[Event "Sinquefield Cup 2014"]
[Site "St Louis, Mo"]
[Date "2014.08.27"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C45"]
[WhiteElo "2768"]
[BlackElo "2877"]
[Annotator "Finegold"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2014.01.04"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 {The Scotch! I would normally say that MVL gets the
first surprise, but I don't either player was surprised this game!} exd4 4.
Nxd4 Bc5 5. Nb3 Bb6 6. Nc3 Nf6 7. Qe2 {Magnus played this way (7.Qe2) against
Bacrot a few years ago and won. Black usually plays 7...0-0 here, but Magnus
plays an extremely rare move.} a5 {Diagram # This was played in the Ukranian
Championship by Elijanov. White played 8.a4, preventing black from doing the
same. MVL immediately plays the most testing move.} 8. e5 O-O $1 9. exf6 a4 10.
Nd5 Re8 11. Be3 axb3 12. Qg4 g6 13. Bc4 {Diagram # Somehow, this must have
been pre-game prep for both players, as they rushed to this position! I don't
understand how MVL could have anazlyed 7...a5 so deeply, since this move is
played less than 1% of the time! Instead, Magnus seemed surprised by the
Stockfish recommended 13.Bc4, and went into the tank.} Nb4 $1 {Played after 30
minutes of thought. This move, and 13...Bd4 are the engine recommended moves.
Alejandro, at first, thought there was no way Magnus would play this (I heard
this before last year, and Magnus usually played the "computer move" in these
situations).} 14. Nxb4 {And MVL also thought about 25 minutes on his response!
Even though he clearly prepared this variation, he either did not know, or
forgot this move. Now both player were clearly on their own.} d5 {The point of
Nb4... now the powerful white Nd5 is missing, and white has many pieces pinned
and attacked.} 15. Qf4 dxc4 16. O-O bxc2 $1 {Black has a lot of tempting
choices, but, as usual, Magnus finds the best move. This prevents white from
playing either rook to d1.} 17. Nd5 ({Perhaps a little bit better was} 17. Bxb6
cxb6 18. Nd5 $1 Re6 (18... Qxd5 $4 19. Qh6) 19. Qxc4 b5 $1 20. Qc5 Rd6 21. Ne7+
Kh8 22. Qxc2 Rxf6 23. Nxc8 $11) 17... Re6 $1 18. Qxc4 Bxe3 19. fxe3 b5 $1 20.
Qc5 Bb7 21. Ne7+ {MVL and Magnus are both playing fantastic moves. Now the
game could end in a draw, but Magnus plays for the win!} Kh8 (21... Rxe7 22.
fxe7 Qd2 23. Rf2 Qd1+ 24. Rf1 Qd2 25. Rf2 Qd1+ 26. Rf1 $11) 22. Qxc2 Raa6 23.
Rac1 $6 {Probably MVL saw the final position when he played this move. But 23.
Rad1 should be equal.} Rxf6 24. Rxf6 Rxf6 25. Qxc7 {Diagram #} Qd2 $6 {Magnus
played this with only a few minutes remaining. Instead, black has the edge in
the pawn down ending (!) after 25...Qd3!} ({Better was} 25... Qd3 26. Qc3 Qxc3
27. Rxc3 Rd6 $1 {and black can play for a win}) 26. Qb8+ Kg7 27. Qg8+ Kh6 28.
Qf8+ Kh5 29. Rc5+ g5 30. Rxg5+ $1 Kxg5 31. Qg7+ Rg6 32. Qe5+ f5 (32... Kh6 33.
Nf5+ Kh5 34. Ng3+ Kh6 35. Nf5+ $11) 33. h4+ Kh5 (33... Kg4 34. Qxf5+ Kxh4 35.
Qf4+ Kh5 36. Qf5+ Kh4 37. Qf4+ $11) 34. Qxf5+ Kh6 35. Qf8+ Kh5 36. Qf5+ Kh6 37.
Qf8+ Kh5 38. Qf5+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "Sinquefield Cup 2014"]
[Site "St Louis, Mo"]
[Date "2014.08.27"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Aronian, Levon"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D19"]
[WhiteElo "2805"]
[BlackElo "2787"]
[Annotator "Finegold"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2014.01.04"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 {A main line Slav.} 5. a4 Bf5 6. e3 (
6. Ne5 {is also topical.}) 6... e6 7. Bxc4 Bb4 8. O-O Nbd7 9. Qe2 O-O 10. e4
Bg6 11. Bd3 Bh5 12. e5 Nd5 13. Nxd5 cxd5 14. Qe3 Re8 15. Bd2 {15.Ng5 and 15.
Ne1 are more common. However, Aronian knows 15.Bd2 well, since he faced it as
black against Kramnik!} Qa5 {Levon played 15...Be7 against Kramnik in 2010 and
drew. Hikaru has other ideas.} 16. Qe1 {Diagram # A novelty. White always
played 16.Bxb4 before this game. Levon seems intent on trading queens
throughout the game, but Hikaru was not interested.} Bxd2 17. Qxd2 Qd8 18. Ng5
Bg6 19. Bxg6 fxg6 {Diagram # This may look odd, but it is quite typical in
Slav positions to capture this way, so as to avoid mating attacks down the "h"
file.} 20. f4 Rc8 21. Rac1 Qb6 {As Alejandro pointed out in the Live
commentary, the black Queen is perfectly placed on b6. It puts pressure on d4
and b2 and defends the e6 pawn.} 22. a5 Qa6 23. Qb4 h6 24. Nf3 b6 {This
surprised me during the game, but it seems quite good.} 25. Qd6 Nf8 26. axb6
axb6 27. Qb4 Qd3 {It is difficult for either side to win, or even to try to
win any material. A draw is likely.} 28. Qd2 Qb3 {Once again, Hikaru wants the
queens on the board.} 29. Rfe1 Rxc1 30. Rxc1 Ra8 {Hikaru offers a draw, which
was declined.} 31. h4 Ra2 32. Rc2 Ra1+ 33. Kh2 Rb1 34. Kg3 Kh7 35. Rc8 $6 {Now
the game will end in a repetition. The last chance to try to keep playing was
35.Qc3.} Rxb2 36. Qc1 Qa2 37. Qh1 (37. Rxf8 $4 Rxg2+ 38. Kh3 Qf2 {and black
wins.}) 37... Qa3 (37... Nd7 $4 38. Ng5+ hxg5 39. hxg5#) 38. Qc1 Qa2 39. Qh1
Qa3 40. Qc1 1/2-1/2

[Event "Sinquefield Cup 2014"]
[Site "St Louis, Mo"]
[Date "2014.08.27"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A34"]
[WhiteElo "2772"]
[BlackElo "2801"]
[Annotator "Finegold"]
[PlyCount "68"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2014.01.04"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nc7 7. O-O e5 {
Fabiano was pleased with the opening, saying he was playing white in a Maroczy
with a tempo down.} 8. a3 Rb8 9. d3 Be7 10. Be3 O-O 11. Rc1 Bd7 12. Nd2 {White
has given up on b4 ideas, and switches to f4 ideas instead!} Nd4 13. Nc4 f6 14.
f4 exf4 15. Bxf4 Nde6 16. Bd2 b6 {The whole game has been slow positional
maneuvering, where neither side can really claim any edge. The next move
shocked Alejandro and me!} 17. g4 $5 {Diagram #} Be8 18. Be1 {Ah, the point of
17.g4!? Topalov wants to play Bg3 and control dark squares. Fabiano nicely
thwarts his opponent's plans.} b5 $1 {In the commentary afterwards, Fabiano
said he was worried a bit about the c5 pawn, but thought it would be okay.} 19.
