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....c52.Nf3d63.Bb5+Bd74.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....Nf65.Nc3g66.Bxd7+Qxd77.O-OBg7After a few back-and-forth shuffles,
we have transposed to the well-known channels. Soon, a Maroczy bind will ensue.8.d4cxd49.Qxd4!?...Caruana avoids 9. Nxd4. He opts for something less
common.9....Nc610.Qd3O-O11.Bd2...All these ideas are well-known.11....a612.Rab1!?...An interesting prophylactic move against Black's thematic ... b7-b5.12....Ng4Thematic. Black tries to trade a pair of knight and tactically make use of the
d5-square.12...b5?!13.cxb5axb514.Qxb5Rfb8and now the b2-pawn is
protected and White can reply with Qb5-c4.15.Qc412...Rfb813.a4b614.Rfd1Qb7More 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.Qe2Rfc8?!This is a tempo-losing move.13...Nge514.b3Qg4!14.Nd5...14.h3seems like a better choice.Nge515.Nxe5Nxe516.b3e6otherwise Nc3-d5 was dangerous.17.a4⩲14....Qd815.Bc3?...15.b3e616.Nb4Nge517.Nxc6Nxf3+18.Qxf3Rxc619.a4with 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.Bxg7Kxg717.Ne3Nxe318.Qxe3Ne5should suffice for a draw.16.bxc3!...Obviously.16....Rab8[#]17.c5!!...A deep positional concept . A double exclam for the champion!17....Nce517...dxc518.Nb6Rc719.Rfd1Qe820.e5!Now both of Black's knights are
awkward.e621.Qe4f522.Qf4Rg723.Rd6!+−(23.h3?g524.Nxg5Ngxe5)18.Nxe5Nxe519.f4Nd720.cxd6exd6The knight on d5 is a monster now.21.f5Qg522.Rf4...22.Rf3Ne523.Rg3Qd824.Qd2would have concluded
matters much faster.22....Ne523.Rbf1Rc524.Qe3Rf825.Qh3?!...25.fxg6hxg626.Nf6+Kg727.h4Qh628.Qd4Rc629.Nd7+−25....Rxd526.exd5Re827.fxg6fxg628.Qe3Qd829.h3Kg730.Qd4Re731.Rf6...31.c4b632.Rf8wins on the spot.31....Rd732.Qf4Rc733.Qb4Nc434.R6f2Qg535.Qa4Qe336.Qd1Qxc337.Rf3Qd238.Qa1+Ne539.Rd1Qc240.Rf2Qe441.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....h542.a5Qe343.Qb2g544.Qb6Qxb645.axb6Rc546.Rf5Kg647.Rdf1Rxd548.Rf8g449.Rg8+Kh750.Rb8Rb551.Rxb7+Kg652.hxg4hxg453.Rb8Kg754.Kh2Rb355.Rc1Kf656.Rc7Ng657.b7g3+58.Kh3Nf4+59.Kg4Ne660.Rd7Nc561.Rxd6+Ke562.Rc6Nd763.Re8+Kd564.Rxa6Rxb765.Kxg3Rb3+66.Kh4Nc567.Ra5Kd668.g4Kd769.Re1Nb770.Ra7Kc671.g5Kb672.Rxb7+Kxb773.g6Kc674.g7Rb875.Kh5Kd51-0 White wins.1-0