[Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.14"] [Round "4.1"] [Board "1"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Volokitin, Andrei"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2798"] [BlackElo "2660"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "85"] [GameId "2090227461172799"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "United States of America"] [BlackTeam "Ukraine"] [BlackTeamCountry "UKR"] {[%evp 0,85,24,24,51,64,67,62,59,51,42,41,60,26,51,27,33,36,46,21,27,22,19,21,44,47,47,52,98,22,32,-12,6,3,21,8,21,8,-16,-20,-16,-18,-29,-25,-22,-16,-41,-75,-32,-64,-69,-65,-24,-41,-43,-62,18,21,21,56,63,56,93,93,65,89,76,90,79,79,80,83,101,99,97,163,175,244,254,234,258,305,362,381,540,639,935,766]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bd3 g6 ({In case of} 6... e5 {White plays} 7. Nde2 {, often followed by f4.}) 7. f3 Qb6 (7... Bg7) 8. Nb3 (8. a3 {is also common. Black can't take on d4 as 9.Bb5+ wins the queen; otherwise White plays 9.Be3, when 9...Qxb2?? 10.Na4 snags the queen. White's 8.a3 takes away both the a3 and b4 squares from Black's queen.}) 8... Nbd7 9. Qe2 Bg7 10. Be3 Qc7 11. g4 $146 {Probably better or at least more challenging than castling, which Volokitin faced earlier this year.} (11. O-O-O b5 12. Kb1 Nb6 13. Qf2 Na4 14. Nxa4 bxa4 15. Bb6 Qb8 16. Na5 O-O 17. Nc6 Qb7 18. Na5 Qb8 19. Nc6 Qb7 20. Na5 Qd7 21. e5 Nd5 22. Be4 e6 23. c4 Nxb6 24. Qxb6 d5 25. cxd5 exd5 26. Bxd5 Qf5+ 27. Be4 Qxe5 28. Bxa8 Bf5+ 29. Be4 Bxe4+ 30. fxe4 Qxe4+ 31. Ka1 a3 32. Rd2 axb2+ 33. Rxb2 Qxg2 34. Rc1 Qxh2 35. Nc6 h5 36. Nd4 Qf4 37. Rd1 Rc8 38. Kb1 Bxd4 39. Qxd4 Rc1+ 40. Rxc1 Qxd4 41. Rf1 Qd3+ {0-1 Brzezina,P (2346)-Volokitin,A (2674) Katowice Silesia 100th Ann op rapid 2024 (8)}) 11... b5 12. g5 Nh5 13. Nd5 Qd8 14. O-O-O (14. Bd2 $1 {is trickier. One can assume that Volokitin had prepared and remembered the antidote:} b4 $1 15. Bxb4 a5 16. Bc3 Bxc3+ 17. Nxc3 a4 18. Nd4 Nf4 19. Qd2 Nxd3+ 20. cxd3 Ne5 21. O-O Ba6 22. Nd5 Bb7 $1 $11) 14... Bb7 (14... O-O) 15. Qe1 (15. Bd2 $1) 15... e6 $6 (15... O-O $142 $11) 16. Nf4 $14 Nxf4 17. Bxf4 Ne5 18. Be2 $6 (18. h4 $1 Nxf3 19. Qf2 Ne5 20. h5 $14) 18... Rc8 $11 19. Qb4 d5 20. c3 (20. a4 $142 Qe7 21. Qxe7+ Kxe7 22. axb5 axb5 23. Bd2 $11 (23. Rhe1 $11) (23. Bxb5 h6 $1 $11)) 20... Qe7 21. Qxe7+ (21. a3 $142) 21... Kxe7 $15 22. exd5 Bxd5 23. Be3 $2 Bxf3 $2 (23... h6 $1 24. h4 hxg5 25. hxg5 Rxh1 26. Rxh1 Nxf3 $17 {/-+}) 24. Bxf3 Nxf3 25. Nc5 $15 Rhd8 (25... h6 $1 $15) 26. Nxa6 (26. Rxd8 $142 Rxd8 27. Nxa6 $11) 26... Rxd1+ (26... Bd4 $1 27. Bxd4 Rxd4 28. Rxd4 Nxd4 $15) 27. Rxd1 (27. Kxd1 $11) 27... Nxh2 $2 {Other than one brief moment just out of the opening, Black has been equal or better throughout. After this one greedy move, however, there's no going back: Black loses.} (27... Be5 28. Nc5 Bxh2 29. b4 Ne5 30. Ne4 Nd7 $11 {White has enough for the pawn. It's an odd position in that both sides have significant pawn majorities that are difficult to get moving.}) 28. Bc5+ Ke8 29. Bd6 $18 Nf3 30. Nc7+ Rxc7 (30... Kd7 31. Nxb5 Ra8 32. Rd3 $1 Ne1 33. Re3 Kc6 34. c4 Rxa2 35. Rxe1 Ra1+ 36. Kd2 Rxe1 37. Kxe1 Bxb2 38. Kd2 $18) 31. Bxc7 Nxg5 32. Rd8+ (32. c4 $1 {is even better. What matters about the b-pawn is getting it out of the a-pawn's way; there's no need to take the time to win it.