[Event "WR Chess Masters"] [Site "Dusseldorf, Germany"] [Date "2023.02.16"] [Round "1.4"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2736"] [BlackElo "2690"] [Annotator "Lang, JJ"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "A20"] [Opening "English Opening: King's English Variation"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/wy4VAHLx/jQx6SXa7"] [Orientation "white"] 1. c4 e5 2. g3 c6 3. d4 e4 4. d5 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Qe7 6. Nh3 Nf6 7. Nc3 cxd5 8. Nf4 Bxc3 9. Bxc3 dxc4 10. e3 Nc6 11. g4!? (11. Bxc4 { looks fine, but not spectacular. Most likely, White will end up with light-squared weaknesses that Black can point to as compensation for the pressure on his king. } 11... O-O 12. Nd5 Nxd5 13. Bxd5 d6 14. Qh5 Bd7 15. O-O Kh8) 11... h6?! (11... Ne5 { is best, but Black understandably did not want to show up unprepared to the battle after } 12. g5 Nf3+ 13. Qxf3 exf3 14. gxf6 gxf6 15. O-O-O (15. Nd5 Qc5 16. Nxf6+?! Kf8 17. Bh3 Rg8! { and White does not have enough material for the queen even after winning the Exchange. }) 15... Qc5 16. Rg1 $44 { . }) 12. Bxc4 d6 13. Rg1 Bd7 14. Nd5 Nxd5 15. Qxd5 O-O-O?! { Black perhaps 'flinched,' as White's attack was not fully developed. But now, with the f7-pawn dropping, his position becomes unacceptable in the endgame. } 16. Qxf7 Qxf7 17. Bxf7 Ne5 18. Bxe5 dxe5 19. Bd5 Bc6 20. Bxc6 bxc6 21. Rc1 Rd6 22. Ke2 Rhd8 23. Rc2 g5 24. Rgc1 Kb7 25. b3 Rd5 { Black needs to activate the rooks, but objectively there is no way to do this. } 26. Ke1 R8d6 27. Rc4 Rd3 { From here, the endgame is not played perfectly by either side. But Black's path to the draw, if it ever fully materializes, is very narrow. Considering this, Aronian makes several good practical decisions. } 28. R1c2? (28. h3 $18) 28... Rd1+ 29. Ke2 Rh1 30. Rxe4 Rd5? (30... Rf6 31. Rd2 Rxh2 32. Kf1! Rh4 33. Kg2 Kc7 34. Rc2 h5 35. Rc5 Re6 36. Rcc4 Kd6 $16) 31. Rec4?! (31. Rd2! Ra5 32. Rd7+ Ka6 33. a4 Rc5 34. b4 Rc2+ 35. Rd2 $18) 31... Rd6 32. Rb4+ Kc7 33. Rb5? Re6?! (33... Rf6 34. Rbc5 Rxh2 35. Kf1 Rh4 $14) 34. Ra5 Rxh2 $18 35. Rxa7+ Kb6 36. Rf7 e4 37. a4 Rh1 38. b4 Ra1 39. a5+ Kb5 40. Rb7+ Ka4 41. Rb6 Rd6 42. Rd2 Rxd2+ 43. Kxd2 c5 44. bxc5 Kxa5 45. Kc3 Ra2 46. Rf6 Ra4 47. Rb6 Ra2 48. Rb2 Rxb2 49. Kxb2 Kb5 50. Kb3 { 1-0 White wins. } 1-0