 $17 Qb3 28. Kg1 $2 (28. Nc3 $1 Qxb2 29. Ne2 $17) 28... e3 $2 $17 {/-+} (28... Kh8 $1 29. Bg2 e3 $19) 29. Bf1 Rd1 $2 (29... exf2+ 30. Kh2 R3d6 31. Qc4+ Qxc4 32. Bxc4+ Kf8 $17 {/-+}) 30. Rxd1 Qxd1 (30... exf2+ $142 $15) 31. fxe3 $11 Qe1 32. Qc4+ (32. Qf3 $142) 32... Kh8 $15 33. Qf4 Re8 (33... Rd3 $1 $15) 34. Nc3 (34. Kg2 $1 $11) 34... Qxe3+ 35. Qxe3 Rxe3 36. Kf2 Re5 (36... Re8 $1 {was better, intending ...Rb8. That buys Black some time to improve her kingside.}) 37. h5 $1 {A nice move, after which Yip has no problems. The game speedily ends in a repetition.} Kg8 38. Bc4+ Kf8 39. Kf3 Ke7 40. Kf4 Rc5 41. Nd5+ Ke6 42. Ne3+ Kf6 43. Nd5+ Ke6 44. Ne3+ Kf6 45. Nd5+ Ke6 46. Ne3+ Kf6 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.19"] [Round "7.3"] [White "Paikidze, Nazi"] [Black "Krush, Irina"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E20"] [WhiteElo "2297"] [BlackElo "2388"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "151"] [GameId "2234757699680630"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,29,22,28,13,13,13,15,15,17,7,4,10,4,4,9,11,-1,8,-3,3,-3,29,-30,-65,-74,-64,-47,-109,-59,-54,40]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Bd2 O-O 5. e3 d5 6. Nf3 b6 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Bd3 Bb7 9. O-O Bd6 10. Qc2 a6 11. Ne5 c5 12. f4 Nc6 13. a3 cxd4 14. Nxc6 Bxc6 15. exd4 Qb8 16. Rae1 Qb7 17. Re2 Rae8 18. Rfe1 Rxe2 19. Rxe2 h6 20. Bf5 Re8 21. Rxe8+ Bxe8 22. g3 Bc6 23. Nd1 a5 24. Ne3 Ne4 25. Bxe4 dxe4 26. Nc4 Bc7 27. b4 a4 28. Ne3 Bd8 29. Bc3 b5 30. d5 Bb6 31. Qe2 Bxd5 32. Kg2 Qd7 33. Qd2 Bc6 34. Qxd7 Bxd7 35. Nd5 Bd8 36. Bd4 Bc6 37. Nc3 f5 38. Kf2 g5 39. Ke3 Kf7 40. Ne2 Bd5 41. Bc5 Bc4 42. Nd4 Kg6 43. Nc6 gxf4+ 44. gxf4 Bc7 45. Ne7+ Kf6 46. Nc6 Bd3 47. Nd4 Kg6 48. Ne6 Bb8 49. Nd4 Bc4 50. Nc6 Bc7 51. Ne7+ Kf6 52. Nc6 Be6 53. Bd4+ Kg6 54. Be5 Bxe5 55. fxe5 Kg5 56. Nd4 Bd5 57. Ne2 Bc4 58. Nf4 {Krush has been pushing for a very long time, and was winning earlier. Here the position is drawn as White has a fortress on the dark squares. She still needs to be somewhat careful, but Krush doesn't...right?} Bb3 59. Ne2 h5 60. Nf4 h4 61. h3 {Not necessary, but not bad. Black will not manage to (safely) collect the h-pawn by means of an eventual ...Bf1.} Bc4 62. Ng2 Bf7 (62... Bf1 63. Nf4 Kh6 64. e6 Kg7 65. Kd4 Kf6 66. Kd5 {is (probably) still drawn, and it's Black who will have to prove it.}) 63. Nf4 Bg8 64. Ne2 Bh7 65. Nf4 Bg6 $4 {The idea is that if White retreats the knight to e2 or g2 for the umpteenth time Black can consider ...e3 followed by ...Kf5. That doesn't work - White is fine there - but she has something much better. Alas, after defending for hour after hour the possibility that she might actually win this ending doesn't seem to have crossed her mind.} 66. Ne2 $4 (66. Ne6+ $1 Kh6 67. Kf4 {Black is lost, period, end of story. It isn't even difficult.} (67. Nd4 {also wins, while we're at it.}) ({Likewise} 67. Nc7 {.})) 66... Be8 67. Nf4 Bc6 $4 (67... Bd7 $11) (67... Bf7 $11) 68. Ne2 $4 {Alas, the second opportunity is also missed. Whether with full awareness or not of what had just happened, Krush gives Paikidze no further chances.} (68. Ne6+ $1 {still wins. Black can put up more resistance here in this case, but the game cannot be saved against best play.} Kg6 69. Kf4 $1 {This time it's the only winning move.