Dago Red

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – Fabiano Caruana
FIDE Grand Prix; Khanty-Mansiysk, May 17, 2015
Queen’s Gambit Declined D38

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. Rc1 c6 8. e3 Qa5 9. Bd3 Ne4 10. 0-0 Nxg5 11. Nxg5 Nf6 12. Qc2 h6 13. Nf3 Bd6 14. Ne5. Just to gain time on the clock. 14. h3 0-0 15. Ne5 transposes to the game. 14. ... Ng4 15. Nf3 Nf6 16. h3 0-0 17. Ne5 a6! An inspired novelty. Less accurate is 17. ... c5?! because of 16. Nb5! with a clear edge, Gelfand – Jakovenko, World Cup, Khanty-Mansiysk 2009. 18. f4 c5 19. g4!? MVL is perhaps too ambitious. 19. ... cxd4 20. exd4 Be6 21. Qb3? Afterwards, both players agreed this move was a mistake, since Black finds a neat tactical parry. Both 21. Qf2 and 21. Kh1!? (Caruana) would have assured White a slight edge. 21. ... b5 22. f5 Qb6! 23. Nf3 Bc8 24. Kg2!? This is a strange move! The only thing that worldwide computer analysis proves is that after 24. Nxd5 Nxd5 25. Be4 Nc7 26. Rc6 Qb8 27. Rxd6 Ne8! 28. Bxa8 Qxd6 Black’s initiative more than merely compensates for the sacrificed Pawn. 24. ... Bb7 25. Na4 Qa7 26. Nc5 Rac8 27. a4. Here 27. Nxb7 Qxb7 28. a4 looks a bit better, since now Black’s light-squared Bishop is to shine on the long diagonal. 27. ... Bxc5 28. dxc5

28. ... d4! 29. axb5 axb5 30. Qxb5. White has an extra Pawn, but his King is in serious danger! 30. ... Bc6! 31. Qb6 Qd7 32. Kg1 Rfe8! Caruana has eight minutes remaining for eight moves, but his attack is overwhelming. 33. Rce1 Rxe1 34. Nxe1 Re8 35. Ng2 Nd5 36. Qb3 Ne3 37. Nxe3 dxe3 38. Qc4 Qc7 39. Qf4 Qxf4 40. Rxf4 e2 41. Bxe2 Rxe2 42. Rb4 Rg2+ 43. Kf1 Rc2 0 : 1.

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs. Fabiano Caruana
Photo: Kirill Merkurev