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In the game against 20-year-old John Burke on Friday, Fabiano Caruana was vastly superior. Even before move 30 Burke was confronted with numerous weaknesses in his position, and also a fatal pin. The final position was a kind of zugzwang on a full board.
16...Ba6? A terrible-looking move.
[After 16...Bb6! 17.Nxb5 Rxa1 18.Qxa1 0-0 Caruana would still have had a lot of work to do. Many things suggest that the black bishop would have been better off on b6 from the start.]
17.Bb3 Ne7 18.d4! Now the position plays itself out.
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.
18...exd4 19.Nxd4
[The refined 19.Nc2! was missed by Caruana: the move would have ensured that a white knight would get to d4 in any case.]
19...b4?
[With 19...Bxd4! Black would have been able to limit the damage here.]
20.Nc4 Bxc4
[After 20...Bxd4 21.Qxd4 0-0 22.cxb4 Nc6 23.Qc3 Bxc4 24.Bxc4 Ne5 25.Ra5 White has an extra pawn and can attack the black weaknesses on both wings.]
21.Bxc4 0-0 22.cxb4 d5 23.exd5 Qd6
With his pawn sacrifice, Black has improved his queen, but it is no longer of any use.
24.Nb5 Qxb4 25.b3 Qc5 26.Qf3 The same applies as in the variation on move 20: White already has an extra pawn and no weaknesses, while Black faces big problems on both sides of the board.
26...Kg7 27.Ra6
Threatening Qf6+ as well as Rfa1.
27...f6 [Or 27...Bb6 28.Rxa8 Rxa8 29.d6! gaining material.]
28.Rfa1 Nc8 29.Kh2!
After this quiet move, there is nothing else for Black to do. 1-0
You can already see Fabiano Caruana’s drive in his face here | Photo: Crystal Fuller
These two are only 20 years old and still at the beginning of their careers — Jeffery Xiong and Sam Sevian debriefing after Sevian came out on top | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Master Class Vol.4: José Raúl Capablanca
He was a child prodigy and he is surrounded by legends. In his best times he was considered to be unbeatable and by many he was reckoned to be the greatest chess talent of all time: Jose Raul Capablanca, born 1888 in Havana.
Lazaro Bruzon and Leinier Dominguez, two Cubans that now represent the United States, drew their direct encounter | Photo: Bryan Adams
After two defeats, Dariusz Swiercz bounced back with a win | Photo: Lennart Ootes
In the Women’s Championship, Katerina Nemcova defended her leading position with a draw against Ashrita Eswaran. Carissa Yip, Irina Krush and Eswaran, who were already half a point behind before the round, also only drew and consequently could not catch up with the leader.
Stylish ambience at the Saint Louis Chess Club — it is hard to imagine better conditions for a chess player | Photo: Crystal Fuller
