[Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2025"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2025.05.07"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B45"] [WhiteElo "2739"] [BlackElo "2776"] [PlyCount "145"] [GameId "2175699178547019"] [EventDate "2025.05.07"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. a3 d6 7. Be3 Be7 8. Be2 O-O 9. Qd2 e5 10. Nb3 Nxe4 11. Nxe4 d5 12. Nc3 d4 13. Rd1 Be6 14. Nxd4 exd4 15. Bxd4 Nxd4 16. Qxd4 Qxd4 17. Rxd4 Rac8 18. Bd3 Bxa3 19. bxa3 Rxc3 20. Ra4 Ra8 21. Kd2 Rc5 22. Rb1 Bd5 23. Be4 Bxe4 24. Rxe4 b6 25. c4 Rac8 26. Rb4 Kf8 27. Kc3 Ra5 28. a4 Re8 29. Rf4 Re1 30. h4 g6 31. Kb3 Rb1+ 32. Kc3 Ra1 33. Kb3 Kg7 34. g3 h6 35. Rd4 Re5 36. Rd2 Re4 37. Rb2 Rd4 38. c5 bxc5 39. Rxd4 cxd4 40. Rd2 Rf1 41. Kc4 Kf6 42. Kxd4 Ra1 43. Ke3 Rxa4 44. Rd7 Ra3+ 45. Kf4 Ra4+ 46. Ke3 Ke6 47. Rc7 h5 48. f3 a5 49. Ra7 f6 50. Ra8 Ke5 51. Re8+ Kf5 52. Ra8 Ra3+ 53. Ke2 a4 54. Ra5+ Ke6 55. Kf2 Ra1 56. g4 hxg4 57. fxg4 a3 58. Ra7 f5 59. h5 gxh5 60. g5 Ra2+ 61. Kg3 Ra1 62. Kf2 a2 63. g6 Rb1 64. g7 Rb8 65. Rxa2 Kf6 66. Kg3 Kxg7 67. Kf4 Rf8 68. Kg5 h4 69. Kxh4 f4 70. Kg4 f3 71. Rf2 Kg8 72. Rxf3 Rxf3 73. Kxf3 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2025"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2025.05.07"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C00"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2723"] [PlyCount "101"] [GameId "2175699178575693"] [EventDate "2025.05.07"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,101,13,29,26,56,26,2,1,3,-1,-5,-1,-8,0,-7,10,4,6,4,-1,-3,15,-31,10,19,23,7,24,-43,-13,13,11,23,60,72,-10,50,-32,36,-96,5,23,65,41,28,3,59,-98,24,67,60,72,102,151,184,145,62,192,59,75,91,107,54,134,74,112,96,110,124,126,134,115,143,126,123,-5,149,43,159,119,-1,67,150,157,145,127,146,271,188,417,403,561,506,579,624,647,662,678,494,706,643,1376,701]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d3 d5 4. Qe2 Nf6 5. g3 Nc6 6. Bg2 Be7 7. a4 b6 8. O-O Bb7 9. Bf4 h6 10. h4 O-O 11. e5 Nh7 12. c3 Qd7 13. Re1 Rae8 14. Nbd2 f5 15. exf6 Bxf6 16. Bh3 g5 17. hxg5 hxg5 18. Be5 Qg7 19. Bxf6 Rxf6 20. Nh2 Rh6 21. Bg2 Nf6 22. Ng4 Nxg4 23. Qxg4 Ne5 24. Qe2 Nc6 25. Nf1 g4 26. a5 b5 27. a6 Ba8 28. Rad1 Rf8 29. Nh2 Rg6 30. Qd2 Nb8 31. d4 c4 32. Ra1 Bc6 33. Re5 Nd7 34. Rh5 Nf6 35. Rh4 Bd7 36. Re1 Bc8 37. Nf1 Rg5 38. Re5 Rg6 39. Ne3 Kf7 40. Qe2 Re8 41. b3 {The players have just made the time control (on move 40), and while Firouzja has been calling the tune for a long time Black has remained balanced on the edge without falling over. Perhaps surprisingly, the players now exchange serious errors despite having extra time to think.} Bxa6 $4 (41... Bd7 $16 {was best, maintaining the structural status quo and clearing the path for the rook to reach b8 if White swaps on c4.}) 42. bxc4 $2 (42. Qa2 $1 Bb7 43. bxc4 bxc4 44. Nxc4 (44. Qxa7 $18 {also wins.}) 44... dxc4 45. Bxb7 $18 {White has won a pawn, has more space, the better minor piece, and four isolated pawns to pursue.}) 42... bxc4 43. Qa2 Bc8 $4 (43... Bb5 {still loses the a-pawn, but that's better than allowing Nxc4 (in case of 43...Bb7, as in the note to White's 42nd move) or Nxd5 (as here).}) 44. Nxd5 exd5 45. Qxa7+ Bd7 46. Bxd5+ Nxd5 47. Qxd7+ Ne7 {White has two extra pawns and other advantages besides. The game is essentially over.} 48. Rf5+ Rf6 49. Rxg4 {Three pawns.} Qh8 50. Rxf6+ Kxf6 51. Rh4 (51. Rh4 Qg7 52. Rf4+ Kg6 53. Rg4+ $18) 1-0 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2025"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2025.05.07"] [Round "1.3"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Deac, Bogdan-Daniel"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A21"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2668"] [PlyCount "79"] [GameId "2175699178579790"] [EventDate "2025.05.07"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,79,24,19,4,0,10,14,17,67,10,9,1,9,7,16,19,26,5,28,32,28,23,37,12,11,0,9,-2,-21,-16,50,1,-20,-83,-20,0,-1,-3,-1,17,209,34,30,24,30,29,44,29,41,-1,27,36,21,28,-38,28,39,43,11,62,55,36,40,15,37,-60,32,33,38,28,21,26,28,27,32,17,-41,-10,179,483,608]} 