}) 32... Ke7 33. Rb8 Ne4 34. Rxb5 {My (slight) preference for 32.c4 notwithstanding, Black has no hope here, either.} Kd7 35. Bh2 Kc6 36. Rb8 f5 37. a4 e5 38. a5 Nc5 39. b4 Nd7 40. b5+ Kc7 41. Re8 f4 42. a6 f3 43. Bg1 1-0 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.14"] [Round "4.1"] [Board "2"] [White "Ivanchuk, Vasyl"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E32"] [WhiteElo "2635"] [BlackElo "2752"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "95"] [GameId "2090227461221952"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "Ukraine"] [BlackTeam "United States of America"] [WhiteTeamCountry "UKR"] {[%evp 0,95,24,26,23,-11,-7,18,28,-41,-15,-23,-21,-23,-36,-28,1,22,4,-16,2,24,11,21,43,51,72,34,57,4,29,-10,5,4,-10,-60,-64,-93,-78,-78,-58,-64,-67,-114,-96,-59,-66,-66,-66,-74,-75,-61,-54,-59,-56,-58,-39,-61,-68,-51,-61,-55,-52,-52,-28,-31,-66,-70,0,-17,13,-5,1,-44,-7,0,0,0,1,8,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,97,121,230,289,276,329,327,327,327,329]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 d5 7. Nf3 dxc4 8. Qxc4 b6 9. Bg5 (9. h4 {is an interesting idea from Kasparov (or Kasparov's computer) back in 2017. Ivanchuk doesn't play it here, but stay tuned.}) 9... Ba6 10. Qa4 Qd7 11. Qc2 c5 12. dxc5 Rc8 13. Rd1 (13. Bxf6 gxf6 14. Rd1 Rxc5 $1 (14... Qe7) (14... Qc6) 15. Qe4 Qc7 $1 16. Qxa8 Bb7 17. Qxa7 Ra5 18. Qxa5 bxa5 $11) 13... Qe7 14. Qa4 (14. e4 Bxf1 15. Kxf1 Qxc5 $11) 14... bxc5 $146 15. h4 $5 {Exactly the way we teach kids to play: push the a- or h-pawn, bring your rook out, forget about the center or developing your minor pieces, don't castle, etc. So what justifies this? In part, that not much is happening in the center, and at least for the moment there's nothing dangerous happening. This gets the rook into the game in a safe way, and Black's kingside is somewhat vulnerable.} c4 $11 (15... h6 16. Qf4 $1 {Stopping this is the point of 15...c4.} Nbd7 17. Rxd7 Qxd7 18. Bxf6 gxf6 19. Qxh6 Rd8 $1 {Maybe it's not entirely accurate to say that *nothing* is happening in the center.} 20. Nd2 $8 Rab8 21. Rh3 Qxd2+ 22. Qxd2 Rxd2 23. Kxd2 Rxb2+ 24. Kc1 Ra2 25. Kb1 Rd2 26. Kc1 Ra2 27. Kb1 $11) 16. Rh3 (16. e3) 16... h6 17. Qc2 $6 (17. Bd2 $11 {was better, looking to switch the bishop to b4 or c3.}) 17... Nbd7 18. Nd4 $2 (18. g4 $1) 18... Bb7 $19 19. Bd2 (19. f3 $142 {was better, restricting Black's minor pieces and offering further support for g4.}) 19... a5 $6 (19... Nc5 {was better - there's no need to waste a tempo on ...a5 before White plays Bb4.} 20. Bb4 $2 a5 $19) 20. f3 Qc5 $6 $17 (20... Nc5 $1 21. Qxc4 $6 Ba6 22. Qa2 Qd6 23. Bc3 Qb6 $19 {followed by ...Nd5 or ...Na4, with a fantastic position for Black.}) 21. Be3 c3 22. Qxc3 Qxc3+ $6 (22... Qf8 $1 $17 {/-+}) 23. bxc3 Rxc3 24. Bc1 $15 {Black is still better, thanks largely to the (now) ridiculous rook on h3. But his small advantage may not last for long, and in the long run White's bishop pair could turn the tables.} Ba6 $1 {White can't win with the bishop pair if he doesn't have a pair of bishops.