} Be8 (69... Bd7 70. Nf8+ $18) 70. Nd4 Bd7 71. e6 $1 Bc8 72. Ke5 $1 e3 73. Nxf5 $1 (73. Ne2 {followed by Nf4 also wins.}) 73... e2 74. Nxh4+ Kg7 75. Nf3 $18) 68... Bd5 69. Nf4 Bc4 70. Ng2 Be6 71. Nf4 Bf7 72. Ne2 Be8 73. Nf4 Bd7 74. Ne2 Be8 75. Nf4 Bd7 76. Ne2 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.19"] [Round "7.4"] [White "Abrahamyan, Tatev"] [Black "Zatonskih, Anna"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C00"] [WhiteElo "2406"] [BlackElo "2310"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "74"] [GameId "2234757699684727"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,22,18,31,29,-18,-40,-10,-12,3,-3,0,6,-13,18,-16,-26,-53,-23,-36,-52,-58,-58,-58,-16]} 1. e4 e6 2. b3 d5 3. Bb2 Nc6 $1 {The gambit isn't all that scary, but this is even better than taking on e4. Zatonskih obtained an advantage, but didn't manage to turn it into something serious.} 4. e5 d4 5. Nf3 a6 6. Bd3 Nge7 7. Qe2 Nb4 8. Nxd4 Nxd3+ 9. Qxd3 c5 10. Ne2 Qxd3 11. cxd3 Nc6 12. a3 b5 13. d4 Bb7 14. dxc5 Bxc5 15. d4 Bb6 16. a4 O-O 17. O-O Rad8 18. axb5 axb5 19. Na3 Nxd4 20. Nxd4 Bxd4 21. Bxd4 Rxd4 22. Nxb5 Rb4 23. Nd6 Bd5 24. Rfc1 Bxb3 25. h3 Ra4 26. Rab1 Bd5 27. Rc7 f6 28. Re7 Rfa8 29. Kh2 fxe5 30. Rc1 R4a6 31. Rcc7 Rxd6 32. Rxg7+ Kh8 33. Rxh7+ Kg8 34. Rhg7+ Kh8 35. Rh7+ Kg8 36. Rhg7+ Kh8 37. Rh7+ Kg8 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.19"] [Round "7.5"] [White "Cervantes Landeiro, Thalia"] [Black "Sargsyan, Anna M."] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2311"] [BlackElo "2369"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "130"] [GameId "2234757699684728"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,30,18,25,22,22,20,149,6,5,29,17,16,25,22,22,16,18,-7,24,25,32,28,67,76,78,48,62,61,58,64,60,84]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Bf4 e6 4. e3 b6 5. c3 Bb7 6. Nbd2 Be7 7. Bd3 O-O 8. h4 Nbd7 9. h5 Ne4 10. Ne5 f6 $2 (10... Nxe5 11. Bxe5 {and only now} f6 $11 {is completely fine for Black.}) 11. Ng6 $3 Re8 (11... hxg6 $4 12. hxg6 {White wins with Qh5 or Rh8+ Kxh8 and then Qh5+. It's mate in at most four moves.}) 12. Nxe7+ $6 {Not bad, but missing the chance to continue brilliantly.} (12. Nxe4 $1 dxe4 13. Qg4 $1 Nf8 (13... f5 14. Bc4 $1 fxg4 15. Bxe6#) (13... exd3 14. Qxe6#) 14. Bb5 $1 hxg6 $1 15. hxg6 $1 Qd5 $8 16. Ba4 $1 Ba3 $3 17. Bb3 $1 Qa5 $1 18. Rb1 $1 $18 {There's no immediate win for White, but Black is busted. She can hardly move anything and her king is and will remain in terminal trouble.}) 12... Qxe7 13. Nxe4 dxe4 14. Bc4 (14. Bc2 $16) 14... Kh8 $6 15. Qg4 $16 (15. h6 $1 g5 16. Bg3 $16 {/+-}) 15... Nf8 16. Qg3 $6 (16. h6 $1 {AlphaZero chess. Put the pawn on h6 as an act of faith, believing that somehow, someday, it will pay off.} g5 17. Bg3 $16) 16... Rac8 (16... h6) 17. O-O-O $2 $15 {White forgets that she has a king, too. Black will remind her.} (17. O-O h6 $16) 17... a6 18. f3 b5 19. Bb3 a5 20. Bc2 h6 $1 21. Qg4 c5 $1 $17 22. fxe4 b4 $1 {Here comes everybody.} 23. d5 c4 $5 (23... e5 {was better, killing both White bishops with tempo.}) 24. dxe6 b3 25. Bb1 bxa2 26. Bxa2 Qxe6 27. Qxe6 Nxe6 28. e5 $1 $11 fxe5 29. Bxe5 Nc5 30. Bg3 $2 {The bishop is very badly placed here, but - perhaps in time trouble - Cervantes didn't manage to assess that it was far better to give up the exchange than to lose a pawn and submit to an utterly passive position.} (30. Bd4 $1 {had to be played, not fearing the loss of the exchange.