[Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.27"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A13"] [WhiteElo "2859"] [BlackElo "2690"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,83,33,-16,-3,-30,-30,-31,24,19,26,-25,-26,-33,-13,-34,-7,5,-3,-10,19,14,17,-4,2,-11,-15,-46,3,-36,1,-12,47,25,58,69,157,159,186,136,240,230,259,264,225,208,213,241,249,249,249,254,261,259,266,284,429,377,375,322,311,343,344,352,355,255,260,242,270,281,259,263,262,263,263,259,263,228,236,241,273,275,407,480,1118,1162]} 1. c4 e6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 d4 4. d3 c5 5. e3 Nf6 6. exd4 cxd4 7. a3 a5 8. Bg5 Nc6 9. Nd2 Be7 10. Ne2 O-O 11. O-O e5 12. Bxf6 Bxf6 13. Re1 h5 14. c5 Be7 15. Rc1 {The usual story: it's one thing to get a good position against Carlsen, another thing entirely to keep it.} a4 (15... Re8 $142 $15) 16. Nc4 Be6 (16... Bg5 $142 17. Rc2 Qc7 $11) 17. Bxc6 bxc6 $2 (17... Bxc4 $8 18. Rxc4 (18. Bxb7 $2 Bb3 19. Qd2 Ra5 $15 20. c6 $6 Bd6 $17) 18... bxc6 19. Rxa4 Bxc5 {is only a little better for White.}) 18. Nxe5 $16 Bg5 $1 19. Nxc6 Qf6 $2 (19... Qc7 20. Ncxd4 Bxc1 21. Qxc1 $16 {is much better for White, but not yet the end of the world for Black.}) 20. f4 $18 {Now Black is done. It took six moves, and he went from slightly better to completely lost. Who hasn't this happened to, at some point, against Carlsen?} Bb3 21. Qd2 Qxc6 22. fxg5 Qd5 23. h4 Rac8 24. Nf4 Qd7 25. Re4 Rc6 26. Qf2 Rd8 27. Nxh5 Bd5 28. Rxd4 Qc8 29. Nf4 Rxc5 30. Rxc5 Qxc5 31. Nxd5 Rxd5 32. Rxd5 Qxd5 33. d4 Qe4 34. Qd2 Qf3 35. Kh2 Qd5 36. Qd1 Qb5 37. Qd2 Qd5 38. h5 Qf3 39. h6 Qh5+ 40. Kg2 Qg4 41. d5 Qe4+ 42. Kh2 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.27"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Fedoseev, Vladimir3"] [Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E06"] [WhiteElo "2688"] [BlackElo "2722"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "111"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,111,33,25,29,11,11,18,25,-32,-14,-5,14,-56,21,-8,48,33,44,39,39,29,39,31,18,20,13,17,60,53,53,52,53,58,58,32,30,47,43,27,48,41,86,86,86,95,95,91,91,91,75,75,84,85,73,75,75,71,92,72,67,42,66,40,61,47,69,34,42,55,45,64,55,41,55,41,41,41,41,41,106,89,75,65,96,86,129,129,238,199,156,205,197,191,197,210,210,223,212,205,202,215,259,257,253,276,275,276,286,307,785,29992,29993,29994] Fedoseev stays hot, this time taking down one of the world's top young talents.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. Qc2 c6 7. O-O dxc4 8. Qxc4 b5 9. Qd3 Nbd7 10. Bg5 Bb7 11. Nbd2 Qb6 12. a4 a5 13. Rfc1 bxa4 14. Nc4 Qb5 15. Qc2 c5 16. Qxa4 Qxa4 17. Rxa4 h6 18. Bd2 Rfb8 19. Bf4 Rc8 20. Rxa5 Bd5 21. Rxa8 Rxa8 22. Bd6 Bxd6 23. Nxd6 cxd4 24. Nxd4 Ra4 25. e3 Ne5 26. b3 Ra6 27. Bxd5 Nxd5 28. Ne4 g5 29. h3 Kg7 30. g4 Nd3 31. Nc5 Nxc5 32. Rxc5 Nb4 33. Rc1 Ra2 34. Rd1 Rb2 $11 {Despite the missing pawn, Black should hold this.} 35. Kg2 Kf6 36. Kg3 Na2 37. Kf3 Nb4 38. Kg3 Na2 39. Rd3 Kg7 $6 (39... Nb4 $142) 40. Nc6 $1 {Thank you for the b4 square.} Rc2 41. Ne5 Nc3 $2 (41... Rc5 $8 42. f4 Rb5 43. Kf2 gxf4 44. exf4 Rb4 45. Ke3 f6 $14 {and the damage isn't yet irrevocable.}) 42. Rd7 Ne4+ 43. Kf3 Nxf2 $2 (43... Nd2+ 44. Kg2 Ne4 45. Rxf7+ Kg8 {keeps some hope alive.}) 44. Rxf7+ $18 Kg8 45. Rf6 Kg7 46. Rg6+ Kh7 47. Rxe6 Nxh3 48. b4 Rb2 49. Rb6 Ng1+ 50. Ke4 Ne2 51. Rb7+ Kg8 52. Kf5 Nc3 53. Kg6 Kf8 54. Nc6 $1 {Constructing a mating net. Black has no escape.} Ke8 55. Re7+ $1 Kf8 56. Rd7 $1 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.27"] [Round "6.3"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2713"] [BlackElo "2729"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "179"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,179,33,33,33,17,33,5,5,15,18,-12,-4,-18,31,26,16,16,42,18,-1,-6,4,-10,-9,-14,-15,-21,-17,-17,-21,-21,-10,-26,-23,-29,-18,-38,-19,-23,-9,-7,-4,-12,-33,-24,-17,-23,-17,-17,-17,-34,-15,-27,6,-8,4,0,8,0,26,10,20,13,18,5,22,30,27,28,27,43,54,28,40,24,34,22,27,23,42,1,-10,-10,13,-10,-10,-4,47,39,14,0,53,48,171,75,181,124,307,290,313,229,313,238,238,283,285,285,320,265,265,265,265,264,265,223,223,163,163,153,153,135,173,132,139,123,124,166,236,233,262,205,222,239,239,249,225,238,240,225,241,241,245,250,258,221,234,219,226,174,208,193,193,163,200,210,241,197,220,212,212,238,315,315,315,297,359,400,600,359,396,437,602,515,515,480,527,547,547,547,774,780] Last year's champ stays in the mix with a win over one of the top dogs.