[Event "FIDE Candidates Tournament"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/fhBzjnqz/UIhOfIiY"] [Date "2022.06.22"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2783"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackElo "2764"] [BlackTeam "Hungary"] [Annotator "Aagaard"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B46"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/fhBzjnqz/UIhOfIiY"] [Orientation "white"] { [%evp 0,47,19,31,72,53,43,52,35,54,40,55,88,51,24,37,33,35,51,42,76,71,55,55, 49,33,53,37,79,73,72,46,40,47,33,33,128,57,61,61,60,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0] Caruana got a good position in the Sicilian with an oddball idea. But then he started to played wacky moves and was soon worse. It is quite easy to see why the two games he was lost in during the 2018 World Championship match were with the white pieces in the Sicilian. This time he got away with a scare. } 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 a6 6. g4! { Surprisingly few games have been played in this variation. } 6... Nge7 7. Be3 b5 8. Nb3 (8. Bg2? { was tried in Piscopo-Fedorchuk, Porticcio 2019. } 8... Nxd4! 9. Qxd4 Nc6 $15) 8... Na5 9. Qd2 { Black was quickly winning after } (9. g5?! Nec6 10. Bg2 Nc4 { in SB Hansen - Andersson, Germany 2000. }) (9. h4! { appears to be the strongest continuation: } 9... Nxb3 (9... Bb7 10. Nc5) (9... Nc4 10. Bxc4 bxc4 11. Nd2 d5 12. Qe2!! d4 13. O-O-O e5 14. Nxc4 Qc7 15. Bxd4 exd4 16. Nd5 Qb8 17. Rxd4 $16) 10. axb3 Bb7 11. Bg2 $14) 9... Nxb3?! { Sometimes this is the right reaction, sometimes not. Here it was wrong. } (9... Bb7 { was better. } 10. Nc5 Bc6 $14) 10. axb3 Bb7 11. Bg2!? { Caruana plays the first in a serious of deeply unnatural moves, showing why the Sicilian has never been his favorite territory. } (11. f3! { is the most natural move. White should play with energy. The only reason not to do this would be } 11... d5 { , but active play favors White. } 12. O-O-O! $16 dxe4 13. Qf2 Qc7 14. Kb1 $44 { . For example: } 14... exf3 15. Bxb5+! Bc6 16. Ne4 Nd5 17. Bxc6+ Qxc6 18. Bd4 Be7 19. Qxf3 O-O 20. g5 { and White has regained the material without his attack slowing down significantly. }) 11... Ng6 12. Rf1!? { Deeply odd. } (12. O-O-O! { would still favor White. For example: } 12... Nh4 13. Bg5 Be7 14. Bxh4 Bxh4 15. f4 O-O 16. e5 $14) 12... Bc6 13. g5? { This is just bad. White does not have all the time in the world and now comes under attack. } (13. O-O-O { was the natural move. } 13... a5 (13... b4?! 14. Na4 Rb8 15. f4 $16) 14. f4 a4 15. bxa4 b4 { would be critical. A complex line is: } 16. Nd5! exd5 17. exd5 Bxa4 18. Rde1 Be7 19. d6 Bc6 20. b3 $14 { This is by no means "easy" or "obvious", but White has already played some odd moves to get here. }) 13... a5 $15 14. f4 a4 15. Rd1 Bb4 16. Qd4 Qa5? (16... Bxc3+! 17. Qxc3 O-O 18. b4 Re8 $15 { with the idea ...e5 and ...Nf4 would make the white king look exposed. }) 17. Qxg7 a3 18. Kf2! axb2 19. Ne2 e5! 20. f5! { Caruana responsibly forces a draw. } (20. fxe5?! Bf8 21. Qf6 Be7 22. Qg7 O-O-O $15) 20... Bf8 21. Qf6 Be7 22. Qg7 Bf8 23. Qf6 Be7 24. Qg7 { 1/2-1/2 The game is a draw. } 1/2-1/2