[Event "Training Match Tournament"]
[Site "USSR"]
[Date "1952.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Mikhail Botvinnik"]
[Black "Efim Geller"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D02"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "121"]
[EventDate "1952.??.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Nh4 Be4 6. f3 Bg6 7. Nxg6 hxg6 8. c4
c5 9. cxd5 exd5 10. e3 Nc6 11. Nc3 cxd4 12. exd4 Qb6 13. Ne2 Bb4+ 14. Bd2 O-O
15. Bxb4 Qxb4+ 16. Qd2 Rfe8 17. O-O-O Qc4+ 18. Nc3 Nb4 19. Kb1 Nxa2 20. Rhe1
Nxc3+ 21. Qxc3 Qxc3 22. bxc3 Nd7 23. Kc2 Kf8 24. Kd2 Nb6 25. Bf1 Re7 26. Ra1
Rxe1 27. Rxe1 Rd8 28. h4 a6 29. Rb1 Rd6 30. g4 Ke7 31. Bd3 Kd8 32. f4 Re6 33.
f5 gxf5 34. gxf5 Rh6 35. h5 a5 36. Kc2 a4 37. Be2 Ke7 38. Rb5 Rc6 39. Bf3 Rd6
40. Rc5 Nc4 {[#]} 41. Rc7+ Kf6 (41... Rd7 42. Rxd7+ (42. f6+ gxf6 43. Rxd7+
Kxd7 44. h6) 42... Kxd7 43. Bxd5) 42. Rxb7 (42. Be2) 42... Ra6 (42... Rb6) 43.
Kd3 Nb6 44. Rc7 Na8 (44... a3 45. Rc6+ Kxf5 46. Bxd5 a2 47. Bxa2 Rxa2 48. Rxb6)
45. Rd7 a3 46. Bxd5 a2 47. Rxf7+ Kg5 48. Rxg7+ Kh6 49. Rg1 a1=Q 50. Rxa1 Rxa1
51. Bxa8 Rxa8 52. c4 Kg5 53. Ke4 Re8+ 54. Kd5 Kxf5 55. Kd6 Rd8+ 56. Ke7 Rxd4
57. c5 Rc4 58. Kd6 Kf6 59. c6 Rd4+ 60. Kc5 Rd1 61. c7 1/2-1/2

[Event "Moscow Championship"]
[Site "Moscow URS"]
[Date "1946.01.??"]
[Round "3"]
[White "David Bronstein"]
[Black "Alexander Kotov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B17"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "45"]
[EventDate "1946.??.??"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Nc3 (6. Nxf6+) (6. Ng3
) (6. Bd3) 6... e6 7. Bd3 Be7 8. O-O c5 9. Qe2 cxd4 10. Nxd4 O-O 11. Bg5 Nc5
12. Rad1 Nxd3 (12... Qxd4 13. Bxh7+) 13. Rxd3 Qc7 14. Ndb5 Qc6 15. Rfd1 (15.
Ne4 Nxe4 16. Bxe7 Re8 17. Nd4) 15... b6 16. Nd4 Qc7 17. Rg3 Kh8 18. Ncb5 Qb7
19. Qe5 (19. Rc3 Ne8 20. Rc7 Nxc7 21. Bxe7 Rg8 22. Nd6) 19... a6 20. Nc3 Nd7
21. Bh6 {[#]} Nxe5 22. Bxg7+ Kg8 23. Bxe5+ 1-0

[Event "World Championship Candidates"]
[Site "London ENG"]
[Date "2013.03.31"]
[Round "13"]
[White "Teimour Radjabov"]
[Black "Magnus Carlsen"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E32"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "178"]
[EventDate "2013.03.14"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. g3 O-O 7. Bg2 e5 8. O-O
c6 9. Rd1 Re8 10. dxe5 dxe5 11. a3 Bxc3 12. Qxc3 Qe7 13. b4 Nb6 14. Be3 Ng4 15.
Nd2 f5 16. h3 Nxe3 17. Qxe3 e4 18. Rac1 Be6 19. Qc3 Rad8 20. Bf1 c5 21. bxc5
Na4 22. Qb4 Nxc5 23. Nb3 Rxd1 24. Rxd1 Na6 25. Qxe7 Rxe7 26. e3 Kf7 27. Be2 b6
28. Rd8 Nc5 29. Nd4 Kf6 30. Kf1 Rd7 31. Rf8+ Bf7 32. Ke1 g6 33. h4 h6 34. Rc8
Be6 35. Rf8+ Rf7 36. Rh8 Rc7 37. Nb5 Rd7 38. Nd4 h5 39. Rf8+ Bf7 40. Rc8 Ke5
41. Ra8 a6 42. Rc8 Rd6 43. Nc6+ Kf6 44. Nd4 Be6 45. Rf8+ Ke7 46. Ra8 Rd7 47.
Rb8 Rb7 48. Rxb7+ Nxb7 49. Kd2 Kd6 50. Kc3 Bf7 51. Nb3 Ke5 52. Bf1 a5 53. Be2
Be6 54. Bf1 Bd7 55. Be2 Ba4 56. Nd4 Nc5 57. Kb2 Be8 58. Kc3 Bf7 59. Nc6+ Kd6
60. Nd4 Nd7 61. Nb5+ Kc5 62. Nd4 Ne5 63. Nb3+ Kc6 64. a4 Kd7 65. Nd4 Kd6 66.
Nb5+ Kc5 67. Nd4 Be8 68. Nb3+ Kd6 69. c5+ Kc7 70. Kd4 Nc6+ 71. Kc3 Ne7 72.
cxb6+ Kxb6 73. Nd2 Bxa4 74. Nc4+ Ka6 75. Na3+ Kb7 76. Nc4 Ka6 77. Na3+ Ka7 78.
Kd4 Nc6+ 79. Kc5 Ne5 {[#]} 80. Nc4 (80. Kd4 Nc6+ 81. Kc5) 80... Nd3+ 81. Kd4
Nc1 82. Bf1 Bb5 83. Nxa5 Bxf1 84. Nc6+ Kb6 85. Ne7 Nd3 86. Nxg6 Kc7 87. Ne7 Bh3
88. Nd5+ Kd6 89. Nf6 Bg4 0-1

[Event "Chess Olympiad"]
[Site "Batumi GEO"]
[Date "2018.09.25"]
[Round "2.25"]
[White "Aryan Tari"]
[Black "Mikhael Mchedlishvili"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B09"]
[WhiteElo "2618"]
[BlackElo "2607"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "2018.09.24"]

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. f4 Bg7 5. a3 O-O 6. Nf3 Na6 7. e5 Nd7 8. Be3 c5
9. Qd2 cxd4 10. Bxd4 dxe5 11. fxe5 Ndc5 12. Qe3 b6 13. O-O-O Qc7 14. b4 Ne6 15.
Nd5 Qb7 16. Bb2 b5 17. g3 Nb8 18. Bg2 Nc6 19. h4 a5 20. h5 axb4 21. axb4 Qa7
22. Qxa7 Rxa7 23. h6 Bh8 24. Rhe1 Nc7 {[#]} 25. Nd4 Nxd4 26. Nxe7# 1-0

[Event "Chess Olympiad"]
[Site "Batumi GEO"]
[Date "2018.09.24"]
[Round "1.6"]
[White "Etienne Bacrot"]
[Black "Basheer Al Qudaimi"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2678"]
[BlackElo "2419"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2018.09.24"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. O-O d6 6. c3 a6 7. a4 Ba7 8. Re1
O-O 9. h3 h6 10. Nbd2 Nh5 11. Nf1 Qf6 12. Ne3 Nf4 13. Ng4 Bxg4 14. hxg4 Rad8
15. Bd5 g5 16. Bxc6 bxc6 17. d4 Qe6 18. Nh2 Ng6 19. Nf1 exd4 20. cxd4 Qf6 21.
Be3 Rb8 22. Ng3 Rxb2 23. Nf5 c5 24. Qc1 Rfb8 25. Nxh6+ Kh7 26. Nf5 cxd4 27.
Bxg5 Qe6 28. Bd8 Qe5 29. Bxc7 d3 30. Qh6+ Kg8 31. Bxb8 Bxf2+ 32. Kh1 Rxb8 33.
Rab1 Re8 34. Rf1 Bc5 35. Qh5 Rf8 36. Rb7 Nf4 37. Qg5+ Ng6 {[#]} 38. Qxg6+ fxg6
(38... Kh8 39. Nh6) 39. Nh6+ Kh8 40. Rxf8# 1-0

[Event "Chess Olympiad"]
[Site "Batumi GEO"]
[Date "2018.09.25"]
[Round "2.42"]
[White "Ferenc Berkes"]
[Black "Franc Ashiku"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A81"]
[WhiteElo "2678"]
[BlackElo "2373"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "2018.09.24"]

1. d4 f5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 d6 4. Nh3 g6 5. O-O Bg7 6. c3 e6 7. Nd2 O-O 8. e4 Nc6
9. exf5 gxf5 10. Nf4 Qe8 11. Re1 e5 12. dxe5 dxe5 13. Nc4 e4 14. Qb3 Kh8 15.
Be3 b6 16. Rad1 Ne5 17. Nxe5 Qxe5 18. Bd4 Qe7 19. f3 Bb7 20. fxe4 fxe4 21. Ne6
c5 22. Be5 Rfe8 23. Bh3 Nh5 24. Rd7 Qxd7 25. Nxg7 Qe7 26. Ne6+ Nf6 27. Rf1 Rf8
28. Qd1 Rf7 {[#]} 29. Qh5 Raf8 30. Nxf8 1-0

[Event "Chess Olympiad"]
[Site "Batumi GEO"]
[Date "2018.09.25"]
[Round "2.74"]
[White "Luis Barros"]
[Black "Daniel Pinto"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B22"]
[WhiteElo "1774"]
[BlackElo "2131"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "50"]
[EventDate "2018.09.24"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 Nf6 4. Bd3 e5 5. Bc2 d5 6. exd5 Qxd5 7. h3 e4 8. Qe2
Be6 9. Nh2 O-O-O 10. Na3 Bd6 11. c4 Qe5 12. Nf1 Nd4 13. Qd1 Nh5 14. Ne3 Nf4 15.
Nb5 Bb8 16. Nc3 f5 17. b3 Nxc2+ 18. Qxc2 Nd3+ 19. Ke2 f4 20. Ng4 f3+ 21. gxf3
exf3+ 22. Kxf3 Bxg4+ 23. Kg2 {[#]} Bf3+ 24. Kxf3 Qf4+ (24... Rdf8+ 25. Kg4 h5+
26. Kh4 g5#) 25. Ke2 Rhe8+ 0-1

[Event "Chess Olympiad"]
[Site "Batumi GEO"]
[Date "2018.09.24"]
[Round "1.46"]
[White "Viresh Giasi"]
[Black "Milos Roganovic"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B30"]
[WhiteElo "2024"]
[BlackElo "2527"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "40"]
[EventDate "2018.09.24"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Be2 Bg7 5. O-O d6 6. h3 a6 7. a4 e5 8. Bc4
Nge7 9. d3 O-O 10. Nd5 h6 11. Ne1 Kh7 12. f4 f5 13. Nxe7 Qxe7 14. exf5 Bxf5 15.
Bd5 exf4 16. Bxc6 bxc6 17. Rxf4 Rae8 18. Rf1 Bd4+ 19. Kh1 {[#]} Bg4 20. Qxg4 (
20. hxg4 Qh4#) (20. Nf3 Rxf3 21. gxf3 Qh4) 20... Rxf1+ 0-1

[Event "Chess Olympiad"]
[Site "Batumi GEO"]
[Date "2018.09.25"]
[Round "2.19"]
[White "Alexandr Hilario Takeda dos Sa"]
[Black "Robert Aloma Vidal"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A09"]
[WhiteElo "2558"]
[BlackElo "2428"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2018.09.24"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Na3 a6 4. Nxc4 b5 5. Ne3 Bb7 6. g3 Nf6 7. Bg2 e6 8. O-O
Be7 9. b3 O-O 10. Bb2 c5 11. Qc2 Nbd7 12. Rac1 h6 13. Rfd1 Rc8 14. Qb1 Qb6 15.
Qa1 Rfd8 16. h3 Bf8 17. d3 Bc6 18. Ng4 Nxg4 19. hxg4 Qb7 20. e4 a5 21. g5 hxg5
22. Nxg5 a4 23. Bh3 Re8 24. Kg2 axb3 25. Rh1 c4 {[#]} 26. Bxe6 Rxe6 27. Rh8+
Kxh8 28. Rh1+ Kg8 29. Rh8+ Kxh8 30. Qh1+ Rh6 31. Qxh6+ 1-0