} 25. e4 $6 (25. g4 $142) 25... Bxf1 26. Kxf1 Rac8 (26... Rb8 $142 $17) 27. Bb2 R3c5 $15 28. g4 Nb6 29. Rh2 Nc4 30. Ke1 Nxb2 31. Rxb2 Rc3 32. a4 Ra3 33. Rb6 (33. Rb7 $142) 33... Rd8 $11 (33... Rcc3 $1 $15) 34. Rb5 g6 35. Nb3 Rc8 (35... Rxd1+ 36. Kxd1 Rxa4 37. Rxa5 {is equal. It's a dead draw if Black trades rooks, but he could try} Nxe4 {. White can take either piece, and it's "officially" equal, but in either case it's only Black who has winning chances (barring blunders). Speaking of which...}) 36. Ke2 Rc4 (36... Rxa4) 37. Rd8+ Kg7 38. g5 Nxe4 $5 {A justifiable risk.} 39. gxh6+ Kxh6 40. fxe4 Rxe4+ 41. Kf2 Rexa4 ({It would be nice to play} 41... Rxh4 $4 {, when there would be no losing chances for Black of the sort we'll see in the game. Unfortunately for Black, there's} 42. Rh8+ Kg7 43. Rxh4 $18) 42. Nd4 Ra2+ (42... Rh3 43. Kg2 {and the h-pawn still can't be captured.}) 43. Kg3 R4a3+ $2 (43... R2a3+ 44. Nf3 Rb4 $11) 44. Nf3 $18 {It's shocking, but all of a sudden Black is lost. His kingside is perfect: the king is shielded, the h-pawn won't be lost or traded away, and now he can go after the f-pawn and, ultimately, Black's king.} Re2 (44... Kg7 $1 45. Rd7 $1 Kf6 46. Rbb7 e5 {was Black's only try, though there's little basis for hope after} 47. Rxf7+ Ke6 48. Rg7 $18) 45. Rb7 Re5 46. Rxf7 g5 (46... Rf5 {would be great if White had to swap rooks, but there's a better move.} 47. Rh8#) 47. h5 $1 Kxh5 48. Rf6 (48. Rf6 {and it's mate next move unless Black plays} Rxf3+ {, and it's not much better after} 49. Kxf3 {. Black's king is still in trouble, so} Rf5+ 50. Rxf5 exf5 {and if Black could play ...a5-e4+ it might be interesting. This, not so much.} 51. Ra8 $18) 1-0 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.14"] [Round "4.1"] [Board "3"] [White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Black "Ponomariov, Ruslan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C53"] [WhiteElo "2748"] [BlackElo "2654"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "60"] [GameId "2090227461226049"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "United States of America"] [BlackTeam "Ukraine"] [BlackTeamCountry "UKR"] {[%evp 0,60,24,24,38,25,24,16,8,51,-16,3,2,-13,59,-37,25,-10,15,-1,12,-27,17,-22,-4,-8,-4,-31,-2,20,20,-56,-12,-47,-8,-22,-18,-35,43,52,52,17,13,13,51,38,49,59,64,17,51,74,27,27,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. O-O a5 7. Re1 Ba7 8. h3 O-O 9. Bb5 {Six moves too late.} Bd7 $146 (9... Ne7 {looks more logical, as played in all the earlier games with 9.Bb5.}) 10. Ba4 Ne7 11. Bc2 Ng6 12. d4 Re8 13. Nbd2 {Transposing to a single predecessor.} Bc6 $146 14. a4 h6 15. Bd3 Nf4 16. Bf1 {If I have to explain Bf1-c4-b5-a5-c2-d3-f1 I'm going to deeply regret my life choices, so let's move on.} g5 17. g3 ({The engine suggests} 17. Bb5 $11 {, and I think regretting my life choices is an inevitability.}) 17... Ng6 $15 18. Qc2 d5 $2 {This doesn't seem a great fit with 16...g5: first start a flank attack, and then open the center?!} 19. exd5 Bxd5 20. Nxe5 Nxe5 21. dxe5 Nd7 22. Qf5 $14 Be6 23. Qf3 c6 24. Qh5 $16 {Brought to you by the combination of 16...g5 and 18...d5.} Kg7 25. Nf3 f6 {I suspect that Ponomariov was relying on this when he played 18...d5. Indeed, it works against almost every White move. First, obviously, taking on f6 is a blunder: 26.exf6+?? Nxf6 wins the trapped queen. Nor does 26.Bd3 achieve anything: Black covers g6 with 26...Bf7 and then regains the e-pawn (White still can't take on f6, for the same reason.) But White does have one excellent option, and if he had found it the U.S. probably would have won the match.