The Eighth Seal

Fabiano Caruana – Dommaraju Gukesh
44th Chess Olympiad; Mamallapuram, August 6, 2022
Sicilian Defence B31

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. 0-0 Bg7 5. Bxc6 bxc6 6. Re1 Qc7 7. h3 d6 8. e5 dxe5 9. d3 c4 10. Nc3 cxd3 11. cxd3 Nh6 (11. ... Be6 12. Qa4 Nf6 13. Nxe5 Rc8 14. Bf4 Qb7 15. Qa3 0-0 16. Na4 Qb5 17. Nc5 Bd5 18. Rac1 Rfd8 19. Bd2 Re8 20. b3 Nh5 21. d4 Rcd8 22. Rc2 Ra8 23. Qc1 Bxe5 24. dxe5 Ng7 25. Qb2 Ne6 26. Nxe6 Bxe6 27. Rec1 Rac8 28. Qd4 Rc7 29. Be3 Rd7 30. Qf4 Rc8 31. Kh2 a6 32. Rc5 Qb7 33. Qh4 Rd5 34. Bg5 Rxc5 35. Rxc5 Re8 36. Qa4 Rc8 37. Ra5 Ra8 38. Qh4 Re8 39. Qh6 Qc7 40. f4 Qd8 41. Rxa6 f6 42. Rxc6 fxg5 43. Rxe6 Qd7 44. Ra6 1 : 0 Vitiugov – Huzman, 32nd European Chess Club Cup, Novi Sad 2016) 12. Nxe5 Nf5 13. Bf4 Qb7 14. Na4 f6 15. Nf3 0-0 16. d4 g5

17. Bh2 (17. Nc5!? Qb6 18. Bd2⩲) 17. ... h5 18. Re4 Qd7 19. Qc2 Rf7 20. Rae1 Bf8 21. Qe2 Qd5 22. Nc3 Qd7 23. Qc4. 23. Nxg5!? fxg5 24. Qh5 Ng7 25. Qxg5 Qf5 is as much interesting as it is unbalanced — but not realistically winnable for White. 23. ... Qb7 24. b4. “I was slightly worse [in the opening]. I just tried to hold on. After he played b2-b4 [on move 24], I managed to counter him. The key was to not panic as I was looking at this clash as an opportunity [to show] that I can play any position against the strongest opponent”, Gukesh said afterwards. 24. ... e6 25. Rb1 Qd7 26. Rbe1 Qb7 27. Rb1 Qd7 28. a3?! Caruana goes in search of an unlikely victory against impossible odds (that is, his bad form), rather than to offer (or to accept) a draw by repetition. 28. ... a5 29. Na4 Qd8 30. bxa5 Rxa5

31. Nc5? Far from any objectivity, Caruana inexorably slips into a totally lost position. ⌓ 31. Qc2 was comparatively best with chances to hold on. 31. ... Qd5! 32. Qe2 Rxa3 33. Rd1 (33. Nxe6? Bxe6 34. Rxe6 Rxf3!−+) 33. ... Rfa7 34. g4 hxg4 35. hxg4 Nh6 36. Bg3 e5 37. Nxe5. A last ditch try, hoping for a miracle, but Gukesh does not concede anything. 37. ... fxe5 38. Rxe5 Bxg4 39. Qd2 Qf3 40. Rxg5+ Rg7 41. Re1 Bh3 42. Bd6 Bxd6 43. Rxg7+ Kxg7 44. Qg5+ Kh7 45. Ne4

45. ... Qxe4! 0 : 1. “It has been a very enjoyable experience for me. Caruana is one of my favorite players. I just took [this game] as a learning experience”, Gukesh eventually said.

With today’s win, Gukesh reached the record score of 8 out of 8. Photo © Lennart Ootes.