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Bb4 3. Nd5 Be7 4. Nf3 d6 5. g3 c6 6. Nxe7 Nxe7 7. b4 f6 8. Bg2 Be6 9. d3 Qd7 10. O-O a5 11. bxa5 Rxa5 12. Qc2 c5 13. Rb1 Nbc6 14. Qb2 O-O 15. Qxb7 Rxa2 16. Qxd7 Bxd7 17. Nd2 Nd4 18. Re1 Bc6 19. Rb2 Rxb2 20. Bxb2 Bxg2 21. Kxg2 Ne6 22. Ra1 Rb8 23. Bc3 Kf8 24. e3 Ke8 25. Kf3 Rb7 26. Ke2 Kd7 27. f4 h5 28. Ne4 Nc6 29. f5 Nc7 30. h3 Ra7 31. Rxa7 Nxa7 32. g4 hxg4 33. hxg4 Nc6 34. Kf3 Ne7 35. Ng3 g6 36. Ba5 Ne8 37. Bd2 Ng7 38. g5 $5 {White hasn't been making progress, and won't make progress by any normal means. It's time to experiment - and it works (due to time pressure?).} Ngxf5 39. gxf6 Nxg3 $4 {This is surprising, not so much because it's a mistake (everyone errs or even blunders) but because it's a version of a well-known tactical trick. The canonical, bare-bones version is like this: White: knight on c5, pawn on a5; Black: knight on d6, pawn on b7. White to move plays 1.Nxb7!, the point being that Nxb7 2.a6 and despite the knight's proximity to the pawn it can't do anything about 3.a7 and 4.a8Q.} (39... Nc6 $11) (39... Nc8 $11) 40. f7 $1 1-0 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2025"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2025.05.07"] [Round "1.4"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E14"] [WhiteElo "2747"] [BlackElo "2771"] [PlyCount "71"] [GameId "2175699178579791"] [EventDate "2025.05.07"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. b3 b6 4. e3 Bb7 5. Be2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. d4 d5 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. Bb2 Nd7 10. Nc3 c5 11. Nxd5 Bxd5 12. Rc1 Rc8 13. Bc4 Bxc4 14. Rxc4 Bf6 15. Qe2 cxd4 16. Bxd4 Bxd4 17. Nxd4 Ne5 18. Rc2 Rxc2 19. Qxc2 Qc8 20. Rc1 Qxc2 21. Rxc2 Rd8 22. Rc7 g5 23. Kf1 a6 24. Nc6 Nxc6 25. Rxc6 Rd1+ 26. Ke2 Rb1 27. Rxb6 Rb2+ 28. Kf3 Rxa2 29. g4 Kg7 30. b4 h6 31. b5 axb5 32. Rxb5 Rc2 33. Rb6 Ra2 34. Rb5 Rc2 35. Rb6 Ra2 36. Rb5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2025"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2025.05.07"] [Round "1.5"] [White "Gukesh, D."] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D24"] [WhiteElo "2787"] [BlackElo "2758"] [PlyCount "69"] [GameId "2175699178579792"] [EventDate "2025.05.07"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,69,18,32,26,9,-61,15,29,31,-65,25,25,29,56,34,25,5,5,47,36,20,2,14,-11,-18,48,0,27,9,-3,-35,-25,31,-24,59,57,94,105,104,107,130,133,83,109,99,109,134,147,-49,113,48,42,38,22,-1,-1,-1,-1,-112,-56,-1,-1,-1,-1,1,-1,-1,-1,1,-1,-1]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. e4 exd5 7. exd5 Bd6 8. Qe2+ Be7 9. Bf4 O-O 10. O-O-O Bd6 11. Qxc4 a6 12. Bxd6 Qxd6 13. Bd3 b5 14. Qh4 Nbd7 15. Rhe1 h6 16. Nd2 Nxd5 $2 {Black's position wasn't great, but now it's losing.} 17. Nxd5 Qxd5 18. Be4 Qd4 19. Nf3 Qc4+ 20. Kb1 Rb8 {Now, unfortunately, Gukesh displays a little too much talent. He finds a clever tactical idea; the bad news is that it throws away most of his advantage.} 21. Bh7+ $2 (21. Qe7 $1 {is extremely strong. The threat isn't completely obvious at first - it's Bf5, which in turn threatens not only the knight but Re4 trapping the queen. But why can't the knight move away - to f6, for example? See below.} g6 {This stops Bf5, but there's at least one more problem.} (21... b4 22. Bf5 Nf6 {meets a brutal end:} 23. Qxf8+ $1 Kxf8 24. Rd8+ {and mate next move.}) 22. Rd6 {Now threatening Bxg6 with a mating attack.} Rb6 23. Bc6 Nb8 24. Ne5 $1 Bf5+ 25. Ka1 Nxc6 26. Nxc4 Nxe7 27. Nxb6 Be6 28. Red1 $18 {The ending is clearly won even if White's material advantage isn't that great.}) 21... Kxh7 22. Re4 Nb6 $2 (22... Qxe4+ $142 23. Qxe4+ Kg8 $14) 23. Rxc4 bxc4 24. Kc1 $1 $16 {/+- White is still much better, though it's not a clear win like he had on move 21.} Bf5 25. g4 Bg6 26. g5 $2 (26. Ne5 {was correct, stopping Black's counterplay as quickly as possible. The one tempo gives Pragg what he needs to save the game.