Sina-Movahed vs Firouzja2003: game review

12…a6 is a mistake: Black's winning chances go from 44% to 26%.

• White answers 13.Ng5: moving away uncovers the bishop on g2, which now hits the b7 pawn.
• Better was 12…O-O-O (+0.69), which castles: the king gets out of the centre and the rook joins the game.

Better: 12…O-O-O castles the king to safety and connects the rooks. Engine line: 13.O-O Rhe8 14.b4 Qa4 15.Ng5 Bg4 (+0.69).

13.O-O misses the chance 12…a6 gave: 13.Ng5 would have punished it. White's winning chances go from 74% to 63%.

• Black answers 13…h6, which takes g5 away from the knight on f3.
• Better was 13.Ng5 (+2.78): moving away uncovers the bishop on g2, which now hits the b7 pawn.

Better: 13.Ng5 threatens Nxe6, winning a bishop and a pawn. Engine line: 13…Bd7 14.a4 h6 15.b4 Qb6 16.Nc4 (+2.78).

17.Bf3 lets the win slip: 17.Bxb7 kept White winning. White's winning chances go from 71% to 57%.

• Black answers 17…Bxf3, which takes the bishop on f3.
• The bishop walks into a pin by the bishop on g4.
• Better was 17.Bxb7 (+2.41), which takes the pawn on b7.

Better: 17.Bxb7 wins a pawn. After 17…Bxe2 18.Bxa8 Ke7 19.Re1 Bb5 20.Bg2, White comes out a pawn up (+2.41).

19.Kg2 misses the chance 18…O-O-O gave: 19.Nc4 would have punished it. White's winning chances go from 67% to 56%.

• Black answers 19…Rhe8: shores up the e5 pawn, which was under as much attack as it had defence (2 against 2).
• Better was 19.Nc4 (+1.92): adds a decisive attacker on the e5 pawn: 3 attackers against 2 defenders.

Better: 19.Nc4 adds pressure on the e5 pawn. Engine line: 19…h6 20.Rae1 Rhe8 21.Kf1 g5 22.a3 (+1.92).

25.Nc5+! The only good move here: every alternative is clearly worse.

• Moving away uncovers the rook on e2, which now hits the bishop on e5.
• The knight joins the attack: it now hits 2 squares around the Black king.
• The next best move, 25.b3, would drop White's winning chances from 61% to 18% (−4.10).
• 25.Nc5+ wins a bishop, picking it up with 26.Rxe5.
• Sets up a sequence and wins a bishop once the captures settle, picking it up with 26.Rxe5.
• Black answers 25…Kc6, attacking the knight on c5, which is undefended.

26…Rhe8 is a blunder: Black's winning chances go from 40% to 18%.

• White answers 27.Ne6: the knight forks the rook and the pawn: both can't be saved at once.
• Better was 26…Rd5 (+1.09).

Better: 26…Rd5 threatens …Rxe5, winning a rook. After 27.Rxd5 Kxd5 28.Na6 c5 29.Ra5 Kc6, the rooks are traded (+1.09).

27.Rxe8 misses the chance 26…Rhe8 gave: 27.Ne6 would have punished it. White's winning chances go from 82% to 65%.

• Black answers 27…Rxe8, which takes the rook on e8.
• After Rxe8, Black wins 5 points of material within 2 moves.
• Better was 27.Ne6 (+4.10): the knight forks the rook and the pawn: both can't be saved at once.

Better: 27.Ne6 stops …Rxe5 and forks the rook and the pawn. After 27…Rd2 28.Nd4+ Kd7 29.Rxb5 Kc8 30.Nf3, White comes out a pawn up (+4.10).

59…Rf7 is a blunder: Black's winning chances go from 50% to 15%.

• White answers 60.Nxb4+, which takes the pawn on b4.
• After Nxb4+, White wins 1 point of material within 2 moves.
• Better was 59…Rxd5+ (0.00), which takes the knight on d5.

Better: 59…Rxd5+ takes the knight on d5. After 60.Rxd5 Nxf4 61.Ra5 Ne6+ 62.Ke3 Nc5, Black is a pawn down (0.00).

• Both sides followed opening theory up to 2…Qxd5: 4 moves in all, 2 by White and 2 by Black.
• White left the book with 3.c3. In 16,719 games from this position, strong players played 3.Nc3 (81%), 3.Nf3 (12%), 3.d4 (4%) or 3.h3 (1%).
• The main line goes on 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5 7.g4 Bg6.
• From here White scored 52% in those games, with 12% drawn.