} Nd3+ $8 31. Rxd3 $1 cxd3 32. Kd2 Rf8 33. Kxd3 Bxg2 34. Rg1 Rf2 35. c4 $11 {White's bishops are great, especially the one on d4. It's a three-results game.}) 30... Rxe3 $19 31. Bf2 Nd3+ 32. Kd2 Re7 33. Bd4 {The bishop has returned to d4 after all, albeit at the cost of two pawns and a knight in her face on d3.} Bxg2 34. Rhg1 Bf3 35. Bxc4 Rxc4 36. Kxd3 Be2+ $1 {Winning the exchange after all...and as we'll see, even though this exchange-down ending is far worse than the one White could have had with 30.Bd4, even here she still gets one last chance to save the game.} 37. Kd2 Bxd1 38. Kxd1 Rd7 39. Rg4 Kh7 40. Kd2 Rcc7 41. Kc2 Rd5 42. Rh4 Rb5 43. Kb1 Kg8 44. Ka2 Rg5 45. Ka3 Kf7 46. b3 Ke6 47. Ka4 Rf7 48. Be3 Rg3 49. Bd4 Rf5 50. Rh2 Rgg5 51. c4 Kf7 52. Bb6 Rxh5 53. Rc2 Rh1 54. c5 {Black's technique hasn't been smooth at all, and she has lost a significant chunk of her advantage. It's still enough to win, but only if she finds the right move here.} Ra1+ $2 (54... g5 {Passed pawns must be pushed!} 55. Kxa5 Ra1+ 56. Kb5 g4 57. b4 g3 58. Rg2 Rg5 $19 {The race has grown closer than it should have been, but Black is still fast enough to win.}) 55. Kb5 Ra3 56. Bxa5 $2 (56. Ka6 $1 {was the way to go, using Black's a-pawn as an umbrella shielding the king from the rook on a3. White's c-pawn is unpinned and free to fly, and fly it will - now it's Black who must show some care to draw.} Rxb3 57. c6 $11 Rfb5 58. Bxa5 Rb8 59. Ka7 $1 Rc8 60. c7 h5 61. Rd2 h4 62. Rd8 Rxc7+ 63. Bxc7 $11 {is one possibility, when White will try to win Black's pawns and reach rook and bishop vs. rook. (That's a draw, but Black has to sweat a bit.)}) 56... Rxb3+ $19 {Black is winning again, and White gets no further opportunities.} 57. Ka6 g5 58. Bb6 Rf1 59. Kb7 g4 60. Ra2 g3 61. Kc6 Rf2 62. Ra7+ Kg6 63. Ra8 g2 64. Bc7 Kh5 65. Bh2 Rh3 0-1 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.19"] [Round "7.6"] [White "Paragua, Megan Althea"] [Black "Atwell, Rose"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B14"] [WhiteElo "2259"] [BlackElo "2353"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "68"] [GameId "2234757699684729"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,36,26,19,26,16,37,12,19,0,-6,8,14,-7,8,14,24,4,14,16,9,22,24,-42,-15,-83,-30,-11,-21,-49,-63,-86,-38,-122,-147,-224,-156,-138,-137]} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 (5. c5 {is the Gunderam Attack, which, if I recall correctly, was recommended by GM Ray Keene 40+ years ago in a repertoire book. It's not so good here - though Black needs to know what to do - but it's a typical idea in the Panov.}) 5... e6 6. c5 {It's better here than on the previous move, though Black should still be fine if she's prepared.} (6. Nf3 {is usual.}) 6... Be7 7. Nf3 O-O {Black is ready to undermine White's c-pawn with ...b6, and if b4 then ...a5 taking advantage of White's unprotected rook. If White wants to maintain the d4+c5 grip she'll have to do something about this.} 8. Bd3 (8. Rb1 {looks like the most ambitious try, used successfully by Baadur Jobava in a couple of games.}) 8... b6 9. b4 a5 10. Na4 {The only playable move, but it's a standard idea.} Nbd7 11. a3 axb4 12. axb4 bxc5 13. bxc5 $6 (13. dxc5 {was better (though White is a little worse here), but it's easy to see why Paragua wouldn't want to do this.