Ne3 Bd6 {Diagram # Black drives away the Nc4 so he can play Bd6-e5. An idea
which works excellently!} 20. Ncd5 $2 {The next few moves shows that Veselin
has lost the thread of the game. By trading pieces and giving black Be5, his
g4 move is simply weakening. Now black seizes the initiative!} Nxd5 21. Bxd5
Bf7 22. Nf5 Be5 23. Qd2 $2 {Fabiano thought this was the losing move. Now
black gets to hop his knight to a great square, and with tempo!} Nd4 $1 24.
Bxf7+ Rxf7 {With Nb3 in the air, and 25.Nxd4 unplayable, due to 25...Qxd4+
forking, white is in big trouble.} 25. Rd1 Nxf5 26. gxf5 Qd4+ 27. Bf2 Qg4+ 28.
Kh1 c4 $1 29. Qc2 Re8 $1 {Diagram # Fabiano finishes with computer-like
precision. White is defenseless on both sides of the board, and the center!}
30. dxc4 $2 Qh5 31. h4 ({The natural} 31. Bg1 {loses to} Bxh2 32. Bxh2 Rxe2 {
and here Fabiano pointed out that if he had played his other rook to the "e"
file with 29...Re7, then white would play 33.Qxe2 and 33.Bxb8 here!}) 31... Qg4
32. Qd3 bxc4 33. Qe3 Rfe7 34. b3 Bb2 0-1

[Event "Sinquefield Cup 2014"]
[Site "St Louis, Mo"]
[Date "2014.08.30"]
[Round "4.1"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C84"]
[WhiteElo "2801"]
[BlackElo "2805"]
[Annotator "Finegold"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2014.01.04"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 {Aronian is the
world's leading authority on the Marshall Gambit, so Fabiano wisely avoids
this sharp variation for quieter waters.} b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. Nc3 d6 9. a3 Na5 10.
Ba2 Be6 11. Bxe6 fxe6 12. b4 Nc6 13. Bd2 d5 14. Re1 Qd6 {Diagram #} 15. Na2 {
Caruana prepared this idea for this game with his well-known coach Chuchelov.
White wants to eventually get his knight to c5 (or a5) via c1-b3.} Nd7 16. Qe2
d4 $2 {This is just strategically wrong. Levon is not playing his best the
last two days. Now that there is no pressure on the center, and things are
locked, white can try his hand on the kingside (and queenside!).} 17. Reb1 Nb6
18. Nc1 Na4 19. Nb3 Rf7 (19... Nc3 20. Bxc3 dxc3 {is black's best chance. As
the game proceeds, black has very little play.}) 20. Rc1 Rd8 21. Ng5 $1 Rf6 $2
{As Fabiano pointed out after the game, once his king roams free on the
kingside, black is in a bad way.} (21... Bxg5 22. Bxg5 Rdf8 $14) 22. Qh5 $1 h6
$6 (22... Rh6 23. Qf7+ Kh8 24. Qf3 Bxg5 25. Bxg5 Rf8 {is better was for black
to play than in the game.}) 23. Nf3 Rdf8 24. Rf1 R8f7 $2 {Now the Rf6 is more
or less trapped.} 25. Rae1 Bf8 26. h3 g6 27. Qh4 Qe7 28. Qg3 Bg7 {Diagram #}
29. Na5 $1 {The start of an amazing concept.} Nxa5 30. Nxe5 $3 {Diagram # Very
creative play by Caruana. Black simply has no counterplay and white has too
much for the sacrificed piece.} Nb7 31. Nxg6 (31. Nxf7 $2 Qxf7 $14) 31... Qd8
32. e5 Rf5 33. f4 c5 {Levon gets tired of being puched around and fights back.
But it's too late.} 34. Nh4 Rh5 35. Nf3 {The Rh5 is badly placed and white's
kingside majority rolls home.} Kh7 36. Qg4 Rhf5 37. Nh4 Kh8 38. Nxf5 Rxf5 (
38... exf5 39. Qg6 {attacking Rf7 and Pa6 is also hopeless for black.}) 39. Qg6
Qe7 40. g4 Rf8 41. f5 Qe8 42. Qxe8 Rxe8 43. f6 Bf8 44. f7 Re7 45. Rf6 Nb6 46.
Bxh6 Nd7 47. Ref1 $1 {Fabiano continues to play the most accurate way.} cxb4 (
47... Nxf6 48. Bxf8 Rxf7 49. Rxf6 $18) 48. axb4 Bxh6 49. Rxh6+ Kg7 50. Rh5 1-0

[Event "Sinquefield Cup 2014"]
[Site "St Louis, Mo"]
[Date "2014.08.30"]
[Round "4.2"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E21"]
[WhiteElo "2877"]
[BlackElo "2772"]
[Annotator "Finegold"]
[PlyCount "126"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2014.01.04"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 b6 5. Bd2 $5 {An unusual way to fight for
an advantage.} Bb7 6. g3 c5 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. Bg2 O-O 9. O-O Be7 10. Bf4 Na6 11.
Nb5 d5 12. Ne5 Nc5 13. Rc1 a6 14. Nc3 dxc4 {Diagram # White has nothing from
the opening and the game is completely equal. Normally, this is where Magnus
outplays his opponents, but, thus far, not in this event.} 15. Bxb7 Nxb7 16.
Qxd8 Raxd8 17. Nc6 $5 {Magnus does not want the equality offered by 17.Nxc4}
Rde8 $5 (17... Rd7 18. Ne5 Rdd8 $11) 18. Rfd1 {Both sides decide to play for a
win. Now Topalov is ahead a pawn, but his Rf8 is out of play and white may
want to play Be5xf6 and penetrate with Rd7.} h6 19. e4 Bc5 $1 20. e5 {Diagram #
} Nd5 $1 {Topalov plays very accurately and maintains equality by giving back
the pawn.} 21. Nxd5 exd5 22. Rxd5 b5 $5 (22... Re6 23. Nd4 Bxd4 24. Rxd4 b5 $11
) 23. Be3 $1 Bxe3 24. fxe3 Re6 25. Nd4 Rb6 26. b3 Rc8 27. Kg2 {Diagram #} Rc5
$1 {This temporary pawn sacrifice ensures black has no difficulties.} 28. Rxc5
Nxc5 29. bxc4 bxc4 30. Rxc4 Nd3 31. Rc8+ Kh7 32. e6 fxe6 33. Kf3 Kg6 {Now the
game is just a draw. But Magnus goes a little too far and things get
interesting!} 34. a4 e5 35. Nc6 Kf5 36. g4+ (36. e4+ Ke6 37. Nb8 a5 38. Rc6+
Rxc6 39. Nxc6 Nb2 40. Nxa5 Nxa4 $11) 36... Ke6 37. a5 Rb5 38. Rd8 $2 (38. Rg8
Kd6 39. Nd8 Ke7 40. Nc6+ Kd6 $11) 38... Nc5 39. h4 Rb1 40. Rg8 Kd6 {Time
control was reached and only Topalov can play for a win now!} 41. Nb8 e4+ 42.
