[Event "FIDE Candidates Chess Tournaments 2024"] [Site "Toronto"] [Date "2024.04.10"] [Round "6"] [White "Praggnanandhaa R"] [Black "Abasov, Nijat"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2747"] [BlackElo "2632"] [Annotator "IM Robert Shlyakhtenko"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "D32"] [Opening "Tarrasch Defense: Symmetrical Variation"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/Mez4h4WA/hko08GWk"] [Orientation "white"] { Annotations by IM Robert Shlyakhtenko } 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 c5 5. e3 Nc6 6. a3 a6 7. b3 { A rare line. } 7... cxd4 8. exd4 Be7 9. c5 b6 (9... Ne4!? { is the alternative plan. } 10. Bb2 { and now either } 10... f5!? { , or the direct } (10... Nxc3 11. Bxc3 e5! 12. Nxe5 Nxe5 13. dxe5 Bxc5 { with equality. })) 10. cxb6 Qxb6 11. b4 Ne4 (11... O-O 12. Bd3 Qc7 { I find this plan more convincing. } 13. Ne2 (13. Bb2 { allows } 13... e5! 14. dxe5 Nxe5 15. O-O Nc4 $132) 13... Bd6 14. Bb2 Bd7 15. O-O Rfc8 16. Qd2 Qb7 17. Ne5 Be8 { and Black had no problems in Savon – Fakhretdinov, Orel, 1996. }) 12. Na4 Qb8 13. Be2 (13. Bd3!? Bf6 14. Be3 { deserved attention. }) 13... O-O 14. O-O Bf6 (14... Bd7! { was better, intending to strike back against White's position with either ... e6-e5 or ... a6-a5. }) 15. Be3 { White has coordinated his pieces and now has a slight plus thanks to his positional superiority on the queenside. } 15... Ne7 16. Nc5 Nc3 17. Qd2 Nxe2+ 18. Qxe2 Nf5 19. Rab1 { A good prophylactic move. } 19... e5 20. dxe5 Bxe5 21. Rfd1 { So far Praggnanandhaa has convincingly outplayed Abasov. Facing a situation where he is positionally worse, Black presses the chaos button. } 21... d4!? { A critical moment. Now that the situation is concrete, Praggnanandhaa failed to find the best solution. } 22. Bg5?! (22. Bxd4! Nxd4 23. Nxd4 Bxh2+ 24. Kh1 Bc7 25. Qe4 $16 { was best. Although the position is open, it is White's knights who completely dominate the Black bishops. On } 25... Qb6 { White simply plays } 26. Nc6 (26. Qxa8? Qh6+ 27. Kg1 Qh2+ 28. Kf1 Bg4! $19)) 22... Bd6 23. g4 h6! { This resource keeps Black afloat. } 24. Qe4! (24. gxf5?! { is met by } 24... Bxf5!) 24... hxg5 25. gxf5 Ra7! { Imaginative play. All of a sudden, the position is completely unclear. } 26. Rxd4 g4?! { Unfortunately, on the very next move, Abasov errs. } (26... Re7! 27. Qd3 Bf4 { with full counterplay. }) 27. Ng5 (27. Rbd1!! { Is an incredible move pointed out by the computer. In my opinion, this idea is not findable in a practical game, especially since the alternative looks so tempting. The amazing point is that after } 27... Bxc5 28. bxc5 gxf3 { White plays } 29. f6! { and somehow Black is simply not in time to defend against the crude plan of Kg1-h1 and Rd1-g1. The critical line goes: } 29... Be6 30. Kh1 Re8 31. Rg1 g6 32. Qh4 Qe5 33. Re4! Qxc5 (33... Qb2 34. Qg5! { followed by Re4-h4, with the unstoppable threat of Rh4-h8+. }) 34. Qh6! Qf8 35. Qh5! Rd7 36. Rh4 Qg7 37. fxg7 gxh5 38. Rxh5 f5 39. Rh8+ Kf7 40. g8=Q+ Rxg8 41. Rhxg8 { and wins. }) 27... Bxh2+! { The only defense. } 28. Kg2 Qe5! 29. Rd5 Qxe4+ 30. Ngxe4 Bb8? { Another mistake, again played instantly. } (30... Bf4! { renders f5-f6 ineffective and minimizes Black's disadvantage. Probably, Abasov feared } 31. f3 (31. f6 Rc7 32. Rh1 Rc6 33. Rdh5 Bh6 $14) 31... gxf3+ 32. Kxf3 { but after } 32... Bh6 33. Rg1 f6 { Black's position remains defensible. The bishop pair has to count for something! }) 31. f6! Bf4 { Forced. } (31... g6 32. Rh1 $18 { White has a simple plan: Rh1-h6 followed by Rd5-d1-h1, and there is very little that Black can do to stop it. }) (31... Re8 32. fxg7 Kxg7 33. Rg5+ Kf8 34. Nf6 Rd8 35. Re1 $18) 32. Rbd1?! { By now, the players did not have much time. } (32. Rh1! { was better, with the point being } 32... Rc7 33. Rdh5 Bh6 34. Nc3! Bb7+ 35. Nxb7 Rxc3 (35... Rxb7 36. Nd5 Rd8 37. Ne7+ Kf8 38. Nf5 $18) 36. R1h4 $16) 32... Rc7! 33. R1d4 Rc6! { Black has been able to stabilize the situation and his king no longer faces serious danger. However, the defense is still not easy. } 34. Nd6 g5 35. Nxc8 Rfxc8 36. Rd8+ Rxd8 37. Rxd8+ Kh7 38. Ra8 Rxf6? { With five minutes left on the clock, Abasov makes a critical error. Now Black's rook is condemned to passivity. } (38... Rd6! 39. Rxa6 Rd2! { creates enough counterplay. It will take a long time for White to advance his queenside pawns, and Black's kingside play (e.g., ... Kh7-g6-Kf5 and then ... g4-g3) is very fast. }) 39. Rxa6 Rf5 40. Nd7! { An excellent move, dominating Black's rook. } 40... Kg7? { The last mistake. } (40... Bd2! { had to be played, though after } 41. Nf6+ Kg7 42. Nxg4 { Black is most likely lost anyway. }) 41. Ra5! { Forcing the trade of rooks. } 41... Kg6 42. a4! { Now Black will not be in time to stop the queenside pawns. The game is over. } 42... g3 43. Rxf5 Kxf5 44. a5 gxf2 45. a6 { 1-0 White wins. } 1-0