[Event "CCT2024-Event1-Div2-KO"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2024.02.02"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Anton Guijarro, David"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2732"] [BlackElo "2671"] [Annotator "Lang,JJ"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B12"] [Opening "Caro-Kann Defense: Advance Variation, Tal Variation"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/KkITMFGZ/hd6MYE3T"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. h4 h6 5. Bd3 Bxd3 6. cxd3 e6 7. Nc3 Nd7 8. Nf3 a6 9. h5 c5 10. dxc5 Bxc5 11. d4 Bb6 12. Kf1 Ne7 13. g4 Qc7 14. Bf4 Qc4+ 15. Kg2 Nc6 16. Rc1 Qb4 17. Na4 Ba7 18. a3 Qe7 19. Qd3 Nb6 20. Nxb6 Bxb6 21. Rc3 Rc8 22. Rhc1 Rc7 23. b4 Kd7 { After the risky opening backfired for Aronian in the previous game, here he plays more solidly against the Caro-Kann, developing a very significant static edge on the c-file and generally in terms of space. } 24. b5! axb5 25. Qxb5 Ba7 26. a4 Rhc8 27. R1c2?! (27. R3c2! { was an important nuance, though, opening the e1-a5 diagonal to refute ... Nc6xd4 ideas. } 27... Kd8 28. Bd2! Nxd4? 29. Nxd4 Bxd4 30. Rxc7 Rxc7 31. Ba5 b6 32. Bxb6 Bxb6 33. Qxb6 $18) 27... Kd8 28. Be3 Qd7 29. Qb1 Qe7 30. Rb2 Na5 { Black jumps at the opportunity to trade off pieces that are not sparking joy. } 31. Rxc7 Rxc7 32. Bd2 Nc6 33. Qd3 Kc8 34. a5 Kb8 35. a6 Ka8 36. Be3 { There is something pleasing about the way Aronian, despite not finding the most accurate resources or any concrete breakthroughs, has absolutely never let the pressure up and continued to find new ways of keeping Black tied down. } 36... bxa6 37. Qxa6 Qd7 38. Ne1 Rb7 39. Rxb7 Qxb7 40. Qd3?? { In time pressure, a mutual oversight! } 40... Qb2 (40... Nxe5! 41. dxe5 d4+ 42. Nf3 dxe3 43. fxe3 Qd5) 41. Nf3 Nb4?? 42. Qb5 { and Black resigns. } 1-0