Kg2 Rb2+ 43. Kf1 Rb5 44. Kf2 $6 (44. Ke2 Kc7 (44... Ne6 45. Nxa6 Rxa5 46. Nb4
Rb5 47. Nc2 $11 {And the Ke2 makes all the difference (with the Kf2, as played
in the game, now 47...Rb2 wins)}) 45. Nxa6+ Nxa6 46. Rxg7+ Kc8 47. g5 $11)
44... Ne6 45. Rc8 Rxa5 (45... Rc5 {People got excited when they saw the
computer evals, but this is also a draw...} 46. Rxc5 Nxc5 47. h5 Kc7 48. Nxa6+
Nxa6 49. Kg3 $11) 46. Rc6+ Kd5 47. Rxa6 Rxa6 48. Nxa6 Kc6 49. Nb4+ Kc5 50. Nc2
Kc4 51. Ke2 g5 52. hxg5 hxg5 53. Kd2 {White needs to be careful, but this is
an easy draw for Magnus.} Nc5 54. Na3+ Kb4 55. Nc2+ Kc4 56. Na3+ Kd5 57. Nb5
Nd7 58. Nc3+ Ke5 59. Nd1 Nf6 60. Nf2 Kd5 61. Nh3 Nxg4 62. Nxg5 Nxe3 63. Nxe4
Ke5 1/2-1/2

[Event "Sinquefield Cup 2014"]
[Site "St Louis, Mo"]
[Date "2014.08.30"]
[Round "4.3"]
[White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C78"]
[WhiteElo "2768"]
[BlackElo "2787"]
[Annotator "Finegold"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2014.01.04"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. c3 d6 8. d4
Bb6 {Hikaru had a good position yesterday against Topalov with this line.} 9.
Be3 O-O 10. Nbd2 {Hikaru beat Anand last year with 10....Re8, but, perhaps
smelling a rat, deviates with another common move.} h6 11. h3 Bb7 12. Re1 exd4
13. cxd4 Na5 $5 {Very unusual! Nakamura confused another game he saw in this
line without the moves h6 and Re1. Black almost always plays 13...Nb4 here
with Benoni-like ideas of c5.} 14. Bc2 Re8 15. Qb1 Nc4 16. Nxc4 bxc4 17. Nd2 {
Diagram #} Rb8 $1 18. Nxc4 Bxe4 19. Bxe4 Rxe4 20. Qd3 Qe8 {Both sides have
played well until this point. Now MVL breaks one of my most important rules
and throws away any possible advantage! Never play f3!} 21. f3 $5 (21. Nxb6
Rxb6 22. b3 {is probably about equal as well.}) 21... Re6 22. Bf2 Nd5 23. Rxe6
Qxe6 {Diagram #} 24. Re1 $6 {This inacurrate move leads to a draw. If white
wants to push for an edge, he needs to defend his knight with b3.} Nf4 $1 25.
Qc2 Qd5 (25... Qg6 26. Qxg6 fxg6 $11) 26. Re4 Ne6 27. Qc3 c5 28. Nxb6 Rxb6 29.
dxc5 dxc5 30. b3 Rd6 {Not the most exciting game of the round, but Hikaru easy
held equality in a rare line.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "2nd Sinquefield Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.08.29"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B00"]
[Annotator "GM Varuzhan Akobian"]
[PlyCount "68"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2014.01.04"]

1. e4 e5 {This game was played excellently by Caruana from start to finish and
he managed to find the best moves at very important times in the game.} 2. Bc4
Nf6 3. d3 c6 4. Nf3 d5 5. Bb3 Bb4+ 6. c3 Bd6 7. Bg5 dxe4 8. dxe4 {[%cal Gb3f7]}
h6 9. Bh4 Qe7 {[%csl Gb3][%cal Gc8e6]} 10. Nbd2 Nbd7 11. Bg3 Bc7 {[%csl Ge1]
[%cal Gd1e2,Ge1c1]} 12. O-O (12. Nh4 Nc5 13. Bc4 (13. Bc2 g6 14. O-O Nh5))
12... Nh5 13. h3 (13. Nh4 Ndf6 14. Nf5 Bxf5 15. exf5 Nxg3 16. hxg3 O-O-O 17.
Qe2 h5 {and black has a strong attack}) (13. Nxe5 $4 Nxe5 14. Qxh5 Bg4 15. Qh4
g5 $1 {Diagram [#]}) 13... Nxg3 14. fxg3 Nc5 {[%csl Gf7][%cal Gc5b3,Gb3f7]} 15.
Bxf7+ $5 {This move probably came as a surprise for Caruana} (15. Nh4 Nxb3 16.
axb3 g6 17. Qf3 Be6 18. Kh2 O-O {and black is clearly better}) 15... Kxf7 (
15... Qxf7 $4 16. Nxe5 Qe6 17. Qh5+ Ke7 18. Ng6+ {and white is winning}) 16.
Nxe5+ Kg8 17. Ng6 Qg5 $1 {Diagram [#]} (17... Qe8 18. Rf8+ Qxf8 19. Nxf8 Kxf8
20. Qh5 $1 {and white has the initiative}) 18. Rf8+ Kh7 19. Nxh8 (19. Rxh8+
Kxg6 {[%csl Ga1,Gd1][%cal Gg5g3,Gg5e3]} 20. Nf1 Bg4 $1 21. hxg4 Rxh8 {and
black is up a piece.}) 19... Bg4 ({Stronger is} 19... Qe3+ $1 20. Kh1 Bg4 21.
Qxg4 Rxf8 {[%csl Gd2,Gh8]} 22. Ng6 Rf7 $1 23. Nf1 Qg5 $1 24. Nh4 Qxg4 25. hxg4
Nxe4 {with a much better endgame for black}) ({If} 19... Bxh3 20. Rxa8 Qe3+ 21.
Kf1 Bxg2+ 22. Kxg2 Qxg3+ 23. Kf1 Qh3+ 24. Ke2 Qd3+ 25. Kf2 Qg3+ 26. Ke2 Qd3+ {
leads only to a draw}) 20. Qf1 Nd3 $5 (20... Rxf8 21. Qxf8 Be6 22. Nf1 Qf6 23.
