[Event "Superbet Chess Classic Romania"] [Site "Bucharest, Romania"] [Date "2023.05.15"] [Round "9.4"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2768"] [BlackElo "2794"] [Annotator "Lang, JJ"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B33"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation, Sveshnikov Variation"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/gLTaYxXi/8dXv2irs"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bf4 e5 8. Bg5 a6 9. Na3 b5 10. Nab1!? { An incredibly rare choice (like, "under 100 games out of over 350,000 games in the database" rare). } 10... Be7 11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. a4 b4 13. Nd5 Be6 14. Bc4 O-O 15. O-O Bg5 16. Qd3 Kh8 17. Nd2 Bxd2 18. Qxd2 Qa5 19. c3 Qc5 20. Ba2 bxc3 21. bxc3 Na5 22. Rab1 h6 23. Rb4 { Giri's attempt to take Nepomniachtchi out of familiar territory has paid off. He has an unusual position, with an isolated c3-pawn and dueling isolated a-pawns, and lots of flexibility. Black's position is not bad, but, now that the c4-square is off-limits for his knight, not easy to navigate either. } 23... Rab8 24. Qd3 (24. Ra1 Qa7 25. h3 Rfc8 26. Ne3 Rxb4 27. cxb4 Nb3 28. Bxb3 Bxb3 29. Ra3 Be6 30. Rd3 { promises a small plus, but the level of nuance here is hard to properly appreciate. }) 24... Qa7 25. h3 Nb7 26. a5 Nc5 27. Qe2 Rb5 28. Rxb5 axb5 29. Qxb5 Rb8 30. Qe2 Qxa5 31. Bc4 Qa3 32. Qf3 Kh7 33. Re1 Qb2 34. Rd1 { At this point Giri has compensation for the pawn, but nothing more. Crafty play from Nepo to end the tournament with a game he might even be relatively pleased with. } 34... Ra8 35. Ne3 Ra1 36. Bxe6 fxe6 37. Nc4 Rxd1+ 38. Qxd1 Qxc3 39. Nxd6 Nd3 40. Ne8 Qd4 41. Qe2 Nf4 42. Qc2 Qa1+ 43. Kh2 Qf1 44. f3 h5 45. Nd6 Qe1 46. Nb5 h4 { The critical moment. Giri only has one move to stay in the game. } 47. Nd6? (47. Nc7! Ne2 48. Qc5 { and now } 48... Qg3+ 49. Kh1 Qf4 50. Nxe6! { buys a tempo on the queen and holds the draw. }) 47... Ne2 48. Qc5 Ng3?? (48... Qg3+ 49. Kh1 Qf4! { was the key nuance. } 50. Qc2 Ng3+ 51. Kh2 (51. Kg1 Qe3+! 52. Kh2 (52. Qf2 Qc1+ 53. Kh2 Qh1#) 52... Qe1 $19)) 49. Qg1 Nf1+ 50. Kh1 Qc1 51. Nb7 Ng3+ 52. Kh2 Qf4 53. Qb1 Kh6 54. Kg1 Qd2 55. Kh2 Ne2 56. Qa1 Qf4+ 57. Kh1 Ng3+ 58. Kg1 Qe3+ 59. Kh2 Qb6 60. Qc1+ Kh7 61. Nc5 Ne2 62. Qe1 Ng3 63. Nd3 Qb5 64. Nf2 Nf1+ 65. Kg1 Ng3 66. Kh2 Nf1+ 67. Kg1 Ng3 68. Kh2 { 1/2-1/2 The game is a draw. } 1/2-1/2