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. Nbd2 Nd7 7. O-O O-O 8. Nc4 Re8 9. Kh1 a5 10. a4 b6 11. b3 f6 12. Ba3 Bxa3 13. Rxa3 Nc5 14. Ne3 Be6 15. Ra1 Qd7 16. Qd2 Rad8 17. Qc3 Bf7 18. Rae1 Ne6 19. Nd2 Nd4 20. Ndc4 Qe7 21. Qd2 Qb4 22. Rd1 Qc5 23. f3 Rd7 24. Qf2 Red8 25. f4 exf4 26. Qxf4 Be6 27. Rde1 Qb4 28. Ra1 h6 29. h3 Kh7 30. Qf2 Qc5 31. Rac1 Bf7 32. Nd2 Ne6 33. Nf3 Kg8 34. Rce1 Ng5 35. Nh4 Be6 36. Ng6 Bf7 37. Nf4 Ne6 38. Ne2 Kh7 39. Ng3 Bg6 40. h4 Nd4 41. Kh2 Qe5 42. Ng4 Qc5 43. Ne3 Qe5 44. Nc4 {After a long simmer, the game finally starts to burn.} Qc5 (44... Qe7 $142 $14) 45. e5 Nxc2 $2 46. Qxc2 b5 $2 (46... Bxd3 47. Qf2 Bxf1 48. Qf5+ Kh8 49. Rxf1 $16 {/+-}) 47. e6 $2 (47. Ne3 $1 Qxc2 48. Nxc2 fxe5 49. Rxe5 $18) 47... Re7 $2 (47... Bxd3 48. Qf2 Rd4 $1 49. Nxa5 $1 Bxf1 50. Nxf1 $16 {/+-}) 48. Ne4 $2 (48. Ne3 $18) 48... Qh5 $2 (48... Bxe4 $14) 49. Nxa5 $18 Qxh4+ 50. Kg1 Rxe6 51. Nxc6 Rd5 52. Re3 bxa4 53. bxa4 Rh5 54. Rh3 Qg4 55. Rxh5 Qxh5 56. Nd4 {The dust has settled, and the result is that Black has no real compensation for his missing piece. Nevertheless, with limited material there's always hope that Black might reach a drawn ending with rook vs. rook and knight. Indeed, he gets chances later on, but makes errors of his own. In the end, the "logical" result comes to pass.} Re7 57. Ne2 Qe5 58. Nf4 Bxe4 59. dxe4 Qxe4 60. Qd3 Re5 61. Re1 Qxd3 62. Nxd3 Rd5 63. Nb2 Rd4 64. Ra1 Rd2 65. Nd1 Rd6 66. a5 Ra6 67. Nb2 Kg6 68. Nd3 Kf5 69. Nc5 Ra8 70. a6 Ke5 71. Rd1 g5 72. Rd7 h5 73. Kf2 h4 74. Kf3 f5 75. Ke3 g4 76. Nd3+ Kf6 77. Nc5 h3 78. gxh3 gxh3 79. Kf2 Rh8 80. Kg1 h2+ 81. Kh1 Ke5 82. a7 Ra8 83. Rxc7 Rh8 84. Rb7 Ra8 85. Rc7 Rh8 86. Nd7+ Kd6 87. Rb7 Ra8 88. Nb8 Ke5 89. Kxh2 Kf4 90. Nc6 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.27"] [Round "6.12"] [White "Keymer, Vincent"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E51"] [WhiteElo "2696"] [BlackElo "2766"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "161"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,161,33,25,16,-18,0,5,25,4,4,21,23,47,52,22,50,32,32,27,17,37,37,29,7,-3,-3,-3,-3,-23,-9,-19,-4,-94,-8,-63,7,-149,7,7,63,17,36,29,29,29,48,29,-6,-107,-99,-102,-102,-73,-61,-61,-46,-46,-33,-101,-93,-100,-100,-82,-84,-84,-83,-101,-82,0,69,75,100,103,102,105,106,118,117,117,121,124,124,118,139,121,121,129,141,137,133,133,137,137,151,146,145,145,143,138,144,138,154,124,150,51,75,50,51,52,45,54,74,59,282,276,328,310,328,327,327,332,358,372,396,396,392,389,384,384,384,384,384,384,384,384,384,384,384,384,384,365,384,384,384,384,384,384,384,384,384,384,384,384,430,476,507,384,384,384,507,547,557,547] Keymer had a good first day, but on day two his results were spectacular. Here's how it started.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. e3 O-O 6. Bd2 Nbd7 7. Rc1 Be7 8. Bd3 dxc4 9. Bxc4 a6 10. Bd3 c5 11. O-O b5 12. a4 b4 13. Ne4 Bb7 14. Ng3 Rc8 15. Qe2 Qa5 16. Ne5 Rfd8 17. Nc4 Qc7 18. e4 Bc6 19. e5 Nd5 20. Ne4 cxd4 21. Ncd6 Nxe5 22. Nxc8 Qxc8 23. Bxa6 d3 24. Bxd3 Nxd3 25. Qxd3 Nc3 26. Qc4 Bxe4 27. Qxc8 Rxc8 28. Rfe1 Bd3 29. Bxc3 bxc3 30. Rxc3 Rxc3 31. bxc3 Kf8 32. Rd1 Ba6 33. Rd7 Bf6 34. a5 Bxc3 35. Rd6 Be2 36. a6 Bxa6 37. Rxa6 h5 38. Kf1 g6 39. Ke2 Be5 40. h3 Ke7 41. Kd3 Kf8 42. Kc4 Ke7 43. Ra7+ Ke8 44. Kc5 Bc3 45. Rb7 Be5 46. g3 Bg7 47. Kd6 Bf8+ 48. Kc6 Bg7 49. f3 Be5 50. f4 Bg7 51. Rc7 Bh6 52. Ra7 h4 53. gxh4 Bxf4 54. Ra4 Bg3 55. Rg4 Be1 56. Kd6 Bf2 57. h5 Kf8 58. hxg6 Be3 59. Re4 Bc1 60. gxf7 Kxf7 61. Rxe6 Kg7 62. Ke5 Bb2+ 63. Kf5 Kh7 64. Rc6 Bd4 65. h4 Kg7 66. Re6 Bb2 67. Kg5 Bc1+ 68. Kh5 Kf7 69. Rg6 Bd2 70. Rg3 Bc1 71. Rg2 Kf6 72. Rc2 Be3 73. Rc7 Bd2 74. Rc8 Kg7 75. Rc2 Be3 76. Rg2+ Kh7 77. Re2 Bc5 78. Kg5 Kg7 79. h5 Ba3 80. h6+ Kh7 81. Kh5 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.27"] [Round "6.32"] [White "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Black "Yoo, Christopher Woojin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2698"] [BlackElo "2575"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,65,33,19,19,0,4,21,25,-30,-13,-45,-54,1,4,-88,-90,-59,5,-52,-11,-17,6,-23,-35,-21,-7,-7,8,8,8,-18,54,25,21,8,37,12,24,33,128,128,128,88,81,81,171,89,190,190,255,191,170,248,248,248,248,248,320,472,493,673,803,720,720,939,29989,29990] You may remember that these two played in the first round of this year's U.S. Championship, after which Yoo remarked that "I felt disrespected on every level by Hans Niemann". I don't know if there were similar hard feelings after this game as well, but it was another convincing win by Niemann.