[Event "FIDE Candidates 2024"] [Site "Toronto, Canada"] [Date "2024.04.04"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2758"] [BlackElo "2760"] [Annotator "WGM Tatev Abrahamyan"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "C65"] [Opening "Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/Mez4h4WA/frHIaFvx"] [Orientation "white"] { Annotations by WGM Tatev Abrahamyan } 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O d5 7. exd5 Qxd5 8. Bc4 Qd8 9. b4 Be7 10. Nbd2 a6 11. a4 Bf5 12. Qc2 Nd5 13. Ne4 Bg4 14. Qa2 Nb6 15. Bb3 Bxf3 16. gxf3 { Shockingly, all of this has been played before. } 16... Qxd3 { Even more shockingly, this move is a novelty. } (16... Qd7 17. a5 Nc8 18. Qe2 Nd6 19. Kh1 Nb5 20. Bb2 Rad8 21. Rad1 Kh8 22. Rg1 h6 23. f4 exf4 24. Qh5 { was a win for White in Durarbayli – Rodshtein, Chennai, 2022. }) 17. Kg2 { This is one of the most impressive pieces of preparation I have ever seen. White allows the destruction of his own kingside, gives up a central pawn, and puts his king on g2, all in the name of compensation and for the pair of bishops. Truly a stunning idea. } 17... Qd7 18. Rd1 Qe8 { Objectively, the best retrieving square for the queen } (18... Qf5 { The more natural-looking move, but after } 19. Ng3 Qf6 20. h4! { , the queen gets kicked around, as now } 20... h6 21. Qc2 { comes with the threat of Ng3-h5 trapping the queen. } 21... Kh8 22. Bg5!!) 19. h4!? Nc8 (19... Bxh4 20. Rh1 Be7 21. Qc2 { Unsurprisingly, White's attack is unstoppable as all of his pieces are aiming at the helpless king. I spotted a pretty cute checkmate: } 21... g6 22. Bg5 (22. Qd2 { is better and leads to mate. }) 22... Rd8 23. Nf6+ Bxf6 24. Qxg6+!! hxg6 25. Bxf6) 20. h5 Kh8 { A logical follow up to 18. ... Qe8. Black wants to free his pieces with ... f7-f5. } 21. h6 g5 22. Qd2 Nd6 23. Bb2 Nf5 { Firouzja is starting to lose the thread a bit. Maybe he was enticed by the prospect of attacking the white king. } (23... f6 { This stabilizing move would have given Black the edge as White has to prove compensation for the pawn. It makes so much sense to shut down the long diagonal after White has just played Bc1-b2. }) 24. Qd7 { Allowing this did not do any favors for Black's position. } 24... Nh4+ 25. Kf1 f5 { This move carries a lot of risk, as the diagonal of the b2-bishop can never be shut down again. I don't think this makes Black's king at all happy to be on the h8-square. } 26. Ng3 Nxf3 27. b5 f4 { Another committal and risky move. Black must have a concrete idea to justify inviting the enemy knight to this square. While the engine still finds Firouzja's position acceptable, with every move he is losing control of the position. } 28. Ne4 Na5 29. Be6 { It is already difficult to suggest moves for Black as Qd7-c7, hitting the a5-knight and threatening Rd1-d7 is a huge threat. } 29... Qg6? { This is already a bit much as Firouzja can't justify giving up the piece. } (29... g4! { Again, the engine finds a defense, but how realistic is it to find this move with eight minutes on the clock? The idea is not even that simple. } 30. Qxc7 g3 { I am not sure how to analyze or explain this position anymore. At some point both players need to start finding bizarre "only moves" to keep the position balanced. For example: } 31. c4 { White needs to go after the Black king, as picking up the piece with } (31. Qxa5? { runs into } 31... Qg6 { with a huge attack. }) 31... Qg6 32. Bxe5+ Nxe5 33. Qxe5+ Bf6 34. Nxf6 Qxf6) 30. Qxe7 Qxh6 (30... Qxe4 31. Qg7#) 31. Bf7 Qh3+ 32. Ke2 { Unlike in the Nakamura game, the uncastled king finds a perfectly safe home on e2. } 32... Qf5 33. Bd5 Rae8 34. Qxc7 Qg4 35. Kd3 Rd8 { At this point, Firouzja had about 10 seconds left and, with no increment, he had to make sure he doesn't flag. } 36. c4 Rxd5+ 37. cxd5 Qh3 38. Ng3 { Classy! } 38... Nc4 39. Qxc4 fxg3 40. fxg3 axb5 41. axb5 Rc8 42. Rh1 Qd7 43. Qe4 Kg8 44. Ke3 Nd4 45. Bxd4 { Black resigned. } 1-0