[Event "FIDE Candidates Chess Tournaments 2024"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.04.11"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Firouzja, Alireza"]
[Black "Gukesh D"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2760"]
[BlackElo "2743"]
[Annotator "IM Robert Shlyakhtenko"]
[Variant "Standard"]
[ECO "A45"]
[Opening "Indian Defense"]
[Source "https://lichess.org/study/Mez4h4WA/wa4cqi3f"]
[Orientation "white"]
{ Annotations by IM Robert Shlyakhtenko }
1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 d5 3. e3 c5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Nbd2 Qb6 6. Rb1 cxd4 7. exd4 Bd7! { Recently, this idea has become popular in various
London positions. Black wants to trade off his bad bishop. } 8. c3 Bb5 9. h4!? { An ambitious and rare move. This was the first sign that Alireza was playing
for a win. } 9... Nbd7 10. Rh3!? (10. h5 h6 11. Rh3 { is a better move order. }) 10... Be7 (10... h5!? { would be my preference. It's hard for White to make use of
the move Rh1-h3, since Black can block the g-file with ... Nf6-g4 in many
cases. }) 11. h5 h6 { Gukesh has correctly avoided trading on f1; now White must
force the issue himself in order to complete development. } 12. a4 Bxf1 13. Kxf1 O-O 14. Kg1 { The opening stage of the game has concluded. Black has done
nothing contrary to classical principles and it's difficult to imagine him
facing any problems here. However, the position is very non-standard and now
Firouzja's natural creativity comes to the fore. } 14... Qc6 15. Ne5 Nxe5 16. dxe5 Nd7 17. Rg3 Kh8 { It's difficult for White to continue his kingside initiative. In
particular, White is thwarted by the slight weakness of the a4-pawn. Firouzja
makes a Solomonian decision: just sacrifice it! } 18. a5!? (18. Nf3 { is met by } 18... Nc5) (18. Ra1!? { would be the choice of a more cautious player. }) 18... Qc7 19. Nf3 Qxa5 20. c4 { Sharpening the game considerably. } (20. Bxh6!? gxh6 21. Qd2 Kh7 22. Qd3+ Kh8 23. Qd2 { gives White nothing more than a draw. }) 20... Rg8 21. Ra1?! { A typical decision for Firouzja: choosing the most ambitious
option, even when it's not the objectively correct one. } (21. b4 { is met by } 21... Qa2! (21... Bxb4? 22. cxd5 exd5? 23. e6! fxe6 24. Nh4 { suddenly gives
White a decisive attack. }) 22. cxd5 (22. c5? a5!) 22... Qxd5 23. Qxd5 exd5 { and only Black can be better. }) (21. cxd5 { is probably the most White can get
out of the position. } 21... Qxd5 22. Qxd5 exd5 23. Rd1 Nb6!? 24. Nd4 $44 { White's
compensation is enough for the pawn, but not for more. }) 21... Qb4! { Over
the next few moves, Gukesh is able to activate his pieces. It seems hard to
believe that Black could lose this position, but Firouzja continues to play
very resourcefully. } 22. b3 Nc5 23. Nd4 Ne4 24. Re3 Qc5 25. Rc1 Rgd8 { Allowing
counterplay. However, it's not clear if the alternatives were better. } (25... Rac8!? { Prevents both b3-b4 and c4xd5, but allows } 26. f3 Ng5 27. Rec3 { and White still has some counterplay. }) 26. b4! { White has to play this, as
Black was just one move away from consolidating his position with ... Ra8-c8. } 26... Qxb4 (26... Qb6 27. cxd5 exd5 28. Rf3! Bxb4 29. Be3 { is also unclear. }) 27. cxd5 Nxf2! { The most incisive. } (27... exd5 28. Rb3 Qa4 29. Rxb7 Qxd1+ 30. Rxd1 { doesn't pose White with enough problems. }) 28. Kxf2 Rxd5 29. Re4 Rad8?! { A natural move, but not the best plan. From this point onwards the effects of
mutual time trouble were clearly felt. } (29... a5! { While the knight on d4
is pinned, Black should have begun to advance his queenside majority. White
can offer the trade of queens with } 30. Qd2 { , but after } 30... Qxd2+ (30... Qb6 { allows } 31. Bxh6!) 31. Bxd2 a4 { Black has a significantly better version of
the game. }) 30. Be3 Bc5 31. Qb3! Qxb3 32. Nxb3 Bxe3+ 33. Rxe3 a5 34. Rc7 { At this point I predicted that Firouzja would win the game. Black's position,
while objectively fine, is much more difficult to navigate in a time scramble,
especially with no increment. } 34... a4 35. Nc5 Ra8 36. Nd7! { An excellent move,
found with less than one minute remaining on the clock. Gukesh had clearly
missed this, and with so little time remaining, he was unable to react
correctly to the unpleasant surprise. } 36... Kh7? { The losing mistake. } (36... a3 { reveals White's beautiful point: } 37. Rxa3!! Rxa3? (37... Rd8! 38. Nc5 Rxe5 { still offers good drawing chances. }) 38. Rc8+ Kh7 39. Nf8+ Kg8 40. Ng6+ Kh7 41. Rh8# { and White mates. }) (36... Rd2+ 37. Ke1 Rxg2? { is probably the
other line that Gukesh saw: White wins with } (37... Rd4 { must be played. }) 38. Rec3!) (36... b5! { looks like the best practical decision. } 37. Rf3 b4! (37... Kg8 38. Nb6 Rd2+ 39. Kg3 Rf8 $14 { should also hold. At the very least,
Black will be able to make time control. }) 38. Rxf7 (38. Nb6 Rd2+ 39. Kg1 Rb8 40. Nxa4 b3 41. Rfxf7 Ra2! 42. Nc3 Rc2! { and Black defends. }) 38... Rxd7! 39. Rfxd7 b3 40. Rxg7 a3 { and Black is just fast enough to make a draw. }) 37. Rf3! { Suddenly, Black cannot defend f7. } 37... a3 (37... Kg8 38. Nb6 Rd2+ 39. Kg3 Rf8 40. Ra3 Re2 41. Nd7 { White will comfortably pick up the a4- and b7-pawns
without losing any of his own. }) 38. Rxf7 Kh8 { Gukesh played this move with
just two seconds left on the clock. Firouzja did not have much more, but that
did not stop him from finding the merciless } 39. Nf8! a2 40. Ng6+ { Black has
reached move 40, but it is too late. An absolutely incredible finish. } 1-0