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Bb4 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 g5 8. Bg3 Ne4 9. a3 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 h5 11. Qc2 Nc6 12. f3 Nxg3 13. hxg3 Qd6 14. g4 h4 15. Nh3 Ne7 16. Bd3 f6 17. O-O O-O $2 {Black's position was getting difficult, but this turns out to be suicidal.} 18. Qe2 Be6 19. e4 $18 {ChatGPT would probably write that "White's attack plays itself", and it would be right. The rest is pretty easy, and Niemann finishes things off very competently.} Rae8 $2 20. e5 fxe5 21. dxe5 Qc5+ 22. Kh1 Nc6 23. Nxg5 Bc8 24. f4 Qxc3 25. Rac1 Qxa3 26. Bh7+ Kh8 27. Bg6 Re7 28. e6 Qg3 29. Rxc6 $1 Kg7 (29... bxc6 30. Qe5+ Kg8 31. Bf7+ {speedily mates.}) 30. Bf7 Rfxf7 31. Nxf7 (31. Qe5+ Rf6 32. Rxc7 Qa3 33. Rxc8 $18 {is a nice line for show-offs.}) 31... Kf8 32. Qe5 Rxe6 33. Qh8+ $1 (33. Qh8+ $1 Kxf7 34. Rxc7+ Re7 35. Qh7+ Kf6 36. Qxe7+ Kg6 37. Qg7#) 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.27"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Fedoseev, Vladimir3"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E11"] [WhiteElo "2688"] [BlackElo "2859"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "94"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,94,33,29,30,17,21,21,34,24,26,23,23,23,23,19,19,23,11,14,27,1,10,-7,16,16,9,2,1,8,10,15,16,16,13,16,5,0,24,14,-5,26,23,-10,0,0,-4,3,0,0,7,-5,0,0,23,-26,72,73,73,70,60,63,81,89,99,94,104,98,100,101,97,98,90,97,88,86,86,119,120,101,107,107,107,107,107,107,107,107,107,107,107,107,107,107,107,107,107] Fedoseev continues to play great chess and remain in content for the podium.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Nbd2 O-O 5. a3 Be7 6. e4 d6 7. Bd3 e5 8. O-O exd4 9. Nxd4 Nfd7 10. Bc2 Bf6 11. N2f3 Re8 12. Be3 Nc6 13. Nxc6 bxc6 14. Rb1 c5 15. b4 cxb4 16. Qd5 Rb8 17. axb4 Bb7 18. Qf5 Ne5 19. Nxe5 Rxe5 20. Qg4 a5 21. bxa5 Rxa5 22. c5 Bc6 23. cxd6 cxd6 24. Rxb8 Qxb8 25. h3 h5 26. Qe2 Qe8 27. Rd1 Ra8 28. Qxh5 Bxe4 29. Bxe4 Qxe4 30. Rxd6 Ra1+ 31. Rd1 Qa4 32. Rxa1 Qxa1+ 33. Kh2 Qe5+ 34. Qxe5 Bxe5+ 35. f4 Bc7 36. g4 g6 37. Kg3 f5 38. gxf5 gxf5 39. Kh4 Bd8+ 40. Kh5 Kh7 41. Bd4 Be7 42. Bc3 Bd8 43. Bb4 Bf6 44. Bf8 Bd8 45. Ba3 Bf6 46. Bb4 Bd8 47. Bc3 Be7 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.27"] [Round "7.2"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B40"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2713"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "122"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,122,25,28,52,54,51,41,45,26,15,43,27,66,47,16,23,44,22,13,32,31,18,22,21,21,12,-15,23,6,8,20,27,43,15,22,47,27,86,26,46,26,89,89,59,66,69,45,45,47,85,95,77,74,77,74,102,90,94,94,97,97,97,94,120,85,101,-163,-150,-150,-160,-160,-169,-195,-199,-203,-203,-211,-211,-211,-211,-211,-181,-228,-193,-206,-188,-198,-201,-204,-212,-220,-225,-224,-236,-236,-192,-213,-205,-205,-213,-222,-225,-277,-277,-284,-258,-285,-296,-321,-318,-313,-313,-314,-320,-314,-307,-272,-270,-197,-232,-394,-489,-852,-885] Last year's champion has a great result that keeps him in the running to retain his title, but it took some luck.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Ndb5 Bb4 7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. Nxc3 d5 9. Bd3 dxe4 10. Nxe4 Nxe4 11. Bxe4 Qxd1+ 12. Kxd1 Bd7 13. Kd2 e5 14. Re1 f6 15. b3 O-O-O 16. Kc3 Ne7 17. Kb2 Bc6 18. Bd3 h5 19. h4 Kc7 20. a4 a5 21. f4 e4 22. Bxe4 Bxe4 23. Rxe4 Nf5 24. Be3 Nxh4 25. Rc4+ Kb8 26. Bf2 Nf5 27. Rc5 g6 28. Rxa5 Rd2 29. Ba7+ Kc7 30. Rc5+ Kd7 31. Rg1 h4 32. Kc1 Rd6 33. a5 $4 (33. Rb5 $18) 33... Ra8 $1 $19 {Oops.} 34. Rxf5 (34. Bb6 Rxb6 35. axb6 Ra1+ {and 36...Rxg1 is the point.