[Event "FIDE Candidates 2024"] [Site "Toronto, Canada"] [Date "2024.04.09"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Praggnanandhaa R"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2747"] [WhiteTitle "GM"] [WhiteFideId "25059530"] [BlackElo "2758"] [BlackTitle "GM"] [BlackFideId "4168119"] [Annotator "Zaven Andriasyan"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "C42"] [Opening "Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Staunton Variation"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/4cmeeRC9/rFDXXwmm"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 { Nepomniachtchi sticks to his beloved Russian Defense, but he's about to encounter a new weapon in his opponent's arsenal. } 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. c4 c6 9. Nc3 Nxc3 10. bxc3 dxc4 11. Bxc4 Bf5 12. Bg5 Qa5 13. Nh4 Be6 14. Bxe6 Qxg5 15. Nf3 Qa5 { The game seemed to be heading toward the well-analyzed Classical variation, but Praggnanandhaa delivers yet another surprise. } 16. Bh3!? (16. Bb3 { Has been seen many times in games of strong players like David Navara, Wesley So, Jorden Van Foreest, and Sanan Sjugirov. However, Pragg's chosen variation places the bishop on h3, hindering the development of Black's knight. Additionally, Pragg keeps the b3-square free for his rook. }) 16... Qxc3 17. Rb1 b6 18. Rb3 Qa5 19. d5!! { This was already too much for Nepomniachtchi. The expression on his face changed, and he began to spend a long time making each of his moves. } 19... cxd5 20. Ng5 { This knight move opens up the queen's diagonal and allows the rook to join the attack if needed. The white queen is already threatening to jump to the h5 square. } 20... h6 21. Nxf7!! { A brilliant knight sacrifice by Praggnanandhaa! Although the computer still evaluates the position as equal, Black has to be extremely careful with each move. } 21... Kxf7 22. Rd3 Nd7 23. Rxd5 Nc5? { A huge mistake! The evaluation bar jumped up with this move. Stockfish evaluates the position as +3. } (23... Bxh2+ { This is the most accurate move! Giving back the piece at a higher price. } 24. Kxh2 Nc5 25. Rd6 Kg8 26. Qd5+ Kh8 27. Qe5 Qxa2 28. Rxh6+ Kg8 { The vulnerable e6-square is securely guarded, and Black is still holding on! }) 24. Rxd6 Kg8 25. Qd5+ Kh8 26. Bf5 { Pragg spoils the whole preparation with a single move! } (26. Qe5 { was winning fairly easily. White threatens to take on h6, and Black cannot play Kh7 because of the Bf5 check. So the only move is... } 26... Kg8 27. Rg6 Rf7 28. Rxg7+ Rxg7 29. Qd5+ Rf7 30. Qxa8+ Kg7 31. Qd5 { With an advantage of almost +3, Praggu wouldn't have much trouble converting this into a victory. }) 26... Nb7 27. Qxa5 Nxa5 28. g4 Nc4 29. Rd5 Rae8 30. h3 Ne5 31. Kg2 g6 32. Bc2 g5 33. Bf5 Re7 34. Rd6 Kg7 35. Re1 Rf6 36. Rd5 Ng6 37. Rxe7+ Nxe7 38. Rd7 Kf8 39. Be4 a5 40. Kg3 Ng6 41. Bxg6 Rxg6 42. h4 Rc6 43. hxg5 hxg5 44. Rb7 a4 { The position on the board is completely equal, and a draw was agreed upon. After White's disastrous 26th move, Black held the ground without much effort. } 1/2-1/2