Firouzja2003 vs General_Consensus: game review

16…Rxc3!! A real sacrifice: Black gives up material and the engine still rates it best.

• Puts the rook on c3 where it can be taken.
• White can take, but after 17.Qxc3+ Qxc3 18.bxc3 Nf4 the engine rates it −0.30.
• Takes the knight on c3.
• 16…Rxc3 stops gxh5.
• White was threatening gxh5, winning a rook. Rxc3 takes care of it.
• White answers 17.Qxc3+, winning the exchange.

• The idea: 16…Rxc3!! gives up the knight on h5 to stay in the game: after it Black holds the balance (−0.30); anything else leaves Black clearly worse (+1.89).
• What Black gives up: The knight on h5 is attacked by the rook on h1 and the g4 pawn, and 16…Rxc3 doesn't save it. That's a knight on offer.
• What it does instead: It takes the knight on c3 first. Now White can take only one of the two: the rook on c3 or the knight on h5.
• If White takes the knight: 17.gxh5 is met by 17…Rc5, and the rook on c3 gets away, threatening …Rxh5, winning two pawns. Then 19…hxg6 takes the g6 pawn. Material is level and Black holds the balance (−0.47).
• If White takes the rook: 17.Qxc3+ is met by 17…Qxc3, taking the queen on c3. Then 18…Ng3 threatens …Nxh1, winning a rook, and 19…h5 threatens …hxg4, winning a pawn. Black is two pawns down: Black holds the balance (+0.01). This is White's best try.
• Why not save the knight first?: Saving it with 16…Nf6, the best way to do that, is clearly weaker (+1.89 against −0.30). White answers 17.Qh6+. That would leave Black clearly worse.

17…Rc5! The only good move here: every alternative is clearly worse.

• Moving away uncovers the queen on a5, which now hits the queen on d2.
• Moves the attacked rook to safety.
• The next best move, 17…Rbc8, would drop Black's winning chances from 53% to 19% (+4.01).
• 17…Rc5 threatens …Rxh5, winning a pawn.
• It threatens …Rxh5, winning a pawn, so White has to spend the next move on it.
• White answers 18.Qd4+, giving check, leaving Black with a king with pawns missing from its shelter.

75…Bf7 misses the chance 75.Kc3 gave: 75…Qxa3 would have punished it. Black's winning chances go from 69% to 53%.

• White answers 76.Qd4.
• Better was 75…Qxa3 (−2.19), which takes the pawn on a3.

Better: 75…Qxa3 wins a pawn. After 76.Qd4 Be6+ 77.Kd2 Qa2+ 78.Kc1 Bf5, Black comes out a pawn up (−2.19).

86…Bd5 is a blunder: Black's winning chances go from 50% to 6%.

• White answers 87.Rxd5, which takes the bishop on d5.
• The bishop on d5 can be taken by the rook on a5.
• After Rxd5, White wins 3 points of material within 2 moves.
• Better was 86…g3 (0.00), which pushes the passed pawn to g3, close to promotion.

Better: 86…g3 pushes the passed pawn to g3. Engine line: 87.a4 Kg4 88.Ra7 Bd5 89.Rd7 Be4 (0.00).

87.Kf2 misses 87.Rxd5, which wins material. White's winning chances go from 94% to 74%.

• Black answers 87…Be4: plants the bishop on e4: a pawn defends it and no enemy pawn can chase it away.
• Better was 87.Rxd5 (+7.69), which takes the bishop on d5.

Better: 87.Rxd5 wins a bishop. After 87…Kf4 88.Kf2 Ke4 89.Rb5 f4 90.a4, White comes out a piece up (+7.69).

88.Kg1 lets the win slip: 88.Kg3 kept White winning. White's winning chances go from 72% to 50%.

• Black answers 88…g3, which pushes the passed pawn to g3, close to promotion.
• Better was 88.Kg3 (+2.57).

Better: 88.Kg3 prepares Rb5 and Rb4. Engine line: 88…Bc2 89.Rb5 Bd1 90.Rb4 Bc2 91.a4 (+2.57).

91.Rg2 is a blunder: White's winning chances go from 50% to 8%.

• Black answers 91…Bxg2, which takes the rook on g2.
• The rook on g2 can be taken by the bishop on e4.
• After Bxg2, Black wins 2 points of material within 3 moves.
• Better was 91.Rb4 (0.00), which pins the bishop on e4 to the king: it can't move at all.

Better: 91.Rb4 pins the bishop on e4 to the king. Engine line: 91…Kf3 92.Rb3+ Kg4 93.Rb4 (0.00).

91…Bf3 misses 91…Bxg2, which wins material. Black's winning chances go from 92% to 50%.

• White answers 92.Rb2: the rook takes the open b-file.
• Better was 91…Bxg2 (−6.48), which takes the rook on g2.

Better: 91…Bxg2 wins the exchange. After 92.Kxg2 f4 93.a4 f3+ 94.Kg1 Kh3, Black comes out two pawns up (−6.48).

• Both sides followed opening theory up to 14.h5: 27 moves in all, 14 by White and 13 by Black.
• Theory runs out after 14.h5: too few games between strong players reached this position to go further.