[Event "2018 US Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Conner, Thadyn"]
[Black "Li, Rachael"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B99"]
[WhiteElo "1032"]
[BlackElo "1801"]
[Annotator "Alburt, Lev"]
[PlyCount "114"]
[EventDate "2018.11.07"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 Nbd7 (6... e6 7. f4
Be7 8. Qf3 Qc7) 7. f4 (7. Bc4) 7... Qc7 8. Qf3 e6 {Diagram [#]} 9. O-O-O Be7
10. g4 b5 11. Bxf6 Nxf6 (11... Bxf6 12. Bxb5 axb5 13. Ndxb5 Qa5 14. Nxd6+ Ke7
15. e5) 12. g5 Nd7 13. a3 (13. f5 Bxg5+ (13... b4 14. fxe6) 14. Kb1 Ne5 15. Qh5
Qe7 16. fxe6 g6 17. exf7+ Kxf7) 13... Bb7 (13... Rb8) 14. Bh3 O-O {Diagram [#]}
(14... Nc5) (14... g6) 15. Bxe6 (15. g6 hxg6 16. Nxe6) 15... fxe6 16. Nxe6 Qb6
(16... Qc4 17. Nxf8 Rxf8 (17... Bxf8) 18. -- Re8) 17. Nxf8 Rxf8 18. Qg3 (18. h4
Ne5 (18... b4) 19. Qg3 Nc4 20. f5) 18... Nc5 (18... b4) 19. Rhe1 {Diagram [#]}
Qc7 20. Nd5 (20. h4) 20... Bxd5 21. Rxd5 (21. exd5) 21... Rc8 (21... Ne6 22.
Rf5) 22. Qc3 Qb7 (22... Ne6) 23. Rd4 Kh8 {Diagram [#]} (23... Nxe4 24. Qf3) 24.
Qe3 (24. Qh3) 24... a5 25. Kb1 (25. h4) 25... b4 26. axb4 (26. h4 bxa3 (26...
b3 27. c3) 27. Qxa3) 26... axb4 27. Qd2 (27. e5) 27... b3 (27... Qa7) 28. cxb3
(28. Rc4) (28. Qc3) 28... Nxb3 29. Qb4 {Diagram [#]} Qa7 (29... Nc5) (29...
Qxb4 30. Rxb4 Nc5 (30... Nd2+ 31. Ka1 Ra8+)) 30. Qxb3 Qxd4 31. Qe3 Qc4 (31...
Qa4) (31... Qxe3 32. Rxe3) 32. Rc1 Qxc1+ 33. Qxc1 Rxc1+ 34. Kxc1 {Diagram [#]}
Kg8 35. Kc2 (35. h4 Kf7 36. f5 h6) 35... Kf7 36. Kd3 Ke6 37. Kd4 g6 38. h4 (38.
Kc4 Bd8 39. Kb5 d5) 38... Bd8 39. b4 Bb6+ 40. Kc4 Be3 41. b5 Bxf4 42. b6 Ke5 {
Diagram [#]} 43. Kd3 (43. b7 Kxe4 44. b8=Q d5+) 43... d5 44. exd5 Kxd5 45. b7
Bb8 46. Ke3 Ke5 47. Kf3 Kf5 48. Kg2 Kg4 49. Kf2 Kxh4 50. Kf3 Kxg5 51. Kg2 Kg4
52. Kh1 Kh3 53. Kg1 g5 54. Kh1 g4 55. Kg1 g3 56. Kh1 Ba7 57. b8=Q g2# 0-1

[Event "Carlsen - Caruana World Championship Mat"]
[Site "London ENG"]
[Date "2018.11.21"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Magnus Carlsen"]
[Black "Fabiano Caruana"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A29"]
[Annotator "Hess, Robert"]
[PlyCount "112"]
[EventDate "2018.11.09"]

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Bc5 7. O-O (7. Nxe5
Nxc3 8. Bxc6+ bxc6 9. bxc3 (9. dxc3 Qxd1+ 10. Kxd1 Bxf2 11. Rf1 Bc5 12. Rxf7
Bd6 13. Rf3 Bxe5 14. Re3 O-O 15. Rxe5 Rf1+) 9... Qd5 10. Nf3 Bh3) 7... O-O 8.
d3 (8. Nxd5 Qxd5 9. Ng5 Qd8 10. Nxh7 Re8 (10... Kxh7 11. Qc2+ Kg8 12. Qxc5) 11.
Ng5 Qxg5 12. d4 (12. Bxc6 bxc6 13. d4 Qh5 14. dxc5 Bg4) 12... Qh5 13. dxc5 Rd8
14. Bd2 Nd4 15. f3 e4) 8... Re8 {[#]} 9. Bg5 (9. Bd2 Nxc3 10. Bxc3 Nd4 11. b4
Bd6 12. Rb1 Nxf3+ 13. Bxf3) 9... Nxc3 (9... f6 10. Qb3 Be6 11. Qxb7 Ndb4 12.
Qb5) 10. bxc3 f6 11. Bc1 Be6 12. Bb2 {[#]} Bb6 (12... Bf8) (12... Qe7 13. d4
Rad8) 13. d4 Bd5 (13... e4 14. Nd2 f5 15. Qc2 Na5 16. Rfd1 Nc4 17. Nxc4 Bxc4
18. e3 Qd5 19. Bf1 Bxf1 20. Rxf1) (13... Na5 14. dxe5 (14. Qc2) 14... Qxd1 15.
Rfxd1 Nc4 16. Bc1 Rad8 17. Rxd8 Rxd8 18. Nd4 Bxd4 19. cxd4 Rxd4 20. Bxb7 Rd1+
21. Kg2 Nxe5) 14. Qc2 exd4 (14... e4 15. Nh4 (15. Nd2 e3 16. Bxd5+ Qxd5 17. Qb3
Qxb3 18. Nxb3 exf2+ 19. Rxf2) 15... Na5 16. Nf5 c5 (16... Nc4 17. Ne3 Nxe3 18.
fxe3) 17. Ne3) 15. cxd4 Be4 (15... Bxf3 16. Bxf3 Nxd4 17. Qc4+ (17. Bxd4 Qxd4
18. e3 Qe5 19. Bxb7 Rab8) 17... Kh8 18. Bxb7) 16. Qb3+ Bd5 17. Qd1 {[#]} Bxf3 (
17... Qd7 18. e3 Na5 19. Bc3 Nc4 20. a4 Ba5 (20... a5) 21. Rc1) 18. Qb3+ (18.
Bxf3 Nxd4 19. Bxd4 Qxd4 20. Qb3+ Kf8) 18... Kh8 19. Bxf3 Nxd4 20. Bxd4 Qxd4 21.
e3 Qe5 (21... Qd6 22. Bxb7 (22. Rad1 Qe6) 22... Rab8 23. Rad1 Qf8 24. Bc6 Bxe3
25. Qc4) 22. Bxb7 Rad8 23. Rad1 {[#]} Qe7 24. h4 (24. Bf3) (24. Kg2) 24... g6
25. h5 (25. Kg2 h5 26. Bc6 Rf8 27. Qc2 f5) 25... gxh5 26. Qc4 f5 (26... Rxd1
27. Rxd1 Bxe3 28. fxe3 Qxe3+) 27. Bf3 h4 28. Rxd8 Rxd8 29. gxh4 Rg8+ 30. Kh1
Qf6 31. Qf4 Bc5 32. Rg1 Rxg1+ 33. Kxg1 Bd6 34. Qa4 f4 35. Qxa7 fxe3 36. Qxe3
Qxh4 (36... Qa1+ 37. Kg2 Qxa2 38. Qd4+ Kg8 39. Bd5+) 37. a4 (37. Qc3+ Kg8 38.
Bd5+ Kf8 39. Qh8+ Ke7 40. Qg7+ Kd8) 37... Qf6 38. Bd1 Qe5 39. Qxe5+ Bxe5 40. a5
Kg7 41. a6 Bd4 42. Kg2 Kf6 43. f4 Bb6 44. Kf3 h6 45. Ke4 Ba7 46. Bg4 Bg1 47.
Kd5 Bb6 48. Kc6 Be3 49. Kb7 (49. Kxc7 Bxf4+) 49... Bb6 50. Bh3 (50. a7 Bxa7 51.
Kxa7 c5) 50... Be3 51. Kc6 Bb6 52. Kd5 Ba7 53. Ke4 Bb6 54. Bf1 Ke6 55. Bc4+ Kf6
56. Bd3 Ke6 1/2-1/2