Qxf6 gxf6 24. g4 Kxh8 {slightly better for black}) 21. Qxd3 (21. Rxa8 Qe3+ 22.
Kh1 Nf2+ 23. Qxf2 Qxf2 24. hxg4 Qxd2 {black is winning}) (21. Rf7 Qe3+ 22. Kh1
Qxg3 23. Rxc7 Nf2+ 24. Kg1 Nxh3+ 25. Kh1 Qxc7 26. gxh3 Be6 27. Qg2 Kxh8 {black
has a nice edge}) 21... Rxf8 22. hxg4 Qxg4 23. Nf3 Qxg3 {[%cal Gc7b6,Gf8f4,
Gf4h4]} 24. e5+ $6 ({Better is to play} 24. Nf7 Rxf7 25. e5+ g6 26. Rf1 $15)
24... Kxh8 25. e6 Bb6+ 26. Kh1 Qg4 $1 27. Qd6 (27. Re1 $4 Rxf3 $1 28. Qxf3 (28.
gxf3 Qh3#) 28... Qh4+ 29. Qh3 Qxe1+ $19) 27... Rd8 $1 {Diagram [#] after
spending some time Caruana finds the best continuation at the critical moment}
(27... Rxf3 28. gxf3 Qxf3+ 29. Kh2 Be3 30. Qd8+ Kh7 31. Qd3+ {only leads to a
draw}) 28. Qe5 (28. e7 Rxd6 29. e8=Q+ Kh7 $19 {[%cal Gd6d5,Gd5h5]}) 28... Rd5
$1 29. Qb8+ Kh7 30. e7 Qh5+ 31. Nh2 $4 {Blunder in a very difficult position} (
31. Qh2 Qe8 $1 {[%csl Gh5][%cal Ge8e7,Gd5h5,Gh5h2]} 32. g4 Rd7 33. Re1 Rxe7 34.
Rxe7 Qxe7 35. Qc2+ g6 36. Kg2 Qe6 $19 {black is winning the second pawn}) 31...
Rd1+ ({Carlsen was probably expecting} 31... Re5 32. g4 Re1+ 33. Rxe1 Qd5+ 34.
Nf3 Qxf3+ 35. Kh2 Qf2+ 36. Kh3 Qxe1 37. e8=Q Qf1+ 38. Kg3 Qf2+ 39. Kh3 Qf1+ {
with a draw}) 32. Rxd1 Qxd1+ 33. Nf1 Qxf1+ 34. Kh2 {[%cal Gf1g1]} Qg1+ (34...
Qg1+ 35. Kh3 Qe3+ 36. g3 Qxe7 $19) 0-1

[Event "2nd Sinquefield Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.08.29"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A40"]
[Annotator "GM Varuzhan Akobian"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2014.01.04"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. c3 d6 8. a4 {
This move in not as come as} (8. d4 Bb6 9. h3 Bb7 10. Re1 {with a playable
position for both sides}) 8... Rb8 9. h3 O-O 10. d4 Bb6 11. Re1 Bb7 12. axb5
axb5 13. Na3 exd4 14. cxd4 Na5 {GM Nakamura was playing very fast and
confidently and it seems like he was familiar with this line very well} 15. Bc2
b4 16. Nb1 (16. Nb5 Qd7 $1 17. Bd3 Nxe4 $1 {and the whites light squared
bishop is overloaded by protecting the knight on b5 and the pawn on e4}) 16...
Re8 17. Nbd2 b3 18. Bb1 ({Also possible} 18. Bd3 c5 19. Bb5 Re7 20. e5 dxe5 21.
dxe5 Nd7 {with unclear position}) 18... Qd7 {[%csl Gb3][%cal Ge4e5,Gb1h7,Gh7b1]
} 19. e5 $6 {Risky move since white pieces are not well developed to open the
position better is} (19. Ra3 h6 20. Bd3 {with equal chances}) 19... dxe5 20.
dxe5 Nh5 $1 $15 {[%cal Gb6f2,Gb7g2] now both black bishops are extremely active
} 21. Ng5 $2 {this is a blunder probably GM Topalov missed blacks strong
tactical replay.} ({If} 21. Ne4 Qxd1 22. Rxd1 Nc4 23. Nc3 Nxe5 24. Nxe5 Rxe5 {
black is up a pawn with slighty better position}) ({Bishop sarifice doesnt
work here} 21. Bxh7+ Kxh7 22. Ng5+ Kh6 $1 23. e6 Bxf2+ 24. Kxf2 Qd4+ 25. Re3
Nc4 26. Nxf7+ Kg6 {and white is in trouble}) 21... g6 $2 {Black missed a
strong idea here to get a big advantage} (21... Bxf2+ $1 {Diagram [#]} 22. Kxf2
Qd4+ 23. Re3 (23. Kf1 Ng3#) 23... Rxe5 {[%csl Gd1][%cal Ge5e3,Gd4e3,Ge5g5,
Gd2f3,Gd4d1,Gd1a1]} 24. Be4 Rxg5 25. Bxb7 Nxb7 26. Qxb3 Qd8 27. Nf3 Rd5 28.
Re8+ Qxe8 29. Qxd5 Nf6 30. Qc4 Nc5 $1 {and black is up a pawn with great
winning chances.}) 22. e6 $1 {strong practical move to weaken black kingside}
fxe6 23. Qg4 Nf6 24. Qh4 Rf8 25. Ndf3 Bd5 26. Ne5 Qg7 27. Bd2 {[%cal Ge1e2,
Gd2c3] very risky move} (27. Be3 Nb7 28. Bxb6 cxb6 29. Ra7 {with about equal
chances}) 27... Nc6 ({Hikaru spent lots of time here but unfortunatley didn't
find the strong} 27... Nh5 $1 28. Ngf3 Bxf3 29. gxf3 Nc6 $1 {Diagram [#]} 30.
Nxc6 Qxb2 31. Nxb8 Qxd2 32. Bxg6 hxg6 33. Rad1 Bxf2+ 34. Qxf2 Qg5+ 35. Qg2
Qxg2+ 36. Kxg2 Rxb8 {Black has winning chances}) 28. Nxc6 Bxc6 ({Still black
needed to find the strong} 28... Nh5 $1 29. Bc3 Bxf2+ 30. Qxf2 Rxf2 31. Ne4
Bxe4 32. Bxe4 Qf8 33. Nxb8 Qc5 34. Kh2 Qd6+ 35. Kg1 Qc5 $11) 29. Bc3 $1 {[%cal
Gc3g7] Strong move pinning the knight on f6} e5 (29... Bd5 30. Nxe6 Bxe6 31.
