[Event "FIDE Grand Swiss 2023"] [Site "Douglas"] [Date "2023.10.26"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2786"] [BlackElo "2667"] [Annotator "Lang, JJ"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "C65"] [Opening "Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/uDXLUcuQ/eV90imoz"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. h3 { A relatively rare move in the Anti-Berlin, but one that is certainly in Caruana's repertoire. } 6... Nd7 7. Nc3 O-O 8. Be3 Bd6 9. O-O Re8 10. Nd2 Nf8 11. Nc4 Ng6 { While this position has only been reached three times, one of the games featured Caruana himself! } 12. d4 $146 (12. a4 { was seen in a topsy-turvy blitz game between Caruana and Aronian, where the a-pawn did not contribute in a meaningful way. } 12... Be6 13. Nxd6 cxd6 14. d4 Qf6 15. d5 Bd7 16. a5 c5 17. Kh2 Qd8 18. Ne2 f5 19. exf5 Bxf5 20. Ng3 Bd7 21. b4 $16 cxb4 22. Qd2 b3 23. cxb3 Qh4 24. Rfc1 Rac8 25. f3 Nf4 26. Bxf4 exf4 27. Ne4 Rcd8 28. Rc7 Bf5 29. Qd4? (29. Qc3 $14) 29... Re5 30. Nf2?? Qg3+ 31. Kg1 Re2 32. Kf1 Rde8 33. Rac1 h5 34. Rxb7 R8e3 35. Rxg7+ Qxg7 36. Qxf4 Re5 37. g4 Bg6 38. Rc8+ Kh7 39. Qc4 Re7 40. Qf4 Qb2 41. Qg3 Bd3 42. Kg2 { when a draw was declared, despite Black having a forced mate in the blitz game Caruana – Aronian, Zurich, 2015. } 42... Rxf2+ 43. Qxf2 Re2 $19) 12... Be6 13. Nxd6 cxd6 14. d5 cxd5 (14... Bd7 15. dxc6 Bxc6 16. Qd3 { would perhaps be a more direct way to go after Black's backwards d-pawn, having not spent two turns on a2-a4-a5. }) 15. Nxd5 Qd7 16. Qd3 Bxd5 (16... f5 { would be more in the spirit of Aronian's handling of the position: } 17. f3 Qf7 18. Rad1 Rac8 19. Rf2 $14) 17. Qxd5 Ne7 18. Qd3 d5 19. exd5 Qxd5 20. Rfd1 { A curious position. Black has the only center pawn, activity on the half-open c-file, and a reasonable knight against a lone bishop. And yet the engine is convinced that White is somewhere between 0.36 and 0.56 in White's favor. This is not an insignificant number, particularly in a deep researcher like Caruana's hands. } 20... Red8 21. Qe2 Qa5 22. Qg4 Qa6? 23. Rxd8+ Rxd8 24. Rd1! { Incredibly, White's queen practically dominates Black's. The removal of rooks highlights the discrepancy between the two royals. } 24... Ra8 (24... Qa5 25. Rxd8+ Qxd8 26. Bxa7 { avoiding the "passive piece" on a8 would cost a pure pawn. There are no tricks with } 26... b6 { as } 27. Qf3 $16 { neatly stops both queen and knight from attacking the wayward bishop. }) 25. Rd7 Ng6 26. Qf3 Qxa2 (26... Nf4 27. Qxb7 Qxb7 28. Rxb7 a6 { is hopeless. }) 27. b3 Nh8 (27... Rf8 28. Bc5 { highlights the dominance of White's pieces. }) 28. Qxb7 Re8 29. Qc6 h6 30. Rxa7 { Now White is simply winning. } 30... Qb1+ 31. Kh2 Rf8 32. Qc4 Rd8 33. b4 Rb8 34. c3 Rd8 35. Qa2 Qe4 36. b5 Kh7 37. b6 f5 38. Qa4 Qb1 39. Qh4 Rd6 40. Qe7 Rg6 41. Qxe5 { 1-0 White wins. } 1-0