[Event "London World Ch."]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.11.09"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B31"]
[WhiteElo "2832"]
[BlackElo "2835"]
[Annotator "Rogers, Ian"]
[PlyCount "229"]
[EventDate "2018.11.??"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. d3 Bg7 6. h3 Nf6 7. Nc3 Nd7 {
Both Carlsen and Caruana have played the standard} (7... O-O {this year - and
Carlsen beat Caruana with}) (7... b6 {in 2015 - but the possible benefits of
delaying castling in this way are also well known.}) 8. Be3 e5 9. O-O {This is
not considered as flexible as} (9. Qd2 {and Carlsen takes advantage by
continuing to keep his king’s final destination a mystery.}) 9... b6 10. Nh2
{A standard plan, but this and Caruana's next move cost half an hour on the
clock.} Nf8 11. f4 exf4 12. Rxf4 Be6 13. Rf2 {[#]} h6 $1 {"I was familiar with
the line," said Caruana, "but I couldn’t quite remember exactly how I should
play this position. I was trying to find some sort of idea after 13...h6,
unsuccessfully."} 14. Qd2 g5 15. Raf1 {White is drifting into a position which
looks good but which offers White nothing constructive to do. Here or last move
} (15. a4 {would have been useful, making Black’s king a little less safe
when it lands on the queenside.}) 15... Qd6 16. Ng4 {“I played a bit too
directly with 16.Ng4," admitted Caruana. "After I played it I immediately
started to regret it” The knight does nothing on f6, whereas} (16. Nf3 {
was still roughly equal.}) 16... O-O-O 17. Nf6 Nd7 $1 18. Nh5 Be5 19. g4 {
Necessary to keep the kingside closed but Carlsen simply works around White's
control of the f5 square.} f6 $1 {A strange position where White’s hold over
the light squares is not as secure as it seems. Black does not mind White’s
knight repositioning to f5 via g7 as this would allow Black to open the h file
with ...h5 later.} 20. b3 Bf7 21. Nd1 Nf8 $5 {Hardly a necessary pawn
sacrifice, but with Caruana well behind on the clock, Carlsen decides to step
up the pressure, with little risk.} 22. Nxf6 {Caruana took half of his
remaining 15 minutes on this (necessary) pawn grab - as Carlsen had hoped -
while the defending Champion remained with 35 minutes.} Ne6 23. Nh5 {The
computers found} (23. Nd7 $1 Bf4 24. Nf6 {with (so they say) equality but a
human with 10 minutes left was never likely to investigate such a path deeply.}
) 23... Bxh5 24. gxh5 Nf4 25. Bxf4 gxf4 26. Rg2 $6 {Played quickly, but the
exchange sacrifice} (26. Rxf4 $1 Bxf4 27. Qxf4 {offers excellent holding
chances, as the White knight can, sooner or later, reach f5 or g4. "I didn't
see how Black could then make real progress," said commentator Kasparov.})
26... Rhg8 27. Qe2 Rxg2+ 28. Qxg2 Qe6 29. Nf2 Rg8 30. Ng4 Qe8 31. Qf3 Qxh5 32.
Kf2 Bc7 33. Ke2 {Kasparov believed it was already time for Caruana to become
desperate and try} (33. e5 $5 {because "if White allows a Black queen move and
...h5, his knight will be dead."}) 33... Qg5 34. Nh2 {A desperate decision,
with 6 seconds left on the clock.} h5 (34... Qe5 $1 {with the double threats
of 35...Rg3 and 35...Qb2 would have been impossible to meet.}) 35. Rf2 {
Again running it close – 4 seconds remaining when Caruana moved.} Qg1 36. Nf1
{8 seconds to spare this time, but after this move, and Carlsen’s long think,
Caruana began to look rather less downcast. Here a mobile phone went off in
the VIP section of the audience but the players did not stir; a good
indication that the glass box is well sound-proofed.} h4 37. Kd2 {Here the
computer suggests} (37. e5 {, but from Caruana’s point of view it would be
crazy to lose the e pawn and open up his king, e.g.} Kb7 38. Qxf4 Re8 {when
the engines claim a draw for White after} 39. Qxh4 {but to a human in time
trouble White is asking for trouble.}) 37... Kb7 38. c3 {Now Carlsen briefly
started biting his nails before returning to a less revealing thinking pose.
"At this point I felt that I had lost track," confessed Carlsen.} Be5 {Having
played 36...h4, Kasparov believed that Black should feel obligated to follow
with} (38... Rg3 $1 {. After} 39. Nxg3 hxg3 40. Re2 Qa1 $1 41. e5 $1 {might
look a bit scary for Black but, as the engines show, Black can take the White
queenside pawns and finish the attack just before the e pawn queens.}) 39. Kc2
{[#]} Qg7 $6 {“Only when Magnus played [this did] I feel like I might escape,
" admitted Caruana. The queen on g1 was like a nail in Caruana’s knee. After
more patient play, e.g.} (39... b5 $1 {, White is suffering badly. Carlsen was
nervous about 39...b5} 40. b4 $5 {- "I'm sure it's not that good," he admitted
- but if that was a concern then starting with}) (39... a5 {was sensible and
also very strong.}) 40. Nh2 $1 {"After 40.Nh2 I thought I [might no longer] be
losing," said Caruana.} Bxc3 $2 {Played with 12 seconds to spare. From his
countenance over the past four moves, Carlsen clearly believed that, with the
White knight coming to g4, he had blown his advantage and now he knew he was
also not going to win on time. Black could still play for a significant
advantage with} (40... Qg3 {with the idea} 41. Ng4 Rxg4 $1 42. hxg4 h3) ({
Retracting his last move with} 40... Qg1 {was even stronger, returning to the
winnng path after} 41. Nf1 b5 {.}) 41. Qxf4 Bd4 42. Qf7+ Ka6 43. Qxg7 Rxg7 44.
Re2 Rg3 45. Ng4 Rxh3 46. e5 {“[Now] it seems like it objectively should be a
draw,” said Caruana, “[though] there were many more hours of suffering."}
Rf3 47. e6 Rf8 48. e7 Re8 49. Nh6 h3 50. Nf5 Bf6 51. a3 b5 52. b4 cxb4 53. axb4
Bxe7 54. Nxe7 h2 55. Rxh2 Rxe7 56. Rh6 Kb6 {The rest of the game was well
summarised by Carlsen, who said “I just moved around hoping to force a
blunder, but I didn’t succeed. Obviously I’m going to try even though I
felt that the chance had passed. I’m going to try and squeeze every little
drop of water out of the stone. If it doesn’t work it doesn’t work, but
that’s the way you have to play!"} 57. Kc3 Rd7 58. Rg6 Kc7 59. Rh6 Rd6 60.
Rh8 Rg6 61. Ra8 Kb7 62. Rh8 Rg5 63. Rh7+ Kb6 64. Rh6 Rg1 65. Kc2 Rf1 66. Rg6
Rh1 67. Rf6 Rh8 68. Kc3 Ra8 69. d4 {Caruana had been refraining from this
advance, now confident that Black's rook will never reach the c4 square.} Rd8
70. Rh6 Rd7 71. Rg6 Kc7 72. Rg5 Rd6 73. Rg8 Rh6 74. Ra8 Rh3+ 75. Kc2 Ra3 76.
Kb2 Ra4 77. Kc3 a6 {Carlsen's best chance lay in} (77... Ra1 78. Kb2 Kb7 79.
Rd8 Rd1 80. Kc2 $2 (80. Kc3 $1 {was necessary, with the point that} Rc1+ 81.
Kb3 Rc4 {allows} 82. d5 $1 c5 83. bxc5 Rxc5 84. Kb4 {with an immediate draw.})
80... Kc7 $1 {and Black wins.}) 78. Rh8 Ra3+ 79. Kb2 Rg3 80. Kc2 Rg5 81. Rh6
Rd5 82. Kc3 Rd6 83. Rh8 Rg6 84. Kc2 Kb7 85. Kc3 Rg3+ 86. Kc2 Rg1 87. Rh5 Rg2+
88. Kc3 Rg3+ 89. Kc2 Rg4 90. Kc3 Kb6 91. Rh6 Rg5 92. Rf6 Rh5 93. Rg6 Rh3+ 94.
Kc2 Rh5 95. Kc3 Rd5 96. Rh6 Kc7 97. Rh7+ Rd7 98. Rh5 Rd6 99. Rh8 Rg6 100. Rf8
Rg3+ 101. Kc2 Ra3 102. Rf7+ Kd6 103. Ra7 Kd5 104. Kb2 Rd3 105. Rxa6 Rxd4 106.
Kb3 Re4 107. Kc3 Rc4+ 108. Kb3 Kd4 109. Rb6 Kd3 110. Ra6 Rc2 111. Rb6 Rc3+ 112.
Kb2 Rc4 113. Kb3 Kd4 114. Ra6 Kd5 115. Ra8 {“This was not the most pleasant
experience to defend this extremely long game with White,” said Caruana.
“I am relieved to have escaped.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "London World Ch."]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.11.10"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2835"]
[BlackElo "2832"]
[Annotator "Rogers, Ian"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2018.11.??"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 {The move of choice against the
Queen's Gambit at top level nowadays; both Carlsen and Caruana have used the
move this year.} O-O 6. e3 c5 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. Qc2 Nc6 9. a3 Qa5 10. Rd1 {[#]}
Rd8 $5 {"I chose a rare move which was played by some very strong players [e.g.
Lutikov, Matanovic IR] 40 years ago," explained Caruana. "[What was I thinking
after this move?] Well 'Oh shit!, mainly," declared Carlsen. "There are two
main moves for Black,} (10... Re8 {and}) (10... Be7 {, so it is unpleasant to
face [another] move that is clearly based on some complicated variations and
to be unprepared. There is a clear parallel between one of the games between
Korchnoi and Karpov at the World Championship in [Baguio] 1978 where 10...Re8
was [unveiled]. There Korchnoi thought for a long time and almost refuted the
move over the board. The difference [today] is that I am facing not only the
analytical team of Fabiano and Fabiano himself but also his computer help and
that makes the situation quite a bit different."}) 11. Be2 {Played after 17
minutes thought. "If White wants to refute this variation then} (11. Nd2 {
is the way to do it," said Caruana, "but it is still massively complicated."
It is likely that Caruana had intended} d4 {because the following brilliant
line seems to be fine for Black, i.e.} 12. Nb3 Qb6 13. Na4 Bb4+ $1 14. axb4
Qxb4+ 15. Nd2 Qa5 $1 16. b3 Nb4 17. Qb1 e5 18. Bg5 {and now} Bf5 $3 {with the
point that} 19. Qxf5 (19. e4 Nxe4 $1 20. Bxd8 Rxd8 21. Nxe4 Nc2+ 22. Ke2 Bxe4 {
is also difficult for White.}) {is met by} 19... e4 $3 20. Qxa5 Nc2+ 21. Ke2
d3# $1) 11... Ne4 $1 12. O-O Nxc3 13. bxc3 h6 14. a4 {"I was quite happy with
what I had found instead of 11.Nd2, which is obviously the critical
continuation, but I had underestimated [his next move]," said Carlsen.} Ne7 $1
15. Ne5 {The only other way to prevent 15...Bd7 is} (15. Rb1 {, but after} Bd7
16. Rxb7 Qxa4 17. Qxa4 Bxa4 18. Nd4 Rd7 {White has nothing.}) 15... Bd6 $1 16.
cxd5 {Another 15 minutes gone on this move and Carlsen was already 40 minutes
behind his opponent.} Nxd5 $1 17. Bf3 {Heading straight for a slightly worse
endgame which Carlsen was confident he could draw. "15.Ne5 was just a
miscalculation," said Carlsen. "I missed that after 16...Nxd5} (17. Nc4 {
Black has} Qxc3 $1 {. "I considered}) (17. Nxf7 $5 {- I have some instinct for
attack, [even though] I don't always show it! However at this point I thought
there was way better equity in playing to secure the draw." Carunana added, "I
didn't remember all my notes but I knew that this position was OK for Black
after} Kxf7 {[whether or not] he takes on d6 or checks on h5 first."}) 17...
Nxf4 18. exf4 Bxe5 19. Rxd8+ Qxd8 20. fxe5 Qc7 {Should Black be able to
develop quietly, White's weak pawns might be a concern, but Carlsen makes sure
that does not happen.} 21. Rb1 $1 Rb8 22. Qd3 $1 Bd7 {After} (22... Qxe5 23.
Qd8+ Kh7 24. Qe7 $1 {, White is out of danger.}) 23. a5 Bc6 24. Qd6 {A well
calculated liquidation which guarantees a drawn rook endgame.} Qxd6 25. exd6
Bxf3 26. gxf3 Kf8 27. c4 Ke8 28. a6 (28. c5 Kd7 29. Kg2 {should also lead to a
4 v 3 rook endgame, but Carlsen prefers to give his opponent fewer options.})
28... b6 29. c5 Kd7 30. cxb6 axb6 31. a7 Ra8 32. Rxb6 Rxa7 33. Kg2 e5 34. Rb4
f5 35. Rb6 Ke6 36. d7+ Kxd7 37. Rb5 (37. Rg6 {looks good at first sight, but}
Ke8 $1 {hangs on to the extra pawn.}) 37... Ke6 38. Rb6+ Kf7 39. Rb5 {This
endgame is a standard draw because the doubled pawns work well as a shield to
stop the Black pawns advancing.} Kf6 40. Rb6+ Kg5 41. Rb5 Kf4 (41... Re7 42.
Ra5 {offers Black no chance to make progress.}) 42. Rb4+ e4 43. fxe4 fxe4 44.
h3 Ra5 45. Rb7 Rg5+ 46. Kf1 Rg6 47. Rb4 Rg5 48. Rb7 Rg6 49. Rb4 {Unlike
Carlsen, Caruana is not interested in playing on an on in the hope of a
blunder and so ends his winning tries.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "London World Ch."]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.11.15"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B31"]
[WhiteElo "2832"]
[BlackElo "2835"]
[Annotator "Rogers, Ian"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2018.11.??"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. O-O {Returning to an older line in place of} (
4. Bxc6 {, which Caruana had tried twice.}) 4... Bg7 5. Re1 e5 {[#]} 6. b4 $5 {
"This line is very interesting and if Black is cooperative it can get very
exciting," said Caruana. "If we both insist on the same opening, there are
bound to be surprises," said Carlsen. The deputy arbiter Nana Alexandria was
very pleased to see this gambit, saying, "I played this a long time ago [in
the Soviet Women's Championship in Gori 1969 IR] and it was nice when men of
this level also like my move. Actually it was the idea of my trainer
Gurgenidze, after [whom] I believe 3.Bb5 should be named."} Nxb4 {Played after
five minutes. "Let's just say that 6.b4 was not new to me," said Carlsen.} 7.
Bb2 a6 $1 8. a3 $1 axb5 9. axb4 Rxa1 10. Bxa1 d6 {The original Alexandria game
had continued} (10... cxb4 $6 11. Bxe5 {when White had a small edge.}) 11. bxc5
Ne7 12. Qe2 b4 {[#]} 13. Qc4 $5 {The first new move, yet it seemed not to come
as much of a surprise to Carlsen.} Qa5 $1 {"A very direct way to play," said
Caruana," though he does have options such as 13...Qc7 and 13...Nc6."} (13...
Qc7 {was expected by many, although White keeps some initiative after} 14. Qxb4
dxc5 15. Qa4+ Bd7 16. Qa8+ Nc8 17. Nc3 {. However Carlsen choice, played after
only seven minutes, was met with approval by the watching supercomputers and
indicated that Carlsen was still in his opening preparation and not yet
needing to think for himself. "Magnus knew the line quite well and played in a
very logical way," admitted Caruana after the game.}) (13... Nc6) 14. cxd6 {
"I was briefly thinking about} (14. d4 $5 {but it is ridiculous and probably
losing," said Caruana. "But I still spent some time thinking about it because
it was fun!" White's idea is that} Qxa1 $6 (14... dxc5) 15. cxd6 {is quite
dangerous for Black, e.g.} Nc6 16. d5 Na7 17. Qxb4 {leaves the Black queen in
a cage and after} Qa6 18. c4 {White's pawn chain may well be worth a piece.
Unfortunately, 14.d4 dxc5!, is simply good for Black.}) 14... Be6 $1 15. Qc7 {
Necessary, since} (15. Qd3 Nc6 16. Bb2 O-O {is ugly for White, with 17...Qa2
coming.}) 15... Qxc7 16. dxc7 Nc6 {"I felt that only Black should have chances
in this endgame," said Carlsen.} 17. c3 (17. d4 exd4 18. Rd1 {would offer
White a slight edge were it not for} d3 $1 19. Bxg7 dxc2 {with a crazy
position that will soon fizzle out to a draw after} 20. Rc1 {thanks to the
bishops running on opposite colours. Nonetheless, this was safer for Caruana
than the game.}) 17... Kd7 18. cxb4 Ra8 $1 {"I was happy to get this position
out of the opening since it's safer for Black - clearly it was a success" said
Carlsen who evidently had reached this position in home analysis. "At least
superficially there might be options [for Black] to play for more [than
equality]."} 19. Bc3 $1 {A move which cost Caruana 32 minutes. "I have a
feeling that there was a misjudgement in the preparation somewhere," said
commentator Judit Polgar. "I think the endgame is about equal but this is the
moment where I felt I had to figure out how to play the position," said
Caruana. "So I came up with this idea of putting my bishop on d2 and [then]
activating my knight. I thought about} (19. Nc3 {but I couldn't make it work
after} Nxb4 {when I can play} 20. Rc1 {or} (20. Rb1 {but hsi knight comes to
d3 and nothing ever seems to work out."})) 19... Kxc7 20. d3 Kb6 {"I couldn't
find a way to push him," said Carlsen. "I could close the position with} (20...
b5 $5 {and if} 21. Nbd2 {Black is very comfortable [} (21. Bd2) 21... Rd8 22.
Rc1 Kb6 23. Ne1 Nd4 {is strong IR] but he would play 21.Bd2 and if there is a
way to play for an advantage, the path is very narrow."}) 21. Bd2 Rd8 22. Be3+
Kb5 $1 {The point behiind Carlsen's play but Caruana does not need to defend
the b pawn any more.} 23. Nc3+ $1 Kxb4 24. Nd5+ $1 Bxd5 25. exd5 Rxd5 26. Rb1+
Kc3 27. Rxb7 Nd8 28. Rc7+ Kxd3 29. Kf1 $1 {"This was all forced," said Carlsen,
whose pieces are so uncoordinated that, despite Black's extra pawn, he decides
to head for a draw immediately.} h5 30. h3 Ke4 $1 {Allowing 31.g4 would be
asking for trouble for the king on d3.} 31. Ng5+ Kf5 32. Nxf7 Nxf7 33. Rxf7+
Bf6 34. g4+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "London World Ch."]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.11.16"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "2835"]
[BlackElo "2832"]
[Annotator "Rogers, Ian"]
[PlyCount "160"]
[EventDate "2018.11.??"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 {Already a big statement of intent - Caruana is not to be
scared away from his reliable Petroff's Defence by the infamous Saint Louis
video tape showing his Petroff plans.} 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nd3 $5 {A weird move
which has only recently been revived - Alexander Motylev winning a game with
it against Miroshnichenko shortly before the match began - and will probably
now be buried. That Carlsen's team had not found anything better than this is
remarkable in itself.} Nxe4 5. Qe2 Qe7 6. Nf4 Nc6 $1 {There is nothing wrong
with} (6... c6 {but the text move, ignoring White's threat, is more desirable
- and, more importantly, playable, as computers have shown..}) 7. Nd5 Nd4 $1 {
This trick, though not previously played, was already well known by many top
players so it is inconceivable that Carlsen and his team were not aware of the
idea. More likely he fancied his chances in the very slightly superior endgame
which ensues.} 8. Nxe7 {White has nothing else since the more obvious} (8. Qc4
$2 {loses brilliantly to} Nc3+ $3 9. Nxe7 Nxc2# $1) 8... Nxe2 9. Nd5 Nd4 10.
Na3 (10. Bd3 Nc5 $1 {is the point behind Black's play, after which} 11. Nxc7+
Kd8 12. Nxa8 Nxd3+ 13. cxd3 Nc2+ 14. Kd1 Nxa1 {is roughly equal since both
knights will be lost.}) 10... Ne6 11. f3 {Finally ending a run of 10 knight
moves in a row!} N4c5 12. d4 Nd7 13. c3 c6 14. Nf4 Nb6 15. Bd3 d5 {"[The
opneing is] very funny looking, but unfortunately it leads to a very dull
position, so the excitement is only for one move or so," said Caruana. This
position strongly resembles an Exchange French or one of the boring 5.Re1
lines of the Berlin Spanish, all lines having a drawish tendency.} 16. Nc2 Bd6
17. Nxe6 Bxe6 18. Kf2 h5 19. h4 Nc8 20. Ne3 Ne7 21. g3 c5 $1 22. Bc2 {"21...c5
was an attempt to break out, otherwise Black is very slightly worse,"
explained Carlsen. "Then I just got way too casual with 22.Bc2 and 23.Rd1. I
was just thinking in terms of the positional concept that I [should] put my
bishop on b3, as we are taught with a double isolani. [However] I wasn’t
even close to being in time and just a few moves later I was fighting for
equality. "I think that maybe it’s easier to be a bit careless with White,
as you always feel like you have more room for error. Today I was a bit
influenced by the fact that I had the white pieces; with Black I probably
would have played more carefully in the early middlegame."} (22. dxc5 Bxc5 23.
Kg2 d4 {also offers White nothing at all.}) 22... O-O 23. Rd1 Rfd8 24. Ng2 cxd4
25. cxd4 Rac8 26. Bb3 Nc6 {"The position was so sterile, I really shouldn't
have got anything," said Caruana.} 27. Bf4 Na5 28. Rdc1 Bb4 {[#]} 29. Bd1 $6 {
A move heavily criticised by Carlsen, who later felt that he should grovel for
a draw with} (29. Bc7 $1 Nxb3 30. axb3 Re8 31. Bf4 {when “I am very slightly
worse, but I should hold that any day of the week,” said Carlsen. The
exchange sacrifice} (31. Rxa7 $5 Re7 32. Rxb7 Ba5 33. Bxa5 {was also a
reasonable, though risky, way to reach equality.})) 29... Nc4 30. b3 Na3 31.
Rxc8 Rxc8 32. Rc1 Nb5 33. Rxc8+ Bxc8 34. Ne3 Nc3 35. Bc2 Ba3 $1 {The move
Carlsen had missed. Now White needs to be very careful to avoid simply losing
a pawn.} 36. Bb8 a6 {[#]} 37. f4 $2 {Now White's position becomes critical.
After} (37. Bd3 $1 Be6 38. Nc2 Bb2 39. a4 Na2 40. Bf4 $1 {, Black can secure
the bishop pair but the draw should still be within reach for White.}) 37...
Bd7 38. f5 Bc6 39. Bd1 Bb2 40. Bxh5 Ne4+ {A tough decision with little time on
the clock.} (40... Nxa2 41. Ba7 Nc3 $1 {was also very promising for Black.})
41. Kg2 Bxd4 42. Bf4 Bc5 $1 {"I thought this move will give him a very tough
decision," said Caruana, "whether to play something like 43.Nc2, and my d-pawn
becomes dangerous, or to go for [the piece sacrifice]."} 43. Bf3 (43. Nc2)
43... Nd2 {[#]} 44. Bxd5 $5 {Sacrificing a piece. "I didn't feel great about
it," said Carlsen, "but I don't know what I should have done.} (44. Nd1 {
might hold but in practice Black's bishops and d pawn will provide plenty of
chances.}) 44... Bxe3 45. Bxc6 Bxf4 46. Bxb7 Bd6 47. Bxa6 Ne4 48. g4 Ba3 $1 {
Winning back one of the pawns. "that was the second time in the game I’d
missed a ...Ba3 idea," admitted Carlsen. "I thought I’d actually have three
pawns, not two pawns, so I thought it would be a fairly straightforward draw.
When it turned out I only had two pawns I was quite worried."} 49. Bc4 Nc3 50.
g5 Kf8 51. b4 Bxb4 52. Kf3 Na4 {The supercomputer Leela claimed a +3 advantage
after} (52... f6 53. Ke3 Bc5+ 54. Kf4 Ke7 55. Kg4 Bf2 {but as usual it is
difficult to understand why this should be so much better than the game, with
similar fortress possibilities.}) 53. Bb5 Nc5 54. a4 f6 55. Kg4 Ne4 56. Kh5 Be1
57. Bd3 Nd6 58. a5 $1 {Heading straight for a position which Carlsen believed
to be a fortress - "It's a good thing they exist, right?" he said after the
game when asked about his previous scepticism about genuinely unbreakable
fortresses.} Bxa5 59. gxf6 gxf6 60. Kg6 $1 Bd8 61. Kh7 $1 {This is the
position Carlsen had played for. Black has many ways to try to break it down
but English endgame experts GMs Jon Speelman and Jonathan Mestel, who,
analysing in the press room, had foreseen this idea many moves ahead, believed
that White could hold.} Nf7 62. Bc4 Ne5 63. Bd5 Ba5 64. h5 {"I think when I
get Kh7 and h5 it’s an iron-clad fortress, unless I’m just hallucinating,"
said Carlsen.} Bd2 65. Ba2 Nf3 66. Bd5 Nd4 67. Kg6 $6 Bg5 68. Bc4 {[#]} Nf3 $6
{The computers claim a forced mate after} (68... Bh4 $1 {, by forcing White's
bishop to choose between covering g8 and e2. However even when presented with
the possibility, both players had trouble understanding why, suggesting} 69.
Bd5 {as the correct reply.} ({If} 69. Bd3 Kg8 $1 {and once the Black king is
in the corner the White king can be pushed out, while}) (69. h6 {fails to} Nf3
70. h7 Ne5+ 71. Kh5 Kg7 72. Kxh4 Nxc4 {.}) 69... Ne2 $1 70. Bf3 $1 {Black has
the less than obvious} Ng1 $1 {, which Kasparov joked would offer cause for
electronic scanning of Black for computer assistance! Once seen, the idea 70...
Ng1 71.Bg4 Kg8 is easy enough to work out - White eventually runs out of moves
and has to free the knight, which can then head to e5, freeing the Black king.
However the many humans analysing the position at the venue, including Judit
Polgar, could not work out why} 71. Bd5 $1 {did not keep the fortress intact.
The winning idea turns out to be amazing -} (71. Bg4 Kg8) 71... Bg5 $1 72. Kh7
$1 (72. h6 Ne2 $1 73. h7 Nf4# $1 {is one pretty variation spotted by Polgar
during her analysis.}) 72... Ne2 $1 73. Bf3 Ng3 74. Bg4 Kf7 75. Kh8 $1 {
Now it seems as if Black cannot prevent White's king from shuffling between h7
and h8 but once again the computers have a surprise in store...} Bd2 $1 76. Kh7
Bb4 $3 77. Kh8 {As in most lines, pushing the h pawn will eventually lead to
its loss.)} Bf8 $1 78. Kh7 Ne4 $1 {and suddenly White's king is in a mating
net! Having been shown the outline of the winning idea, Caruana commented, "At
the end it still seems a bit accidental. To find some accidental chance you
have to be thinking very hard about each move, and I had pretty much given up 
[hope] near the end - I thought it was a fortress."}) 69. Kh7 $1 Ne5 70. Bb3
Ng4 71. Bc4 Ne3 72. Bd3 Ng4 73. Bc4 Nh6 74. Kg6 Ke7 {A last try, but Carlsen
has nothing to fear even once the Black king reaches the back of the Whiite
pawns.} 75. Bb3 Kd6 76. Bc2 Ke5 77. Bd3 Kf4 78. Bc2 Ng4 (78... Kg4 79. Bd1+ Kh4
80. Bb3 Ng4 81. Bd1 {offers nothing, so Caruana agrees to end the struggle.})
79. Bb3 Ne3 80. h6 Bxh6 1/2-1/2

