[Event "U.S. Championship"] [Site "St Louis"] [Date "2023.10.08"] [Round "4.4"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Swiercz, Dariusz"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2786"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackElo "2620"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [Annotator "Davis Zong Jr."] [Variant "From Position"] [ECO "?"] [Opening "?"] [StudyName "2023 U.S. Championships rds 1-9"] [ChapterName "Caruana, Fabiano - Swiercz, Dariusz"] [FEN "6k1/5p2/1p2nB2/p1pQ2p1/P1P1P1q1/1P4P1/5K2/8 b - - 0 50"] [SetUp "1"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/b0nfXV2i/WCLjrrG4"] [Orientation "white"] 50... Qh5!? { We start our analysis with this natural queen retreat. While this move isn't a mistake in itself, as Caruana pointed out in post-mortem analysis, it highlights the possibility that Swiercz desires a queen trade, thus leading to the hope of a bishop-versus-knight grind that Caruana would welcome. } (50... Qh3! { would have committed to the perpetual check plan. Although the pin on the f8-knight looks lethal, White's loose e7-bishop ensures the perpetual. Of course, such a series of precise checks isn't easy to see under time trouble. } 51. Qa8+ Nf8 52. Be7 Qh2+ 53. Kf3 Qh1+! { A key move, as pointed out by Caruana. } 54. Kg4 Qd1+! 55. Kxg5 Qd2+! 56. Kh5 (56. Kf6?? { White can't venture too far due to the loose bishop. } 56... Qh6+! 57. Kf5 Qe6+ $19) 56... Qh2+ 57. Kg4 Qe2+) 51. Qa8+ Kh7?! (51... Nf8! { transposes to the same perpetual check plan, but Black's 50th move revealed that he was committed on trading queens. } 52. Be7 Qh2+) 52. Qh8+ Kg6 53. Qxh5+ Kxh5 54. Be5 $14 { Objectively, this is still a draw with perfect play, but the bishop is the only one who can press here. } 54... Kg4 55. Bb8 f5 56. exf5 Kxf5 57. Ba7 Nd4 58. Bxb6 Nxb3 59. Ke3 g4?! { A slight inaccuracy. Fixing the pawn structure cuts off the king's path to the pawn. } (59... Kg4! { As it turns out, Black survives this race by one tempo! The engine gives White an advantage at first, but deeper calculation reveals the draw. } 60. Bc7 Kh3 61. Kd3 g4 62. Kc3 Nd4 63. Bxa5 Kxg3 64. Bb6 Ne6! { A key middle-move that protects both the c5- and c7-squares. Now it's basically a king-pawn endgame since neither the bishop nor the knight can help with the pawns. } 65. a5 Kf2 66. a6 g3 { Definitely not a time-trouble friendly line! }) 60. Bc7 Ke6 61. Ke4 Nd2+ 62. Kd3 Nb3 63. Bf4 Kf5?? (63... Nd4! { Black is barely holding on, but the knight provides enough counterplay. } 64. Be3 Ke5 65. Bf4+ Ke6 66. Bc7 Nb3 $14 67. Kc3 Nd4 68. Bxa5 Ne2+ 69. Kd3 Nxg3 70. Bb6 Kd6 71. a5 Kc6 { King to the rescue! Wrong-colored rook pawn makes this a guaranteed draw. }) 64. Be3! { Caruana immediately finds the win. } 64... Ke5 65. Bh6!! { "Dark magic" according to commentator GM Cristan Chirilla. The bishop is perfect on c3 and this is the best route. } 65... Kf5 66. Bg7 Nc1+ 67. Kd2 Nb3+ 68. Ke3 Kg6 69. Bb2 Kf5 70. Bc3! $18 { A brilliant position. Black is in zugzwang. Moving the knight drops the a5-pawn while moving the king allows White's king entry. The rest is simply mopping up. } 70... Kg5 71. Ke4 Kg6 72. Kf4 Kh5 73. Kf5 Nc1 74. Bxa5 Ne2 75. Bc7 Nd4+ 76. Ke4 Nc6 77. Bd6 Na5 78. Kd5 Kg6 79. Bxc5 Kf5 80. Bb6 { 1-0 White wins. } 1-0