}) 26... Na4 (26... c3 $1 27. b3 Rbe8 $1 28. gxh6 Re2 $11) 27. Ne5 (27. gxh6 Nxb2 28. Ng5+ Kg8 29. hxg7 Kxg7 30. Ne6+ $1 fxe6 31. Rd7+ Kg8 32. Qh6 Bf7 $11) 27... Nxb2 $11 28. Nxg6 fxg6 29. gxh6 Nxd1 30. hxg7+ Kxg7 31. Qe7+ Kh6 32. Qh4+ Kg7 33. Qe7+ Kh6 34. Qh4+ Kg7 35. Qe7+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2025"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2025.05.08"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C84"] [WhiteElo "2723"] [BlackElo "2751"] [PlyCount "145"] [GameId "2175699178579793"] [EventDate "2025.05.07"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,145,19,31,15,15,18,20,9,15,5,4,17,1,53,63,86,85,62,89,80,79,75,55,90,85,73,90,111,89,95,95,99,80,73,59,67,72,67,76,32,90,81,82,32,77,79,69,57,52,47,60,56,51,-104,33,-63,34,32,34,-2,26,19,26,25,-1,30,25,20,40,38,47,51,69,51,13,62,51,52,45,50,35,64,63,72,48,74,62,55,69,65,67,-56,79,-58,71,82,1,91,50,97,104,67,79,70,82,105,111,97,105,101,100,125,185,120,121,95,105,116,112,114,-104,151,56,112,117,130,67,141,146,142,0,83,85,88,-27,-25,117,148,148,209,271,276,311,311,310,378,527]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 Be7 7. Re1 b5 8. Rxe4 d5 9. Nxe5 Nxe5 10. Rxe5 bxa4 11. Qe2 f6 12. Re3 c5 13. dxc5 Kf7 14. Nc3 Bxc5 15. Rd3 Qe7 16. Be3 d4 17. Bxd4 Qxe2 18. Nxe2 Re8 19. Nc3 Bxd4 20. Rxd4 a3 21. bxa3 Bf5 22. Nd5 Bxc2 23. Nc7 Rad8 24. Rxd8 Rxd8 25. Nxa6 Ra8 26. Nb4 Bf5 27. a4 Rxa4 28. a3 h5 29. f3 g5 30. Kf2 h4 31. Ke3 Ra5 32. Kd4 Bd7 33. Nd3 Bc6 34. h3 Ke6 35. Rc1 Kd6 36. Nb2 Rd5+ 37. Ke3 Re5+ 38. Kf2 Rb5 39. Nc4+ Ke7 40. Re1+ Kd7 41. Ne3 f5 42. Nc4 Bd5 43. a4 Rb4 44. Ne3 Be6 45. Ra1 Rb2+ 46. Kg1 Re2 47. Ra3 Kc6 48. a5 {White is of course the one with winning chances, but so far So has managed to keep the game within reach of a draw. It's tough to do this forever, and on this move he starts to slip.} Kb7 $2 (48... f4 $1 49. Nf1 (49. Ng4 Ra2 $11) 49... Kb5 $1 50. a6 Ra2 51. Rxa2 Bxa2 52. a7 Bd5 $11 {Black will round up the pawn before White can make something bad happen on the kingside.}) 49. a6+ (49. Rc3 $1 $16) 49... Ka7 50. Rc3 $14 Kb6 $1 51. Nc2 Rd2 $1 52. Nb4 {What should Black do about the threat of Rc6+?} Bd7 $6 (52... Rd6 $142 $1 $11 {was better, so that Black could play ...g4 without overloading his bishop (i.e. being stretched too thin by the need to cover both g4 and c6).}) 53. Ra3 Ka7 54. Re3 Rd1+ $2 {Surprisingly, this loses - or should.} (54... Kb6 $1 $14 55. Re7 g4 56. hxg4 fxg4 57. fxg4 Bxg4 $14 {With so little material remaining on the board and White's king shut in, Black should hold at least relatively comfortably.}) 55. Kh2 $2 (55. Kf2 $1 $18 Kb6 56. Re7 {Now} g4 {is inconsequential.} 57. Ke2 Rd6 58. Ke3 $18) 55... g4 $2 (55... Kb6 $1 $14) 56. hxg4 fxg4 57. fxg4 Bxg4 58. Re4 $18 {Winning a second pawn. The rest should in theory be a proverbial matter of technique, but it's still not so easy.} Bc8 59. Rxh4 Rc1 60. Rf4 Kb6 61. Rf6+ Kb5 62. Rf8 (62. a7 $1 Bb7 63. Nd5 $1 {wins, the tactical point being} Bxd5 64. Rf5 Ra1 65. Rxd5+ Kc6 66. Rd3 Rxa7 67. g4 $18 {with an easy win given how far away Black's king has been cut off from the pawn.}) 62... Kb6 $1 (62... Bxa6 $2 63. Nxa6 Kxa6 64. Rb8 $18 {leaves the king even further away than in the last line.}) 63. Rf4 Rc5 64. g4 $2 {Throwing away the win, believe it or not.} Rg5 $1 65. Kg3 Rg8 $1 66. Re4 Kb5 67. Kh4 Rh8+ $1 68. Kg5 Rg8+ $2 {If this forced the White king back, as it would *if* Black's king were on b6, this would retain the draw. But not here.} (68... Kb6 $1 $11 {had to be played, and then ...Rg8+ next if it's still available.}) 69. Kf6 $1 Bxg4 (69... Rxg4 70. a7 $1 Rxe4 71. a8=Q $18 {Black would draw if he could both take White's knight and save his bishop, but he can't.