[Event "London World Ch."]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.11.20"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B33"]
[WhiteElo "2832"]
[BlackElo "2835"]
[Annotator "Rogers, Ian"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "2018.11.??"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 {Finally Caruana decides to find out Carlsen's
choice of Sicilian line, since} (3. Bb5 {had not been a success in it's three
tries earlier in the match.}) 3... cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 {The Pelikan 
(aka Lasker, Sveshnikov) Variation, the line with which Boris Gelfand had
stymied Viswanathan Anand in their 2012 title match.} 6. Ndb5 d6 {[#]} 7. Nd5
$5 {A sensible practical choice, given that Team Carlsen will have spent most
of their time on the main lines beginning} (7. Bg5 {while he can concentrate
on the less popular text move (albeit recently revived by Kramnik).}) 7... Nxd5
8. exd5 Nb8 (8... Ne7 9. c4 {is considered slightly better for White, much
more so if Black carelessly plays} a6 $2 10. Qa4 $1 {when the ugly} Kd7 {
is forced.}) 9. a4 {The modern method of playing this position is to avoid} (9.
c4 {so that the b5 knight has access to this square after it retreats to a3.})
9... Be7 10. Be2 O-O 11. O-O Nd7 {[#]} 12. Bd2 $5 {A move which only began to
gain popularity in 2017 after computers indicated it and correspondence
players began using the move with success. Crossboard players then began to
understand the point, in that 12.Bd2 allows 13.a5 .after which a retreat of
the b5 knight to a3 does not lose the a pawn.} f5 13. a5 a6 {Strongly
criticised by GM Jon Speelman, who proposed} (13... f4 {, preventing 14.Be3
and refusing to weaken the b6 square for as long as possible, as a more
logical option. However Carlsen, despite starting to burn time, was almost
certainly still following his preparation or, more accurately, trying to
remember it.}) 14. Na3 e4 15. Nc4 Ne5 16. Nb6 Rb8 (16... f4 17. Nxa8 (17. Bxf4)
17... f3 $1 {looks like fun for Black, but 17.Bxf4! before taking the rook
kills the attack and wins material.}) 17. f4 $1 (17. Bc3 Bf6 18. Qd2 {worked
well for White in a 2017 correspondence game Gil-Fleetwood, but does not look
dangerous for Black.}) 17... exf3 18. Bxf3 g5 $6 {Anish Giri attributed this
move to a memory lapse and he may be right - Black plays ...g5 in many lines
but not here. Both} (18... f4 19. Ra4 g5 {and}) (18... Bf6 19. c3 g5 {make
sense for Black but Carlsen's move order allows White's queenside attack to
progress too quickly.}) 19. c4 f4 20. Bc3 $1 Bf5 {Probably only now, after a
20 minute think which left him an hour behind Caruana, did Carlsen realise
that his kingside attack was going nowhere and he was in serious trouble. "I
thought my position was dangerous, obviously," said Carlsen, "and the time
situation wasn’t great either, but I couldn’t see a good way to deviate,
so I just had to go for the sharp line and hope for the best."} (20... g4 21.
Be4 {helps only White, with the f4 pawn now weakened and} f3 {simply losing a
pawn.}) 21. c5 $1 {"21.c5 was the only move I considered," said Caruana, which
makes it hard to explain why he spent 33 minutes on the move - but easier to
explain why things went wrong later.} Nxf3+ 22. Qxf3 dxc5 {The only practical
option;} (22... Bf6 23. c6 {is horrible for Black.}) 23. Rad1 $1 {Caruana
admitted to tossing up between 23.Rad1 and} (23. Rae1 $1 {- the computers
marginally prefer the latter because after} Bf6 24. h4 h6 25. g4 $1 {forces
the bishop to a bad square. Caruana also explained where his time went on move
21; "I really wanted to make}) (23. d6 $6 {work, but it doesn't," said Caruana,
indicating the correct defence} Qxd6 24. Rad1 Qc6 {.}) 23... Bd6 {[#]} 24. h3
$2 {Caruana used only six minutes on this calm move but "You don't have time
for such a thing!" declared commentator Judit Polgar. After the game the
players discussed} (24. Qh5 $1 Bg6 (24... Qe8 25. Qxg5+ Qg6 {maybe be Black's
best chance objectively.)}) 25. Qh6 (25. Qh3 Bf5 (25... Rf7 26. Rfe1) 26. g4
Bg6 27. Rfe1) 25... Rf7 26. Nc4 Bf8 27. Qh3 {, concluding that White had
nothing decisive, though "it felt like White is having all the fun," said
Carlsen. Both players missed 25.Qh3! Bf5 (25...Rf7 26.Rfe1) 26.g4! Bg6 27.
Rfe1 and the entry of a rook on e6 spells big trouble for Black.}) (24. Nc4 $5
g4 {"should be working" but after Speelman's suggestion} 25. Qf2 g3 26. Qd2
gxh2+ 27. Kh1 {, the danger for Black along the long dark diagonal cannot be
underestimated. Immediately after Caruana played 24.h3, the players looked up,
apparently hearing words coming from where the broadcast cameras were sited.
It seems that even the camera operators could not help letting out an
exclamation of disappointment after Caruana missed his chance.}) 24... Qe8 $1 {
"24.h3 was a relief for me, since then I knew 24…Qe8 was going to be good
and very likely save me the game," said Carlsen. Carlsen was right - once the
queen reaches g6 Black's troubles are over. "I underestimated 24...Qe8,"
admitted Caruana."Just because you put pressure on Magnus doesn’t mean he
collapses or anything."} 25. Nc4 {By now Caruana had almost caught Carlsen on
the clock so almost all hopes of victory were gone.} Qg6 26. Nxd6 Qxd6 27. h4
gxh4 {Some observers expected Carlsen to start trying to play for a win with} (
27... Rbe8 $5 28. hxg5 Be4 {but after} 29. Qg4 {only White can be better.}) 28.
Qxf4 Qxf4 29. Rxf4 h5 $1 30. Re1 (30. Rxh4 $6 Bg4 {would give unnecessary
chances to Black.}) 30... Bg4 {Heading straight for a pure opposite-coloured
bishop ending, which must inevitably be a draw.} 31. Rf6 Rxf6 32. Bxf6 Kf7 33.
Bxh4 Re8 34. Rf1+ Kg8 35. Rf6 Re2 36. Rg6+ Kf8 (36... Kf7 $2 37. Rb6 {would be
rather careless.}) 37. d6 Rd2 {Carlsen does not fall for Caruana's final cheap
trap:} (37... Rxb2 38. Rxg4 $1 hxg4 39. d7 {and White wins.}) 38. Rg5 1/2-1/2