Rxe6) 30. Rxe5 $1 {Topalov is playing very strong the final part of the game.}
Nd5 31. Qc4 $1 $18 {now white is winning} Bxf2+ (31... Rxf2 32. Kh1 $1 {and
white will be losing lots of material since his pieces are hanging}) 32. Kh1 (
32. Kh2 Rf4 33. Qxc6 Nxc3 34. Qxc3 Bd4 35. Qc4+ Kh8) 32... Rb4 (32... Bg3 33.
Rxd5) 33. Bxb4 (33. Qxc6 Nxc3 34. Re8 Rb8 35. Qe6+ Kh8 36. Re7 {is stronger
than the move in the game}) 33... Qxe5 34. Be4 Rf6 (34... Rd8 35. Qxc6 Nxb4 36.
Qc4+ Nd5 37. Ra8 $1 {Diagram [#]} Rxa8 38. Qxd5+ Qxd5 39. Bxd5+ Kg7 40. Bxa8 {
white is winning}) 35. Rd1 Kg7 (35... Qxg5 36. Bxd5+ Bxd5 37. Rxd5 $18) 36.
Bxd5 Bxd5 37. Qxd5 {Very complicated game with mutual mistakes but Toplaov
must feel relieved to win this game after the first two losses.} 1-0

[Event "2nd Sinquefield Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.08.29"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B00"]
[Annotator "GM Varuzhan Akobian"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2014.01.04"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. d4 c6 5. O-O Nf6 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. c4 Be6 $6 {
Dubious move I believe better is} (7... Bf5 8. b3 Ne4 9. Bb2 Nd7 {with a solid
position for black}) 8. b3 Ne4 9. Bb2 Nxd2 (9... f5 10. e3 Nd7 11. Nxe4 dxe4
12. Ng5 Bf7 13. Ba3 $14) 10. Qxd2 $1 {[%csl Gg7][%cal Ga1c1,Gf1d1,Gc6c5] white
is not afraid of losing the pawn} dxc4 $6 (10... Bf5 11. Rac1 Nd7 12. Nh4 Be6 {
white is slightly better but black is still solid with no weaknesses}) 11. Ng5
$1 {Diagram [#]} cxb3 ({If} 11... Bh6 12. Nxe6 Bxd2 13. Nxd8 c3 14. Nxb7 cxb2
15. Rab1 Bc3 16. Rfd1 {white is slightly better}) (11... Bd5 12. e4 $1 h6 13.
exd5 hxg5 14. bxc4 cxd5 15. cxd5 {with a big advantage for white}) (11... Qd7
12. Nxe6 Qxe6 13. bxc4 (13. d5 c3 $1) 13... Qxc4 14. d5 Bxb2 15. Qxb2 Qa6 16.
Rab1 {white has very strong initiative}) 12. Nxe6 fxe6 13. Qe3 $1 {Diagram [#]}
bxa2 14. Qxe6+ Kh8 15. Qxa2 Rf5 $6 ({better is} 15... Nd7 {[%csl Gb7][%cal
Gf1b1,Ge2e3,Gb2a3]} 16. d5 c5 17. Bxg7+ Kxg7 18. Qb2+ Rf6 19. Rfb1 $14 (19.
Qxb7 $4 Rb6 {and suddenly white queen is trapped})) 16. Rfb1 Qb6 $2 {after
this risky move blacks position is lost} (16... Na6 17. d5 cxd5 18. Bxg7+ Kxg7
19. Rxb7 {big advantage for white}) 17. e4 $1 Rf8 (17... Rb5 18. Bf1 Rb4 (18...
Rxb2 19. Rxb2 Qxd4 20. Rd2) 19. Bc3 Rxb1 20. Rxb1 Qc7 21. Qb2 b6 22. d5 Bxc3
23. Qxc3+ Kg8 24. Bc4 {[%csl Ga8,Gb8][%cal Gd5d6] white has winning attack})
18. Bc3 Qc7 19. Qb2 $1 {[%cal Gd4d5] now white is ready to play d5! and win
the game} b6 20. d5 Bxc3 21. Qxc3+ Kg8 22. e5 a5 (22... Nd7 23. d6 exd6 24.
Bd5+ $1 {Diagram [#]} Rf7 25. e6 Rf5 26. Qxc6 {white wins}) 23. dxc6 {[%csl
Ga8,Gb8][%cal Gc3b3,Gb3b6]} Na6 24. Qb3+ Kh8 25. Qxb6 Qxb6 26. Rxb6 Nc7 27. Rb7
Rfc8 28. Ra4 {[%cal Gf2f4,Gg1b6]} Ra6 (28... Kg8 29. f4 Kf8 30. Kf2) 29. h4 Kg8
30. Rd4 $1 {Final touch.} a4 31. Rd7 a3 32. Rdxc7 Rxc7 33. Rxc7 a2 34. Bd5+ $1
Kf8 35. Rc8+ Kg7 {[%cal Gc8g8]} 36. Rg8+ (36. Rg8+ Kh6 37. Bxa2 Rxa2 38. c7 $18
{Very nice win for Vachire Lagrave who immediately bounced back after a loss
in Round 2.}) 1[Event "2nd Sinquefield Cup 2014"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2014.08.28"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Nakamura, Hi"]
[Black "Carlsen, M."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C60"]
[WhiteElo "2787"]
[BlackElo "2877"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "2014.08.27"]
[SourceDate "2014.01.04"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 {Not the usual choice for Carlsen. The 3...g6
variations are much sharper than the normal Breyer or Berlin type of Spanish
positions. Interestingly, Nakamura used this recently against Anand with black.
} 4. O-O Bg7 5. c3 a6 6. Ba4 (6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. d4 exd4 8. cxd4 Ne7 9. h3 O-O 10.
Nc3 h6 $11 {Anand-Nakamura, 2013}) 6... d6 7. d4 Bd7 8. d5 {Closing the
position is one of two approaches the situation; by closing the position White
gains space, but Black will be able to push f5 quickly.} (8. Re1 {is a
completely different approach to the position.}) 8... Nce7 9. Bxd7+ (9. c4 {is,
in my humble opinion, a more accurate move order. It also scores better.}) 9...
Qxd7 10. c4 h6 (10... f5 $6 11. Ng5 {emphasizes the weakness of e6.}) 11. Nc3
f5 12. Nd2 Nf6 13. f3 O-O 14. b4 c6 (14... g5 $5 {Was an old game between
Sax-Smyslov... such legends!}) 15. dxc6 {It's hard to understand the desire to
simplify the tension so quickly. Black obtains quick activity and access to
the d4 square. However maybe there was no satisfactory alternative.} (15. Bb2
b5 {starts becoming dangerous for White.}) 15... Nxc6 16. a3 Nd4 17. Bb2 Rac8 {
Black has good pressure, but White is banking on his superior pawn structure
to win in the long run.} 18. Ne2 Nh5 $5 {This involves a pawn sacrifice!} (
18... Ne6 {is more sedate, and about equal:} 19. exf5 gxf5 20. Qb3 $13) 19.
