[Event "U.S. Championship"] [Site "St Louis"] [Date "2023.10.15"] [Round "9.4"] [White "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2667"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackElo "2786"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [Annotator "WGM Katerina Nemcova"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "C54"] [Opening "Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/b0nfXV2i/la9PRMVj"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 a5 6. O-O d6 7. Re1 Ba7!? { This move gained popularity after Magnus Carlsen played it during the 2021 World Championship match against Ian Nepomniachtchi. The idea is that Black does not castle immediately, aiming to tempt White to play Bc1-g5. Then, he would kick the bishop with both the g and h pawns. } 8. Nbd2 O-O { Since the white knight is blocking the bishop on c1, Black can castle without worrying about Bg5 and the pin on the f6-knight. } (8... h6 { Both players have played a game with this continuation. } 9. Nf1 O-O 10. Ng3 (10. h3 Re8 11. Ng3 Be6 12. Bb5 Bd7 13. Ba4 Ne7 14. Bc2 a4 15. d4 Ng6 { was a win for Black in Santos Latasa – Niemann, Warsaw, 2021. }) 10... Ne7 11. h3 Ng6 12. Bb3 Be6 13. Bc2 c5 { was a quick win for White in 14 more moves in Caruana – Robson, Baku, 2023. }) 9. h3 Be6 10. Bb5 { White does not want to allow the trade of light-squared bishops. } (10. Bxe6 fxe6 { This exchange brings no advantage for White. Black's pawn on a5 gains space on the queenside and the double pawn provides Black with an open file. White does not have a clear plan as the usual advance on the queenside with b2-b4 and a2-a4 does not work here. } 11. Nf1 Nh5 12. Be3 Nf4 13. Bxa7 Rxa7) 10... Ne7 11. d4 Ng6 12. Ba4!? { This move is somewhat prophylactic. White does not want to allow ... c7-c6 with a tempo. } 12... Nh5!? { Black also has a nice plan - transferring the knight to the f4-square. } 13. Nf1 (13. Nxe5?! { This looks promising at first sight. However, Black has some good moves in his sleeve to equalize. } 13... dxe5 14. Qxh5 exd4! 15. Nf3 dxc3 16. bxc3 Qf6! 17. e5 Qf5 18. Qxf5 Bxf5) 13... Nhf4 14. Ng3 exd4 15. Nxd4 (15. cxd4 { Caruana has recently played this variation with the White pieces. } 15... d5 16. e5 f6! 17. Bc2 fxe5 18. Nxe5 Qf6 19. Nxg6 Nxg6 20. Be3 Rae8 { was a draw in 63 moves. Caruana – Huschenbeth, Dusseldorf, 2023. }) 15... Bxd4!? { One may find it surprising that Caruana decided to give up his pair of bishops, and especially the good-looking a7-bishop. However, it turns out that Black has some direct active continuation after this trade hoping to break-in in the center and activate his knights still via the f4-square. } 16. cxd4 d5 17. e5?! { This move is inaccurate, allowing Black some active play. } (17. Qf3 { In a post-game analysis, Caruana mentioned that he expected this move instead. After which he planned on playing } 17... dxe4 18. Nxe4 Qxd4 19. Bxf4 Qxa4 { with equal play. }) 17... f6? { This move is too slow for Black. Caruana called it the "lazy move". } (17... Qh4! { Activating the queen is very strong as Black is immediately creating pressure on the kingside and potentially planning for some sacrifices on the g2 or h3-square. } 18. Bxf4 (18. Be3?? Nxg2!! 19. Kxg2 Qxh3+ 20. Kg1 Nh4 21. Qf3 Nxf3#) 18... Nxf4 19. Bc2 (19. Qf3? f6! 20. exf6 Rxf6 $19 { and Black will have a crushing attack. }) 19... f6!? 