[Event "FIDE Candidates Tournament"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/fhBzjnqz/9P8XZKOj"] [Date "2022.06.17"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2750"] [WhiteTeam "Poland"] [BlackElo "2764"] [BlackTeam "Hungary"] [Annotator "Aagaard"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B44"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation"] [StudyName "2022 FIDE Candidates - Annotated by GM Jacob Aagaard"] [ChapterName "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof - Rapport, Richard"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/fhBzjnqz/9P8XZKOj"] [Orientation "white"] { [%evp 0,89,24,8,62,66,44,28,35,22,34,19,35,18,22,-3,32,8,26,45,32,32,32,45,53, 52,52,53,62,62,64,67,86,56,64,66,66,60,58,69,97,94,94,86,81,71,96,86,81,76,70, 39,39,33,39,32,24,27,81,38,35,14,62,72,76,69,76,41,41,41,40,39,37,0,7,10,6,6, 12,12,42,42,58,37,37,12,54,45,45,33,33,45] Duda surprises Rapport with a Rapport-style opening treatment and quickly gets a winning position after a curious opening mistake from the "Hungarian." Lacklustre play at the critical moment spoils the advantage. Later, a chance to get a winning ending is missed by Duda, suggesting that he is not quite ready to perform on the very top level. } 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Bf4!? d6 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 $146 (7. c4 Rb8 8. Qc2 e5 9. Be3 Nf6 10. Nc3 $14 { 1/2-1/2 (62) Rapport,R (2763) -Caruana,F (2806) Saint Louis 2021 }) 7... Ne7 (7... Rb8 8. O-O!? Rxb2 9. Nd2 $44) 8. c4 g6? { A horrible weakening of the dark squares. } (8... c5 9. Nc3 Nc6) 9. c5 e5 (9... d5 10. Nd2 Bg7 11. Bd6 { would also give White an overwhelming advantage. It is important to understand that after } 11... O-O 12. O-O Bxb2?! 13. Rb1 Bg7 14. e5 { Black would be entirely tied up. The extra pawn counts for naught. }) 10. Bg5 Bg7 11. cxd6 Qxd6 12. O-O Be6 13. Na3!? { A bit awkward. 13.Nc3 with the idea Na4-c5 felt more natural. And the computer says that } (13. Ba6! Qxd1 14. Rxd1 f6 15. Be3 Kf7 16. Nd2 { is completely winning. The knight is coming to b3 or c4, and from there to a5, c5 or d6. }) 13... Rd8 14. Be2 Qxd1 15. Rfxd1 Rxd1+ { The first critical moment of the game. } 16. Bxd1? { A horrible move. White obviously would prefer to play } (16. Rxd1! { , which is only negatable because of } 16... Bxa2 { , when 17.Nc4!? is tempting, giving White a clear advantage. But even more convincing is } 17. Nb5! (17. Nc4 Bxc4 18. Bxc4 h6 19. Be3 Nc8 20. Ba6 Nb6 21. Rd6 { and White is technically winning, even if a lot of moves remain. }) 17... f6 18. Nd6+ Kd8! (18... Kf8 19. Be3 { is just winning. Black cannot get the pieces out. }) 19. Be3 Kc7 20. Nb7! Bf7 21. b4 { White has a winning initiative, although more moves remain. }) 16... Kd7 17. Be2 Nc8 $14 { White is still better, but he has certainly lost the moment. Over the next ten moves what remains of his advantage slowly dissipates. } 18. Rd1+ Kc7 19. Bc4 Bg4 20. f3 f6 21. Be3 Bd7 22. Be2 h5 23. Nc2 Bf8 24. a3 a5 25. Kf1 Be6 26. Bd2 Kb6 27. Ne3 Nd6 28. Rc1 c5 29. Be1 Bh6 30. Rd1 Rd8? { Somehow this is a big blunder. } (30... Kc6 31. Nd5 Rb8 $132 { would have been perfectly fine. }) 31. Nd5+ Bxd5 32. Rxd5 Be3 (32... Nb7 { loses after } 33. Rxd8 Nxd8 34. Bc4 Bc1 35. a4! Bxb2 36. Ke2 { , which is by no means obvious. A key point is that after } 36... Bd4 37. g4! { White either creates a massive weakness on h5, or gets a passed h-pawn. A lot of play remains, but White seems strategically winning. }) 33. Rd3? (33. a4! { would be an even better version of the previous variation. White is not parting with the b-pawn here. The structure favors White and the two bishops will put pressure on a5, g6 and h5. It is just too many weaknesses to handle. Carlsen would have salivated and crushed Black in a disgustingly brutal, slow manner... }) 33... Bd4 34. Rb3+ Kc6 35. Bxa5 Ra8 36. Rb6+ Kd7 37. Ra6 Rxa6 38. Bxa6 Bxb2 39. a4 c4 40. Bb4 h4 41. Ke2 Kc6 42. Ba5 Bc1 43. Bd8 Bg5 44. Kd1 Kd7 45. Bb6 Kc6 46. a5 Bf4 47. Kc2 f5 48. Kc3 fxe4 49. fxe4 Nxe4+ 50. Kxc4 Nd6+ 51. Kb4 Bxh2 52. Be2 e4 53. Bc5 Nf5 54. Bb5+ Kc7 55. Bb6+ Kb7 56. Bc4 Nd6 57. Be2 Kc6 58. Bc5 Nf5 59. Bb5+ Kc7 60. a6 Bd6 61. a7 Bxc5+ 62. Kxc5 Kb7 63. Bc6+ Kxa7 64. Bxe4 Ne3 65. Kd4 Nxg2 66. Bxg2 g5 67. Bh3 g4 68. Bxg4 h3 69. Bxh3 { 1/2-1/2 The game is a draw. } 1/2-1/2