Nxd4 exd4 20. exf5 {Tha pawn cannot be taken, but that is still ok.} Nf4 $1 {
Diagram [#]} (20... gxf5 $6 21. Nb3 Rxc4 22. Qd2 $1 {White will regain the d4
pawn and his structure is much superior.}) (20... Qxf5 21. g4 Qg5 22. Ne4 Qe3+
23. Kh1 d3 24. Bxg7 Nxg7 25. Nxd6 $16) 21. f6 $1 {A good practical decision.} (
21. fxg6 Rf6 $1 {Gives black more than enough compensation. Practically it is
difficult to defend this position.}) 21... Bxf6 22. g3 Nh3+ 23. Kg2 $6 (23. Kh1
{was safer, there is no reason to tempt Qh3+.} Ng5 24. Nb3 Rxc4 25. Qd3 Qf7 26.
Bxd4 {was maybe a little better for White.}) 23... Ng5 24. Qb1 Kh7 25. Qd3 {
White retains the better pawn structure; Black has to act quickly before his
initiative evaporates.} Be5 $1 {Putting pressure on the kingside is mandatory.}
26. Rae1 {Accepting the draw.} (26. f4 Qh3+ 27. Kh1 Rxf4 28. Rxf4 Bxf4 29. Re1
{gives Black some problems.}) 26... Bxg3 27. hxg3 Qh3+ {There is nothing
better than perpetual for both sides.} 28. Kg1 Qxg3+ 29. Kh1 Qh4+ 30. Kg2 Qh3+
31. Kg1 Qg3+ 32. Kh1 Qh3+ (32... Rf4 $2 33. Re7+ Nf7 34. Rxf7+ Rxf7 35. Ne4 {
allows White to consolidate and have the better position.}) 1/2-1/2

[Event "2nd Sinquefield Cup 2014"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2014.08.28"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Caruana, F."]
[Black "Vachier Lagrave, M."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "2801"]
[BlackElo "2768"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "2014.08.27"]
[SourceDate "2014.01.04"]

1. e4 c6 $5 {MVL comes with different ideas to the Sinquefield; however he
runs into an unpleasant surprise. His main defense is definitely the Najdorf
Sicilian.} 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 c5 6. Be3 Qb6 7. Nc3 Nc6 8. O-O
Qxb2 9. Qe1 cxd4 10. Bxd4 Nxd4 11. Nxd4 Bb4 12. Ndb5 {A very sharp but
theoretical line that has been seen before.} Ba5 13. Rb1 Qxc2 14. Rc1 {A
novelty, but one that can be expected.} Qb2 15. g4 $5 {Diagram [#] This
however, cannot! An idea of Caruana's second and coach, Vladimir Chuchelov.
Computers unanimously hate it at the beginning, but it is not a bad idea at
all - more than that it is incredibly sharp and annoying to face over the
board. The preparation was done a few months ago to face Mamedyarov, and MVL
was unlucky enough to be the one that triggered it.} Bg6 (15... Be4 16. Qd1 $1
{is dangerous.}) 16. f4 Be4 (16... Ne7 17. f5 exf5 18. Nd6+ Kf8 19. gxf5 Nxf5
20. Nxf5 Rc8 {is a strange piece sacrifice. Black obtains definite
compensation and it is hard to hold White's position together without losing
something. Practical tests will have to determine how good this variation is.})
17. Rf2 {The only move, but good enough. White has a myriad of threats.} Nh6 $2
{A bad move, and enough to lose.} (17... Ne7 18. Nc7+ Kd8 (18... Bxc7 19. Bb5+
$18 {the queen on b2 isn't happy about this line.}) 19. Nxa8 $18) (17... Kf8 $1
18. Bd3 Qb4 19. Rb1 Qc5 20. Nxe4 dxe4 21. Qxa5 exd3 {we will see why this line
is not possible in the other variation. Here the game is still very complex,
but White must have at least enough compensation.}) 18. Bd3 (18. Nc7+ $2 {no
longer has the same effect.} Ke7 19. Nxa8 Rxa8 $17) 18... Qb4 (18... Bb6 19.
Nxe4 dxe4 20. Rcc2 $1 {Is a nasty trap. The queen is done for, and this was a
tactic that Caruana was familiar with before the game started, even if it
wasn't against Nh6 specifically.} Qxc2 21. Nd6+ Kf8 22. Bxc2 Nxg4 23. Nxe4 $18)
19. Rb1 Qc5 20. Nxe4 dxe4 21. Qxa5 {Unlike the other variation we saw before,
Black has no time to take on d3 as Nd6+ is a threat, taking the queen on c5.}
O-O (21... exd3 22. Nd6+ $18) 22. Be2 e3 23. Rff1 {White is up a piece and his
position is even better than Black's. The rest is easy and requires no
comments, MVL is just flailing.} Rfc8 24. Qe1 Qd5 25. Rb2 f6 26. Qg3 fxe5 27.
fxe5 Rf8 28. Rxf8+ Rxf8 29. Qxe3 Nf7 30. Nc3 {A wonderful preparation from
Caruana!} 1-0

[Event "2nd Sinquefield Cup 2014"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2014.08.28"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Aronian, L."]
[Black "Topalov, V."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D15"]
[WhiteElo "2805"]
[BlackElo "2772"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2014.08.27"]
[SourceDate "2014.01.04"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 a6 {The Chebanenko Slav has a reputation
of being a solid and dependable defense against 1.d4.} 5. e3 b5 6. c5 g6 7. Bd2
{A new approach, but one that makes sense. White tries to develop the
queenside and pressure with the pawns before finishing development on the
kingside.} Bg7 8. b4 a5 $5 {Topalov adds his own dynamic twist to the opening.
Black plays aggressively, vying for the advantage himself.} (8... Bg4 9. h3
Bxf3 10. gxf3 Nbd7 11. f4 {is an old game that Aronian lost against Bu
Xiangzhi in 2004; the Armenian player has improved quite a bit since then,
though!}) 9. bxa5 Ne4 10. Nxe4 dxe4 11. Ng5 {It is unclear if Aronian saw the
exchange sacrifice from here.} (11. Ne5 Bxe5 12. dxe5 Na6 {is unclear.}) 11...
Qd5 12. f4 (12. h4 e5 {cannot be to anyone's liking.}) 12... h6 13. Nh3 Bxh3
14. gxh3 Bxd4 {This is the point of Black's play.} 15. exd4 e3 16. Bxe3 {
Virtually forced, but White took his sweet time thinking about going into this
line.} (16. Rg1 Qxd4 {is completely lost for White as the bishop on d2 is
trapped.}) 16... Qxh1 17. Qd2 {White is down an exchange, but he has a few
things to show for it. For one the pair of bishops is quite strong, for
another Black's king will not easily find a haven. That being said, White's
pawn structure is so bad that if Topalov can reach any endgame it must be
nearly winning for him. The issue is if he can reach it.} Na6 18. O-O-O Qd5 19.