} e5 {looks scary. Black should be happy here, but it's not a disaster for White.} 14. Be2 $8 $11 {/?}) 13... e5 $1 {Anyway! All this has happened before. Atwell was still in her prep, but Paragua almost certainly wasn't.} 14. Nxe5 Nxe5 15. dxe5 Ne4 $1 16. Bd2 $2 $146 (16. O-O {is best - almost forced - as played in 16 of the 22 previous games to reach the position after 15...Ne4. Black is only slightly better after} Nxc5 17. Bc2 d4 $15) 16... Nxd2 $1 17. Qxd2 Bd7 $1 18. Bc2 Bb5 $1 $19 {The point of Black's last two moves. White can't castle, and with her king caught in the center her position should result in a loss.} 19. Ra2 Bxc5 20. Nxc5 $5 {A combination of desperation and trickiness. This is the first of two devilish traps Paragua sets for her opponent.} Rxa2 21. Bxh7+ Kxh7 22. Qxa2 Qg5 {This looks bad for White - because it is. The bishop can't be taken (with Qb1+ and Qxb5), it seems, because the h1-rook hangs, and in the meantime Black threatens both g2 and e5. But it's tricky...} (22... Kg8 $1) 23. Qb1+ Kh8 $3 (23... Kg8 $2 {is the obvious move and most of us would play it without thinking: why leave the rook unprotected and the king open the checks on the h-file? The answer is forthcoming.} 24. Qxb5 Qc1+ 25. Ke2 Qxh1 26. e6 $1 $11 {Yes, the position is equal - Black has no advantage whatsoever. The threat is 27.e7, but 27.exf7 - with check - is also a threat.} Qxh2 {This wins with the king on h8, but not here.} 27. exf7+ {Check.} Rxf7 (27... Kxf7 28. Qd7+ Kg6 29. Qxd5 $11 (29. Qe6+ $11) (29. Qc6+ $11)) (27... Kh8 28. Qd7 Qh5+ 29. f3 Qxf7 {Winning, right?} 30. Qxf7 $1 Rxf7 31. Ke3 {Nope, this is drawn. White will win the d-pawn, and even though Black can win the g-pawn in return it's still a draw.} Re7+ 32. Kd4 Re2 33. Kxd5 Rxg2 34. f4 $11 {To be fair, I doubt that Paragua had seen everything to here and doubt that she could evaluate at a (mental) glance that this is drawn - I probably would have guessed that Black was winning here (with difficulty) without checking with an engine. But I am sure that she had seen everything up to 26.e6 and quite a bit beyond that, and Atwell too. So kudos to both players: to Paragua for finding this idea and to Atwell for avoiding the trap.}) 28. Qe8+ Rf8 29. Qe6+ Kh8 30. Qxd5 $11) 24. Qxb5 Qc1+ 25. Ke2 Qxh1 26. Nd7 (26. e6 Qxh2 $19 {Here, as in the 23...Kg8 line, 27.e7 blunders the pawn (27...Qe5+ and 28...Qxe7). The difference is that} 27. exf7 {doesn't come with check, so Black can play} Qh5+ 28. f3 Qxf7 $19 {and here there's no endgame. The queens remain on the board, White's king remains in trouble, and Black will win.}) 26... Rd8 (26... Rc8 $142) 27. Qa5 $3 {A brilliant trick. If Black takes the knight, her rook will be dominated.} Rc8 $1 {Happily for Atwell, it's not too late to correct her inaccuracy from the previous move. Now the tricks are over and Black wins without any further ado.} (27... Rxd7 $2 28. Qa4 $1 {Incredibly, Black's rook is dominated and lost.} Qxh2 $1 (28... Rd8 29. Qh4+ $11) (28... Re7 29. Qh4+ $11) (28... Rc7 29. Qh4+ Kg8 30. Qd8+ $11) (28... Rb7 29. Qa8+ $11) 29. Qxd7 Qxe5+ $15 {should be drawn, but Black will play on forever trying to squeeze out the full point.}) 28. Qxd5 Qb1 (28... Rc2+ $1) 29. Ke3 Qc1+ 30. Ke2 Rc2+ 31. Kf3 Rc3+ 32. Ke4 Rc4+ 33. Kd3 Qc2+ 34. Ke3 Qb3+ {Avoiding a ladder mate will cost White the queen (for a rook) and then the knight.} 0-1