}) 70. Kf7 $1 Rd8 (70... Rg5 71. a7 $18) 71. Rxg4 Rd1 72. Ke6 Kb6 73. Rg7 1-0 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2025"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2025.05.08"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Deac, Bogdan-Daniel"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E52"] [WhiteElo "2668"] [BlackElo "2747"] [PlyCount "161"] [GameId "2175699178583890"] [EventDate "2025.05.07"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,161,13,33,23,19,21,15,13,11,12,9,8,5,5,7,9,45,18,63,18,2,-5,9,30,1,49,23,30,43,39,37,37,48,60,0,15,-34,53,51,-126,52,57,-35,41,47,25,58,66,-18,74,72,71,80,-16,64,9,51,17,60,45,-31,116,-80,50,88,148,193,167,191,173,151,157,178,163,152,162,155,202,146,185,215,184,251,232,99,270,174,307,288,179,268,133,185,84,245,310,307,266,210,267,268,199,279,277,301,287,169,212,231,231,224,199,196,244,166,174,260,153,150,305,152,183,151,215,177,162,156,171,102,75,78,76,78,69,75,159,159,124,121,119,109,100,95,114,-1,-1,0,138,144,116,152,168,261,156,190,254,247,239,213,273,243,343,356]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 b6 7. O-O Ba6 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Bxa6 Nxa6 10. Bd2 Re8 11. Rc1 Bf8 12. Qa4 Qc8 13. Ne2 Qb7 14. Qc6 Qxc6 15. Rxc6 Ne4 16. Rfc1 Rad8 17. Be1 Bd6 18. g3 f6 19. h4 Nb8 20. R6c2 c6 21. Nh2 Bf8 22. Nf4 Bd6 23. Ne2 Bf8 24. Kg2 Nd6 25. Nf4 Nb7 26. Nf3 Bd6 27. Nd3 c5 28. dxc5 bxc5 29. Rd1 Nd7 30. b4 c4 31. Nb2 Nb6 32. a4 Bf8 33. a5 Na8 34. a6 Nd6 35. Rxd5 Nb6 36. Ra5 Rc8 37. Nd4 Re5 38. b5 Rc7 39. Kf3 Re8 40. Na4 Nd7 41. Ke2 Kf7 42. g4 Rb8 43. f3 Re8 44. Bg3 Rcc8 45. Nc3 Nc5 46. Bxd6 Bxd6 47. Nc6 Rc7 48. Ra1 Bf8 49. Rd1 Nd3 50. Ne4 Ne5 51. Nd6+ Bxd6 52. Rxd6 Rec8 53. Nxe5+ fxe5 54. b6 axb6 55. Rxb6 c3 56. h5 Rd7 {Deac has gradually outplayed Aronian and has an objectively won double-rook endgame. One way to continue is to swap a pair of rooks and the queenside pawns, which should eventually win thanks to the weakness of e5. Deac goes for the "AlphaZero" approach, pushing the h-pawn, but in this specific case it turns out to be wrong.} 57. h6 $2 (57. Rb7 $1 Rxb7 58. axb7 Rb8 59. Rxc3 Rxb7 60. Kd3 g6 61. hxg6+ hxg6 62. Ke4 Rb5 63. Rc7+ Kf6 64. Rc6+ Kf7 65. g5 $18 {and White will win a second pawn shortly, e.g. with Rd6-d5 or Rf6+ followed by Rxg6 or Re6 and Rxe5.}) 57... g5 $1 {Rather than a strength, the h6-pawn is a liability. Perhaps Deac assumed Black would play 57...g6, in which case the h-pawn would be an asset.} 58. Rb7 Rxb7 59. axb7 Rb8 60. Rxc3 Rxb7 61. Kd3 Ke6 $2 $18 {Now all is well for White once more - though not for long. (Chess is hard.)} (61... Rb6 $1 {was correct. Even though White gets a passed e-pawn after} 62. Ke4 Rxh6 63. Kxe5 $11 {it's still objectively drawn.}) 62. Ra3 Kd5 63. Ra5+ Ke6 64. Ke4 $2 (64. Ra6+ $1 {was right, forcing Black's king to make an unpleasant decision. If it retreats, then Ke4 wins easily, and if it goes to d5 it gets separated from his army - the e-pawn in particular - after 65.e4+ Kc5 66.Re6.} Kd5 65. e4+ Kc5 66. Re6 $18) 64... Rb4+ $1 $11 65. Kd3 Rb3+ 66. Ke2 Rb2+ 67. Kf1 Rb1+ 68. Kg2 Rb2+ 69. Kg3 Rb3 $2 (69... Kf6 $11 {had to be played, to avoid losing the h-pawn.}) 70. Kf2 $2 (70. Ra7 $1 Rxe3 71. Rxh7 $1 {White could have won by throwing in 71.Kf2, but it's not necessary as} e4 72. Rg7 $1 Rxf3+ 73. Kg2 {wins. White threatens to promote (h7 Rf8 Rg8) and} Rf8 74. Rg6+ $1 $18 {followed by 75.Rxg5(+) does the job - as we'll see in the game.}) 70... Rb2+ 71. Kg3 Rb3 $2 72. Ra7 $1 $18 {Getting it right the second time around. There will be no further hiccups on the way to White's win.} e4 73. Rxh7 Rxe3 {Transposing to the note to move 70.} 74. Rg7 $1 Rxf3+ 75. Kg2 Rf8 76. Rg6+ $1 Ke7 77. Rxg5 Ke6 78. Rg6+ $1 Ke5 79. Rg7 $1 e3 80. h7 Rh8 81. g5 {White's king can handle the e-pawn, but Black has no good way to meet the threat of g6 followed by Rg8.