It was an unusual game between elite players when one of them suffered an opening catastrophe. Unlike yesterday, Nakamura didn’t allow any chances and won in 40 moves. White continued with 28.Qh4, and soon enough, the attack on Black’s king forced Black to enter a lost endgame.īlack’s rook is hanging, but there is also the threat of Re8 followed by Qg7 mate, so Black was forced to play 31…Qf4, and after the exchange of queens followed by Bg7xf6, White entered a technically winning endgame. With only eight minutes for 16 moves and his position on the edge of collapse, Black’s situation was not enviable. That sacrifice happened later in the game, and coupled with the doubling on the d-file it also gave White a decisive advantage. Nakamura started to think at this point, and while he didn’t play the absolutely best move 20.Re1, he did make the second-best move in the position 20.Qe3, a tempting option that introduces ideas like Bxh6. Add to this that Hikaru had more than half an hour advantage on the clock, and you see the triumph of Nakamura’s opening preparation. His appearance at the board showed great concern about the position.Īfter a further mistake with 19…Re7? (19…Rad8 was best, but even that is hanging by a thread after 20.Be5) White was on the verge of winning after 20.Re1, as Black cannot really defend the pawn on e4. Caruana played 18…h6? and after 19.Bf4, he was already under severe pressure. The engine playing with the black pieces chose 18…Rab8, while 18…Rac8 and 18…f6 were also good moves. He may have been right in his assumption, but that required precision later on.Īs they followed an obscure game played between engines, Caruana committed a mistake that sent the game from a likely possibility number one to a definite possibility number two. He could have kept the position more complex with 12…Qe7, but perhaps he thought Nakamura didn’t mind a quick draw (see the first possibility explained above)? The moment that decided the course of the game was after White’s 12.Rd1Ĭaruana spent some time recalling his lines and went for the simplifying 12…Bxc3 13.bxc3 Qa5. But if his opponent failed to do so, then he would obtain a risk-free pressure with a very likely time advantage to boot.Īs the game showed, it was the second possibility that happened. It had two layers: if his opponent remembered the most precise way to deal with the opening surprise, then a quick and energy-saving draw would be made. ![]() However, Nakamura’s strategy in the opening was cunning. Nakamura’s choice, the Four Knights Scotch, is an often-used drawing line for two reasons: it leads to relatively simple positions that are easy to play it is incredibly deeply explored, some lines leading to forced draws. The Petroff was Caruana’s fireproof defence in 2018 when he used it to great effect to win the Candidates tournament and later easily hold against 1.e4 in the World Championship match against Magnus Carlsen. Hikaru Nakamura chose to transpose to the Four Knights Scotch facing Fabiano Caruana’s Petroff Defence. In fact, there was a lot under the surface, and the appearances were deceiving. They are generally an early sign of a draw, especially if they come out from a forcing line in the opening. On board one, the all-American derby quickly went into a position with opposite-coloured bishops. ![]() The draws by the other players worked ideally for Vaishali, who punched her ticket to the Women’s Candidates with a round to spare. In the women’s section, Vaishali R and Anna Muzychuk both won and continue to lead the tournament. A lot of decisive outcomes on the top boards mean that before the final round, the joint leaders Hikaru Nakamura, Santosh Gujrathi Vidit and Andrey Esipenko have the highest chances of both winning the tournament and securing a ticket to Toronto. As the fight for the Candidate spots intensified, the players stepped up their efforts.
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