}) 34... gxf5 35. Bf2 Rxa5 36. Kb2 Rd2 37. Bxh4 Rc5 38. Rc1 Ke6 39. Be1 Rxg2 40. Bc3 Re2 41. Rh1 Rf2 42. Rh6 Rxf4 43. Rxf6+ Kd5 44. Be1 Rf1 45. c4+ Ke4 46. Bb4 Rc6 47. Rf7 Rf2+ 48. Kc3 Rf3+ 49. Kb2 b6 50. Re7+ Kd3 51. Ka3 f4 52. Ka4 Rf1 53. Rf7 Kc2 54. Rd7 Ra1+ 55. Kb5 Rf6 56. Rd2+ Kxb3 57. Rd3+ Kc2 58. Rd2+ Kc1 59. Rf2 Rb1 60. Ka4 f3 61. c5 bxc5 0-1 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.27"] [Round "7.4"] [White "Yu, Yangyi"] [Black "Keymer, Vincent"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A45"] [WhiteElo "2728"] [BlackElo "2696"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "182"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,182,29,29,30,-21,3,-3,0,-2,36,26,66,52,59,41,71,55,43,39,39,28,45,42,61,44,46,46,28,16,19,12,31,21,21,19,21,21,16,-9,1,-43,-30,-45,-42,-51,-26,-43,-53,-57,-67,-64,-61,-58,-79,-75,-62,-61,-63,-84,-95,-92,-58,-55,-70,-70,-74,-74,-82,-78,-75,-99,-97,-94,-93,-97,-101,-101,-101,-114,-121,-109,-111,-117,-116,-114,-113,-115,-115,-117,-115,-115,-103,-117,-116,-116,-116,-121,-121,-138,-107,-112,-115,-121,-115,-113,-120,-132,-133,-142,-142,-137,-130,-143,-148,-140,-140,-140,-140,-140,-140,-146,-134,-134,-132,-140,-134,-140,-140,-144,-140,-140,-137,-140,-140,-134,-134,-134,-134,-140,-115,-130,-134,-135,-135,-134,-134,-134,-139,-176,-150,-174,-173,-169,-157,-186,-186,-182,-174,-184,-184,-173,-184,-173,-173,-173,-183,-173,-131,-148,-148,-152,-152,-152,-133,-212,-202,-212,-219,-216,-202,-389,-402,-1012,-1439] Keymer takes down another elite GM, this time with Black. Peter Leko's protege is suddenly in the running for first place.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 d5 3. e3 e6 4. c4 dxc4 5. Bxc4 c5 6. Nf3 cxd4 7. exd4 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Nc3 Nc6 10. Re1 h6 11. Bf4 Nb4 12. Be5 Bd7 13. a3 Rc8 14. Bb3 Nbd5 15. Qd3 Nxc3 16. bxc3 Qa5 17. c4 Ba4 18. Ba2 Rfd8 19. h3 b5 20. Rec1 bxc4 21. Bxc4 Bc6 22. Qe2 Bd5 23. a4 Bxc4 24. Rxc4 Qa6 25. Rac1 Nd5 26. Qf1 Rxc4 27. Qxc4 Qxc4 28. Rxc4 a5 29. Ne1 Nb6 30. Rc7 Bd6 31. Bxd6 Rxd6 32. Nf3 Nxa4 33. Ra7 Nc3 34. Rxa5 Ne2+ 35. Kf1 Nxd4 36. Nxd4 Rxd4 37. g3 g5 38. Kg2 Kg7 39. Rb5 Kg6 40. Rb8 Ra4 41. Rg8+ Kh7 42. Rb8 Kg7 43. Rb5 Kf6 44. Rb8 Ra5 45. Rb4 h5 46. Rb8 Kg7 47. Rb7 Ra4 48. Rb5 Kg6 49. Rb8 f5 50. Rg8+ Kf6 51. Rf8+ Kg7 52. Re8 Kf7 53. Rb8 h4 54. gxh4 Rxh4 55. Rb7+ Kf6 56. Rb8 Ra4 57. Rb6 Ke5 58. Kg3 Ra3+ 59. Kg2 Rd3 60. Ra6 Rd6 61. Ra4 Rc6 62. Ra5+ Kf6 63. Ra8 Rd6 64. Kg3 Rd1 65. Kg2 Re1 66. Ra5 Re2 67. Kf3 Re5 68. Ra8 Re1 69. Kg2 Ke5 70. Ra4 Re4 71. Ra3 Rd4 72. Kf3 Rd6 73. Ra5+ Kf6 74. Kg2 e5 75. Ra8 e4 76. Re8 Ra6 77. Rf8+ Ke5 78. Re8+ Kf4 79. Rb8 Rd6 80. Ra8 Rd2 81. Ra4 Ke5 82. Ra5+ Rd5 83. Ra8 f4 84. Re8+ Kd4 85. Ra8 Kd3 86. Ra2 Rc5 87. Ra3+ Rc3 88. Ra5 Rc2 89. Ra3+ Ke2 90. Ra5 e3 91. Ra1 f3+ 0-1 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.27"] [Round "7.6"] [White "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D73"] [WhiteElo "2722"] [BlackElo "2764"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,65,29,29,19,-12,33,14,16,24,26,-3,38,5,37,16,5,-10,8,8,55,-3,21,-1,-3,-24,6,6,39,28,50,10,23,29,32,32,100,98,81,84,87,71,111,100,125,120,182,192,188,217,140,140,251,215,215,215,207,207,180,167,168,184,185,195,587,545,673,756] Erigaisi bounces back from his loss in the previous round with a win over one of the world's top players, finishing things off with a nice attack.} 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. d4 Nf6 5. c4 c6 6. cxd5 cxd5 7. Nc3 O-O 8. Ne5 Bf5 9. O-O Ne4 10. Be3 Nxc3 11. bxc3 Nc6 12. Qb3 Nxe5 13. dxe5 Bxe5 14. Bxd5 Qc7 15. Rac1 e6 16. Bf3 Bh3 17. Rfd1 Rad8 18. Bxa7 Rxd1+ 19. Rxd1 Rd8 20. Bd4 Bxd4 21. cxd4 Qa5 22. e3 Ra8 23. Qxb7 Ra7 24. Qc8+ Kg7 25. d5 Rc7 26. Qd8 exd5 27. g4 f6 28. Bxd5 Bxg4 29. f3 Bh3 30. Qg8+ Kh6 31. Qf8+ Kg5 32. f4+ Kf5 33. Qh6 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.27"] [Round "7.9"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C24"] [WhiteElo "2740"] [BlackElo "2698"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "64"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,64,29,17,17,17,17,-7,5,5,-4,-39,-9,13,47,34,64,62,63,55,55,48,90,54,103,37,44,4,3,-5,-15,-30,-19,-21,-22,-18,-33,-16,-37,-37,-40,-30,-21,-39,-38,-28,-38,-35,-35,-38,-20,-41,-37,-21,-77,-93,-19,-48,-25,-81,13,-289,-316,-363,-384,-384,-361] Niemann wins a second straight game. Could we be headed for a potentially disastrous pairing between him and Carlsen?