} 1-0 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2025"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2025.05.08"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A21"] [WhiteElo "2776"] [BlackElo "2758"] [PlyCount "100"] [GameId "2175699178583891"] [EventDate "2025.05.07"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Bb4 3. Nd5 Bc5 4. e3 Nf6 5. Ne2 Nxd5 6. cxd5 O-O 7. Nc3 d6 8. Be2 Nd7 9. O-O a6 10. a3 Ba7 11. b4 Nf6 12. Bb2 c6 13. dxc6 bxc6 14. Rc1 Bb7 15. f4 c5 16. Qe1 cxb4 17. axb4 Qe7 18. Qh4 h6 19. b5 axb5 20. Nxb5 Bb8 21. Bc3 Rc8 22. Rb1 Bc6 23. Rb4 d5 24. fxe5 Bxe5 25. Nd4 Bd7 26. Rb7 Qe8 27. Bd3 Rcb8 28. Rxb8 Rxb8 29. Bf5 Rb6 30. Bxd7 Nxd7 31. Ne2 Nf6 32. Bxe5 Qxe5 33. Nd4 Rb2 34. Qf2 Kh7 35. Nf3 Qb8 36. Qe2 Qb5 37. Qxb5 Rxb5 38. Ne5 Rb2 39. d3 Rd2 40. g4 Re2 41. Rf3 Kg8 42. h4 Rd2 43. Kf1 h5 44. gxh5 Nxh5 45. Rxf7 Rxd3 46. Rxg7+ Nxg7 47. Nxd3 Nf5 48. Nf4 Nxe3+ 49. Ke2 Nf5 50. Nxd5 Nxh4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2025"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2025.05.08"] [Round "2.4"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E45"] [WhiteElo "2739"] [BlackElo "2757"] [PlyCount "109"] [GameId "2175699178583892"] [EventDate "2025.05.07"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6 5. Nge2 Ba6 6. a3 Be7 7. Nf4 d5 8. cxd5 Bxf1 9. Kxf1 exd5 10. Qf3 c6 11. g4 O-O 12. h4 Re8 13. g5 Ne4 14. Nxe4 dxe4 15. Qg4 Bd6 16. Bd2 Bxf4 17. Qxf4 Qd5 18. Bc3 Nd7 19. Rg1 Re6 20. Rg4 a5 21. Kg2 Rf8 22. h5 f5 23. Rg3 Rc8 24. a4 c5 25. Kh3 c4 26. Rf1 Rf8 27. Qc7 f4 28. exf4 Rc6 29. Qb7 Rxf4 30. Bd2 Rf5 31. Be3 Nf8 32. Kg2 Rf7 33. Qb8 Rf5 34. Rh1 Qd7 35. h6 g6 36. Rh4 b5 37. Rxe4 Rc8 38. Qb6 b4 39. Re5 Rxe5 40. dxe5 Qxa4 41. e6 Qe8 42. Qxa5 Qc6+ 43. Kh2 Qd6 44. e7 Qxe7 45. Qd5+ Qf7 46. Qe5 Ne6 47. Bd4 Nxd4 48. Qxd4 c3 49. bxc3 bxc3 50. Rxc3 Rxc3 51. Qd8+ Qf8 52. Qd5+ Qf7 53. Qd8+ Qf8 54. Qd5+ Qf7 55. Qd8+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2025"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2025.05.08"] [Round "2.5"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "Gukesh, D."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2771"] [BlackElo "2787"] [PlyCount "111"] [GameId "2175699178583893"] [EventDate "2025.05.07"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. Bg5 d6 6. c3 a6 7. Nbd2 Ba7 8. O-O h6 9. Bh4 Bg4 10. a4 Qd7 11. b4 Ne7 12. Bg3 Ng6 13. Qc2 O-O 14. d4 Nh5 15. Kh1 Rae8 16. h3 Be6 17. Bh2 Nhf4 18. Bxe6 Qxe6 19. Rae1 Qf6 20. d5 Rc8 21. c4 c6 22. Qb3 Qe7 23. a5 Qd7 24. Ng1 b5 25. axb6 Bxb6 26. Ne2 Nxe2 27. Rxe2 c5 28. b5 Ra8 29. bxa6 Rxa6 30. f4 exf4 31. Bxf4 Bd8 32. Bg3 Bf6 33. Nf3 Rfa8 34. Kh2 Qe7 35. e5 Bxe5 36. Nxe5 Nxe5 37. Bxe5 dxe5 38. Qg3 f6 39. Rb1 Ra3 40. Qg4 R3a4 41. Rb6 Rf8 42. Qe4 f5 43. Qxe5 Qxe5+ 44. Rxe5 Rxc4 45. Re7 Kh7 46. Rbb7 Rg8 47. Rbc7 Re4 48. Rxe4 fxe4 49. Rxc5 e3 50. d6 Rd8 51. Re5 Rxd6 52. Rxe3 Rc6 53. Rf3 Rd6 54. Re3 Rc6 55. Rf3 Rd6 56. Re3 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2025"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2025.05.09"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Gukesh, D."] [Black "Deac, Bogdan-Daniel"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A13"] [WhiteElo "2787"] [BlackElo "2668"] [PlyCount "126"] [GameId "2175699178583894"] [EventDate "2025.05.07"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. b3 Nf6 3. Bb2 e6 4. e3 Bd6 5. c4 Nc6 6. d4 O-O 7. Nbd2 b6 8. Be2 Bb7 9. O-O Qe7 10. Rc1 Rfd8 11. Bd3 Nb8 12. cxd5 exd5 13. Ne5 c5 14. f4 Nbd7 15. Qf3 Nf8 16. Qh3 Rac8 $2 (16... cxd4 $1 17. exd4 Rac8 18. Ndf3 Ba3 $11 {was correct, swapping to safety.}) 17. Ndf3 $16 Ne4 $2 (17... cxd4 $2 18. Nxd4 $1 $18 {prevents Black from fixing his omission on move 16.} Bxe5 $2 19. Nf5 Qe6 20. fxe5 $1 {is even worse. White's doubled pawns don't matter as he's going to deliver mate (or win lots of material) soon.}) (17... c4 $1 $16) 18. Nh4 $1 $18 Qe6 19. Nf5 cxd4 20. Bxd4 $6 {Natural, but there was better.} (20. Ng4 $3 {White will play Nxd4 if there's nothing better, with a huge advantage. The knight obviously can't be taken due to 21.Nh6+ and 22.Qxf5, while 20...dxe3 also loses to the queen.} dxe3 $4 21. Ngh6+ {Simplest.} (21. Qh6 $1 {is nicer.} Be5 $8 (21... gxh6 22. Ngxh6+ Qxh6 23. Nxh6#) 22. Bxe5 $1 Qxe5 $8 23. fxe5 gxh6 24. Ngxh6+ Kh8 25. Nxf7+ Kg8 26. Nxd8 Rxd8 27. Rc7 Rd7 28. Rxd7 Nxd7 29. e6 $18) 21... gxh6 (21... Kh8 22. Bxg7#) 22. Nxh6+ Qxh6 23. Qxh6 $18) 20... Bxe5 21. Bxe5 $2 (21. Rxc8 $1 Bxc8 22. fxe5 $1 Ng6 23. Qh5 $18 {was best; one idea is to play for Rf3-h3.