20. Nf5! Qg5 21. Qg4 $15 { and White better try to exchange queens to neutralize the attack on kingside. }) 18. Bxf4! Nxf4 19. Nh5! $14 { Niemann found the best way to take advantage of the f6-move. Black has some issues over the e-file and has no further trade. At the end, Black will have a passive bishop on e6-square. } 19... Nxh5 20. Qxh5 f5 (20... fxe5 21. Rxe5 Bf7 22. Qe2 $14 { White controls the e-file, has better development and overall a slightly better position. }) 21. f4! { White is cementing the pawn structure and the d5 and f5 pawns on light squares. In the future, White aims to push for g2-g4 to break-in on the kingside. } 21... Qe7 22. a3!? { Niemann is stopping ... Qe7-b4 ideas. } (22. Rac1!? { With the aim to stop ... c7-c5. } 22... Qb4 23. Qd1! b5 24. Rc6! bxa4 (24... Bd7 25. Rxc7 $18) 25. Rxe6 Qxb2 26. Re2 $16) 22... c5!? { Black is quickly launching a counterattack on the queenside and the center. } 23. Rac1 c4 24. Qd1 (24. Bb5!? { The main goal of this move is to not allow the ... b7-b5 push. } 24... g6 (24... a4? 25. Qd1! { And Black may end up loosing the a-pawn. }) 25. Qd1 g5!? { Quite an unusual way to play; however, Black's pieces are ready to push on the kingside. } 26. b3! { White is targeting the queenside pawns to open up the c-file and target the b7- and d5-pawns. } 26... Rac8 27. Kh2 $13 { With unclear play on both sides. }) 24... Kh8!? { Black is not hiding his plan. It removes the kings from the g8-square so the rook can go there and open up the g-file. } 25. Bb5? { This move is a step in the wrong direction. It is too slow to push for the b2-b3 push now. } (25. Rc3!? { It was better for White to prepare for Black's advancement on the kingside. The idea is that when Black plays ... g7-g5, he will also leave an open f-file and the target on f5. } 25... Rg8 26. Rf1 g5 27. fxg5 Qxg5 28. Rf2 $14) 25... g5! 26. b3? { This plan looks good for this type of a pawn structure. It targets the c4-pawn wished to get a free passer on the d-file. However, it gives up the a3-pawn and overall is not on time for its purpose. } (26. Rf1! { Again, it was better to get ready to oppose Black's attack on the kingside and, especially the g-file. } 26... Rg8 27. Rc3 gxf4 28. Rf2) 26... gxf4 27. bxc4 Rg8! { Caruana is immediately getting his rook on the g-file and plans threats with the ... f4-f3 push. } 28. Rc3 dxc4! 29. Bxc4 Bxc4 30. Rxc4 Qxa3! { Caruana is capturing a free pawn while attacking the next victim (the h3-pawn). } 31. Rc2 { Although Niemann is a pawn down, he has compensation with the connected pawns in the center. Anything is possible, as these pawns can advance and quickly complicate things for Black. } 31... f3 32. e6? (32. Rf2 { It was important to play defensively now. } 32... Rxg2+! (32... fxg2?! 33. Rf3! { Forcing the queen away from the third rank. } 33... Qb4 34. e6! { The position is equal according to the engine. For us humans, this means that both players have to play accurately here to keep the position balanced. }) 33. Rxg2 fxg2 34. Qd2 Qxh3 35. Qg5!? Qg4!? (35... Rg8 36. Qf6+ Rg7 37. Qf8+) 36. Qxg4 fxg4 $13 { And even this endgame is very difficult to assess accurately. White's connected pawns may prove as valuable as Black's four pawns. }) 32... fxg2! $19 33. Qe2 (33. Qh5 { Defending the h3-pawn will not prove good enough. Black will be able to activate his queens and collect the d4-pawn. Afterwards, there should be no issues with converting a three-pawn advantage. } 33... Qd3 34. Rf2 Qxd4 $19) 33... Qxh3 34. Qe5+ Rg7 35. Rcc1 Qh1+ 36. Kf2 Qh4+ 37. Ke2 (37. Kg1 f4! { Black's pawns are unstoppable. } 38. e7 Re8 39. Rc8? (39. d5 f3 $19) 39... Qh1+!! 40. Kf2 g1=Q+ 41. Rxg1 Qxg1+ $19) 37... f4 38. Rg1 Qg4+ 39. Kd2 f3 40. Ke3 Kg8 41. Rc2 Rf8 42. Rf2 h5 43. Qd5 Re8 { And everything is falling apart here. The pawn on e6 will be captured and a rook endgame with such active rooks and a pawn on g2 is easily winning for Black. } (44. Rxf3 Qxe6+ 45. Qxe6+ Rxe6+ 46. Kf2 Reg6 47. Rh3 a4 48. Rxh5 a3 49. Ra5 Ra6! $19) 0-1