[Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku"] [Date "2023.08.10"] [Round "4.2"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Robson, Ray"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2782"] [BlackElo "2699"] [Annotator "Lang,JJ"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "C54"] [Opening "Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo, with d6"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/QLPThvQV/AlnhU4aM"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 d6 6. O-O a5 { Robson begins a quest to take Caruana out of theory. This is the sixth most popular move for Black here. } 7. Re1 Ba7 { Far less popular than castling. } 8. Nbd2 { White slowed down before playing this move, presumably thrown off by Black's last two moves, but continued to play quickly and accurately after "catching his breath" here. } 8... h6 { This position has only been reached three times. Black clearly wants to castle short, so the inclusion of the previous three moves before inevitably castling is unusual. This was also Black's first "think" of the game. } 9. Nf1 O-O 10. Ng3 Ne7 11. h3 Ng6 12. Bb3 { Because of this thing in chess called "transposition," we are now in a position that has been reached 24 times, mostly with favorable results for White. Who tricked who? } 12... Be6 13. Bc2 c5 $146 { The computer seems to like this move, but considering that Robson took 30 minutes to reach this position and another 25 to play this move, it was unlikely home cooking. } 14. d4 { If White wants to play this move, this is the time to do it. Any additional maneuvering, such as } (14. Ba4 { would allow Black to muddle up the center: } 14... Qc7 15. d4?! exd4 16. cxd4 d5!? 17. e5 Ne4 18. Nxe4 dxe4 19. d5 $13) 14... cxd4 15. cxd4 Qb6 16. Be3 Qxb2 17. Bb3 { The best moves up until this point. } 17... Bxb3 18. axb3 Qc3!? (18... d5! { is a move the computer is optimistic about. This illustrates the negative side of deep prep. The computer has thought Black's position was fine all game, and that grabbing the pawn on b2 was best. But it takes a lot of "digging around" in variations to realize that there are some where Black's equality entirely hinges on such a precise and dangerous-seeming move. } 19. dxe5 (19. exd5?! exd4 20. Bxd4 Bxd4 21. Qxd4 Qxd4 22. Nxd4 Rfd8 $15) (19. Rxa5 exd4 20. Nxd4 Nxe4 21. Nxe4 dxe4 22. Ra4) 19... Nxe4 20. Nxe4 dxe4 21. Bxa7! (21. Nd4? Rad8 $19) 21... Rxa7 22. Rxe4 b6) 19. Nf5 Qc7 (19... Rfd8! { was the best way to prevent White's attack, as now } 20. Bxh6 gxh6 21. Rc1 Qb4 22. Rc4 { allows White's queen to get to the c1-h6 diagonal, but after } 22... Qb5 23. Qd2 Qe8! { Black's queen is back in time to cover the weaknesses. }) 20. Bxh6! { As an insight into how strong players think, Caruana took less than a minute to play this move, but spent ten minutes on moving the knight to f5 last turn. } 20... gxh6 21. Qd2! { Silent, but deadly. } 21... Nf4 22. g3 N6h5 (22... Kh8 23. gxf4 exd4 { apparently offers more chances, since now both kings are weak, but White's dominant center leaves his position for choice. }) 23. gxf4 Nxf4 24. Kh1 Kh7 25. Rxa5 Bb6 (25... Qb6 { was an interesting try, at least forcing White to realize that he ought not capture on e5. } 26. Raa1 (26. dxe5? dxe5 27. Nxe5 Qxf2 $44)) 26. dxe5! { It was over, but now it's over-over. } 26... dxe5 (26... Bxa5 27. Qxf4 { forces mate. }) 27. Rxe5 { 1-0 White wins. } 1-0