}) 21... f6 $16 22. Bb2 Rxc1 23. Rxc1 Bc8 24. g4 Qf7 25. Nd4 Ne6 26. Nc6 Re8 27. b4 a5 28. bxa5 bxa5 29. Ba3 Bd7 $6 (29... Nc7 $142 $14 30. Nxa5 Ba6 $1 31. Bxa6 Nxa6 $11) 30. Nxa5 $2 (30. Qh5 $1 Qxh5 31. gxh5 $16 {isn't good for White's kingside structure - though it's not that bad for it - but getting rid of the queens will make it easier for White to use his queenside advantages without having to worry about Black counterplay.}) 30... Ra8 $6 (30... Ba4 $1 $11 {was best, clearing the queen's path to a7.}) 31. Bb4 Qe8 32. Bxe4 dxe4 33. Qg2 $6 (33. Qh5 $1 $16) 33... Nd8 (33... Rc8 $142 $1 $11) 34. Rc4 Rc8 $1 35. h3 Rxc4 36. Nxc4 Qe6 (36... Nf7 $1 $11 {was better, keeping White's knight out of d6.}) 37. Nd6 Nf7 38. Nf5 Qc4 $11 39. Ne7+ Kh8 40. Qd2 Bb5 41. Kh2 h5 42. gxh5 Nh6 43. a3 Be8 {Black is playing this part of the game extremely well. Despite being two pawns down, he is just as able to play for the initiative as White.} 44. Qd1 Kh7 45. Kg2 Qa2+ 46. Kg3 Qb2 47. Qd5 Qb1 48. Kh2 Bf7 49. Qc5 Qd1 {Believe it or not, *White* now has only one way to maintain equality.} 50. Qd4 $6 (50. Ng6 $1 {This shields the h-pawn and introduces the idea of Nf8+ followed by Ng6, generally making an immediate draw.}) 50... Qe2+ $15 51. Kg1 Qf3 52. Be1 $8 Be6 {Again White is down to only one good move, and in this case all the alternatives lose. (Or should.)} 53. Qd2 $2 (53. f5 $1 {was the only move.} Bf7 54. Bf2 $1 {Again the only move.} Bxh5 55. Qd6 $1 {And again!} Nf7 56. Qd5 $1 $15) 53... Qxh3 $19 54. Ng6 {Objectively too late, but the best try - and it works.} Bf7 $2 $11 {It wasn't easy to work out all the winning lines, so it's understandable that Deac would want to play it safe against the World Champion.} (54... Bc4 $1 55. Nf8+ Kg8 56. Ng6 Qf1+ 57. Kh2 Ng4+ 58. Kg3 Qg1+ 59. Kh4 (59. Qg2 Qxe1+ 60. Kxg4 Be2+ 61. Kf5 (61. Kh3 Bf1 $19) 61... Qd2 $1 {This threatens 62...Qd7+ 63.Kxe4 Qc6+ winning the queen. White cannot save himself with 62.Qxe4 (62...Bd3 wins the queen) or 62.Kxe4 (62...Bd3+ 63.Kf3 Be4+ again wins the queen), so his best bet is probably giving away the knight with} 62. Ne5 {, but the game cannot be saved after} fxe5 63. h6 Qd7+ {etc.}) 59... Kh7 $1 {Getting away from the mating ideas with Qd8+. If White does nothing, Black plays ...Nxe3 and wins everything and/or mates, and if} 60. Qd8 {then} Qxe1+ 61. Kxg4 Be6+ $1 62. f5 Qg1+ $1 63. Kf4 Qf2+ $1 64. Kxe4 Bxf5+ 65. Kd5 Qd2+ $19 {and as the kids say, White is cooked.}) 55. Nf8+ Kg8 56. Ng6 Qg4+ 57. Kf2 Qxh5 58. Qd8+ Kh7 59. Nf8+ Kg8 60. Ng6+ Kh7 61. Nf8+ Kg8 62. Ng6+ Kh7 63. Nf8+ Kg8 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2025"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2025.05.09"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D80"] [WhiteElo "2758"] [BlackElo "2771"] [PlyCount "121"] [GameId "2175699178587991"] [EventDate "2025.05.07"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,121,20,30,27,12,29,35,65,36,37,24,6,7,9,-4,54,17,-4,10,17,25,11,21,15,37,21,36,33,27,55,23,34,42,55,71,-109,44,9,44,56,25,38,46,-41,46,-60,26,-46,112,31,138,121,134,140,123,34,76,28,102,109,71,28,54,-2,87,86,110,34,112,118,143,138,109,112,118,117,61,128,178,134,138,130,138,137,138,135,127,137,129,131,131,112,124,131,128,69,121,116,120,118,121,121,123,124,105,113,125,121,120,109,119,21,123,116,108,116,111,197,186,271,409,367,448] A pretty clean win by Pragg, who slowly but surely outplayed his fellow youngster.} 1. c4 g6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bg5 Ne4 6. Bf4 O-O 7. e3 c5 8. cxd5 Nxc3 9. bxc3 Qxd5 10. Be2 cxd4 11. cxd4 Nc6 12. O-O Bf5 13. h4 Rac8 14. h5 Rfd8 15. h6 Bf6 16. Qa4 Qa5 17. Qxa5 Nxa5 18. Rac1 Nc6 19. a3 e6 20. Ng5 e5 21. dxe5 Nxe5 22. Rxc8 Rxc8 23. Rd1 Be7 24. e4 Bxg5 25. Bxg5 Bxe4 26. Bf6 Nc6 27. Rd7 Nb8 28. Re7 Bd5 29. Bg7 Rd8 30. Bb5 a6 31. Ba4 b5 32. Bd1 Nc6 33. Rc7 Be6 34. Rxc6 Rxd1+ 35. Kh2 Rd8 36. Rxa6 Bc4 37. Ra7 Bd5 38. f3 Ra8 39. Rd7 Bc4 40. Rb7 Re8 41. Kg3 Ra8 42. Kf2 Re8 43. Be5 Rc8 44. Bg7 Ra8 45. g4 Re8 46. Kg3 Be2 47. f4 Ra8 48. Kh4 Rc8 49. Kg5 Bd3 50. Be5 Re8 51. Bd6 Bc4 52. f5 Rc8 53. Be5 Re8 54. Rd7 