White Rock

居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) – Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa
6th Sharjah Masters International Chess Championship; Sharjah, May 18, 2023
Catalan Opening E08

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 a5 6. Bg2 0-0 7. Qc2 Be7 8. 0-0 c6 9. Bf4 Nbd7 10. Rd1 a4 11. Ne5 h6 12. h3. 12. a3 Qb6 13. Nc3 Qa6 14. cxd5 (14. c5 seems better) 14. ... exd5 gave White very little in Koustav – Praggnanandhaa, 18th Asian Continental Chess Championship, New Delhi 2022.
12. ... Qb6 13. Nc3 Qa6

14. c5. This appears to be clearly better than c4xd5, as seen in the game referred to.
14. ... Nxe5 15. Bxe5 Nd7 16. Bc7 b6 17. cxb6 Bd8

18. e3. 18. e4 looks a little more promising.
18. ... Bxc7 19. bxc7 Bb7 20. Ne2 Rfc8 21. Nf4 Rxc7 22. Nd3 Qa5 23. Rac1 Ba6 24. e4 Rac8

25. b4 axb3 26. axb3 c5 27. Ra1 Qb6 28. Nxc5 Nxc5 29. dxc5 Rxc5 30. Qd2 Bb7 31. exd5 Bxd5 32. b4 Rb5 33. Bxd5 Rxd5 34. Qb2 Rb5 35. Rd4 e5 36. Re4 Rb8 37. Rxe5 Rxb4 38. Qe2 Rb1+ 39. Rxb1 Qxb1+ 40. Kg2 Qb7+ ½ : ½.

White has long enjoyed a slight edge, but Praggnanandhaa demonstrated he could defend, and 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) conceded the draw on move 40. Photo: Sharjah Masters.