} 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 Nc6 4. Nc3 Na5 5. Bb3 Nxb3 6. axb3 d6 7. f4 exf4 8. Bxf4 Be7 9. Nf3 O-O 10. O-O d5 11. e5 Ne8 12. d4 Bf5 13. Kh1 c6 14. Ne2 Nc7 15. Ng3 Bg6 16. c3 Ne6 17. Be3 f5 18. exf6 Bxf6 19. b4 a5 20. bxa5 Rxa5 21. Rxa5 Qxa5 22. Ne5 Bxe5 23. Rxf8+ Nxf8 24. dxe5 Qa2 25. Qc1 Qc4 26. Qa1 (26. Qd2 $142 $11) 26... h5 $1 27. Qa8 $2 d4 $1 {Very nice. Now the queen covers the e6 square, so ...h4 is a bigger threat.} (27... h4 $2 28. e6 $1 hxg3 29. e7 Qf1+ 30. Bg1 Be4 31. Qxf8+ Qxf8 32. exf8=Q+ Kxf8 33. hxg3 $11) 28. Bxd4 (28. cxd4 h4 $1 29. e6 Qxe6 30. Nf1 Bd3 $19) 28... h4 29. b3 (29. e6 Qxe6 30. Nf1 Qe1 31. Kg1 Bd3 $19) 29... Qf7 $1 30. e6 Qxe6 31. Qxb7 Qe1+ 32. Bg1 hxg3 0-1 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.27"] [Round "7.44"] [White "Yoo, Christopher Woojin"] [Black "Narayanan, S.L."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B30"] [WhiteElo "2575"] [BlackElo "2669"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "78"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,78,29,17,54,51,51,25,56,56,40,35,53,8,40,28,23,32,18,-6,66,66,67,67,67,71,54,41,53,48,51,47,33,46,46,13,-15,34,26,47,54,58,99,89,80,52,56,58,137,123,130,125,122,169,185,185,191,191,191,191,191,191,188,224,227,255,294,295,314,311,311,343,354,319,349,336,423,411,468,495,494] Just as in the U.S. Championship, Yoo bounces back from a loss to Niemann with a win over a very strong player. Impressive resilience by the youngster.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 e6 4. O-O Nge7 5. Re1 b6 6. c3 a6 7. Bxc6 Nxc6 8. d4 d5 9. Bg5 Be7 10. Bxe7 Nxe7 11. dxc5 bxc5 12. exd5 Nxd5 13. Qa4+ Qd7 14. Qc4 O-O 15. Qxc5 Bb7 16. Qd4 Qc7 17. Qe5 Qxe5 18. Nxe5 Rfd8 19. g3 f6 20. Nc4 a5 21. Nbd2 e5 22. a4 Ba6 23. Rad1 Rdb8 24. Nxa5 Bd3 25. Ndc4 e4 26. f3 f5 27. fxe4 fxe4 28. Nc6 Bxc4 29. Nxb8 Rxb8 30. Rxe4 Bb3 31. Ra1 Bc2 32. Re5 Bb3 33. a5 Kf7 34. a6 Kf6 35. a7 Ra8 36. Re4 Kf5 37. Rd4 Ke5 38. Ra3 Bc2 39. Ra5 Be4 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.27"] [Round "8.1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Dubov, Daniil"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A01"] [WhiteElo "2859"] [BlackElo "2708"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "70"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,70,29,-23,-27,-26,-26,-19,12,5,3,-13,-5,-22,-22,-12,-13,-5,-23,-14,-8,-12,-12,-7,0,0,-5,-21,-10,-1,7,7,7,11,7,7,11,6,8,-4,9,0,0,0,12,-6,5,0,0,14,12,9,4,0,0,0,0,0,7,8,8,8,14,10,13,10,14,0,0,6,0,0,0] Another draw for the World Champion, against his sometime second, the very creative openings specialist Daniil Dubov.} 1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. e3 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. c4 Nge7 6. d4 exd4 7. Nxd4 O-O 8. Nxc6 dxc6 9. Qxd8 Rxd8 10. Bxg7 Kxg7 11. Nc3 a5 12. Be2 Be6 13. f3 f5 14. Kf2 Ng8 15. Rhd1 Rxd1 16. Rxd1 Nf6 17. Rd4 Nd7 18. f4 Nc5 19. e4 Nxe4+ 20. Nxe4 fxe4 21. Rxe4 Kf7 22. a4 Rd8 23. Ke3 Bf5 24. Rd4 Rxd4 25. Kxd4 {With the more active king and the better majority, you might think that White is close to winning. As it turns out, he has nothing, due in part to his queenside pawns being on light squares.} Bc2 26. Kc3 Be4 27. g4 c5 28. Bd3 Bf3 29. g5 Bg4 30. Kd2 b6 31. Bc2 Bf5 {A nice touch. If White doesn't trade bishops, he has no way in; if he does trade bishops...he has no way in. (If he could put the g-pawn back on g3, it would be a dead won king and pawn ending for White.)} 32. Bd1 Kg7 33. h4 h5 34. Bc2 Kf7 35. Bxf5 gxf5 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.27"] [Round "8.2"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "Fedoseev, Vladimir3"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D45"] [WhiteElo "2713"] [BlackElo "2688"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "86"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,86,23,-11,21,21,6,18,33,35,50,48,43,19,44,29,35,31,50,23,47,15,10,-13,-4,40,45,-39,0,17,-5,-17,-28,-8,3,8,0,-20,46,22,41,6,29,10,14,-16,-25,-36,-16,-25,-72,-72,-41,-109,-99,-69,-58,-104,-60,-105,-105,-102,-105,-106,-112,-108,-92,-92,-92,-92,-92,-126,-45,-48,-45,-47,-8,-41,0,-10,-10,-34,-36,-44,-27,-37,-27,-37,-25] The co-leaders remain tied with Carlsen.