} 26. Be3 $2 {Not bad in its own right, but a missed opportunity. Now Black has to force a repetition, and he does.} (26. Nh4 $1 {This is the right way to threaten Qg6+ (as opposed to 26.Bd3). Now 26...Bf7?? allows 27.Nf5+. Taking the knight is a disaster as well; in fact, Black has only one move that doesn't lose.} Qe7 $1 (26... gxh4 $2 27. Bxh6+ Kh8 28. Bg5+ Kg8 29. Qg6+ Kh8 30. exf6 $18) (26... Nf8 $2 {looks plausible, but now} 27. Bc4 $3 Bxc4 (27... Qe7 28. b3 $1 $18) 28. Nf5+ Kg8 29. Nxh6+ $1 Kg7 30. Ng4 Nh7 31. exf6+ Nxf6 32. Qxg5+ Kf7 33. Bf4 $18) 27. Qg6+ Kh8 28. Qxh6+ Qh7 29. Qxh7+ Kxh7 30. Bd3+ Kh8 31. Ng6+ Kg7 32. g4 Bf7 33. Ne7 $3 Nxe5 $1 (33... Rxe7 $2 34. exf6+ Kxf6 35. Bxg5+ Kxg5 36. Rxe7 $18) 34. Rxe5 $1 fxe5 35. Bxg5 $16) 26... Bf7 27. Qg4 Be6 28. Qh5 Bf7 29. Qg4 Be6 30. Qh5 Bf7 1/2-1/2 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.14"] [Round "4.1"] [Board "4"] [White "Korobov, Anton"] [Black "Robson, Ray"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2650"] [BlackElo "2700"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "113"] [GameId "2090227461230146"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "Ukraine"] [BlackTeam "United States of America"] [WhiteTeamCountry "UKR"] {[%evp 0,113,24,24,24,8,15,8,8,8,12,11,5,18,25,26,35,26,21,30,28,29,12,28,35,20,41,29,65,72,64,11,33,-60,78,67,123,62,62,49,81,29,32,32,20,7,26,8,18,-25,-7,-47,13,-16,-20,-21,31,31,38,27,80,113,115,33,108,-37,80,110,110,145,120,73,80,33,102,82,112,124,127,144,173,167,182,168,238,163,245,261,269,276,262,236,244,244,249,249,348,326,416,473,611,460,478,515,538,275,275,273,369,319,377,377,394,386,390,390]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. O-O d6 6. c3 h6 7. b4 Bb6 8. a4 a5 9. b5 Ne7 10. Be3 Bxe3 11. fxe3 Ng6 12. Bb3 c6 13. c4 d5 14. exd5 cxd5 15. c5 Qe7 16. d4 Ng4 17. Nc3 Be6 18. Qe1 e4 19. Nd2 Qc7 20. Qg3 Qxg3 21. hxg3 Ne7 22. Rae1 h5 23. Bd1 Nf6 24. b6 Nf5 25. Kf2 Bd7 26. Rh1 Rh6 27. Rh2 Bc6 28. Reh1 Ke7 29. Bxh5 Rxh5 30. Rxh5 Ng4+ 31. Ke1 Ngxe3 32. Nb3 Kf6 33. Rh8 Nc2+ {Korobov has steadily outplayed Robson, but now he starts slipping.} 34. Kd2 $2 (34. Kd1 $1 Rxh8 (34... Ncxd4 35. Nxd4 Rxh8 36. Rxh8 Nxd4 37. Rc8 $18 Nb3 $2 38. Rxc6+ bxc6 39. b7 $18) 35. Rxh8 Nb4 36. Nxa5 $18) 34... Ncxd4 35. Rxa8 $2 (35. Nxd4 $1 Rxh8 36. Rxh8 $2 (36. Rf1 $1 Ke5 $1 37. Nxf5 d4 38. Nb5 $1 e3+ 39. Ke2 $1 Bxg2 40. Rg1 Bd5 41. Nfxd4 $1 Ke4 $1 42. Kd1 $1 Kd3 $1 43. Kc1 $1 {Who's going to play like this? White is still winning-ish, but there's no guarantee he'll win. (And even less of a guarantee that he'll find all the moves that are necessary to get here.)}) 36... Nxd4 37. Rc8 {and because the king is on d2 rather than d1 Black survives with} Nb3+ 38. Ke2 Nxc5 $14) 35... Nxb3+ 36. Kc2 {Now Robson has good chances of saving the game, but he must still find one more key move.} Nxc5 $2 (36... Nfd4+ $1 37. Kd1 Nxc5 $11 {Anything could happen here, including a Black win.}) 37. Rf1 $1 {Alas, now Black is losing again. Robson doesn't get another chance to save the game.