[Event "London World Ch."]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.11.22"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B33"]
[WhiteElo "2832"]
[BlackElo "2835"]
[Annotator "Rogers, Ian"]
[PlyCount "107"]
[EventDate "2018.11.??"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Nd5 Nxd5 8.
exd5 Nb8 9. a4 Be7 10. Be2 O-O 11. O-O Nd7 {[#]} 12. b4 $5 {An out-of-the-box
novelty, perfect for a world title match since it is ranked low by the
computers. "I was not so unhappy to see it since I felt I’ll just get a
complicated game," said Carlsen. In game 8 Caruana did well with} (12. Bd2 {
but in the three days since then antidotes had already been found to Caruana's
plan - most notably 18...Bf6 instead of 18...g5.}) 12... a6 13. Na3 a5 14. bxa5
(14. c3 b6 {is rock solid for Black.}) 14... Rxa5 15. Nc4 Ra8 16. Be3 f5 17. a5
f4 {"It's very double-edged; the type of game I expected from this line" said
Caruana. "Both sides are going all-in and I am getting attacked so I could
potentially get mated."} 18. Bb6 Qe8 19. Ra3 $5 {A typical idea to cover the
kingside but here a little slow. The subtle way to increase the pressure was} (
19. Bc7 Qg6 20. Re1 $1 {since now} e4 $2 21. Bh5 $1 {wins a pawn.}) 19... Qg6
20. Kh1 e4 {Since being surprised by 12.b4, Carlsen had used an hour on the
clock and still nothing has clarified.} 21. Bc7 {[#]} b5 $3 {A shot from
nowhere, which cost Carlsen another 15 minutes. "I missed this concept with 19.
Ra3 and 20.Kh1; if my attack is not getting started then [I am in trouble],"
said Carlsen. "It feels like I should be doing well and I thought about [21...
b5] for so long , I thought just go for it and up the stakes even more." "I
saw 21...b5 when I played 19.Ra3 and I just thought that 22.Nb6 would be bad
for Black," added Caruana. "Actually I was expecting} (21... Kh8 {because then
many of my useful moves have problems, e.g. 22.Re1 Nf6 and f2 hangs in some
positions. I was going to play} 22. f3 (22. Re1 Nf6) 22... e3 23. g3 {- maybe
my only idea in this game! - which I thought was strong." Indeed, after} fxg3 (
{Carlsen suggested} 23... b5 $5 {even here.}) 24. Rg1 Qh6 25. Rxg3 {White can
claim a small edge. "I did consider playing 21...Kh8," said Carlsen, "but then
I'd have to spend another 20 minutes to find my next move!"}) 22. Nb6 $1 (22.
axb6 Rxa3 23. Nxa3 f3 $1 24. gxf3 Ne5 $1 {gives Black a huge, probably winning,
initiative. "I felt it was very close to mate, but the problem is that if I
don’t mate, I’m losing," admitted Carlsen.}) 22... Nxb6 23. Bxb6 Qg5 $6 {
"Black has a lot of potential for attack, but it is still a bit slow," said
Caruana.} (23... b4 $1 24. Rb3 Bf6 $1 {was a better way to sacrifice the b
pawn, with ...f3 and ...Be5 in the air.}) 24. g3 {This was such a difficult
moment," said Caruana. After I played 24.g3 I started to wish that I had played
} (24. f3 {.} e3 {is forced and then} 25. g3 {, when I am potentially picking
up the e pawn but it looked messy to me." Certainly after} fxg3 26. Rg1 Qh6 27.
Rxg3 Bg5 {, White still has plenty of pressure to absorb on the kingside. When
presented with the computer-preferred}) (24. Bxb5 {at the press conference,
Caruana responded, "I really didn't want to take on b5!. It feels kind of
greedy and after} Rf6 {I didn't see how to defend against this attack." "I
thought you could play} 25. f3 e3 26. Qe2 {," responded Carlsen, meeting
Caruana's suggested} Rh6 {with} (26... Qh4) 27. g4 $1 {"Though I don't know,"
added Carlsen. "I can go} Bd8 {and the game goes on." However 26...Qh4!?
prevents Carlsen's proposed defence and keeps the attack going - enough to
scare a human, if not a computer.}) 24... b4 25. Rb3 Bh3 26. Rg1 f3 27. Bf1
Bxf1 28. Qxf1 Qxd5 29. Rxb4 {When playing 24.g3 Caruana judged this position
to be satisfactory for White, but in practical terms Black's central pawns and
safer king makes Black's position much easier to play.} Qe6 30. Rb5 Bd8 $6 {
A decision made in fear of something going wrong during the time scramble.
This takes most of the pressure off White, whereas} (30... Rfc8 $1 31. Qb1 d5
32. Qb3 Rc4 33. Rd1 Kh8 $1 {with the point that} 34. Rbxd5 $2 {loses to} Qh3
35. Rg1 Rb4 $1 36. Qe3 Rb1 $1 {keeps White with problems to solve. "I cannot
say that I kept my cool one bit," admitted Carlsen.}) 31. Qe1 $1 {Carlsen was
likely hoping for} (31. Qb1 Bxb6 32. axb6 e3 $1 {when White has serious
problems.}) 31... Bxb6 32. axb6 Rab8 33. Qe3 Qc4 34. Rb2 Rb7 35. Rd1 $6 {[#]}
Qe2 $1 36. Re1 $1 {"I didn't think 35...Qe2 was possible," said Caruana, "but
after [my intended]} (36. Qb3+ Kh8 37. c4 {there is} Rxb6 $1 {and if} 38. Rxe2
fxe2 $1 {." Carlsen then chimed in. "If}) (36. Qd4 e3 $1 {and now if 37.c3 the
rook hangs and if} 37. c4 (37. c3) 37... exf2 $1 {and there is no check on c4.
" "Still, the drawing margin is so high [even after 35.Rd1], I don't see how I
can ruin my position," added Caruana.}) 36... Qxe3 37. Rxe3 d5 38. h4 Rc8 39.
Ra3 $1 Kf7 40. Kh2 {The final move of the time control, made with eight
seconds to spare. With a little more time Caruana would probably have found
the direct path to a draw;} (40. Ra7 Rcb8 41. c4 $1 dxc4 (41... d4 42. c5 {
is risky only for Black.}) 42. Rc2 $1 {and mass liquidation follows.}) 40...
Ke6 41. g4 Rc6 42. Ra6 Ke5 43. Kg3 h6 44. h5 {[#]} Kd4 $5 {Since} (44... g5 45.
hxg6 Rxg6 46. Rb5 $1 Rbg7 47. Raa5 Rxg4+ 48. Kh3 {was only a draw, Carlsen
keeps pushing another way, but after Caruana's reply realises that it is time
to put the brakes on and grovel for a draw. "Only after I'd played 45...Kd4
did I see that}) (44... Rb8 $5 {was a way to pass the move on [to White] and
then would not have been so easy for him," said Carlsen. "I thought that} 45.
Ra5 {was a way to simplify," responded Caruana - calculating} Rbxb6 46. Rxb6
Rxb6 47. c4 Rd6 48. cxd5 Rxd5 49. Ra7 Kf6 50. Ra4 Ke5 51. Ra7 {with a
repetition - "and 45.Rb5 was a more interesting move." Carlsen agreed on both
points.}) 45. Rb5 $1 Rd6 46. Ra4+ Ke5 (46... Kc3 $2 47. Rc5+ {is ugly for
Black.}) 47. Rab4 Ke6 $1 48. c4 dxc4 49. Rxc4 Rdxb6 50. Rxe4+ Kf7 51. Rf5+ Rf6
$1 {Exchanging a pair or rooks makes Black's task simple.} 52. Rxf6+ Kxf6 53.
Kxf3 Kf7 54. Kg3 {Caruana does not waste energy in an endgame which is
trivially easy to defend for Black.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "London World Ch."]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.11.24"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "2835"]
[BlackElo "2832"]
[Annotator "Rogers, Ian"]
[PlyCount "110"]
[EventDate "2018.11.??"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 {The modern main line
against Petroff's Defence, often resulting in attacks on opposite flanks, but
in this case, regrettably, not played with aggressive intent.} Nxc3 6. dxc3 Be7
7. Be3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nd7 9. O-O-O Nf6 {Previously Caruana had played only} (9...
c6 {but the move 9...Nd7-f6 was indicated twice in the leaked video. "It was
there [in the video] of course," said Carlsen, "but he managed to surprise me,
nonetheless. If [the video] was indeed some kind of gambit, it worked well."})
10. Bd3 c5 11. Rhe1 Be6 12. Kb1 {Sergey Karjakin, who won a brilliant game
against Harikrishna after} (12. Bg5 h6 $2 13. Bxh6 $1 c4 14. Bxg7 $1 {
commented, "I looked at 12.Kb1 and I decided it was not very much - in fact I
think it is very, very drawish. maybe Black can also draw after 12,Bg5 but
there we have much more of a fight."}) 12... Qa5 13. c4 Qxd2 14. Bxd2 {"I was
hoping to be able to press a little," said Carlsen, "but I don't think there
is anything real."} h6 {[#]} 15. Nh4 $5 Rfe8 $1 {"I was a bit surprised by 15.
Nh4," said Caruana, "and I was trying to work out the difference between} (
15... Ng4 {and 15...Rfe8, which I didn't really manage." "I was kind of hoping
for 15...Ng4} 16. Ng6 {and now} fxg6 (16... Rfe8 $1) {," said Carlsen."Maybe
now I can play a little bit after} 17. Rxe6 Nxf2 18. Rde1 Nxd3 19. cxd3 Bf6 20.
Rxd6 Bd4 21. Rde6 {and then put the rook on e2 and play Kc2 and Bc3. Maybe
there's a forced draw [even here] - I don't know."}) 16. Ng6 Ng4 17. Nxe7+ Rxe7
18. Re2 Ne5 $1 {Forcing a postion with bishops on opposite colours. "Fabiano
has been very well prepared and I haven't got much with White," said Carlsen.
"Those are the cold, hard facts."} 19. Bf4 Nxd3 20. Rxd3 Rd7 21. Rxd6 Rxd6 22.
Bxd6 Rd8 23. Rd2 Bxc4 24. Kc1 b6 25. Bf4 Rxd2 26. Kxd2 a6 (26... Bxa2 $2 {
allows} 27. b3 c4 28. Kc3 cxb3 29. Kb2 $1 {winning the bishop.}) 27. a3 {
Now Black must lose a pawn, but Caruana finds the best way to give it up.} Kf8
$1 {If} (27... Bd5 28. g3 b5 29. Bd6 c4 30. Ke3 {and White's king will reach
b6 and win the a pawn, which is marginally more dangerous for Black than the
game but still a likely draw.}) 28. Bc7 b5 29. Bd6+ Ke8 30. Bxc5 {"Every
chessplayer knows the game Ljubojevic-Karpov which Karpov won [in an ending]
something like this," said Carlsen. "But obviously the drawing margin is very
high."} h5 $1 31. Ke3 Kd7 32. Kd4 g6 {Black has already achieved the perfect
set-up. His king will block whatever passed pawn appears on the queenside,
while the bishop can defend the kingside without assistance.} 33. g3 Be2 34.
Bf8 Kc6 35. b3 Bd1 36. Kd3 Bg4 37. c4 Be6 38. Kd4 bxc4 39. bxc4 Bg4 40. c5 Be6
41. Bh6 Bd5 42. Be3 Be6 43. Ke5 Bd5 44. Kf4 Be6 45. Kg5 {White's only other
winning play lies in} (45. h4 Kd7 46. f3 Kc6 47. g4 {but after} Bd5 $1 {
, White is prevented from playing 48.Kg5 and can make no progress.}) 45... Bd5
46. g4 {The start of a one-trick plan.} hxg4 47. Kxg4 Ba2 48. Kg5 Bb3 49. Kf6
Ba2 50. h4 Bb3 51. f4 Ba2 52. Ke7 Bb3 53. Kf6 Ba2 54. f5 Bb1 55. Bf2 Bc2 $1 {
Trick seen and avoided. It was still possible to lose with} (55... Bxf5 $2 56.
h5 $1 {, etc.}) 1/2-1/2

[Event "London World Ch."]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.11.26"]
[Round "12"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B33"]
[Annotator "Rogers, Ian"]
[PlyCount "62"]
[EventDate "2018.11.??"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]