} 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 c6 4. e3 Nf6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. Be2 dxc4 7. a4 Bd6 8. O-O O-O 9. Bxc4 c5 10. Qe2 b6 11. dxc5 Bxc5 12. e4 Bb7 13. Bg5 Qb8 14. Rad1 Bb4 15. Rd4 Bxc3 16. bxc3 e5 17. Rd2 h6 18. Rfd1 Qc7 19. Bh4 Bc6 20. Bb5 Rac8 21. c4 Rfe8 22. h3 Re6 23. Bg3 Qb7 24. Bh4 a6 25. Bxc6 Qxc6 26. c5 bxc5 27. Qc4 Kh7 28. a5 Rb8 29. Bxf6 Nxf6 30. Rd5 Nxd5 31. exd5 Qd6 32. Qc2+ Rg6 33. Nh4 Rb4 34. Nxg6 fxg6 35. Qe2 $2 (35. g3 $15) 35... c4 $2 {Squandering a big opportunity.} (35... Rd4 $19) 36. Qc2 $11 Kg8 37. g3 Kf7 38. h4 h5 39. Qe4 Kg8 40. Qc2 Kh7 41. Kg2 Kg8 42. Kg1 Kf7 43. Qe4 Kg8 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.27"] [Round "8.3"] [White "Keymer, Vincent"] [Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A04"] [WhiteElo "2696"] [BlackElo "2722"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "113"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,113,23,19,80,1,17,0,8,-2,6,20,21,27,42,18,58,-13,-20,-20,-33,-47,-27,-23,-13,-44,-34,-48,0,2,-18,-18,-10,1,0,13,7,7,21,66,59,48,43,21,51,61,97,198,198,161,161,95,107,91,166,166,166,165,166,107,130,97,109,102,118,114,145,109,109,119,150,136,146,108,108,114,108,114,108,123,126,125,124,128,130,130,130,109,216,120,134,114,125,133,171,184,180,154,174,180,180,203,209,214,214,226,229,237,249,241,277,369,404,449,463,531] Keymer makes it 3-0 on the day, catching up to the leaders. It has been a tremendous performance by the youngster.} 1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nf6 3. g3 Nc6 4. Bg2 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Nc3 Nc7 7. a3 g6 8. b4 cxb4 9. axb4 Bg7 10. Ba3 O-O 11. O-O a6 12. Rc1 h6 13. Ne1 Be6 14. Nd3 Nb5 15. Bb2 Nbd4 16. Nc5 Bg4 17. Nxb7 Qb8 18. h3 Bxh3 19. Bxh3 Qxb7 20. e3 Qxb4 21. Ba1 $14 Ne6 $2 (21... Nf5) 22. d4 $16 Rad8 $2 23. Bxe6 $18 fxe6 24. Qg4 Kh7 25. Qxe6 (25. Ne4 $1) 25... Qd6 26. Qxd6 Rxd6 27. Ne4 Re6 28. Nc5 Rd6 29. Nb7 Rd7 30. Rxc6 Rxb7 31. Rxa6 $16 Rc7 32. d5 Rc2 33. Bxg7 Kxg7 34. Re6 Rf7 35. f4 Rc7 36. Kg2 Rf6 37. Rxf6 Kxf6 38. Rb1 Rc2+ 39. Kf3 $18 h5 40. Rb6+ Kf7 41. Rb7 Rd2 42. e4 Ke8 43. g4 Kf7 $2 (43... hxg4+ $8) 44. gxh5 gxh5 45. Rb6 Rd3+ 46. Ke2 Rd4 47. Ke3 Rd1 48. f5 h4 49. Rh6 Rh1 50. Kf4 h3 51. Rh7+ Kg8 52. Rh4 Kf7 53. Kg3 Kf6 54. Rxh3 Re1 55. Rh6+ Kg5 56. Rg6+ Kh5 57. Kf4 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.27"] [Round "8.7"] [White "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Black "Quparadze, Giga"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A04"] [WhiteElo "2690"] [BlackElo "2470"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "38"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,38,23,19,54,8,4,-5,47,17,37,37,34,25,51,44,29,9,14,7,-2,4,3,-9,-18,-22,-20,-24,-8,-33,-24,-71,-111,-133,-122,-113,-111,-147,-157,-469,-524] Van Foreest's day gets worse and worse. Meanwhile, Quparadze is on his way up, and earns a meeting with Carlsen in round 9.} 1. Nf3 c5 2. g3 Nc6 3. Bg2 g6 4. c3 e5 5. d4 cxd4 6. cxd4 e4 7. Ne5 d5 $15 8. Nc3 Bg7 9. O-O Nge7 10. Bf4 O-O 11. Rc1 Be6 (11... Nf5 $142 $17) 12. Qd2 (12. f3 $142) 12... Rc8 (12... Nf5 $142) 13. Nb5 $2 Nf5 (13... Qb6 $142 $19) 14. Nxc6 Rxc6 $17 15. Be5 $2 Qb6 (15... Bh6 $142 $19) 16. a4 $2 Bxe5 17. dxe5 e3 $19 {White is finished.} 18. fxe3 Nxe3 19. a5 $2 {Presumably what Van Foreest had counted on a few moves ago, but it meets a one-move refutation.} Nxf1+ 0-1 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.27"] [Round "8.16"] [White "Mamedov, Rauf"] [Black "Esipenko, Andrey"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C77"] [WhiteElo "2646"] [BlackElo "2678"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "27"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,27,23,17,17,16,16,-14,12,-29,-7,-19,-6,5,5,-44,-44,-55,64,40,133,105,175,153,153,130,230,459,469,588] If you thought Van Foreest's 19-move loss was short, well, it was. But this is even worse!} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. Nc3 b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. Nd5 Nxe4 $6 (7... O-O) (7... d6) 8. d4 $1 $16 Be7 $6 (8... Bxd4 $142) 9. O-O $18 O-O 10. Re1 Nd6 11. Nxe5 Bf6 12. c3 Nf5 $4 {Black hopes to untangle in way that's analogous to a well-known line of the 5.Re1 Berlin. Here, it doesn't work.