[Event "2023 U.S. Chess Championship"] [Site "Saint Louis, United States"] [Date "2023.10.16"] [Round "10.1"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Mishra, Abhimanyu"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2782"] [BlackElo "2591"] [Annotator "GM Elshan Moradiabadi"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B52"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Moscow Variation, Main Line"] [StudyName "2023 U.S. Championship rds 10-11 + Yip annotations"] [ChapterName "Caruana, Fabiano - Mishra, Abhimanyu"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/Q3zMf6GZ/C0LgHcP3"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 { Well, this is a game for all of us to look at. Caruana's 2023 is getting better. After a slow start, winning the U.S. championship is Caruana's fourth consecutive positive result. The U.S. number one must be already looking forward to the 2023 Grand Swiss, where he will try to win the title as the top seed. } 1... c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. c4!? { An interesting sideline surprise for the booked-up Mishra, who is having a great run in his U. S. championship debutant. Among the top GMs, Sanan Sjugirov relatively regularly employs this pawn structure against both 3. ... Bd7 and 3. ...Nd7. } 4... Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Bxd7+ Qxd7 7. O-O Bg7 { After a few back-and-forth shuffles, we have transposed to the well-known channels. Soon, a Maroczy bind will ensue. } 8. d4 cxd4 9. Qxd4!? { Caruana avoids 9. Nxd4. He opts for something less common. } 9... Nc6 10. Qd3 O-O 11. Bd2 { All these ideas are well-known. } 11... a6 12. Rab1!? { An interesting prophylactic move against Black's thematic ... b7-b5. } 12... Ng4 { Thematic. Black tries to trade a pair of knight and tactically make use of the d5-square. } (12... b5?! 13. cxb5 axb5 14. Qxb5 Rfb8 { and now the b2-pawn is protected and White can reply with Qb5-c4. } 15. Qc4) (12... Rfb8 13. a4 b6 14. Rfd1 Qb7 { More solid is this move, with the idea of ... Nf6-d7-c5, but it does not fully solve Black's problems. It seems that Mishra found himself in a position where he has fewer forcing choices than one would like to have. }) 13. Qe2 Rfc8?! { This is a tempo-losing move. } (13... Nge5 14. b3 Qg4!) 14. Nd5 (14. h3 { seems like a better choice. } 14... Nge5 15. Nxe5 Nxe5 16. b3 e6 { otherwise Nc3-d5 was dangerous. } 17. a4 $14) 14... Qd8 15. Bc3? (15. b3 e6 16. Nb4 Nge5 17. Nxc6 Nxf3+ 18. Qxf3 Rxc6 19. a4 { with a balanced position. Caruana decided to take his chances, which worked in this case like most of this event. }) 15... Bxc3? { This is a serious strategic error. Now the knight on d5 has even more power. } (15... e6! 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. Ne3 Nxe3 18. Qxe3 Ne5 { should suffice for a draw. }) 16. bxc3! { Obviously. } 16... Rab8 { [#] } 17. c5!! { A deep positional concept . A double exclam for the champion! } 17... Nce5 (17... dxc5 18. Nb6 Rc7 19. Rfd1 Qe8 20. e5! { Now both of Black's knights are awkward. } 20... e6 21. Qe4 f5 22. Qf4 Rg7 23. Rd6! $18 (23. h3? g5 24. Nxg5 Ngxe5)) 18. Nxe5 Nxe5 19. f4 Nd7 20. cxd6 exd6 { The knight on d5 is a monster now. } 21. f5 Qg5 22. Rf4 (22. Rf3 Ne5 23. Rg3 Qd8 24. Qd2 { would have concluded matters much faster. }) 22... Ne5 23. Rbf1 Rc5 24. Qe3 Rf8 25. Qh3?! (25. fxg6 hxg6 26. Nf6+ Kg7 27. h4 Qh6 28. Qd4 Rc6 29. Nd7 $18) 25... Rxd5 26. exd5 Re8 27. fxg6 fxg6 28. Qe3 Qd8 29. h3 Kg7 30. Qd4 Re7 31. Rf6 (31. c4 b6 32. Rf8 { wins on the spot. }) 31... Rd7 32. Qf4 Rc7 33. Qb4 Nc4 34. R6f2 Qg5 35. Qa4 Qe3 36. Qd1 Qxc3 37. Rf3 Qd2 38. Qa1+ Ne5 39. Rd1 Qc2 40. Rf2 Qe4 41. a4 { Caruana's technique is not meticulous, but it sufficed as he maintained a winning advantage the whole time. A deserved victory for the now-three-time U. S. champion! } 41... h5 42. a5 Qe3 43. Qb2 g5 44. Qb6 Qxb6 45. axb6 Rc5 46. Rf5 Kg6 47. Rdf1 Rxd5 48. Rf8 g4 49. Rg8+ Kh7 50. Rb8 Rb5 51. Rxb7+ Kg6 52. hxg4 hxg4 53. Rb8 Kg7 54. Kh2 Rb3 55. Rc1 Kf6 56. Rc7 Ng6 57. b7 g3+ 58. Kh3 Nf4+ 59. Kg4 Ne6 60. Rd7 Nc5 61. Rxd6+ Ke5 62. Rc6 Nd7 63. Re8+ Kd5 64. Rxa6 Rxb7 65. Kxg3 Rb3+ 66. Kh4 Nc5 67. Ra5 Kd6 68. g4 Kd7 69. Re1 Nb7 70. Ra7 Kc6 71. g5 Kb6 72. Rxb7+ Kxb7 73. g6 Kc6 74. g7 Rb8 75. Kh5 Kd5 { 1-0 White wins. } 1-0