1. e4 c5 {Those who feared that Carlsen would try to shut down Caruana wtih} (
1... e5 {and a Berlin Defence were relieved that Carlsen had come out ready to
fight.}) 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Nd5 Nxd5 8.
exd5 Ne7 {A small surprise for Caruana, since this line had been harshly dealt
with by Kramnik at the recent Batumi Olympiad.} (8... Nb8 {was his choice in
games 8 and 10.}) 9. c4 Ng6 10. Qa4 Bd7 11. Qb4 Bf5 12. h4 h5 {A move
previously only played in a computer game.} (12... a6 13. h5 $1 Nf4 14. Nc3 {
worked out well for Kramnik, White against Roganovic, in the aforementioned
Batumi Olympiad game.}) 13. Qa4 Bd7 14. Qb4 Bf5 15. Be3 $5 {The exclamation
mark is for fighting spirit, the question mark because} (15. Bg5 {is supposed
to be the only testing move for Black.}) 15... a6 16. Nc3 Qc7 $1 (16... Be7 17.
Qxb7 O-O {is not at all bad for Black but the new text move achieves all
Black's aims without sacrificing anything.}) 17. g3 {"The opening didn't work
out the way I wanted," admitted Caruana. "I was down a lot of time and I had a
position I didn't really feel comfortable with. I thought about putting my
knight on b6; it's ambitious but it could also turn out very badly."} Be7 18.
f3 $5 {A strange move - "Very risky," said Kasparov - and one which left
Caruana more than 40 minutes behind on the clock. Caruana may have been
concerned about} (18. Be2 e4 $5 {, with the Black knight headed to e5 - though}
(18... Nf8 {-d7 is solid for Black as well.})) 18... Nf8 19. Ne4 Nd7 20. Bd3
O-O 21. Rh2 $6 {The idea of bringing the rook to c2 looks fine, but is simply
too slow. After} (21. O-O-O b5 22. Kb1 {White has little to fear since} a5 23.
Qxb5 {is not as risky as it looks.}) 21... Rac8 22. O-O-O Bg6 $1 23. Rc2 f5 24.
Nf2 $6 {Caruana has a plan to close the position but it should fail tactically.
} (24. Ng5 {was objectvely stronger.}) 24... Nc5 25. f4 a5 $6 {Carlsen spent
only four minutes on this move when some serious calculation might have
uncovered the strategically winning plan} (25... exf4 26. Bxf4 b5 $1 27. Kb1 a5
$1 {when Black takes over the queenside because} 28. Qxb5 {loses the queen
after} Be8 $1 {.}) 26. Qd2 e4 27. Be2 Be8 $1 28. Kb1 Bf6 29. Re1 {[#]} a4 $6 {
This does not throw away Black's advantage, but "I was very worried about} (
29... Ba4 $1 {," said Caruana. "I suppose I should play} 30. Rcc1 ({If} 30. b3
{I was very worried about the sac. [For good reason} Bxb3 $1 31. axb3 Nxb3 32.
Qd1 a4 {is huge for Black. IR]}) {but then} 30... b5 $1 31. cxb5 (31. Bd4 Bxd4
32. Qxd4 bxc4 {I didn't like at all, e.g.} 33. Rxc4 Bb5 34. Rc3 Bxe2 35. Rxe2
Qb6 {when I have a very passive position and my king is weak.}) 31... Qb6 $1 {
." Caruana correctly suspected he was in serious trouble here. Yet Carlsen
barely bothered to look at variations such as this, saying, "At this point I
was probably not in the right mind-set to go for it. I was just hoping to play
natural moves, not going for the maximum, putting on pressure and playing safe.
"}) 30. Qb4 (30. Rcc1) 30... g6 31. Rd1 Ra8 {To the astonishment of all
present at The College - and half the nation of Norway - Carlsen offered a
draw. To his credit, Caruana's hand did not leap across the table in case
Carlsen retracted the offer, but a few minutes later a relieved Caruana, with
eight minutes left on the clock, did sign for peace. "Everybody could see that
I wasn't necessarily going for the maximum, confessed Carlsen, "I just wanted
a position that was completely safe where I could put some pressure. If a draw
hadn't been a satisfactory result, obviously I would have approached it
differently." "I was a bit surprised by the draw offer," admitted Caruana. "I
was planning Nh3-g5 but I can never be better here. [However] I thought I was
over the worst of it." The extent to which Carlsen had given up working at the
board was evident when he showed his expected variation} (31... Ra8 32. Bd4
Bxd4 (32... Nd3 33. Qb6 Qxb6 34. Bxb6 Nb4 35. Rcc1 a3) 33. Rxd4 Qa5 34. Qxa5
Rxa5 35. Nd1 b5 36. cxb5 Bxb5 37. Bxb5 Rxb5 38. Nc3 {to the press conference,
failing to notice that 32.Bd4? is disastrous in view of 32...Nd3! when even
the bail-out line 33.Qb6 allows Qxb6 34.Bxb6 Nb4 35.Rcc1 a3! with a huge
advantage for Black.}) 1/2-1/2

[Event "London World Ch. Rapid Tiebreaks"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.11.28"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A22"]
[WhiteElo "2835"]
[BlackElo "2832"]
[Annotator "Rogers, Ian"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[EventDate "2018.11.??"]
[EventType "match (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 {A clever concept. Carlsen had done well against the
Rossolimo Sicilian earlier in the match, so why not play the same line with an
extra tempo?} Bb4 4. e4 O-O (4... Bxc3 {is considered Black's safest option.})
5. Nge2 c6 6. Bg2 a6 $5 7. O-O b5 {An original plan, but far less effective
than in the equivalent Rossolimo lines where White is playing against doubled
pawns.} 8. d4 d6 9. a3 Bxc3 10. Nxc3 bxc4 11. dxe5 dxe5 12. Na4 Be6 13. Qxd8
Rxd8 14. Be3 (14. f4 {would be more testing for Black.}) 14... Nbd7 15. f3 Rab8
16. Rac1 Rb3 17. Rfe1 Ne8 (17... Rdb8 $1 {would equalise immediately because
18...c3! becomes an idea.}) 18. Bf1 Nd6 19. Rcd1 Nb5 $6 {A tricky move, played
after almost six minutes thought, but the more passive} (19... Nb7 {was less
risky.}) 20. Nc5 $1 Rxb2 21. Nxe6 fxe6 22. Bxc4 Nd4 23. Bxd4 exd4 {Here
Carlsen thought for nine minutes: "I wans't thinking about the result," said.
"I was just trying to figure out which of them would give the better winning
chances. In the end I decided that neither of them would give good winning
chances!"} 24. Bxe6+ {"I was told later that} (24. Rxd4 Kf7 25. Kh1 $3 {
would be very strong - it's a pity that I didn't find that," said Carlsen.
Both Carlsen and Caruana saw} (25. Red1 $6 Ne5 $1 26. Rxd8 Nxf3+ 27. Kf1 Nxh2+
28. Ke1 Nf3+ {with a perpetual check.})) 24... Kf8 25. Rxd4 Ke7 {"On} (25...
Ne5 $5 {i was going to play} 26. Rxd8+ Ke7 27. Re3 Kxd8 28. f4 Ke7 29. Bh3 {or}
(29. Bc8 {and hope for the best," explained Carlsen.})) 26. Rxd7+ Rxd7 27. Bxd7
Kxd7 28. Rd1+ Ke6 29. f4 c5 {"nowI felt that the position should be drawn, but
that I would have practical chances," said Carlsen.} 30. Rd5 Rc2 31. h4 c4 32.
f5+ Kf6 33. Rc5 h5 34. Kf1 Rc3 35. Kg2 Rxa3 36. Rxc4 Ke5 37. Rc7 {[#]} Kxe4 $2
{Missing a key finesse. Caruana probably dismissed} (37... Ra2+ $1 {on the
grounds of} 38. Kh3 Kxe4 {Kxf5 39.Rxg7 winning the h5 pawn and the game.
However he had missed} 39. Re7+ Kf3 $3 {with a weird repetitiion after} 40.
Rxg7 Ra1 41. Kh2 Ra2+ 42. Kh3 Ra1) 38. Re7+ $1 Kxf5 39. Rxg7 {Now the h pawn
is lost and, as readers of Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual would know, two
connected passed pawns almost always beat a single passed pawn.} Kf6 40. Rg5 a5
41. Rxh5 a4 42. Ra5 Ra1 43. Kf3 a3 44. Ra6+ Kg7 45. Kg2 Ra2+ 46. Kh3 Ra1 47. h5
Kh7 48. g4 Kg7 49. Kh4 a2 50. Kg5 Kf7 51. h6 Rb1 52. Ra7+ Kg8 53. Rxa2 Rb5+ 54.
Kg6 Rb6+ 55. Kh5 1-0

[Event "London World Ch. Rapid Tiebreaks"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.11.28"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B33"]
[WhiteElo "2832"]
[BlackElo "2835"]
[Annotator "Rogers, Ian"]
[PlyCount "56"]
[EventDate "2018.11.??"]
[EventType "match (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Nd5 Nxd5 8.
exd5 Ne7 {Carlsen is happy to repeat the theoretical battle from game 12.} 9.
c4 Ng6 10. Qa4 Bd7 11. Qb4 Qb8 $1 {Psychologically this could have had a
strong effect on Caruana, as it shows that arlsen is not even willing to
consider the repetition he allowed in game 12 after} (11... Bf5 12. Qa4 Bd7 {.}
) 12. h4 h5 13. Be3 a6 14. Nc3 a5 15. Qb3 a4 16. Qd1 Be7 17. g3 Qc8 18. Be2 Bg4
19. Rc1 Bxe2 20. Qxe2 Qf5 {quite comfortable} 21. c5 $6 {Pseudo-aggressive but
easy to meet.} (21. O-O {was a better way to create complications, not fearing
sacrifices on h4, e,g.} Bxh4 $6 22. gxh4 Nxh4 23. f3 $1 {and White is fine.})
21... O-O 22. c6 {Played after six minutes, but the wonderful d5 square
created turns out to be less important than it seems.} (22. cxd6 Bxd6 23. O-O
e4 {was not particularly good fro White, but by now Caruana should have been
tempering his ambitions and worrying about his king.}) 22... bxc6 $1 23. dxc6
Rfc8 $1 24. Qc4 Bd8 25. Nd5 e4 26. c7 Bxc7 27. Nxc7 Ne5 28. Nd5 $6 (28. Qd5
Rab8 $1 {would also leave White in desperate trouble, e.g.} 29. O-O Rxc7 $1 30.
Qxd6 Rxc1 31. Qxb8+ Rc8 32. Qd6 Rc2 {when White has problems on both flanks.})
28... Kh7 0-1

[Event "Carlsen - Caruana World Championship Mat"]
[Site "London ENG"]
[Date "2018.11.28"]
[Round "13.3"]
[White "Magnus Carlsen"]
[Black "Fabiano Caruana"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B44"]
[Annotator "Rogers, Ian"]
[PlyCount "101"]
[EventDate "2018.11.09"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Bc5 6. Nc2 (6. Be3 Qb6) 6...
Nf6 7. Nc3 O-O 8. Be3 b6 9. Be2 Bb7 10. O-O Qe7 11. Qd2 Rfd8 12. Rfd1 Ne5 13.
Bxc5 bxc5 14. f4 Ng6 15. Qe3 d6 16. Rd2 a6 17. Rad1 Qc7 18. b3 h6 19. g3 Rd7
20. Bf3 Re8 21. Qf2 Ne7 22. h3 Red8 23. Bg2 Nc6 24. g4 Qa5 25. Na4 Qc7 26. e5
dxe5 27. Nxc5 Rxd2 28. Rxd2 Rxd2 29. Qxd2 Ba8 (29... exf4 30. Nxb7 Qxb7 31.
Qxf4) 30. fxe5 Qxe5 (30... Nxe5 31. Nxe6 fxe6 32. Bxa8 Qa7+ 33. Qd4) 31. Nd7 (
31. Nxa6) 31... Qb2 32. Qd6 Nxd7 33. Qxd7 Qxc2 34. Qe8+ Kh7 35. Qxa8 Qd1+ 36.
Kh2 Qd6+ 37. Kh1 Nd4 38. Qe4+ f5 39. gxf5 exf5 40. Qe3 Ne6 41. b4 Ng5 (41...
Nf4 42. c5) 42. c5 Qf6 43. c6 Ne6 44. a4 Nc7 45. Qf4 Ne6 46. Qd6 Qa1+ 47. Kh2
Nd4 48. c7 Qc3 49. Qc5 Qe3 50. c8=Q f4 51. Qg4 1-0

[Event "U8 World Cadet Championship"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2018.11.06"]
[Round "3.6"]
[White "Chennareddy, Yuvraj"]
[Black "Azadaliyev, Jahandar"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "1497"]
[BlackElo "1674"]
[Annotator "Kavutskiy, Kostya"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1nr3k1/1q3pp1/1p2b2p/pP2P3/2PpP3/B7/P1Q1B1PP/5R1K b - - 0 27"]
[PlyCount "110"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "Azerbaijan"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "AZE"]

{[#] In this middlegame Black has remained a pawn down for some time, but it
is a doubled pawn that White cannot really make use of. However, the loose
d4-pawn is an issue Black needs to deal with.} 27... Qd7 $2 {Supporting the
pawn and threatening Qxb5, but this move meets a powerful refutation.} (27...
Nd7 $1 {was needed, threatening to get the knight into play with Nxe5. After}
28. Rd1 {best would be} d3 $1 {which throws White's pieces into disarray.} 29.
Rxd3 (29. Bxd3 Nxe5 {and Black will win back the c4-pawn.}) 29... Qxe4 30. Rc3
Qxe5 $11 {with a seemingly balanced position.}) 28. Bd6 $1 {The bishop
dominates Black's camp as White's army is ready to regroup behind. Moreover,
White defends the b5-pawn through tactical means.} Qd8 ({Now} 28... Qxb5 $4 {
wouldn't work as Black's rook is now overloaded, needing to defend the knight
on b8 and pin the pawn on c4. So White can play} 29. Bxb8 $1 $18 {and Black
would be left without a move.}) 29. Rd1 Nd7 30. Rxd4 {Despite Black's blockade,
two pawns is quite a lot of material.} Qg5 31. Qd2 Qh4 32. g3 Qh3 $6 {This
allows White to force a trade of queens, simplifying the conversion task.} (
32... Qd8 {would have made White's task slightly more difficult, as the
presence of queens allows for more potential counterplay.}) 33. Qd1 Kh7 34. Qf1
$1 Qxf1+ 35. Bxf1 h5 36. h4 {Now White can improve his position freely, first
by improving the king.} Kg8 37. Kh2 g6 38. Bh3 Kg7 ({in case of} 38... Bxh3 39.
Kxh3 Nf8 {White could immediately break through with} 40. c5 $1 bxc5 41. Ra4
$18 {with an easy win.}) 39. Bxe6 fxe6 40. Kg2 Kf7 41. Kf3 Ke8 42. Kf4 Kf7 43.
Kg5 a4 44. a3 $1 {It seems like White has no way of improving the position,
but it is Black to move, which will allow White the chance to make progress.
Raj shows tremendous patience in converting this endgame.} Kg7 45. Be7 $1 Rc7
46. Bd8 Rb7 47. Rd6 Kf7 48. Bf6 Nc5 49. Kf4 Nd7 50. Rc6 Nc5 51. Rc8 Nd7 52. Bd8
Kg7 53. Rc7 $1 {Trading into a winning bishop vs. knight endgame, after which
White doesn't give his opponent any chances.} Rxc7 54. Bxc7 Kf7 55. Kg5 Kg7 56.
Bd8 Kh7 57. Bc7 Kg7 58. g4 hxg4 59. Kxg4 Kh6 60. Bd6 Kg7 61. h5 gxh5+ 62. Kxh5
Kh7 63. Kg5 Kg7 64. Kf4 Kf7 65. Ke3 Ke8 66. Kd4 Kd8 67. Kc3 Kc8 68. Kb4 Kb7 69.
Kxa4 Ka7 70. Kb3 Kb7 71. a4 Kc8 72. Kb4 Kb7 73. a5 bxa5+ 74. Kxa5 Nb6 75. c5
Nc8 76. b6 Ka8 77. Kb5 Nxd6+ 78. cxd6 Kb8 79. d7 Kb7 {A final stalemate trap,
just in case.} 80. Kc5 $1 Ka6 81. d8=Q Kb7 82. Qc7+ 1-0

