Overboard

Fabiano Caruana – Laurent Fressinet
SchachBundesliga Championship Tournament; Karlsruhe, September 19, 2020
Spanish Game C84

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Nxe4 6. d4 Be7 7. Re1 b5 8. Rxe4 d5 9. Nxe5 Nxe5 10. Rxe5 bxa4 11. Qf3!?TN (11. Nc3 0-0 12. Re1 Bd6 13. Qh5 a3 14. Nxd5 axb2 15. Bxb2 Rb8 16. Rab1 Re8 17. Ne3 Bf4 18. d5 Rb4 19. c4 Bxe3 20. Rxe3 Rxe3 21. fxe3 Rxc4 22. Bd4 c5 23. Ba1 f6 24. h3 Qe7 25. Qf3 h6 26. Re1 Re4 27. Kf2 Bd7= Caruana – Carlsen, 5th Grand Chess Tour, 2nd stage, Zagreb 2019) 11. ... Be6 12. Nc3 Bf6 13. Bg5 Bxg5

14. Qh5. The corollary of 11. Qf3: thanks to the threat of Re5xe6+ White regains the Bishop with a slightly more comfortable game. 14. ... 0-0 (14. ... Be7? 15. Rxe6 g6 16. Qe5+−) 15. Rxg5 a3 16. b3 g6 17. Rg3 Qd6 18. Qe2. 18. Qf3 Kg7 (otherwise Qf3-f6 would be very unpleasant) 19. Re1 Rae8 20. Qd1 Bd7 would lead to similar play. 18. ... Rfe8 19. Qd2 Bd7 20. h3 Re6 21. Re1 Rxe1+ 22. Qxe1 Re8 23. Re3 Rxe3 24. Qxe3 Bf5

25. g4!? If 25. Qd2 Black can reply 25. ... c5 with equality. 25. ... Bxc2 26. Kg2! Now the Bishop is endangered of entrapment, but Black escapes by means of tactics: 26. ... h5! 27. Qd2 Be4+ 28. f3 h4! 29. Qf2 Bd3 30. Qxh4 c6 31. Qf2 Qf4 32. Nd1 Bb1 33. b4?! (33. Nc3 Bd3 34. Na4=) 33. ... Qc1?! 33. ... Bxa2 34. Qxa2 Qxd4 35. Qxa3 Qxd1 is more or less the same as in the game, but 33. ... g5! would have put White in serious difficulty. 34. Qe2! Bxa2 35. Qxa2 Qxd1. In the end, what remains is a very drawish Queen ending. 36. Qxa3 Qd2 37. Kg3 Qxd4 38. Qxa6 Qg1+ 39. Kf4 Qd4+ 40. Kg3 g5 41. Kg2 Qd2+ 42. Kf1 Qc1+ 43. Ke2 Qc2+ 44. Ke3 Qc3+ 45. Ke2 Qc2+ 46. Ke3 Qc3+ 47. Ke2 Kg7 48. Qc8 Qc2+ 49. Ke3 Qc3+ 50. Ke2 Qc2+ 51. Ke3 Qb3+ 52. Ke2 Qc4+ 53. Kf2 Qxb4 54. Qxc6 Qd2+ 55. Kf1 Qd1+ ½ : ½.