} 13. Nxf7 $1 Rxf7 14. Nxf6+ (14. Nxf6+ gxf6 (14... Qxf6 15. Re8# {is rather abrupt.}) 15. Bxf7+ Kxf7 16. Qh5+ $18 {and 17.Qf5 will leave White with an extra exchange and a pawn, together with a crushing attack.}) 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.27"] [Round "9.1"] [White "Quparadze, Giga"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C07"] [WhiteElo "2470"] [BlackElo "2859"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "113"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,113,23,17,47,27,44,5,62,55,46,46,6,6,24,18,17,17,-6,-11,-8,-51,-20,-28,-12,-13,-15,-9,0,0,37,35,16,6,1,-20,-20,-14,-14,-8,-32,-12,-17,-42,-24,-36,-36,-36,-3,-66,-65,-57,-62,-64,-64,-117,-70,-96,-127,-145,-112,-103,-110,-108,-161,-124,-135,-151,-151,-162,-157,-189,-191,-169,-150,-169,-128,-126,-70,-71,-90,-117,-148,-170,-127,-128,-151,-199,-144,-219,-143,-158,-129,-260,-224,-260,-196,-243,-279,-285,-289,-355,-341,-398,-437,-475,-475,-586,-335,-586,-628,-660,-665,-669,-671,-708]} 1. e4 e6 {Another French. After 40 years, John Watson has received full vindication.} 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. Ngf3 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nc6 6. Bb5 Bd7 7. Nxc6 bxc6 8. Bd3 Bd6 9. Qe2 Ne7 10. b3 Ng6 11. g3 Ne5 12. Bb2 Nxd3+ 13. Qxd3 O-O $15 14. c4 Bc8 (14... Qg5 $15) 15. O-O Bb7 16. c5 Be7 (16... Bxc5 17. Bxg7 Bxf2+ 18. Rxf2 Kxg7 19. Qc3+ $44 {/?}) 17. Rac1 (17. exd5 $142) 17... dxe4 $1 18. Qxd8 Rfxd8 19. Nxe4 Rd5 (19... Ba6 $142) 20. Rfd1 Rad8 21. Rxd5 (21. Nd6 $1 $11 Bxd6 22. Rxd5 exd5 23. cxd6 Rxd6 24. Re1 f6 25. Re7 Ba6 26. Rxa7 $11) 21... Rxd5 $15 22. Rc4 $2 (22. Kf1) 22... f5 $17 23. Nd6 Ba6 $2 (23... Bxd6 $1 {was right - not for the sake of winning a pawn, as the opposite-colored bishop ending should be drawn if it's just a matter of "normal" chess - but because Black has a mating attack.} 24. cxd6 Rd1+ $1 25. Kg2 c5+ $1 26. Kh3 (26. f3 Rd2+ 27. Kf1 Rxb2 28. Rd4 $1 Bc8 29. d7 Bxd7 30. Rxd7 Rxa2 $19) 26... g5 $19) 24. Rc1 (24. Rd4 $142 $15 {/=}) 24... Rd2 25. Bc3 Rxa2 26. Re1 $6 (26. Ra1 {should still hold (probably).}) 26... Be2 $1 27. f4 a5 $1 $17 28. Nb7 $2 g5 $1 $19 {The game opens up for the bishops, and Carlsen goes on to win. For the first time in the tournament, he finds himself in clear first place.} 29. Ra1 Rc2 30. Bd4 gxf4 31. gxf4 Bf3 32. Nxa5 Rg2+ 33. Kf1 Rxh2 34. b4 Bd5 35. Ra3 Rh1+ 36. Ke2 Rb1 37. Rg3+ Kf8 38. Bc3 e5 39. fxe5 f4 40. Rg4 f3+ 41. Kf2 Rc1 42. Bd4 Rc2+ 43. Ke3 h5 44. Rf4+ Ke8 45. Kd3 Rg2 46. b5 cxb5 47. c6 Rg4 48. Rxg4 hxg4 49. Bf2 Bb4 50. Kd4 Bxa5 51. Kxd5 Bc7 52. Ke4 b4 53. Bd4 b3 54. Ke3 Ke7 55. Kf2 Ke6 56. Kg3 Kd5 57. Bb2 0-1 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.27"] [Round "9.2"] [White "Fedoseev, Vladimir3"] [Black "Keymer, Vincent"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D41"] [WhiteElo "2688"] [BlackElo "2696"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "122"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,122,23,23,30,17,21,21,25,-11,46,42,87,12,21,24,20,20,23,46,64,44,48,19,48,62,44,45,63,68,48,43,39,28,33,27,27,28,15,-3,6,12,6,6,14,1,0,0,0,2,2,-11,-11,-19,-11,15,35,46,45,43,40,47,79,80,104,83,94,91,95,95,74,74,74,67,73,72,72,63,69,59,59,51,49,42,50,33,45,42,36,33,36,36,42,31,47,43,43,47,33,55,47,47,42,42,42,42,42,43,53,45,45,44,44,44,48,55,51,43,25,25,17,3,3,2,2] Finally, Keymer doesn't win a game. Still, a draw with Black against Fedoseev, who has been playing great chess in the tournament as well, is not a bad result.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. a3 cxd4 7. Qxd4 Nc6 8. Qd3 Be7 9. e4 Nxc3 10. Qxc3 O-O 11. Be3 Qa5 12. Qxa5 Nxa5 13. Rd1 Rd8 14. Rxd8+ Bxd8 15. b4 Nc6 16. Bd3 Bd7 17. Ke2 a6 18. Rd1 Be8 19. b5 axb5 20. Bxb5 Be7 21. a4 Kf8 22. g4 Na7 23. Bxe8 Kxe8 24. Nd4 Nc8 25. Rc1 Kd7 26. Rd1 Ke8 27. Ra1 Bf6 28. g5 Bxd4 29. Bxd4 Nd6 30. Kd3 Rd8 31. Rb1 Rd7 32. Rb4 h6 33. h4 hxg5 34. hxg5 Ke7 35. Bc5 Rc7 36. Kd4 Kd7 37. Bxd6 Kxd6 38. Rb6+ Ke7 39. f4 Rd7+ 40. Ke3 g6 41. a5 Kd8 42. f5 gxf5 43. exf5 exf5 44. Kf4 Ke7 45. Ke5 Rc7 46. Rb5 Rd7 47. Kxf5 Kf8 48. Ke5 Kg7 49. Rb6 Kg8 50. Rd6 Rc7 51. Kf6 Rc8 52. Rb6 Kf8 53. Rb5 Rc6+ 54. Ke5 Ra6 55. Kd4 Ke8 56. Kc5 