[Event "FIDE Grand Swiss 2023"] [Site "Douglas"] [Date "2023.11.03"] [Round "9.3"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Cheparinov, Ivan"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2780"] [BlackElo "2658"] [Annotator "Lang, JJ"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "C42"] [Opening "Russian Game: Kaufmann Attack"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/uDXLUcuQ/Ifcxyi3E"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. c4 Be7 6. d4 d5 7. Bd3 Bb4+ 8. Nbd2 O-O 9. O-O Bf5!? { A rare move, last since in 2014 in the database. } (9... Nxd2 { is more normal. } 10. Bxd2 Bxd2 11. Qxd2 Nc6 12. h3 Be6 13. c5 a6 14. Rfe1 Qf6 15. Ne5 Nxd4?! 16. Bxh7+ Kxh7 17. Qxd4 Rad8 18. Re3 $16 { and White won on move 26 in Van Foreest – Popilski, Chess.com, 2022. }) 10. Nb3 dxc4 11. Bxc4 Nd7 $146 (11... Nc6 { was successful in a 2011 encounter beetween familiar foes. } 12. Bd3 Bg6 13. a3 Bd6 14. Re1 f5 15. Qc2 Kh8 16. Be3 Qf6 17. Nc5 Bxc5 18. dxc5 Rae8 19. Rad1 Bh5 20. Be2 f4 21. Bc1 $15 { with the initiative shifting towards Black, who won on move 33 in Caruana – Giri, Reggio Emilia, 2011. }) 12. a3 Be7 13. Bd3 Bg6 14. Re1 Nd6 15. Bxg6 hxg6 16. Na5 Nb6 17. Bf4 Nf5?! { Even } (17... Rb8 { , passively defending the b-pawn, looks fine. } 18. Rc1 Re8 19. Qc2 Nd5) 18. Nxb7 { It's not just the pawn, or the tempo on the queen, but that the knight is much happier on c5 than a5, and that ideas of d4xc5 thwart Black's whole point of pressuring the d4-pawn with 17. ...Nf5. } 18... Qd5 19. Nc5 Bd6 (19... Bxc5 20. dxc5 Qxc5 21. Rc1 Qb5 22. Qe2! { and the weak c-pawn gives White an initiative, and presumably a clean extra pawn in the near future. }) 20. Bxd6 cxd6 (20... Nxd6? 21. Re5 Qc6 22. Rc1 { is a nasty initiative, and possibly one that Black underestimated a few moves prior. }) 21. Ne4 Rfe8 22. Qd3 Na4 23. b3 Nc5 { Playing for dynamics makes sense, as Black is down a pawn without compensation. } 24. Nxc5 dxc5 25. Rxe8+ Rxe8 26. Qb5! { But at the end of the trades, White has preserved his best pieces and is able to use weaknesses in Black's camp to hold onto the pawn. } 26... Rc8 27. dxc5 Qxc5 28. Qxc5 Rxc5 29. Rd1 f6 30. g4!? (30. Rd8+ Kh7 31. Kf1 Rc3 32. Nd2! $17) 30... Nh6 31. Rd8+ Kh7 32. Rd4 Rc3 33. Nd2 Nf7 34. h4 g5 { An important juncture, just six moves before the second time control. White wants to make sure Black's kingside remains vulnerable, as to use the "principle of two weaknesses" to create a queenside passer and then play on both flanks. } 35. hxg5! (35. h5? Ne5! { and suddenly the knight controls not only the f3-square but also d3, rendering White's pieces more defensive and tied down to defending each other. }) 35... Nxg5 36. Kg2?! (36. Kf1 Nf3 (36... a5 37. Rc4 Rd3 38. Ke2 $18) 37. Nxf3 Rxf3 38. Rb4 $16) 36... a5 37. f3 (37. Rc4 Rd3 { is the point: with a king on f1, Kf1-e2 ties everything together, but now the b3-pawn falls! }) 37... Ne6 38. Rd6 Nf4+ (38... Nc5 { playing against the weak b-pawn was more practical. } 39. b4 Nd3 40. bxa5 Rxa3 41. Nc4 Rc3) 39. Kf1 Nd3 40. a4 Nc1 41. Rb6 Re3 42. Rb5 Nd3 43. Nc4 Re1+ 44. Kg2 g5?! { Fixing the f-pawn as backwards can't be right, but the reasons here are concrete. } (44... Nf4+ 45. Kf2 Nd3+ 46. Kg3 Rg1+ 47. Kh2 Rc1 48. Nxa5 Ne5 49. Kg3 $16) 45. Rb7+? (45. Rd5!! { This is not a mouse-slip! The point is: } 45... Nf4+ (45... Re2+ 46. Kg3 Nf4 47. Rd2! { stopping mate, and then gobbling up the a-pawn once Black's last-ditch mating net is neutralized. }) 46. Kf2 Nxd5 47. Kxe1 $18 { would turn a notoriously drawish rook ending into a much more easily won pawn-up knight-and-pawn ending. }) 45... Kg6 46. Rd7 Nc5 47. Kf2 Rc1 48. Ra7 { White has to return the pawn, and Black's activation plan can be considered successful. } 48... Nxb3 49. Ne3 Nd4 50. Rxa5 Ra1 51. Nc4 Nb3 52. Ra7 Nc5 53. a5 { The next critical moment. How to deal with the advancing pawn? } 53... Nd3+?! (53... f5! { Remember: rook-and-knight versus rook should be drawn, so the elimination of the kingside pawns makes Black's task much simpler: sac the knight for the a-pawn and shake hands. } 54. Ke3 (54. gxf5+ Kxf5 55. Rc7 Nb3 56. Rf7+ Ke6 57. Ra7 Kf5 58. a6 Nc5) 54... fxg4 55. fxg4 Ra4) 54. Ke3 Ne5? { As a rule of thumb, pure rook-and-pawn endgames can be the most forgiving for the defensive side (except for opposite-colored bishop endgames), but here, Nakamura has calculated everything. } (54... Ne1 { would lose, albeit more slowly, as White had the dual threats of the a-pawn and a mating net that humorously mirrored one Black was trying to set up earlier! } 55. Nd6 Nc2+ 56. Kd3 Nb4+ 57. Kd2 Nc6 58. Rc7! Nxa5?? 59. Nf5) 55. Nxe5+ fxe5 56. Ra6+ Kf7 57. Ke4 Ra3 58. Kxe5 Rxf3 59. Rd6 { The king is cut off by a sufficient number of files, even for a rook's pawn! } 59... Ra3 60. a6 Ra5+ 61. Kd4 { 1-0 White wins. } 1-0