[Event "FIDE Candidates Tournament"] [Date "2022.07.04"] [Round "14.1"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2764"] [WhiteTeam "Hungary"] [BlackElo "2753"] [BlackTeam "Azerbaijan"] [Annotator "Aagaard"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "C65"] [Opening "Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense"] [StudyName "2022 FIDE Candidates - Annotated by GM Jacob Aagaard"] [ChapterName "Rapport, Richard - Radjabov, Teimour"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/fhBzjnqz/4dohMYkd"] [Orientation "white"] { [%evp 0,44,19,38,25,16,14,23,13,19,13,-8,16,16,-6,2,12,0,33,34,42,38,43,43,72, 71,72,72,62,52,65,56,71,51,50,28,34,24,35,50,50,-114,-118,-119,-123,-119,-78] Rapport got a serious advantage against the Berlin (for the first time in the tournament!) and then squandered it all by being unnecessarily creative. } 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 { I feel compelled to quote my student GM Sam Shankland from his Chessable course on this opening for Black, where he indicated that the black king is much safer on c8 or b8 than on g8 or h8 in this structure. We shall see why this is the case. } 6. Nbd2 Be6 7. O-O Bd6 8. Nb3 c5 9. Na5 Qc8 { Both players are a bit outside opening theory, one would expect. But opening theory has been here before. } 10. b3 (10. Ng5! $14 { was played in a game between two strong amateurs. The direction is important to understand. } 10... Bg4 11. f3 Bh5 12. Qe1 h6?! { A logical and bad plan. } 13. Nh3 g5?! 14. f4! { Not necessary, but incredibly strong. } 14... gxf4 15. Nxf4 Bg4 16. Ng6 fxg6 17. Rxf6 { was totally winning for White in Dujava - Sahidi, Slovakia 2017, although he later lost. }) 10... O-O? $146 (10... h6? 11. Bb2 Bg4 { gave White a serious advantage in Zivkovic - Matanovic, Bosnjaci 2015. Here ... h7-h6 does not seem to help Black much in this structure, but it is a tempo down the drain. }) (10... b6! 11. Nc4 Bxc4! 12. bxc4 Qe6 { would give Black a perfectly solid position. All the crisis points are on dark squares, so the bishop is not as bad as it looks at first glance. }) 11. Bb2 Bg4 12. Nc4 Re8 13. a4!? { Securing the knight. Later White might take on d6 and play f2-f4. Not necessarily in that order. } (13. Ne3! { looks even stronger, but there is nothing wrong with the white move in the game. }) (13. h3 { is also possible. }) 13... Bh5 14. Qe2 Nd7 15. Qe3 Qd8 16. Kh1! { This move is useful later. } 16... f6 17. Rg1!? (17. Nh4 Nf8 18. g3 $16 { with quiet improvement of the position would have secured White a clear advantage also. There is no counterplay for Black. }) 17... Bf7 18. g4 h6?! { Simply weakening the kingside. The positional play in this tournament has been lower in quality than we have been accustomed to. } 19. g5? { Trying to crash through. } (19. Nh4 Nf8 20. Nf5 Ne6 21. h4 { with a steady build-up would have been horrifying for Black. }) 19... fxg5? { This is bad, but it does not matter, as Rapport's intentions are silly. } (19... hxg5! { was the strongest. After } 20. h4 { Black can play } 20... Bxc4 21. bxc4 Kf7! $15 { , getting the king out of the kill zone and freeing up space for the e8-rook. }) 20. Nxg5? { This piece sacrifice seems a lot more unclear than it really is. } (20. h4! $16 { was very strong. I cannot work out what Radjabov was planning to play. }) 20... hxg5? { There was a direct refutation available. } (20... Bxc4! 21. bxc4 hxg5 22. Rxg5 Be7! $19 { and ...Bf6, when White is just a piece down. The important b2-g7 diagonal would be in full control of the black forces. }) 21. Rxg5 Qf6 (21... Bxc4! { is still strongest. After } 22. Rag1! { (a key move, without which White would again be lost) } 22... Bf8 23. bxc4 Re6!? $15 { Stockfish thinks the chances are 0.00, although I am a bit more optimistic about Black's practical chances. }) 22. Rag1 Bf8 23. Rf5? { Losing the control of the h-file and thus the game. } (23. Qh3 { was better. A possible continuation was } 23... Be6 24. Qg2 Bxc4 25. bxc4 Re6 26. f4 $44 { with a lot of counterplay. The chances are apparently even. }) 23... Qh4! 24. Nd2? { White could still fight with } (24. Nxe5 Nxe5 25. Bxe5 Rxe5 26. Rxe5 Bd6 27. Qg5 Qh7 28. f4 Bxe5 29. Qxe5 { , although after } 29... Qh6 $17 { , his position looks shaky. Maybe a computer can hold it together. Notice that } 30. Qxc7?! { misses the threat of } 30... Bh5! 31. Rg3 Rf8 { , when Black wins. }) 24... Re6! 25. f4 Rg6 { The attack is over. Black is a piece up. } 26. Nf3 Qh3 27. fxe5 Rxg1+ 28. Qxg1 Bh5 29. Ng5 Qg4 30. Qe3 Be7 31. e6 Rf8! 32. Nf7 (32. exd7 Rxf5 33. exf5 Bxg5 34. Qe8+ Kh7 35. d8=Q Qf3+ 36. Kg1 Be3+ { and soon mate. }) 32... Bxf7 33. exd7 Be6 { 0-1 Black wins. } 0-1