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Find expert commentary — video and game annotations — by well-known coach and author IM Robert Ris at the end of the article.
Surprisingly, as expressed by the webcast’s commentators, Fabiano Caruana’s victory over Ian Nepomniachtchi in round 4 of the Superbet Chess Classic was the first in his career (in a classical game). The elite grandmasters, aged 30 and 32, have played numerous confrontations, including four at all-important Candidates Tournaments. As noted by Caruana, all four of their games in the Candidates were hard-fought, sharp draws.
Navigating the Ruy Lopez Vol.1-3
The Ruy Lopez is one of the oldest openings which continues to enjoy high popularity from club level to the absolute world top. In this video series, American super GM Fabiano Caruana, talking to IM Oliver Reeh, presents a complete repertoire for White.
Despite being two of the best-prepared players in the world, the decisive game on Tuesday had little to do with the opening. A materially balanced position with queen and knight against queen and bishop appeared on the board. It all indicated that a routine draw would follow, as described by Caruana:
For a long time, we were just playing instantly — nothing was happening.
But chess positions often contain hidden resources. Caruana felt he had a small chance to win and began to pose problems to his opponent. Nepo eventually felt the danger and his discomfort began to show in his demeanour. Caruana confessed that converting the advantage was never easy with the queens still on the board, but in the end managed to collect the full point against his famed opponent.
This unorthodox game (for the elite level) follows a trend of players obtaining wins from positions that are often regarded as lifeless or inevitably-leading-to-a-draw. On Monday, Jorden van Foreest defeated Arjun Erigaisi from a drawn rook endgame in Malmö, while Richard Rapport demonstrated a day prior that not all opposite-coloured bishops (with an equal number of pawns) are drawn.
In the other decisive game of the day, Alireza Firouzja got the better of Bogdan-Daniel Deac with the black pieces. Firouzja thus returned to a fifty-percent score — he lost to Wesley So in the first round — while Deac is now in the cellar of the standings.
Anish Giri held Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to a draw with black | Photo: Lennart Ootes
The following position was reached on move 38, right after the contenders had traded minor pieces on e4. By that point, only four times had the players spent more than ten minutes on a single decision. A draw was certainly regarded as the most probable result.
Seven moves later, the white knight reached the strong outpost on d4 and the white queen stood strong on the open c-file. Caruana had reason to be hopeful.
Nepo’s 39...f5, played almost instantly, further deteriorated Black’s drawing chances.
What followed was a manoeuvring masterclass by Caruana, who never let go of his advantage while preventing his opponent from getting counterchances (by, for example, threatening a perpetual check).
Only on move 70 did Black completely run out of tricks.
70.Qc5+ and Nepo resigned. The bishop will fall and there is no perpetual in sight.
Calculation Training for 1400-1600 players
Mastering these tactical motifs is essential to deepen your understanding of the game and become a better player. After all, you neither want to overlook the given chances by your opponent, nor blunder yourself!
A great shot of the playing hall in Bucharest | Photo: Bryan Adams
Middlegame Secrets Vol.1 + Vol.2
Let us learn together how to find the best spot for the queen in the early middlegame, how to navigate this piece around the board, how to time the queen attack, how to decide whether to exchange it or not, and much more!