} Ke5 38. Rxf5+ $1 Kxf5 39. Rxa5 Nd3 40. Nxd5 Kg4 41. Kd2 g6 42. Ke3 f5 43. Ne7 Bd7 44. Nxg6 Kxg3 45. Ne7 Kg4 46. Ra8 Be6 47. a5 Nc5 48. Ng6 Kg5 49. Nf4 Bd7 50. Rd8 Bc6 51. Rd6 Be8 52. Ne6+ Nxe6 53. Rxe6 Bb5 54. g3 Ba6 55. Re8 Kg4 56. Rg8+ Kh3 57. Rg5 1-0 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.14"] [Round "4.2"] [Board "3"] [White "Sjugirov, Sanan"] [Black "Sonis, Francesco"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2644"] [BlackElo "2554"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "41"] [GameId "2090227461410372"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "Hungary"] [BlackTeam "Italy"] [WhiteTeamCountry "HUN"] [BlackTeamCountry "ITA"] {Hungary won this match 2.5-1.5, thanks in part to this miniature.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bd3 {As in the Caruana-Volokitin game from this same round, given earlier.} g6 7. f3 Nc6 (7... Qb6 {was Volokitin's choice, and}) (7... Bg7 {is the usual move, as you'd expect.}) 8. Be3 Bg7 9. Qd2 $1 $14 O-O (9... Bd7 {was tried once by Carlsen (in rapid), while}) (9... Ne5 {was Nepo's choice against Anand in a blitz game.}) 10. O-O-O Bd7 $2 (10... d5 {is probably best, and the most popular move.}) 11. Kb1 $16 (11. h4 $16) (11. g4 $16) 11... b5 12. Nxc6 Bxc6 13. Bh6 $6 (13. h4 $142) 13... b4 14. Ne2 Qa5 (14... Bxh6 $1 15. Qxh6 Qa5 16. Nf4 $14 {/?}) 15. h4 (15. Bxg7 $142 Kxg7 16. g4 $16) 15... Bxh6 16. Qxh6 Kh8 $6 (16... Qh5 $14) 17. g4 (17. Qd2 $142 $16) 17... Qc5 (17... Qe5 $142 $146) 18. Ng3 (18. Nc1 $142 $16) 18... Bb5 $2 (18... Qe5 $1 $14) 19. Qd2 $6 $16 (19. h5 $18 g5 20. Nf5 Rg8 21. Nxe7 $18) 19... Nd7 (19... Bxd3 $142 20. cxd3 b3 $16) 20. h5 Ne5 $4 (20... g5) 21. Qh6 {Just a bad game. Maybe Black was counting on 21...g5, but as in the 19.h5 line the problem is that e7 hangs in the end.} (21. Qh6 g5 22. Nf5 (22. Qxg5 $2 Nxd3 $2 (22... f6 23. Qh6 Rg8 $16) 23. Nf5 $1 $18) 22... Rg8 23. Nxe7 $18 {It's not just the one pawn, but the additional weakness of d6 that makes things so bad. (And Black's king is weak, and g5 might drop in some lines, etc.)}) 1-0 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.14"] [Round "4.3"] [Board "1"] [White "Predke, Alexandr"] [Black "Gukesh, D."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B13"] [WhiteElo "2671"] [BlackElo "2764"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "170"] [GameId "2090227461557830"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "Serbia"] [BlackTeam "India"] [WhiteTeamCountry "SRB"] [BlackTeamCountry "IND"] {[%evp 0,170,24,24,68,72,73,59,46,41,26,31,38,9,11,4,30,20,20,25,33,-5,-5,-20,-4,-20,-19,-19,-16,-19,-41,-13,-5,-6,2,-5,1,1,0,0,-10,-11,12,12,23,26,17,4,28,-31,-14,-32,-51,-20,-19,0,-11,-10,-20,-23,-17,-33,-33,-52,-56,-60,0,-36,-54,-61,-65,-73,-69,-73,-58,-53,-58,-68,-71,-102,-71,-79,-62,-79,-50,-63,-44,-63,-73,-73,-78,-78,-78,-106,-75,-100,-85,-111,-75,-103,-77,-63,-66,-79,-73,-120,-110,-108,-97,-97,-85,-102,-88,-102,-87,-96,-91,-86,-96,-96,-83,-128,-140,-129,-43,-158,-104,-87,-93,-76,-64,-150,-130,-61,-57,-57,-64,-62,-50,-50,-50,-53,-75,-97,-83,-221,-97,-97,-92,-189,-19,-53,-7,-147,-147,-147,-131,-131,-143,-153,-153,-153,-163,-400,-377,-433,-407,-425,-419,-455,-459,-469,-554] My recollection is that Gukesh started the last Olympiad on an 8-0 run. He's doing it again: this is his third straight win, and (as of this writing) he went on to win in the fourth round as well, thereby reaching #5 in the world. Ding had better bring his A-game to the World Championship in November.} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 Qc7 6. h3 Nf6 7. Nf3 g6 8. Na3 a6 9. Nc2 Bf5 10. Bxf5 gxf5 11. O-O e6 12. Nce1 Bd6 13. Nd3 Ne4 14. Bh6 Rg8 15. Qc1 O-O-O 16. Bf4 f6 17. Bxd6 Rxd6 18. Qf4 Ne7 19. Rac1 Ng6 20. Qh2 Rc6 21. Qxc7+ Kxc7 22. Rfe1 Kd6 23. Kf1 a5 24. g4 fxg4 25. hxg4 a4 26. a3 Ne7 27. g5 fxg5 28. Nfe5 Rcc8 29. f3 Nd2+ 30. Kg2 Nf5 31. Rc2 Nb3 32. Rce2 Rc7 33. Ng4 Re7 34. Rh1 Nh4+ 35. Kg3 h5 36. Nge5 Nf5+ 37. Kf2 Rh7 38. Rg1 Rgg7 39. Ke1 Ke7 40. Reg2 Kf6 41. Ke2 b6 42. Nc6 Nd6 43. Nce5 Na5 44. Rh2 Nac4 45. Rgh1 h4 46. Kf2 Ke7 47. Rg2 Nxe5 48. Nxe5 Nf5 49. Re1 Rh8 50. Kg1 Rf8 51. Rge2 Kd6 52. Kg2 Ng3 53. Re3 Nh5 54. Kh2 Kc7 55. Rb1 Nf6 56. Kh3 Ne8 57. Rg1 Nd6 58. Rg4 b5 59. Re2 Nc4 60. Kg2 Kd6 61. Nd3 Rgf7 62. f4 gxf4 63. Kf3 Rf6 64. Rxh4 Rg8 65. Nxf4 Rg1 66. Rg4 Rf1+ 67. Kg3 e5 68. dxe5+ Nxe5 69. Rg5 Rg1+ 70. Ng2 Nc4 71. Rh5 Kc6 72. Rh2 Kc5 73. Rh5 Kc6 74. Rh8 Rb1 75. Nf4 Rxb2 76. Rc8+ Kb7 77. Ree8 Nd6 78. Rb8+ Kc6 79. Red8 Ra2 80. Ra8 Rxa3 81. Ne2 Kc5 82. Rd7 Ne4+ 83. Kg4 Rc6 84. Kf4 Nxc3 85. Nc1 Kc4 0-1 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.14"] [Round "4.3"] [Board "3"] [White "Indjic, Aleksandar"] [Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A07"] [WhiteElo "2611"] [BlackElo "2778"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "80"] [GameId "2090227461697096"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "Serbia"] [BlackTeam "India"] [WhiteTeamCountry "SRB"] [BlackTeamCountry "IND"] {[%evp 0,80,24,9,30,-4,0,0,5,5,31,31,31,31,31,0,19,21,53,53,55,73,64,73,71,46,46,27,57,49,58,42,26,16,24,25,16,-6,0,0,20,-10,-10,-14,-30,-26,-41,-51,-41,-53,-48,-61,-61,-47,-39,-56,-45,-60,-58,-81,-63,-59,-54,-57,-67,-133,-91,-96,-93,-117,-109,-76,-74,-113,-121,-161,-198,-401,-409,-451,-451,-494,-504] Erigaisi, the world's #4 player, is even hotter than Gukesh. This game made him 4-0 in the competition, and he has since won in round 5. The Indian team is a juggernaut.} 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nc6 3. d4 Bf5 4. Bg2 Nb4 5. Na3 e6 6. c3 Nc6 7. Qb3 Rb8 8. Nh4 Be4 9. f3 Bg6 10. Nxg6 hxg6 11. e4 Nf6 12. Bg5 Be7 13. Bxf6 gxf6 14. exd5 exd5 15. Nc2 Na5 16. Qb5+ c6 17. Qe2 Nc4 18. b3 Nd6 19. O-O Kf8 20. Ne1 Qa5 21. Rc1 Nf5 22. b4 Qc7 23. f4 a5 24. a3 Re8 25. Qd2 Nd6 26. Nc2 f5 27. Rfe1 Kg7 28. Re2 Ra8 29. Ree1 Bf6 30. Re2 axb4 31. axb4 Ra2 32. Ree1 Rha8 33. Ra1 Qb6 34. Reb1 R8a4 35. Qc1 Qa7 36. Rxa2 Rxa2 37. Rb2 Nb5 38. Rb3 Nxc3 39. Rxc3 Bxd4+ 40. Nxd4 Ra1 0-1 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.14"] [Round "4.9"] [Board "1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Gazik, Viktor"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E11"] [WhiteElo "2832"] [BlackElo "2561"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "55"] [GameId "2090227461840458"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "Norway"] [BlackTeam "Slovakia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "NOR"] [BlackTeamCountry "SVK"] {[%evp 0,55,24,23,23,17,18,-4,42,4,28,30,25,-8,11,8,6,-29,1,21,-2,13,15,0,21,-13,-5,-25,9,-17,-17,-31,-15,-199,72,55,75,89,61,80,81,83,208,172,150,150,150,101,131,115,263,213,299,248,336,360,491,714]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Nbd2 b6 5. a3 Bxd2+ 6. Nxd2 Bb7 7. e3 O-O 8. Bd3 d5 (8... Bxg2 {doesn't lose, but do you want to defend the position after} 9. Rg1 Bb7 10. e4 (10. b3 {followed by Bb2 also looks extremely unpleasant for Black.