Fabiano Caruana – Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin
7th Gashimov Memorial; Rapid stage; Armageddon game; time control: 5 minutes for White, 4 minutes for Black, with a 3 second increment after the 60th move; Baku, December 18, 2021
8/4k2p/2B3p1/5p1P/p7/Pb4P1/5P2/6K1 w - - 0 39
Position after 38. ... Kf7xe7
Caruana has liquidated into a clear endgame win which if achieved would have maintained him in the lead even today. However time flies by and he must have realised that all of his advantage would end in nothing after 39. hxg6 hxg6 20. f4 g5!= with a draw coming. Probably upset he then turned himself to a tricky move: 39. h6? Hoping for a happy ending after 39. ... Kd6?? 40. Be8 followed by a raid on g6, but of course Karjakin did not bite the bait. And yet Caruana was very close to the solution, if only he had reversed the order of moves: 39. f4! gxh5 (otherwise White exchanges on g6 and then moves the King to b4) 40. Kf2 Kd6 41. Be8 Kd5 42. Ke3+− with a won ending for White despite his material deficit as all Black’s Pawns — scattered on squares of the wrong colour — are doomed. 39. ... g5= 40. f4 gxf4 41. gxf4 Kf7 42. Kf2 Kg6 43. Bd7 Kxh6 44. Bxf5 Kg7 45. Kg3 h6 46. Be4 Kf6 47. Bf3 Kf5 48. Bg4+ Kf6 49. Kh4 Kg6 50. Bd7 Bd1 51. Kg3 Kf6 52. Kf2 Bb3 53. Kf3 Bd1+ 54. Ke4 Bb3 55. Bg4 Bc2+ 56. Kd4 Bb3 57. Bh3 Bc2 58. Kc3 Bb3 59. Kb4 h5 60. Kc3 Be6 61. Bf1 Kf5 62. Bh3+ Kf6 63. Bf1 ½ : ½.
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