[Event "U10 World Cadet Championship"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2018.11.15"]
[Round "11.1"]
[White "Volkov, Maksim"]
[Black "Zhao, Erick"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A05"]
[WhiteElo "1971"]
[BlackElo "1957"]
[Annotator "Kavutskiy, Kostya"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3rr1k1/1pp1qpb1/2n1b1pp/p3p3/2PpN2P/PP1PP1P1/1BQ2PB1/3R1RK1 w - - 0 18"]
[PlyCount "38"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Russia"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

{[#]} 18. Qd2 $4 {A surprising blunder, taking away the only potential escape
square for White's knight on e4.} f5 $1 {Great alertness from Erick, catching
White's knight in the center of the board.} 19. exd4 exd4 {Calmly recapturing.}
({as} 19... fxe4 $2 {would quickly lose the piece back after} 20. d5) 20. Rfe1
fxe4 21. Rxe4 Qd7 22. b4 {White tried, but ultimately couldn't find any real
compensation for the piece.} axb4 23. axb4 Bf5 24. Rxe8+ Rxe8 25. Qf4 Nxb4 26.
Bf1 b6 27. Ba3 Nc2 28. Bb2 Re1 29. Qd2 Rxd1 30. Qxd1 Nb4 31. Qb3 Nc6 32. Qa4
Ne5 33. Qa8+ Kh7 34. Ba3 Bxd3 35. Bg2 Bxc4 36. h5 d3 0-1

[Event "Girls U8 World Cadet Championship"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2018.11.15"]
[Round "11.2"]
[White "Qiao, Evelyn"]
[Black "Smietanska, Wiktoria"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B10"]
[BlackElo "1506"]
[Annotator "Kavutskiy, Kostya"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "Poland"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "POL"]

1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Ne5 Nf6 5. d4 Nc6 6. Bb5 Qb6 $6 {It turns
out this natural move can be punished with active play.} ({Better is} 6... Bd7
{which leads to more solid play.}) 7. c4 $1 {A strong idea, opening up White's
queen to join the attack with Qa4.} Bf5 $6 {Another slip, as this bishop is
needed to defend against the pin with Bd7.} (7... dxc4 {should have been
played, then after} 8. Nc3 e6 9. Qa4 $36 {White would get a nice initiative.})
8. Nc3 e6 9. c5 $1 {Seizing the initiative. In some cases, it would be better
to castle first, but here White is fully justified to start creating threats
and here Evelyn is able to create a threat with every next move.} Qc7 10. Bf4 {
Developing with tempo (threatening a discovery against the queen).} Qc8 11. Qa4
{Now White is winning material by force, as Black isn't able to defend the
knight on c6 with Bd7.} Ne4 $6 {A final error after which White wins by force.}
({Relatively best was} 11... a6 {in order to force White to give up the
light-squared bishop.} 12. Bxc6+ bxc6 13. Nxc6 Nd7 $18 {White has won a pawn
and should win anyways but would still have some work to do.}) 12. Nxc6 bxc6
13. Bxc6+ Kd8 14. Bxa8 Qxa8 15. Qa5+ Ke8 16. Nb5 Qd8 17. Qxa7 Be7 18. f3 Nf6
19. Bd6 {Black has forfeited their castling rights, so the king on e8 is
basically a sitting duck for White's pieces. Evelyn is able to finish off the
attack in style, ending with a nice forced mate.} Qd7 20. Qb8+ Qd8 21. Nc7+ Kd7
22. Qb5+ Kc8 23. Qa6+ Kd7 24. c6+ $1 Kxd6 25. Nb5# 1-0

[Event "U12 World Cadet Championship"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2018.11.15"]
[Round "11.4"]
[White "Shen, Shiyan"]
[Black "Chasin, Nico"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C03"]
[WhiteElo "2187"]
[BlackElo "2189"]
[Annotator "Kavutskiy, Kostya"]
[PlyCount "136"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "China"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "CHN"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Be7 4. e5 c5 5. c3 cxd4 6. cxd4 Qb6 7. Ndf3 Bd7 8. Bd3
Bb5 9. Ne2 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 Qa6 11. Qxa6 Nxa6 12. a3 Bd8 13. Nc3 Nc7 14. O-O Ne7
15. Be3 Nc6 16. Nd2 {[#]} f5 $1 {A useful move, taking space while giving
White the option to give up his advanced e-pawn.} 17. exf6 (17. f4 Kd7 $11 {
would be equal but more comfortable for Black in the long run, as White is
stuck with a bad bishop.}) 17... Bxf6 {The drawback of White's choice is that
now the d4-pawn needs protection.} 18. Nb3 $6 {The wrong way.} (18. Nf3 $11 {
was more compact, after which White is not worse.}) 18... b6 $1 {Restricting
the newly placed knight which is now really passive.} 19. Rac1 Kd7 $1 20. f4 g6
{Black's last few moves have been all about restriction, but the position has
greatly improved. Next is a transfer of the knight from c7 to the much better
square d6.} 21. Ne2 Nb5 22. Bf2 Rac8 23. Rc2 Nd6 ({Stockfish points out a cute
tactical idea:} 23... Na5 $1 24. Rxc8 Rxc8 25. Nxa5 Rc2 $1 $19 {winning back
the piece with eventual interest.}) 24. Nd2 $6 {Blundering, though White was
already in a tough position.} Nxd4 $1 {A well calculated combination, based on
a couple of important in-between checks.} 25. Nxd4 (25. Rxc8 $2 {allows Black
to snag a piece:} Nxe2+ 26. Kh1 {before recapturing the rook:} Rxc8 $19) (25.
Bxd4 {would be similar to the game after} Rxc2 26. Bxf6 Rxd2 27. Bxh8 Rxe2 $19)
25... Bxd4 26. Bxd4 (26. Rxc8 {shows the second point:} Bxf2+ $1 27. Rxf2 Rxc8
$19 {and Black has a clean extra pawn.}) 26... Rxc2 27. Bxh8 Rxd2 {Black has
emerged a pawn up with a decisive advantage, as Black's pieces are also quite
active.} 28. Rf2 Rd3 $1 {Not trading is a good decision, as Black's rook can
be used to target White's weaknesses.} 29. Rc2 Nc4 30. Kf2 b5 31. Ke2 Re3+ 32.
Kf2 Rb3 33. Ke2 a5 34. Bc3 b4 35. axb4 axb4 36. Bd4 Kd6 37. Rc1 e5 (37... Nxb2
{would allow some unnecessary counterplay after} 38. Be5+ Ke7 39. Rc7+ Kd8 40.
Rxh7) 38. fxe5+ Nxe5 39. Rf1 Nc6 40. Bg7 d4 41. Rb1 Kd5 {It took Nico some
time, but with methodical techique he was eventually able to collect the full
point:} 42. Kd2 Na5 43. Kc2 Re3 44. Rd1 b3+ 45. Kc1 Nc6 46. Kd2 Nd8 47. Ra1 Nc6
48. Ra3 Re7 49. Bf6 Rf7 50. Bh4 Rb7 51. Bg3 Rb5 52. Bc7 Ke4 53. Bd6 Na5 54. Ra4
Kd5 55. Ba3 Nc4+ 56. Kd3 Ne5+ 57. Ke2 Rb6 58. Kd1 h5 59. Ra8 Nc4 60. Rd8+ Ke4
61. Bc5 Nxb2+ 62. Ke2 d3+ 63. Ke1 Rc6 64. Re8+ Kd5 65. Bf2 Re6+ 66. Rxe6 Kxe6
67. Kd2 Kd5 68. Kc3 Nd1+ 0-1

[Event "Girls U16 World Youth Championship"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2018.10.22"]
[Round "4.5"]
[White "Cervantes Landeiro, Thalia"]
[Black "Makhija, Aashna"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B14"]
[WhiteElo "2129"]
[BlackElo "2197"]
[Annotator "Friedman, Aviv"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rnb2rk1/pp3ppp/4pn2/q2P4/1b1P4/2N2N2/PP1B1PPP/R2QKB1R b KQ - 0 9"]
[PlyCount "38"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "India"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "IND"]

9... Nxd5 {[#] black just captured on d5 with his knight, instead of the much
more natural e pawn. Perhaps she naively expected Thalia to sheepishly defend
c3. Thalia reacts correctly:} 10. a3 Bxc3 {Now white gets a fluid center,
along with a bishop pair for no compensation} ({maybe she was planning to plaY
} 10... Nxc3 11. axb4 Nxd1 12. bxa5 Nxb2 {realizing that after} 13. Bc3 {
her knight is trapped.}) ({saving the bishop for defensive purposes was the
best route} 10... Be7 $5) 11. bxc3 Qc7 12. c4 Nf6 13. Bd3 b6 14. O-O Nbd7 {
black doesn't have any apparant weaknesses, but it is cear that it is white
who's having all the fun. She has a lot useful moves to choose from, and
enjoys a pleasant space advantage. What's more, black needs to calculate
potential pawn advances, especially d5} 15. a4 Bb7 16. Re1 Rfd8 (16... Rfe8 {
makes more sense, whenever white might play d5, black would at least have a
say on the e file}) 17. Qe2 h6 $6 {This weakening of the kingside pawn
structure, is a testimony that black is playing from move to move, without a
concrete plan} 18. a5 Bc6 19. h3 Qb7 20. a6 {not bad, but the challenging} (20.
Kh1 {would have proven black's shortcomings. After:} Bxf3 21. gxf3 {white will
use the g file to increase the pressure against the vulnerable black king})
20... Qc7 21. Qe3 Kh8 $6 {at least black could have played} (21... Re8) 22.
Rac1 Rac8 23. Bc3 Qb8 {this knee jerk reaction of moving the queen away from
the same file as the opponent's rook is the final mistake. Watch Thalia as she
goes into high gear:} 24. d5 $1 exd5 25. Ne5 $1 {the amassment of the white
pieces is evident. It's easy to optically appreciate how the board is split in
half from black's point of view: most of his pieces are far deep on the
queenside, while his king is feeling lonely (and soon drafty!) on the other
side} Kg8 {[#]} (25... Rf8 26. Nxd7) 26. Nxf7 {Thalia in her element} Kxf7 (
26... Re8 27. Nxh6+ gxh6 28. Qxh6 {is just overwhelming}) 27. Qe6+ Kf8 28. Bg6
1-0

[Event "U14 World Youth Championship"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2018.10.21"]
[Round "2.30"]
[White "Redenica, Elbion"]
[Black "Mishra, Abhimanyu"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B20"]
[BlackElo "2149"]
[Annotator "Friedman, Aviv"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1k3r1r/pp4b1/1q1pb2p/2p2pp1/2PNP3/2NP4/PP1Q2PP/1KRB2R1 b - - 0 24"]
[PlyCount "41"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Kosovo"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "KOS"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

24... Bxd4 {[#] It only takes one look at the unmatched black bishop on d4, to
know that black is for choice here. White quickly moved his attacked rook from
g1, but perhaps should have at least tempted his opponent wth a
pseudo-sacrifice of the exchange:} 25. Re1 (25. exf5 Bxg1 26. fxe6 Rf2 27. Be2
Rxg2 28. e7 {with ideas like Nd5 and Rf1, where white has some fighting
chances, but of course black may just recapture calmly on f5 instead. In the
game black simply pushes the white army off the board}) 25... f4 {now black
adds a mobile pawn majority on the kingside to his list of advantages} 26. Qe2
(26. Nd5 Bxd5 27. cxd5 Be3 28. Rxe3 fxe3 29. Qxe3 Rf1 {wasn't much fun either})
26... g4 27. Nd5 $2 {this impatient move simply hastens the end. White should
have suffered patiently with 27. Rc2} (27. Rc2) 27... Bxd5 28. cxd5 {28.exd5
would have been answered the same way} (28. exd5) 28... f3 29. gxf3 gxf3 30.
Qc2 (30. Qd2 Rhg8 {is also curtains}) 30... f2 31. Rf1 Be3 {Abhi is cashing in
on his fine work.} 32. Bg4 Bxc1 33. Kxc1 c4 {the prettiest of the available
moves. The black queen is coming to visit} 34. dxc4 Qe3+ 35. Kd1 Rf4 36. Qe2 (
36. Bf5 Rxf5 37. exf5 Re8 {would have been a cute finish. For example:} 38.
Qxf2 (38. Qd2 Qe4 39. Rxf2 Qb1+ 40. Qc1 Re1+) 38... Qd3+ 39. Kc1 Qxc4+ 40. Kb1
Re2) 36... Qd4+ 37. Kc2 Rxe4 (37... Rxg4 38. Qxg4 Qxc4+ {and the f1 rook is
lost as well}) 38. Qxf2 Qxf2+ 39. Rxf2 Rxc4+ 40. Kb3 Rxg4 41. Rf6 Rg5 42. Rxd6
Kc7 43. Re6 Rxd5 44. Re2 Rh5 {very forceful play by young Abhi!} 0-1

