Solo et pensoso

Fabiano Caruana – Hikaru Nakamura
London Chess Classic Rapidplay; London, December 6, 2014
Sicilian Defence B30

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 e6 4. 0-0 Nge7 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 Ng6 7. Be2. For 7. Be3 Be7 8. Be2 see Caruana – Radjabov, Kings Tournament, Bucharest 2013. 7. ... Bc5 8. Nb3 Bb6 9. c4 d6 10. Nc3 a6 11. Kh1 e5 12. Nd5 Ba7 13. Bg4 0-0 14. Bxc8 Rxc8 15. Be3 Bxe3 16. Nxe3 Nge7 17. Rc1 a5 18. c5. White thought five minutes for this move. 18. ... dxc5 19. Nxc5 Nd4 20. Qd3 Qd6 21. Nb3 a4 22. Nxd4 Qxd4 23. Qb1 Qd2 24. Rcd1 Qb4 25. Rd7 Nc6 26. a3 Qb3 27. Rd3 Qb6 28. Nd5 Qb5. “Black’s excursion with his Queen may not look as though it achieved very much but it soaked up another five minutes from White’s clock. At this stage White had 6 minutes left to Black’s 15 – a perilous state of affairs”, John Saunders wrote. 29. Rc1 Rcd8 30. b4 Nd4 31. Rc5 Qe8 32. Qd1 f5 33. exf5 Rxf5 34. f3 Rf8 35. Nc3 b6 36. Rc7 b5 37. Rc5 Rc8 38. Ne4 Rxc5 39. Nxc5 Qf7 40. h3 Qf5 41. Re3 h6 42. Qd2 Rd8 43. Re4 Kh7 44. Qf2. Now White had less than a minute left. 44. ... Rd5 45. Kh2 Nb3! The most speculative try.

46. Nxb3? A crucial mistake. Nolens volens, the ending resulting from 46. Rg4 Nxc5 47. bxc5 e4 48. Rxe4 Rxc5 would have been the lesser evil. 46. ... axb3 47. Qe3? From bad to worse, but also after 47. Qb2 Rd3 – holding the passer – White is doomed. 47. ... b2 48. Qe1 Rd4 0 : 1. For if 49. Qb1 then 49. ... Rxe4 50. fxe4 Qf4+ 51. g3 Qd2+ followed by ... Qd2-c1+.

Zsuzsa Polgár (@SusanPolgar)