Bg2 Qc4+ 20. Kb1 Qe6 $2 {Aronian remarked that Topalov is a very passionate
player, a passion that fuels his attacks. However in the defensive side it
seems that Topalov is not so strong. A half-joke in the commentary room was
that Topalov was amazing down the exchange for compensation, but vice versa
was not so good.} (20... Qb4+ 21. Ka1 Kd7 $1 {Is still anyone's game.}) 21. d5
{Simple. The pawn crashes through and Black has trouble resisting the advances.
} Qf5+ 22. Kb2 O-O-O $2 {A move only Topalov can play.} (22... O-O 23. dxc6 Nc7
{and it is not so easy to make progress for White; mainly due to his terrible
pawn structure and his somewhat exposed king.}) 23. d6 exd6 $2 {Black is
basically lost after this move, but already the situation was not easy.} 24.
cxd6 Qf6+ 25. Kb1 Qf5+ 26. Kc1 Qf6 27. d7+ $1 {Of course. Now Bd4 will be
playable and devastating.} Kb7 28. Bd4 Qe6 29. Bxh8 {It's hard to say exactly
how Topalov went down in flames so quickly, but he will definitely need to
step up his game to catch up in the tournament.} (29. Bxh8 Rxh8 30. d8=Q Rxd8
31. Qxd8 Qc4+ 32. Kd2 Qxf4+ 33. Ke2 {and Black runs out of checks sooner
rather than later.}) 1-0

[Event "Sinquefield Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.08.31"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Aronian, Levon"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A00"]
[Annotator "GM Varuzhan Akobian"]
[PlyCount "140"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2014.01.04"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 b6 3. g3 Bb7 4. c4 g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. O-O O-O 7. Re1 {Idea of
this move is that if white plays} (7. Nc3 Ne4 $1 8. Nxe4 Bxe4 {leads to a
equal position which GM Vladimir Kramnik demonstrated before.}) 7... e6 8. Nc3
Ne4 $1 {An important move to prevent White from playing e4} 9. Nxe4 Bxe4 10.
Bg5 Qe8 {a strange move, but the idea is that after white plays Qd2 Bh6 black
can simply play Qe7 and later connect his rooks} 11. Qd2 d6 12. Bh6 Nd7 13.
Rac1 Qe7 14. Bxg7 Kxg7 15. Bh3 Nf6 {Black is very solid and at this point its
clear that white didn't get any opening advantage} 16. Nh4 Bb7 (16... c5 17. d5
exd5 18. f3 $1 {and black's bishop is in trouble.}) 17. f3 c5 $1 {very
important to play this move otherwise white will play e4 and then meet c5 with
d5 gaining lot of space and a better position} 18. e4 cxd4 19. Qxd4 Rfd8 20.
Ng2 Qc7 21. Ne3 Qc5 22. Qc3 a5 23. Red1 (23. a3 a4 $1 {stopping b4}) 23... h5
24. Rd3 b5 25. b3 $6 {better is simple} (25. cxb5 Qxb5 26. Bf1 {with equal
position}) 25... bxc4 26. bxc4 Bc6 {position is still equal but white has a
long term weakness on c4 which could turn out to be a problem later in the
game.} 27. Rcd1 Rd7 28. Bg2 Rb8 29. Qd4 $1 {exchanging black's active Queen}
Qe5 $1 30. f4 Qxd4 31. Rxd4 Rc7 (31... e5 $1 32. Rxd6 Rxd6 33. Rxd6 exf4 34.
gxf4 Bxe4 35. Rxf6 Rb1+ 36. Kf2 Rb2+ 37. Kg3 Rxg2+ 38. Nxg2 Kxf6 {and black is
clearly better in this endgame since bishop is stronger than the knight.}) 32.
R1d2 Ne8 33. Kf2 Kf8 34. c5 $6 {Aronian was getting low on time and decide to
sacrifice his weak pawn and get activity as compensation.} (34. R4d3 a4 35. Bf3
{white is slightly worse but should make a draw.}) 34... dxc5 35. Rc4 Bb5 36.
Rc3 c4 37. e5 Rc5 38. Nc2 Nc7 39. Nd4 Nd5 ({Slightly better is} 39... Ba6 40.
Ke3 Kg7 {black is up a clear pawn}) 40. Bxd5 Rxd5 41. Nf3 Rc5 $6 (41... Ba6 42.
Rxd5 exd5 43. Ke3 Rb1 44. Ra3 a4 45. Rxa4 c3 {black has a big advantage}) 42.
Rb2 Rd8 43. Nd2 Bc6 (43... Rd3 44. Ne4 Bc6) 44. Nb3 $2 (44. Ke3 Bd5 45. h4 $11)
44... Rb8 45. Rcc2 c3 46. Rb1 Rcb5 47. Rxc3 Bd5 48. Rbc1 Bxb3 49. axb3 Rxb3 50.
Rxb3 Rxb3 51. Rc8+ Ke7 52. Kg2 {white has good drawing chances but he needs to
play very precise.} a4 53. Kh3 (53. Ra8 Rb4 54. Kh3 g5 55. fxg5 Rg4 {leads to
the position in the game}) 53... g5 $1 54. fxg5 Rb4 55. Ra8 Rg4 56. Ra7+ $6 (
56. Ra6 Rxg5 57. Rxa4 Rxe5 58. Kh4 {with drawing chances}) 56... Kf8 57. g6
fxg6 58. Kg2 g5 59. Kf3 Rb4 60. Ke3 Ke8 61. Kd3 h4 $1 {Now black is creating a
weakness on g3} 62. Kc3 hxg3 63. hxg3 Rg4 64. Kd3 (64. Kd2 Rxg3 65. Rxa4 Kf7
66. Ra6 Rb3 67. Ke2 Rb5 $19) 64... a3 $1 65. Ke3 Rxg3+ 66. Kd4 g4 67. Ra8+ Kd7
68. Kc5 Rd3 69. Kc4 Rf3 70. Kc5 g3 {Nice win by Carlsen and this could be a
great confidence boost to get back in to the tournament.} 0-1

[Event "Sinquefield Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.08.31"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Black "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A00"]
[Annotator "GM Varuzhan Akobian"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2014.01.04"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Be3
Be7 9. Qd2 O-O 10. O-O-O a5 11. a4 Na6 12. g4 Nb4 (12... Bxb3 $6 13. cxb3 Rc8
14. Kb1 Nb4 15. Bc4 {much better for white since black light squares are weak.}
) 13. Kb1 Qc7 (13... d5 14. g5 Nxe4 15. fxe4 d4 16. Nxd4 exd4 17. Bxd4 Bxg5 18.