}) 10... d6 11. Nb3 {(with Bh6 on tap) against the GOAT?}) 9. O-O $14 {While Black's 8th move may have been safer, it means that White gets to enjoy his bishop pair at no cost.} dxc4 (9... c5 $142) 10. Nxc4 Qd5 11. f3 Rd8 12. Be2 $1 {Prophylaxis against ...c5 - now White can take the pawn.} Nc6 13. Qc2 Rac8 14. b3 b5 (14... Nxd4 $2 {doesn't work here.} 15. exd4 Qxd4+ 16. Be3 $18) 15. Nb2 $8 $14 {/?} (15. Nd2 $4 Nxd4 $19 {Now it works.}) 15... e5 $6 {Gazik bravely plays for tactics.} (15... Na5 16. b4 Nb3 17. Rb1 Nxc1 18. Qxc1 $14 {/? Black has eliminated White's bishop pair at the cost of a gaping hole on c5.}) 16. Nd3 $1 e4 (16... exd4 17. e4 Qh5 18. Qc5 $18 {is a position catastrophe for Black despite his extra pawn.}) (16... Nd7 $142) 17. Nc5 $1 $18 Nxd4 {The best move, putting Carlsen's move to the test.} 18. exd4 Qxd4+ 19. Kh1 exf3 (19... Qxa1 $2 20. Nxb7 $18) 20. gxf3 $1 Ba8 (20... Bxf3+ 21. Bxf3 Qxa1 22. Ne4 $1 (22. Bb2 $4 Qxf1# {is the point of 20...Bxf3+.}) 22... Nxe4 23. Bxe4 $18 {White's bishops and attacking chances outweigh Black's rook and three pawns. For example:} g6 24. Qf2 Qg7 25. Bb2 f6 (25... Qf8 $2 26. Qf6 $18) 26. Bxf6 Qf7 27. Bxd8 $18) 21. Bg5 $2 {An understandable slip.} (21. Ra2 $142 $1 $18) 21... Rd5 $2 (21... Ng4 $1 22. Qf5 $1 Ne3 23. Bxe3 Qxe3 24. Rae1 g6 $8 25. Rg1 $8 $16) 22. Bxf6 $1 Qxf6 23. Ne4 $18 Qf4 24. Qc1 Qh4 25. Rg1 Re5 26. Qc3 $1 {Pinning the rook (Qxg7#).} Rce8 27. Bxb5 $1 R8e7 28. Rad1 {White doesn't just have the initiative (which is turning into an attack); he's also up a piece. Gazik calls it a day.} 1-0 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.14"] [Round "4.10"] [Board "1"] [White "Kacharava, Nikolozi"] [Black "Howell, David W L"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "2511"] [BlackElo "2677"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "226"] [GameId "2090227461983820"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "Georgia"] [BlackTeam "England"] [WhiteTeamCountry "GEO"] [BlackTeamCountry "ENG"] {[%evp 0,226,24,24,77,50,55,66,56,34,48,8,-5,-6,15,6,47,-4,15,20,16,-3,34,32,50,24,7,13,48,39,24,9,25,14,12,-35,-28,-28,-38,-46,-31,-25,-17,-21,-22,-36,-36,-26,-29,-41,-23,-44,-35,-41,-52,-41,-41,-55,-55,-55,-62,-55,-67,-55,-53,-53,-53,-53,-53,-116,-53,-53,-53,-116,-41,-53,-2,-58,-41,-53,-53,-53,-53,-53,-53,-75,-53,-94,-46,-44,-2,-79,-115,-101,0,-3,0,-10,-5,0,-24,-48,-49,-143,-135,-160,-179,-172,-142,-142,-141,-156,-156,-146,-165,-158,-163,-166,-175,-181,-165,-183,-181,-180,-181,-203,-198,-181,-159,-195,-195,-201,-179,-210,-181,-213,-181,-174,-176,-174,-179,-175,-175,-188,-180,-175,-175,-180,-180,-176,-175,-176,-176,-175,-175,-175,-175,-175,-175,-175,-175,-175,-175,-175,-175,-175,-175,-175,-133,-133,-142,-136,-133,-133,-133,-133,-133,-133,-133,-158,-182,-178,-154,-175,-175,-175,-175,-175,-175,-175,-154,-175,-175,-175,-144,-167,-137,-214,-140,-132,-59,-63,-53,-194,-212,-175,-158,-157,-148,-225,-176,-276,-254,-257,-245,-253,-253,-253,-260,-725,-715,-928,-982,-1002,-1002,-1002,-1012,-1012,-1012] David Howell recently co-authored a Chessable course-turned-book with Magnus Carlsen called *Grind Like a Grandmaster*. This game is a perfect ad for the course/book! Howell needed the win for England to tie the match, and after pushing for a very, very long time his opponent finally cracked.} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. h4 h5 5. c4 e6 6. Nc3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 Nd7 8. Bb3 Be7 9. Bc2 Bxc2 10. Qxc2 Nb6 11. Nf3 Nd5 12. Ne4 Qa5+ 13. Bd2 Nb4 14. Bxb4 Qxb4+ 15. Qc3 Nh6 16. a3 Qb5 17. Nc5 Nf5 18. a4 Qb6 19. Rc1 a5 20. g3 Rd8 21. O-O O-O 22. Rfd1 Rd5 23. Nb3 Rfd8 24. Rd3 Qa6 25. Qc4 b5 26. Qxc6 Qxc6 27. Rxc6 bxa4 28. Nbd2 Nxd4 29. Rxd4 Rxd4 30. Nxd4 Rxd4 31. Nc4 Bb4 32. Kf1 Re4 33. f3 Re1+ 34. Kf2 Kh7 35. f4 Rb1 36. Ke2 Kg6 37. Kf2 Rd1 38. Ke2 Re1+ 39. Kf3 Rf1+ 40. Kg2 Rb1 41. Kf2 Kh7 42. Kf3 Rf1+ 43. Kg2 Rc1 44. Nxa5 Rxc6 45. Nxc6 Bd2 46. Nd4 Kg8 47. Ne2 Kf8 48. Kf3 Ke7 49. Ke4 Kd7 50. Kd3 Be1 51. Nc3 Bxg3 52. Ke3 Bxh4 53. Nxa4 Be7 54. Nc3 Kc6 55. Ne4 Kd5 56. Nc3+ Kc6 57. Ne4 f5 58. exf6 Bxf6 59. b3 Kd5 60. Ng3 g6 61. Ne2 Be7 62. Nc3+ Kc5 63. Ne2 Bf6 64. Nc1 Kd5 65. Nd3 Bc3 66. Nc1 Bb4 67. Ne2 Ba5 68. Kf3 Bd2 69. Ng3 Kd4 70. Ne4 Bb4 71. Ng5 Kd5 72. Ne4 Be7 73. Nc3+ Kc5 74. Ne2 Bf6 75. Nc1 Kd4 76. Ne2+ Kd5 77. Ng3 Be7 78. Ne2 Bb4 79. Ng3 Bd6 80. Ne4 Be7 81. Nc3+ Kd4 82. Ne2+ Kc5 83. Nc1 Bf6 84. Ke4 Bc3 85. Nd3+ Kc6 86. Nf2 Bg7 87. Nh3 Kc5 88. Ng5 Kd6 89. Kf3 Kd5 90. Ne4 Bb2 91. Ng5 Ba3 92. Ne4 Bb4 93. Ng3 Ba5 94. Ne4 Bd8 95. Nc3+ Kc5 96. Ne2 Bb6 97. Nc1 Bc7 98. Ne2 Bd6 99. Ke4 Bb8 100. Nd4 Kd6 101. f5 {A terrible decision, practically, unless one is 100% sure that it works *and* brings a speedy end to the suffering. Howell hasn't gotten anywhere for 40 moves, so why change the character of the position?} (101. Nf3 {or whatever other move that maintains the status quo shifts the burden to Howell to come up with some new idea before the 50-move rule kicks in.}) 101... exf5+ 102. Nxf5+ Kd7 103. Nh4 g5 104. Ng2 Ke6 105. Kf3 $2 {Sure enough, three moves later, White makes the losing move. You might say that I'm being unfair: after all, he has been suffering for five or six hours against an elite GM and you, Mr. Know-it-all Annotator, wouldn't have done any better. You're right that he has been suffering and that I wouldn't have done any better. But it's because he has been suffering for hour after hour that he shouldn't have played 101.f5. You can't trust yourself after all that time and misery - the desire to get the game over with leads us to make poor decisions, and fatigue makes it likely we'll overlook something. That is why White should have maintained the status quo and *not* played 101.f5.} (105. b4 $1 {was the only move. Moving the king or the knight worsens White's defensive setup; additionally, the further the b-pawn goes, the more it restricts Black's options (and bringing the king to collect the pawn will allow White an easy draw).}) 105... g4+ $19 106. Ke4 Kf6 107. Nh4 Bg3 108. Nf5 Be1 109. Nd4 h4 110. Nf3 gxf3 $1 111. Kxf3 {If White's king could reach h1 it would be an elementary draw. Unfortunately, it can't.} h3 $1 112. b4 {If White's pawn were already on b5, Black's king couldn't make it in time, and it would be a draw.} Ke6 113. b5 Kd6 ({After} 113... Kd6 114. b6 Kc6 115. b7 Kxb7 {White is in zugzwang, and Black will promote the pawn.}) 0-1