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+Nf852.Be7Qh2+53.Kf3Qh1+!A key
move, as pointed out by Caruana.54.Kg4Qd1+!55.Kxg5Qd2+!56.Kh5(56.Kf6??White can't venture too far due to the loose bishop.Qh6+!57.Kf5Qe6+-+)Qh2+57.Kg4Qe2+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.Be7Qh2+52.Qh8+Kg653.Qxh5+Kxh554.Be5⩲...Objectively, this is still a draw with perfect play,
but the bishop is the only one who can press here.54....Kg455.Bb8f556.exf5Kxf557.Ba7Nd458.Bxb6Nxb359.Ke3g4?!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.Bc7Kh361.Kd3g462.Kc3Nd463.Bxa5Kxg364.Bb6Ne6!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.a5Kf266.a6g3Definitely not a time-trouble friendly line!60.Bc7Ke661.Ke4Nd2+62.Kd3Nb363.Bf4Kf5??63...Nd4!Black is barely holding on,
but the knight provides enough counterplay.64.Be3Ke565.Bf4+Ke666.Bc7Nb3⩲67.Kc3Nd468.Bxa5Ne2+69.Kd3Nxg370.Bb6Kd671.a5Kc6King to
the rescue! Wrong-colored rook pawn makes this a guaranteed draw.64.Be3!...Caruana immediately finds the win.64....Ke565.Bh6!!..."Dark magic" according to
commentator GM Cristan Chirilla. The bishop is perfect on c3 and this is the
best route.65....Kf566.Bg7Nc1+67.Kd2Nb3+68.Ke3Kg669.Bb2Kf570.Bc3!+−...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....Kg571.Ke4Kg672.Kf4Kh573.Kf5Nc174.Bxa5Ne275.Bc7Nd4+76.Ke4Nc677.Bd6Na578.Kd5Kg679.Bxc5Kf580.Bb61-0 White wins.1-0