Kd8 57. Kb4 Kc8 58. Rf5 b6 59. Rxf7 bxa5+ 60. Kb5 Rg6 61. Rf5 Kd7 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.27"] [Round "9.5"] [White "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A45"] [WhiteElo "2722"] [BlackElo "2737"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "123"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,123,23,23,30,30,65,43,43,54,47,18,50,49,49,18,69,45,62,70,61,60,97,82,78,59,59,51,52,34,75,87,77,21,51,45,31,28,45,40,27,54,110,85,87,65,97,56,51,106,87,69,60,72,60,51,52,69,145,123,123,145,137,140,152,141,187,161,187,170,179,194,243,194,273,281,282,183,204,184,327,188,181,159,184,148,154,147,198,193,200,150,163,161,179,201,271,239,305,278,278,190,261,173,219,200,193,200,215,215,219,205,196,162,168,148,281,312,312,288,378,431,962,1350,1837,1837] MVL had been climbing back towards the top, but this game did some serious damage to his chances. A good win for Erigaisi, who has bounced back from his loss to Keymer in the preceding round.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. e3 Bg7 5. h4 h5 6. Nf3 Bg4 7. Qd2 Bxf3 8. gxf3 c6 9. O-O-O Nbd7 10. e4 e6 11. Rg1 Nb6 12. Kb1 O-O 13. Bg5 Qc7 14. Bd3 Nc4 15. Bxc4 dxc4 16. f4 Kh7 17. f3 b5 18. Qg2 Qd7 19. Qh3 b4 20. Na4 Ng8 21. Nc5 Qc8 22. e5 a5 23. Qf1 c3 24. bxc3 Nh6 25. Bxh6 Bxh6 26. c4 Bxf4 27. Ne4 c5 28. Qd3 Qc7 29. Nf6+ Kh8 30. Qe4 Bh6 31. dxc5 Rad8 32. c6 Bg7 33. Nd7 Rfe8 34. Rd6 Rc8 35. c5 Qa7 36. f4 a4 37. Nb6 b3 38. Qxa4 bxa2+ 39. Qxa2 Qe7 40. Rg5 Rc7 41. Qc4 Rb8 42. c3 Qe8 43. Qe4 Bf8 44. Kc2 Ra7 45. Rg1 Be7 46. Rh1 Bd8 47. Qd4 Rc7 48. Qa4 Qe7 49. Nd7 Rbc8 50. Nf6 Qf8 51. Rb1 Be7 52. Rb6 Ra8 53. Ra6 Rac8 54. Kd3 Kg7 55. Ke2 Rb8 56. Kf3 Qc8 57. Nd7 Bxh4 58. Nxb8 Qxb8 59. Rb6 Qh8 60. Rb7 Bd8 61. Qa8 h4 62. Rxd8 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.27"] [Round "9.8"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Gareyev, Timur"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C78"] [WhiteElo "2766"] [BlackElo "2602"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "91"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,91,23,17,17,16,16,12,16,-19,0,-48,-37,14,23,-2,21,16,23,15,23,38,38,26,16,1,44,-3,26,-10,7,25,45,-2,31,46,63,67,97,99,70,70,46,30,64,57,46,77,60,60,58,64,64,43,38,64,64,62,80,56,56,65,133,118,115,132,124,139,139,112,124,124,-68,32,51,61,87,61,89,89,210,164,280,283,283,286,286,286,328,229,249,183,445,516] Caruana continues his comeback, defeating American dark horse (and blindfold chess world record holder) Timur Gareev.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Be7 7. d3 d6 8. a3 O-O 9. Nc3 Bb7 10. Re1 Rb8 11. Ne2 h6 12. Ng3 Re8 13. c3 Bf8 14. d4 Na5 15. Bc2 c5 16. h3 Qc7 17. d5 c4 18. a4 Bc8 19. axb5 axb5 20. Be3 Bd7 21. Nd2 g6 22. Ra3 b4 23. cxb4 Rxb4 24. Qa1 Nb7 25. Ra7 Qb8 26. Qa3 Nc5 27. Bxc5 dxc5 28. Rb1 h5 29. Ne2 Bh6 30. Nf3 g5 31. Ra6 Rb6 32. Rxb6 Qxb6 33. Qc3 Qb4 34. Qe3 Kg7 35. Nxg5 Nh7 36. h4 f6 37. f4 exf4 38. Nxf4 fxg5 39. Nxh5+ Kh8 40. e5 c3 41. e6 Qd4 42. Qxd4+ cxd4 43. exd7 Rd8 44. bxc3 gxh4 45. c4 Rxd7 46. Bxh7 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2022"] [Site "Almaty KAZ"] [Date "2022.12.27"] [Round "9.10"] [White "Yu, Yangyi"] [Black "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2728"] [BlackElo "2698"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2022.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,67,23,17,17,16,16,16,20,-23,20,-37,-28,-40,28,8,36,-49,-21,-35,-24,-14,-1,-1,8,12,7,5,1,6,6,-2,23,17,16,18,26,26,85,91,125,128,140,142,142,161,182,208,212,208,221,216,228,217,228,191,191,202,203,203,200,192,195,165,173,168,218,220,247,255] For now, it looks like the nightmare pairing has been averted, as Yu's win leaves Niemann two full points behind Carlsen with only three rounds to make up the distance.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 Be7 7. Nbd2 d6 8. Nf1 a6 9. Ba4 b5 10. Bb3 Na5 11. Ne3 Nxb3 12. axb3 Be6 13. O-O O-O 14. b4 g5 15. Bg3 Kh8 16. c3 Rg8 17. d4 Nxe4 18. dxe5 g4 19. exd6 Nxg3 20. fxg3 Bxd6 21. Nd4 Qg5 22. Nef5 Be5 23. Nxe6 fxe6 24. Qe1 exf5 25. Qxe5+ Qg7 26. Qxf5 Rgf8 27. Rxa6 $1 {Black was lost in any case, but this was a nice shot.} Rxa6 28. Qxf8+ Qxf8 29. Rxf8+ Kg7 30. Rf4 h5 31. h3 Ra1+ 32. Rf1 Ra2 33. Rf5 Kg6 34. Rxb5 1-0