Qg2 {Topalov mentioned after the game that white is better in this position.})
14. g5 Nh5 15. Bb5 (15. f4 exf4 16. Bxf4 Nxf4 17. Qxf4 {also slightly better
for white}) 15... Rac8 16. Rhg1 f5 17. gxf6 Nxf6 18. Qg2 Nh5 (18... g6 19. h4
Nh5 {and black is fine}) 19. Nc1 Bf6 $2 ({Better is for black to start with} 
19... g6 20. Nd3 Nxd3 21. Rxd3 Nf4 22. Bxf4 Rxf4 23. Nd5 Bxd5 24. Rxd5 Kg7 {
leads to a better version of the position in the game since black rook on f4
is much more active pressuring on f3 and at some point h2 pawn via Rh4 idea.})
20. Nd3 Nxd3 21. Rxd3 Nf4 22. Bxf4 exf4 23. Nd5 Bxd5 24. Rxd5 Be5 25. c3 $1 {
after all the trades white is much better here since Black has a hard time
creating any counter play and his light squares are very weak.} Rf6 26. Qf2 {
with idea of Qa7 at some point thats why black is forced to play b6} b6 27. Ba6
$1 {Forcing black rook move away from c-file so he cannot play Rc5 after
moving a Queen away which could be a strong defensive resource for black.} Rb8
28. Bd3 Kh8 29. Rb5 Rf7 30. h4 Qa7 31. Qc2 Rc7 32. Qb3 Rc5 33. Qe6 Rxb5 34.
Bxb5 Rf8 35. h5 Qc7 $2 {Final mistake. Black had to try his best chance with} (
35... Qf7 36. Qxf7 (36. Qg4 $4 Bxc3 37. bxc3 Qb3+ 38. Kc1 Qxc3+ 39. Kd1 {
losses after} (39. Kb1 Qb3+ {with a draw}) 39... Rc8 $1) 36... Rxf7 37. Ka2 Rf6
38. Bd7 {white has a big advantage in this endgame but not clear if he can win
it.}) 36. Ka2 Qd8 37. Qg4 Qc7 38. Kb3 Rc8 39. Qe6 Qc5 40. Rg5 Rb8 41. Rf5 $1 {
A bit of a premature resignation but black's position is lost anyway} (41. Rf5
Qc8 42. Qxc8+ Rxc8 43. Rf7 Rb8 44. Bd7 h6 45. Kc4 {and white will collect b6
and a5 pawns soon. Excellent win by Topalov who is now tied for 2nd place with
Carlsen going into the rest day.}) 1-0

[Event "Sinquefield Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.08.31"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D11"]
[Annotator "GM Varuzhan Akobian"]
[PlyCount "134"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2014.01.04"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nbd2 {White decided to chose a rare line
against the Slav Defense.} Bf5 5. Nh4 Be4 6. f3 Bg6 7. e3 e6 8. g3 {This is a
novelty previously white tried 8.Nxg6} Be7 9. a3 Nbd7 10. cxd5 cxd5 {Not the
best way to recapture.} (10... exd5 11. Nxg6 hxg6 12. Bg2 {with equal position.
}) 11. Nxg6 hxg6 12. Bd3 e5 $1 {A strong move - black is trying to open the
center to use his lead in development.} 13. O-O O-O 14. Qb3 Qc8 15. Nb1 exd4 (
15... Bd8 16. Nc3 Bb6 17. dxe5 Nxe5 18. Be2 Qe6) 16. exd4 Nb8 {Both player are
moving the knights to their original squares in order to improve the position}
17. Nc3 Nc6 18. Be3 Qd7 19. Rad1 Rfd8 20. Rfe1 Ne8 21. Bf2 Nc7 22. Bf1 (22.
Qxb7 Rab8) 22... Bf6 23. Qa2 g5 $5 {Interesting move Caruana is planning to
play g6,Kg7 and possibly use the H-file to put pressure.} 24. b4 g6 25. Qd2 Kg7
26. b5 Ne7 (26... Na5 27. Nxd5 Nxd5 28. Qxa5 {winning a pawn}) 27. Be3 Ne6 28.
Bh3 Nf5 29. Bxf5 gxf5 30. f4 $6 ({Better is} 30. Ne2 Qxb5 31. Qc2 $1 {with
about equal position}) 30... g4 31. Qd3 Rac8 {Now black is slightly better
since his both minor pieces are better placed and more active.} 32. Rc1 (32.
Qxf5 $4 Nxd4 33. Qxd7 Nf3+ 34. Kf2 Rxd7 35. Nxd5 Nxe1 {black is winning}) 32...
Rc4 $1 {Now black is increasing the pressure and its very difficult for white
to do anything.} 33. Ne2 Nc7 {another precise move by black} 34. Nc3 (34. Rxc4
dxc4 35. Qxc4 Nxb5 36. a4 Nxd4 37. Bxd4 Bxd4+ 38. Qxd4+ Qxd4+ 39. Nxd4 Rxd4 40.
Re7 Rxa4 41. Rxb7 Ra2 42. Rc7 a5 {Black has good winning chances}) 34... Rc8
35. h3 $2 {After this move white's position is lost .It's very difficult to
play here for white but better was to try} (35. a4 Ne8 $1 36. Kg2 Bd8 {with
idea of Ba5 and Nf6 -Ne4 black has a bid edge.}) 35... gxh3 36. Kh2 Nxb5 37.
Nxb5 Qxb5 38. Kxh3 Qd7 39. Kg2 b5 40. Rb1 a6 41. Rbc1 Qe6 42. Bf2 (42. Bd2 Rxd4
43. Qxd4 (43. Rxe6 Rxd3 $19) 43... Bxd4 44. Rxe6 Rxc1 45. Re2 Rc2 $19 {Black
two pawns and easily winning}) 42... Rxc1 43. Rxe6 fxe6 44. g4 fxg4 $6 ({Here
Caruana could of end the game immediately with a brilliant} 44... Bh4 $1 45.
Bxh4 (45. gxf5 R8c2 46. f6+ Kxf6 $19) 45... R8c3 46. Qd2 R1c2 {winning whites
queen}) 45. Qe2 Kf7 46. Qd3 $1 {Excellent defensive resource by Nakamura} R1c2
47. Qh7+ Ke8 48. f5 $2 (48. Kf1 $1 {and Caruana had to show some good
technique to win this position}) 48... Bxd4 $1 49. Qg6+ Kd8 50. Qxe6 Rxf2+ 51.
Kg3 Rc3+ 52. Kxg4 Rg2+ 53. Kf4 Rf2+ 54. Kg4 Kc7 55. Qe7+ Kb6 56. Qd8+ Rc7 57.
Qxd5 (57. Qb8+ Rb7 58. Qd6+ Ka7 59. Qxd5 Rg7+ 60. Kh3 Bb6 61. Qe6 Rf1 {and
black threatening Rh1 mate}) 57... Bc5 58. Qd8 Kb7 59. f6 Bxa3 $1 60. Qd5+ Kb6
61. Qd8 Bc5 62. Qb8+ Rb7 63. Qd8+ Ka7 64. Qd5 Bb6 65. Kg5 Rc7 66. Kg6 b4 67.
Qe6 Bd4 {Great maneuvering win by Caruana and he is going to rest day with 5
wins out of 5 games!} 0-1

