[Event "Candidates Tournament 2020: Round 5 Gam"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/1sG"] [Date "2020.03.22"] [Result "*"] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/BlueRepublik"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "C42"] [Opening "Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack"] [StudyName "2020-21 Candidates Tournament Analysis - by GM Marian Petrov"] [ChapterName "Nepomniachtchi Ian- Wang Hao 1-0"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/ldhgOlvJ/BNc3o1L4"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bf5 { not the most popular line } 7. O-O Be7 8. Re1 O-O 9. Nbd2 Nd6 10. Nf1 Bxd3 11. Qxd3 c6 12. Bf4 Na6 13. h4 { showing his fighting intentions } 13... Nc7 14. Ng5 Bxg5 15. Bxg5 { notice that f6 is mostly forced here: } 15... f6 16. Bf4 Qd7 17. Ng3 Rae8 18. Bxd6 { Nepo makes a practical decision here: his Bishop isn't the greatest as most of his pawns are fixed on dark squares, so he trades it off and opts to battle on with the opposing Knights. he'll also be able to fix his Knight onto the f5 square, and continue to push } 18... Qxd6 19. Nf5 Qd7 20. Qh3 { threatening to pick up the queen } 20... Kh8 21. h5 { preparing h6, and causing long term problems for Black. } 21... Rxe1+ (21... h6 { possible to stop h6, but weakens the light squares signicantly, and not very pleasant to play }) 22. Rxe1 Re8 23. Rxe8+ Nxe8 { and now, this is slightly better for White - the advanced h pawn is a good tool, and his piece activity is better. } 24. g4 a6 25. b3 Qe6 26. Ne3 Nd6 27. h6 { now forcing Black to make a comittal decision, in this case, worsening his back rank is the best option. } 27... g6 28. c4! { the position is still holdable for Black, but he must be careful over the next few moves. first, is this pawn free? let's go through a quick line: } 28... dxc4 29. bxc4 { and now, Nxc4... is it possible? in short: NO } 29... Kg8 { a good move by Wang Hao, but Nepo maintains his threats: } (29... Nxc4 30. Nxc4 Qxc4 { and now the star move: Qh2!! } 31. Qh2! { there are bank rank problems abound for Black }) 30. Qh2 Kf7 31. c5 { and now the Queen will invade } 31... Nb5 32. Qb8 { and from here, there are two good options. One is to grab the d4 pawn, the other is Qe7. I'll go through each line, showing why they hold, compared to what Wang Hao played } 32... Qd7?? { with this move, Nepo can win the game, he does so in stlye. with the queen on the d7 square, Wang Hao's king has less air } (32... Nxd4 33. Qh8 Ke7 34. Qxh7+ Qf7 35. Qh8 Qf8 36. Qh7+ Qf7 37. Qh8 { this leads to a perpetual, and so White can't grab the h-pawn }) 33. Qh8 Ke6 34. f4!! { preparing the final attack } 34... Nxd4 { might as well grab a pawn, but to no avail. the next line is forced, although Nepo toys with his prey before going in for the kill } 35. Qg8+ Qf7 36. Qc8+ Qd7 37. Qg8+ Qf7 { draw? } 38. Qd8 Qd7 39. f5+ gxf5 40. gxf5+ { If the Knight doesn't take, the Queen is lost } 40... Nxf5 41. Qxd7+ Kxd7 42. Nxf5 { and Wang Hao is down a piece, and plays on another move before resigning. } 42... Ke6 43. Ne3 { white wins } *