[Event "Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2022.09.08"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2759"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackElo "2757"] [BlackTeam "France"] [Annotator "John Watson"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B90"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation"] [StudyName "2022 Sinquefield Cup"] [ChapterName "Aronian, Levon - Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/uMvPaU6p/MJqP6MP8"] [Orientation "white"] { [%evp 0,97,26,20,43,47,90,62,62,37,37,35,50,37,33,37,37,37,61,36,61,52,43,43, 45,-4,-5,-8,26,25,18,-8,-11,-26,-8,-22,-26,-35,-21,-45,-11,-19,-40,-37,-10,-12, 49,41,44,44,35,46,46,46,51,51,52,56,50,26,56,62,52,60,44,44,57,58,57,39,39,19, 4,-11,73,67,80,86,86,85,93,96,171,171,177,177,216,200,250,250,240,174,236,259, 270,263,271,271,1002,848] } 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Be3 h5 9. Nd5 Bxd5 10. exd5 Nbd7 11. Qd2 g6 12. O-O-O Nb6 13. Kb1 Nbxd5 14. Bg5 Be7 15. Bd3 Qc7 16. Rhf1 { The tournament website cites Aronian's explanation of this new idea: "At the Chess Olympiad in Chennai Aronian was struggling with health issues, but was nonetheless helping US team captain Robert Hess to prepare Caruana’s opening for his white game against Parham Maghsoodloo. Fabiano was likely to face the Najdorf, and it was Hess who came up with the idea." Until this game the automatic move had been } (16. Rhe1 { , when } 16... O-O-O 17. c4 { tends to hold for Black, as in these lines: } 17... Nf4 (17... Nb6 18. c5!? dxc5 19. Nxc5! Qxc5 20. Rc1 Nc4 21. Rxc4 Qxc4 22. Bxc4 Rxd2 23. Bxd2 Rh7 24. Rxe5 Bd6 { has been played in a couple of games. It is likely objectively drawn but Black needs to be well-prepared. One example: } 25. Re2 h4 26. Bg5 Nh5 (26... Nd7!?) 27. Re4 Bxh2?! (27... h3 28. gxh3 f6) 28. Rxh4 Bg3 29. Re4 Bd6 { R Robson- K Shevchenko,chess.com 2019; and here } 30. g4! Ng3 31. Re1 { was very strong. }) 18. Bxf4 exf4 19. Qxf4 Rhe8 20. Rc1 Kb8 21. Be4?! (21. g3) 21... Nxe4 22. Qxe4 Bg5 23. Qxe8 Bxc1 24. Qe4 Bh6 25. Qd4 Rc8 26. Re4 d5 27. Qxd5 Rd8 28. Qe5 Qxe5 29. Rxe5 Bf4 { Milliet,S (2392) -Sebag,M (2472) Chartres 2022 }) 16... Nh7! { A very nice response to a new move. } (16... O-O-O 17. c4 Nf4 (17... Nb6 18. f4 e4 19. Be2 $14) 18. Bxf6 Bxf6 19. Be4 $14 { gives White some pressure. }) 17. Bh6 Nhf6 (17... Nf8 { , e.g., } 18. Bxf8 Rxf8 19. Bxg6 Nc3+ 20. Qxc3 Qxc3 21. Bxf7+ Kxf7 22. bxc3 Rac8) 18. c4 Nb6 19. Bg7 Rg8 (19... Rh7 { , in order to protect f7 in some lines. }) 20. Bxf6 Bxf6 21. Na5 (21. Rc1 { is an important alternative: } 21... Nd7 (21... Kf8 22. c5 dxc5 23. Nxc5 Qe7 24. Be4 Rd8 { is roughly equal }) 22. f4 exf4 23. Qxf4 O-O-O 24. c5 dxc5 25. Qxc7+ Kxc7 26. Nxc5 Kb8! 27. Nxd7+ Rxd7 28. Rxf6 Rxd3 29. Rxf7 Rgd8) 21... Kf8 22. Be4 Kg7? (22... Nxc4! 23. Nxc4 Qxc4 24. Qh6+ Bg7 25. Qd2 Bf6 26. Qxd6+? Kg7 $17) 23. Qxd6 (23. g4!? $14) 23... Rac8 24. Bxb7 Nxc4 25. Qxc7 Rxc7 26. Nxc4 Rxb7 27. Rfe1 Rgb8 28. b3 { White has a positional advantage due to Black's weak a-pawn, but it's unlikely to lead to serious winning chances. } 28... Rc7 29. Re4!? (29. Nxe5 Rb5 30. f4 (30. Nd3 h4 $14) 30... g5! 31. Nd3 Rd7 $14 { with counterplay. }) 29... Rc5 (29... Rb5!?) 30. Rd7 Rbc8 31. Re1 R8c7 32. Red1!? { Delaying acceptance of the pawn, but perhaps } (32. Rxc7 Rxc7 33. Nxe5 { should have been played. }) 32... h4 33. h3 Bg5 34. a4!? (34. Rxc7 Rxc7 35. Nxe5 Re7 36. Re1 a5) 34... Bf4 { Aronian thought that } (34... Rxc4 35. bxc4 Rxc4 36. a5 Rb4+ 37. Kc2 Ra4 { might work for Black, but } 38. Rb1! (38. Rb7 Ra2+ 39. Kb1 Rxa5 40. Rdd7 Rb5+) 38... Ra2+ 39. Rb2 Rxa5 40. Rbb7 $18 { is too strong, e.g., } 40... Bf4 41. Rxf7+ Kh6 42. Rf6 Ra2+ 43. Rb2) 35. a5 e4 36. R7d4 f5?? { Black had ony seconds left when he made this move. } (36... Re7! { is equal, since } 37. Rxe4 (37. fxe4?! Rb7! 38. Kc2 Rg5!) 37... Rxe4 38. fxe4 Rg5 39. Rf1 Bc7 40. Rf2 Bxa5 { is drawn. }) 37. fxe4 Kh6 38. exf5 Rxf5 39. Rf1 Rcf7 (39... Kg5) 40. b4 Kh5 (40... Bg5 41. Rxf5 Rxf5 42. Nd6 Rf1+ 43. Kc2 Bf4 44. b5! Bxd6 45. Rxd6 axb5 $18) 41. Nd6 Bxd6 42. Rxf5+ Rxf5 43. Rxd6 Rf4 44. Rb6 g5 45. Rb8 Rf1+ 46. Kb2 Rf2+ 47. Kb3 Rxg2 48. b5 g4 49. Rh8+ { 1-0 White wins. } 1-0