[Event "FIDE Candidates Tournament"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/fhBzjnqz/eTsgw760"] [Date "2022.06.22"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackElo "2766"] [BlackTeam "FID"] [Annotator "Aagaard"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "C42"] [Opening "Russian Game: Classical Attack, Chigorin Variation, Main Line"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/fhBzjnqz/eTsgw760"] [Orientation "white"] { [%evp 0,67,20,5,36,18,13,25,17,29,22,31,31,31,35,25,27,13,36,-4,9,3,35,44,37, 38,40,17,24,-8,52,60,60,18,81,114,127,110,94,101,90,90,90,90,105,105,105,113, 113,113,117,110,117,110,91,70,71,6,55,25,25,47,70,72,58,24,60,59,66,18] Openings are not everything. White did not have an advantage, but the players were not playing with Stockfish support and had to make their own moves. Soon Nepomniachtchi was dead lost and it was up to Nakamura to put it away or not. Sadly, for his many fans and for the tournament, it was "not". } 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 { I believe Nakamura was not fully expecting the Petroff, but had general preparation for the tournament. Thus he was both surprised and playing quickly. } 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 (5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. dxc3 { , we get a more double edged position, which for a long time has been the way to apply pressure on the Petroff. }) 5... d5 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. O-O Be7 8. c4 Nb4 9. Be2 O-O 10. Nc3 Bf5 11. a3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Nc6 13. Re1 Re8 14. Ra2!? { Not the main move, but a decent one, used by Nakamura in the past. } 14... Bf8 { Black should come out of all lines with equality. This one looks the most solid. A previous game went } (14... Na5 15. cxd5 Qxd5 16. Rb2 { , and White managed to create some action and win a great game: } 16... c6 17. Ne5!? Bxa3 18. Bf3 Qd6 19. Rbe2 Bxc1 20. Qxc1 $14 Be6 21. Be4 Rad8 22. Qb1 g6 23. f4 c5 24. f5 cxd4 25. fxe6 Rxe6 26. Nxf7! Kxf7 27. Bd5 Qxd5 28. Rxe6 dxc3 29. R6e5 Qd4+ 30. Kh1 b6 31. Qa2+ Kg7 32. Re7+ Kh6 33. Qf7 Nc4 34. Qxh7+ Kg5 35. R7e6 Qd3 36. h4+ Kf4 37. Qh6+ { 1-0 Nakamura - Akobian, Saint Louis 2016. }) 15. cxd5 $146 { Leaving opening theory behind, but not with any noticeable preparation in mind. } (15. a4 Ne7?! $14 { was played in Alekseenko - Lintchevski, Khanty-Mansiysk 2017. } (15... Na5 { is standard. })) 15... Qxd5 16. c4 (16. Rb2!? { could also be tried. }) 16... Qe4?! { A bad idea. Magnus Carlsen said that Nepomniachtchi was back to his true self, playing poor moves quickly. When he won the last candidates, it was with a bit of luck and a lot of superficial moves. } (16... Qd6! { was better. The key idea is } 17. Be3 (17. d5?! Ne5 $15) 17... Qf6! { with full equality. }) 17. Bf1 Qg4? { Nepomniachtchi already had to find the only move. } (17... Qb1! 18. Rxe8 Rxe8 19. Rb2 Qa1! 20. Rxb7 { and here the computer says it is not so bad after } 20... h6! $14 { . }) 18. h3! Rxe1 (18... Qg6? { would lose on the spot to } 19. d5 Ne7 20. g4! { (threatening Nf3-h4) } 20... Bd7 21. Ne5 Qd6 22. c5 $18 { and the piece is gone. }) 19. Qxe1 Qe4 20. Re2 Qd3 21. Rb2 Qe4 22. Re2 Qd3 23. Re3?! { Missing the first chance for a clear path to a winning advantage. } (23. Nh4! { was very strong. It is not clear Nepomniachtchi would have chosen the only move } 23... Qb1! { , as it demonstrably loses material instantly. } (23... Bd7 24. d5 $18 { and the knight has no squares. }) 24. d5 Nd4 25. Rb2 Qe4 26. Qxe4 Bxe4 27. Rxb7 $18 { Black has no compensation for the pawn, but White can still mess things up. }) 23... Qb1 24. d5 Ne7 25. Nd2?! { Nakamura misses the second direct win, and now it starts to get difficult. } (25. Nd4! Bg6 26. Rb3 Qa1 27. Nb5 { leaves Black with no good moves. The key point comes after } 27... c6 28. Nc3! cxd5 29. Qd2! d4 30. Bb2 dxc3 31. Bxc3 { and the queen is trapped. }) 25... Qa1 26. Nb3 Qf6 27. Bd2 $16 Ng6 28. Na5? { Another mistaken decision. } (28. Bc3 Qd8 29. g3! Qd7 30. h4 h5 31. Bb4 $16 { would give a solid positional advantage. }) 28... b6 29. Nc6 (29. Bc3!? Qg5 30. Nb3 $14 { was still a bit better. }) 29... Bd7 30. Bc3 Qd6?! { Simpler was } (30... Qg5! 31. Nd4 Bc5 { . }) 31. Bb4!? { White could still apply a bit of pressure with } (31. g3! h5 32. h4 Qxa3!? 33. Bxg7 Re8! 34. Rxe8 Bxe8 35. Bxf8 Kxf8 $14 { , but it is clear that Nakamura was running out of steam. }) 31... Qf6 32. Bc3 Qd6 33. Bb4 Qf6 34. Bc3 { 1/2-1/2 The game is a draw. } 1/2-1/2