[Event "U14 World Youth Championship"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2018.10.21"]
[Round "3.11"]
[White "Ognean, Mihnea-Ionut"]
[Black "Turgut, Aydin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E25"]
[WhiteElo "2291"]
[BlackElo "2156"]
[Annotator "Friedman, Aviv"]
[PlyCount "78"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Romania"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "ROU"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8.
dxc5 f5 {a contemporary line in the Nimzo Indian. White compromised his pawn
structure, hoping to open lines, and speedingly develop his pieces. Black
stops the center advance of e4, giving up the e5 square forever. Now what?} 9.
c4 $6 {This natural alternative to e4 is maybe the first move one might look
at, but it is not the best here. The modest 9.Nh3 is better} (9. Nh3) 9... Qh4+
{but this tempting move - again, maybe the first one a human would look at, is
wrong as well. Black should go for:} (9... Qf6 $1 10. Bg5 Qxg5 11. cxd5 O-O {
black has a significant lead in developent for his pawn. Practically speaking,
it is also a very testing position to play as white, if you're not a computer})
10. g3 Qxc4 11. e4 Qc3+ 12. Bd2 Qe5 {[#] the last several moves were forced,
and now white is at a crossroads. At our team room in real time, some coaches
were looking at this game, and the feeling was that black is doing well. The
engine disagrees!} 13. Rc1 $6 (13. Bg2 fxe4 14. fxe4 O-O {was what was
expected, and after} 15. Ne2 Ne7 {white is slightly better after the simple:}
16. Rc1 Nbc6 17. Rf1 $1) 13... fxe4 14. f4 Qf6 (14... Qf5 $1 {stubbornly
holding on to the e4 pawn, was best here}) 15. Ne2 O-O 16. Bg2 e3 $6 {black
goes for a brave, but faulty plan. 16...Qf5 or 16...Qg6 was best} (16... Qf5) (
16... Qg6) 17. Bc3 Nxc3 $2 {and this is a serious mistake. Now the e3 pawn
falls, and the black structure is very unstable} 18. Rxc3 Rd8 19. Qc1 Na6 20.
O-O Nc7 21. Rxe3 Nd5 22. Re5 Bd7 23. Nd4 {many players would have folded
quikly in this discouraging position as black. Aydin puts up a strong fight}
Rac8 24. Rfe1 (24. Bh3 $1) 24... Qf8 25. f5 Rxc5 26. Qb2 Nc7 {[#] The critical
moment in the game, but white loses his head, and misses a simple equalizing
tactic} 27. fxe6 $2 (27. Nxe6 Rxe5 28. Qxe5 Bxe6 29. fxe6 {and black's
position is hopeless}) 27... Rxe5 28. Rxe5 Bxe6 $1 {the weakness of white's
first rank saves black.} 29. h4 Bc8 30. Qc3 {white's play from now on must
have been influenced by his realization of his previous missed chance. Quickly
matters go fro bad to worse, and he even manages to blunder and lose} Qd6 31.
Nf3 $6 Nd5 32. Qc4 Be6 33. Kh2 h6 {black is up a pawn, but there is still a
long fight ahead. Instead of the logical 34. Qd4, white overlooks a simple
trick} 34. Qe4 $4 (34. Qd4) 34... Nf6 35. Qf4 Ng4+ 36. Kg1 Nxe5 37. Nxe5 Qd4+
38. Qxd4 Rxd4 39. Bxb7 Ra4 {Kudos to Aydin for keeping his composure
throughout!} 0-1

[Event "Reggio Emilia"]
[Site "Reggio Emilia ITA"]
[Date "2010.01.06"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Fabiano Caruana"]
[Black "Konstantin Yuryevich Landa"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "2652"]
[BlackElo "2664"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "2009.12.28"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. dxc3 Be7 {[#]} 7. Be3
(7. Bd3) (7. Bc4) 7... Nc6 8. Qd2 Be6 9. O-O-O Qd7 (9... Bxa2 10. b3) 10. Kb1
Bf6 11. h4 h6 12. Nd4 Nxd4 (12... O-O-O 13. Bb5) 13. Bxd4 Bxd4 14. Qxd4 O-O 15.
Rg1 Rae8 (15... Qc6) 16. g4 Qc6 17. Bg2 Qa6 18. b3 Bd7 19. g5 h5 20. g6 Re7 (
20... fxg6 21. Bd5+ Kh7 22. Rxg6 Kxg6 23. Rg1+ Bg4 24. Rxg4+ hxg4 25. Qxg4+ Kh6
(25... Kf6 26. Qg5#) 26. Qg5+ Kh7 27. Qh5#) (20... Bc6) 21. Bd5 Be6 22. Rde1 c5
23. Qd1 Rfe8 24. Qxh5 fxg6 25. Rxe6 (25. Rxg6 Bxd5 26. Qxd5+) 25... gxh5 26.
Rxe7+ Kf8 (26... Kh8 27. Rxe8+ Kh7 28. Bg8+ Kh8 29. Bf7+ Kh7 30. Bg6+ Kh6 31.
Rh8#) (26... Kh7 27. Rgxg7+ Kh6 28. Rh7+ Kg6 29. Be4+ Kf6 30. Rhf7#) 27. Rf7+
Kg8 28. Rf5+ Re6 29. Bxe6+ Kh7 30. Rxh5# 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem I"]
[Black "Mating net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/1R1R1pk1/8/7p/3b3P/1B5K/4r1r1/8 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "5"]

{[#]} 1... Rh2+ 2. Kg3 Be5+ 3. Kf3 Rhf2# 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem II"]
[Black "Mating net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1r6/5pk1/8/8/P4R2/8/1P3R2/Kb2r3 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "5"]

{[#]} 1... Bc2+ 2. Ka2 Bb3+ 3. Ka3 Ra1# 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem III"]
[Black "Mating net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6R1/b3k3/8/8/8/6N1/5rP1/6K1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]

{[#]} 1... Rf4+ 2. Kh2 (2. Kh1) 2... Rh4# 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem IV"]
[Black "Mating net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/1qQ5/6b1/p7/8/K7/1P6/2R5 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]

{[#]} 1... Qb4+ 2. Ka2 Qa4# 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem V"]
[Black "Mating net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1q6/6k1/6b1/pP6/8/RK2R3/P7/8 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]

{[#]} 1... Qxb5+ 2. Kc3 Qb4# 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem VI"]
[Black "Mating net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/5k2/8/8/3b4/7b/4P1Pr/4RKR1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "5"]

{[#]} 1... Bxg2+ 2. Rxg2 Rh1+ 3. Rg1 Rxg1# 0-1

[Event "Tata Steel Rapid"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.11.13"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "So, Wesley"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A30"]
[WhiteElo "2746"]
[BlackElo "2765"]
[Annotator "Naroditsky, Daniel"]
[PlyCount "115"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[EventType "rapid"]
[SourceDate "2019.01.04"]

1. Nf3 c5 2. b3 Nf6 3. e3 g6 4. Bb2 Bg7 5. c4 O-O 6. Be2 b6 7. O-O Bb7 8. d4
cxd4 9. Nxd4 d5 10. Na3 Nc6 11. Nxc6 Bxc6 12. Bf3 Rc8 13. cxd5 Nxd5 14. Bxg7
Kxg7 15. Rc1 Nb4 16. Bxc6 Nxc6 17. Qe2 Qd6 18. Nb5 Qf6 19. h3 Rfd8 20. Rfd1
Rxd1+ 21. Qxd1 Rd8 {[#]} 22. Qf3 Qxf3 23. gxf3 Ne5 24. f4 (24. Nxa7 Rd2) 24...
Nf3+ (24... Nd3 25. Rd1 (25. Rc7 a6 26. Na7 Nb4 27. Rxe7 Rd1+ 28. Kg2 Rd2)
25... Rd5 26. Nxa7 (26. Nc3 Rd7) 26... Nxf4 27. Rxd5 Nxd5 28. Nc8 b5 29. a4
bxa4 30. bxa4 Kf6 31. Kg2 Ke6) 25. Kg2 Nh4+ 26. Kf1 {[#]} Rd7 (26... Rd2 27. a4
Rb2 28. Nxa7 (28. Rc3 Rb1+ 29. Ke2 Rb2+) 28... Rxb3 29. Nc8 Nf5 30. Rc6 Rb1+
31. Kg2 Rb2) 27. Rc7 (27. Ke2 Nf5 28. Rc8 Nd6 29. Nxd6 exd6) 27... Rxc7 28.
Nxc7 Nf3 (28... Nf5) 29. Ke2 Ng1+ 30. Kf1 Nf3 (30... Nxh3 31. Kg2) 31. Nb5 a5
32. Ke2 Ng1+ 33. Kf1 Nf3 34. Nc7 e6 35. Ke2 Ng1+ 36. Kf1 Nf3 37. Na8 b5 38. Ke2
Ng1+ 39. Kf1 Nf3 40. Nc7 b4 41. Ne8+ Kf8 42. Nd6 {[#]} Nd2+ (42... e5 43. Ke2 (
43. Nb7 exf4 44. exf4 Ke7 45. Nxa5 Kd6) 43... Ng1+) 43. Ke2 Nb1 44. Nc4 Nc3+
45. Kd3 Nxa2 46. Nxa5 Ke7 47. Kc4 {[#]} Kd7 48. Nb7 Nc3 49. Nc5+ (49. Kxb4)
49... Kc6 50. Nd3 Nd1 51. Nxb4+ Kd6 52. Nd3 f6 53. b4 g5 54. fxg5 fxg5 55. Kb3
h5 56. Kc2 g4 57. Kxd1 gxh3 58. f4 1-0

[Event "Tata Steel Rapid"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.11.10"]
[Round "?"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B33"]
[WhiteElo "2765"]
[BlackElo "2702"]
[Annotator "Naroditsky, Daniel"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[EventType "rapid"]
[SourceDate "2019.01.04"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8.
Na3 b5 9. Nd5 Be7 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. c4 b4 12. Nc2 O-O 13. h4 a5 14. g3 a4 15.
Ndxb4 Nxb4 16. Nxb4 Qa5 17. Qd2 Rb8 18. a3 Be6 19. O-O-O Rfc8 20. Kb1 Qa8 21.
f3 Be7 22. Bh3 Rxc4 23. Bxe6 fxe6 24. Rc1 Rbc8 25. Rxc4 Rxc4 26. Rc1 Qc8 27.
Rxc4 Qxc4 28. Qd3 Qc5 29. Ka2 Kf7 30. Qa6 d5 31. Nc6 Bf6 32. Qxa4 Kg6 33. Na5
Kh6 34. Nb3 Qf2 35. g4 Qxh4 36. Qc6 Qf2 37. Qxe6 dxe4 38. Qf5 Bg5 39. Qxe4 g6
40. Qa8 Bf4 41. Qf8+ Kg5 42. Qd8+ Kh6 43. Qd5 Kg5 44. a4 h5 45. Qd8+ Kh6 {[#]}
46. g5+ Kh7 (46... Bxg5 47. Qh8#) 47. Qe7+ Kg8 48. Qe6+ Kg7 49. Qf6+ Kh7 50.
Qf7+ Kh8 51. Qxg6 (51. Qf8+ Kh7 52. Qh6+ Kg8 53. Qxg6+ Kf8 54. Qf6+ Ke8 55. g6)
51... Qxf3 52. Qe8+ Kg7 53. Qe7+ Kg8 54. g6 Qd5 55. Qh7+ 1-0

[Event "Round 6 Saratoga Open"]
[Site "Shredder for iPad"]
[Date "2008.03.16"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Michael Brooks"]
[Black "Polly Wright"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B25"]
[WhiteElo "1644"]
[BlackElo "1700"]
[Annotator "Wright, Polly"]
[PlyCount "107"]
[EventDate "2008.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 d6 6. f4 f5 7. Nf3 Nf6 8. O-O O-O
9. e5 dxe5 10. fxe5 Ng4 11. e6 Bxe6 12. Ng5 Bf7 13. Nxf7 Rxf7 14. Bd5 Bd4+ 15.
Kg2 a6 16. Bxf7+ Kxf7 17. Qxg4 Ne5 18. Qh4 Kg8 19. Ne2 Qd5+ 20. Kh3 Re8 21.
Nxd4 cxd4 22. Qf4 Ng4 23. Qf3 Qd7 24. Kg2 e5 25. Re1 Nf6 26. Bg5 Nd5 27. Re2
Nb4 28. a3 Nc6 29. Rae1 Kg7 30. Bf4 Kf6 31. h4 Re6 32. Bg5+ Kg7 33. Bd2 h6 34.
c3 Qe7 35. Qf2 Qd7 36. cxd4 Qd5+ 37. Kg1 Nxd4 38. Re3 Nc2 39. Rxe5 Rxe5 40.
Rxe5 Qxd3 41. Re7+ Kg8 42. Bxh6 Qd1+ 43. Kh2 {Diagram #} Nd4 44. Rg7+ Kh8 45.
Rxb7 $2 {Pawn grabbing doesn't pay.} (45. Kg2 {stops my last shot.}) 45... Nf3+
46. Kg2 Ne1+ 47. Kh3 Qg4+ 48. Kh2 Nf3+ 49. Kg2 Nxh4+ 50. Kf1 Qd1+ 51. Qe1 Qf3+
52. Qf2 Qd1+ $1 {My best move! Forcing the 3 fold repetition.} (52... Qxb7 53.
Qd4+ Kg8 54. gxh4 $18) 53. Qe1 $1 {My best move! Forcing the 3 fold repetition.
} Qf3+ 54. Qf2 1/2-1/2