Rc8 55. Bf6 gxf5 56. gxf5 Kf8 57. Rb7 Ra8 58. Be7+ Ke8 59. Bb4 Ra6 60. Rb8+ Kd7 61. Rh8 1-0 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2025"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2025.05.09"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D85"] [WhiteElo "2747"] [BlackElo "2723"] [PlyCount "96"] [GameId "2175699178587992"] [EventDate "2025.05.07"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,96,20,29,20,15,28,42,45,109,29,44,38,72,23,21,21,-6,10,10,14,-4,4,4,-30,6,14,-43,16,29,28,6,67,20,47,20,19,-21,41,7,-7,-13,-29,-4,81,-55,27,-66,-43,-103,-147,-105,-162,1,-141,-166,-203,-185,-186,-206,-224,-113,-201,-141,-100,-81,-91,-70,-112,-32,-59,-38,-46,-51,-46,-31,-22,-6,1,-106,-29,-92,-110,-116,-96,-80,-78,-1,-1,1,-1,-1,-1,-110,-1,-3,-3,-3,-1] These two are good friends, but they almost always end up in crazy, hard-fought tactical battles. This was another.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Nf3 c5 8. Bb5+ Nc6 9. Rb1 O-O 10. d5 Ne5 11. O-O a6 12. Bd3 e6 13. Nxe5 Bxe5 14. c4 Qd6 15. a4 b5 16. Bh6 Bxh2+ 17. Kh1 Be5 18. f4 Bd4 19. Qf3 Qd8 20. Bg5 f6 21. Bh6 b4 22. Rbd1 f5 23. Qg3 exd5 24. cxd5 fxe4 25. Bxe4 Bf5 26. Bxf8 Bxe4 {Black is better, and White must play the only move to avoid a lost position.} 27. Bh6 $2 (27. Rxd4 $1 {had to be played.} cxd4 28. Bxb4 Qxd5 $15) 27... Qxd5 $6 {Black is still better after this obvious, natural move, but after the better} (27... Qd6 $1 $19 {White's f-pawn is pinned. This stops White's attack before it gets started, and then Black's stupendous bishops and queenside majority should win fairly directly.}) 28. f5 $1 $17 Bxf5 $2 $11 (28... Re8 $1 {Easy to play with the engine running.} 29. Rde1 $1 b3 $17) 29. Rf4 $2 (29. Rxd4 $1 cxd4 30. Qc7 $1 Bd7 31. Kg1 $1 {Sidestepping ...Qh5+ issues.} d3 32. Qb6 $1 $11 {Not allowing ...Qd4+ either, and also looking to play Qxb4 or Qf6. White is fine despite being three pawns down.}) 29... b3 $19 ({Or} 29... Re8 $19) 30. Rdf1 Kh8 $2 {Obvious...but wrong.} (30... b2 $1 31. Rxf5 b1=Q $1 {Pinning the f1-rook so there's no 32.Rf8+ Rxf8 33.Rxf8#. White has his choice of queens, but either way he'll finish up down material. After the best try,} 32. Rxb1 Qxf5 33. Qb3+ Qf7 34. Qb8+ Qe8 35. Qb3+ Kh8 $19 {White's attack is over and Black should eventually win with his two extra pawns.}) 31. Rxd4 $1 {Better late than never!} Qxd4 32. Rf4 {Black's dark-square problems give White enough counterplay to draw.} Qf6 (32... b2 $143 33. Rxd4 b1=Q+ 34. Kh2 Qb7 $8 (34... cxd4 $4 35. Qe5+ Kg8 36. Qg7# {is a simple illustration of the kind of problem Black faces.}) 35. Rd6 $44) 33. Qxb3 g5 (33... Re8 $15) 34. Rxf5 $1 Qxh6+ $8 (34... Qxf5 $4 35. Qc3+ Kg8 36. Qg7#) 35. Kg1 {Black's king is safer with White's bishop off the board, but even here White's activity suffices for the two pawns - soon just one pawn.} Qg7 36. Qd5 Rc8 37. Rxg5 Qa1+ 38. Kh2 Qf6 39. Qd7 Rd8 40. Qg4 c4 41. Rh5 c3 42. Qe4 Qg7 43. Qc6 Rg8 44. Rh3 Qe5+ 45. Kg1 Qe1+ 46. Kh2 Qe5+ 47. Kg1 Qe1+ 48. Kh2 Qe5+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2025"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2025.05.09"] [Round "3.4"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E56"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2739"] [PlyCount "69"] [GameId "2175699178587993"] [EventDate "2025.05.07"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. d4 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 c5 8. O-O Nc6 9. a3 Ba5 10. Bd3 h6 11. Bc2 Qe7 12. Ne4 Nxe4 13. Bxe4 Rd8 14. Qa4 Bb6 15. dxc5 Qxc5 16. Bd2 Bd7 17. Rac1 Qe7 18. Qb3 Be8 19. Rfd1 Ba5 20. Bxa5 Nxa5 21. Qc2 Rxd1+ 22. Rxd1 Rd8 23. Rxd8 Qxd8 24. Nd4 Nc6 25. Bxc6 Bxc6 26. Nxc6 bxc6 27. h3 Qd5 28. b4 a5 29. bxa5 Qxa5 30. Qxc6 Qxa3 31. Qe8+ Qf8 32. Qc6 Qa3 33. Qe8+ Qf8 34. Qc6 Qa3 35. Qe8+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2025"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2025.05.09"] [Round "3.5"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D36"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2776"] [PlyCount "146"] [GameId "2175699178587994"] [EventDate "2025.05.07"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 c6 7. Qc2 Be7 8. e3 Nh5 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 10. g4 Nhf6 11. Rg1 Nb6 12. h3 Be6 13. Bd3 g6 14. O-O-O O-O-O 15. Kb1 Kb8 16. Ka1 Rc8 17. Rc1 Rc7 18. Nd2 h5 19. g5 Nfd7 20. h4 c5 21. dxc5 Nxc5 22. Nb5 Rcc8 23. Qc3 Bd7 24. Qa3 Bxb5 25. Bxb5 Rc7 26. Rc2 Rhc8 27. Rgc1 Ne4 28. Rxc7 Rxc7 29. Qxe7 Rxe7 30. Nxe4 Rxe4 31. Rh1 d4 32. Bd3 Rg4 {Caruana has handled the middlegame and early endgame better than his opponent, but even so it's not much. The h4-pawn is a nagging weakness, but with all Black's kingside pawns easily targeted by White's bishop a draw is the likeliest result.} 33. Bc2 $2 {White wants to take aim at the kingside pawns starting with Bb3, but this is a mistake.} (33. Kb1 $11) 33... Rg2 $1 $19 {If the bishop weren't loose on c2 this wouldn't be a problem, but now it is. All of a sudden Black is winning.} 34. exd4 Rxf2 35. Kb1 Nc4 $6 (35... Nc8 $1 {was better, the point being that} 36. Bd3 {can be met in this case with} Rd2 $19) 36. Bd3 Nd6 37. Rf1 Rd2 38. Rf3 $2 {A subtle error.} (38. Rf6 $1 Kc7 39. Bc2 $1 Kd7 $1 (39... Rxd4 $6 40. Bb3 Rxh4 41. Bxf7 Rg4 42. Rxg6 $1 $11 (42. Bxg6 $11 {isn't as clean, but it should draw, too.})) 40. Rf4 $17) 38... Rg2 $1 $19 {The rook heads to g4, with inevitable material losses for White.} 39. b3 b5 $1 40. a4 bxa4 $2 (40... a6 $1 $19 {was correct - and consistent with his last move, preventing White from playing Bc4.}) 41. Bc4 $2 {The players have made the time control, but the mistakes keep coming. (Chess is hard.)} (41. Rf6 $1 Kc7 42. Bc4 $1 $15 {was the right way.}) 41... axb3 $2 (41... Rh2 $1 $19 42. Bxf7 Nxf7 43. Rxf7 axb3 $1 44. Rf6 Kb7 $1 45. Rxg6 a5 $1 46. Rf6 a4 47. Rf1 Rg2 $19 {White's pawns are going nowhere, and thanks to Black's connected queenside passers, neither are White's pieces. Black's king will collect the d-pawn and then help the queenside passers finish off White's resistance.}) 42. Bxb3 $15 Nf5 43. Rh3 $6 (43. Bxf7 $1 Nxh4 44. Rb3+ Kc7 45. Ra3 $11) 43... Rf2 $1 $17 44. Bxf7 $1 Nxh4 45. Rb3+ $2 (45. Be8 $1 Re2 46. Bf7 Re7 47. Bc4 $1 Re4 48. Rc3 $3 a5 (48... Rxd4 49. Ba6 $1 Rd8 50. Rc6 $1 $11 {is a magnificent idea from the computer. Black is up two pawns, but can't do a thing.}) 49. Bf7 Rxd4 50. Rc6 {and White saves the game.}) 45... Kc7 $19 46. Ra3 a5 $1 47. Bd5 Rf5 $1 48. Rc3+ (48. Rxa5 $2 Kd6 $19) 48... Kd6 49. Be4 Rxg5 50. Rc6+ Kd7 51. Ra6 Rg4 $1 52. Bc2 Ke7 $1 {Surprisingly, this is the only winning move. Caruana is playing this stretch of the game very well; unfortunately, the players' errors have not yet come to an end.} 53. Rxa5 Kf6 $1 54. Ra6+ Kg5 $1 55. d5 Nf5 56. Kb2 h4 $2 (56... Rd4 $19 {was better, and for comprehensible reasons. If White gets Kc3 in first Black can't play ...Rd4 on account of Bxf5, removing the rook's defender.}) 57. Kc3 $1 $17 h3 $5 (57... Rg3+ $142 58. Kb4 $1 Rg2 59. Bd3 Kf4 60. d6 $1 Rd2 61. Ra3 $1 Nxd6 62. Bxg6 {and although his suffering isn't quite at an end it's clear that White should draw this.}) 58. d6 {Computer-equal, yes, but not so clear for humans.} h2 59. d7 $8 Rd4 60. Bxf5 h1=Q 61. Kxd4 Qh8+ (61... Kxf5 62. Rd6 $11) 62. Kd5 Kxf5 63. Rd6 $1 Qd8 {Yes, it's a draw, but not obviously so. Can't Black just push his pawn up the board?} 64. Kc6 $8 g5 65. Rd1 $2 (65. Rd3 $1 {It's not such a deep finesse; it's that Black is forced to spend an extra tempo making ...g3 possible.} g4 66. Re3) 65... g4 66. Re1 Qa8+ 67. Kd6 g3 {The basic problem.} 68. Ke7 (68. Re8 Qa3+ 69. Kc6 g2 70. d8=Q Qa6+ $1 $19 {The only winning move, for a comprehensible reason. White must either allow a trade of queens, going into the lost Q vs. R ending, or put the king on c5 and allow Black to queen with check.}) 68... Qa3+ 69. Ke8 Qa4 70. Rf1+ Ke6 (70... Kg6) 71. Re1+ Kf5 72. Re2 (72. Rf1+ Kg6) 72... Qb5 73. Re7 g2 (73... g2 74. Rg7 Kf6 $1 {Not the only winning move, but the nicest.} 75. Rxg2 Qe5+ 76. Kf8 (76. Kd8 Qb8#) 76... Qb8+ 77. d8=Q+ Qxd8#) 0-1