sokidze vs Hikaru: game review

18…d6 is a mistake: Black's winning chances go from 40% to 21%.

• White answers 19.exd6, which takes the pawn on d6.
• Better was 18…Qb6 (+1.11), which protects the c5 pawn, which was hanging.

Better: 18…Qb6 stops Qxc5. After 19.Be4 f6 20.exf6 Rxf6 21.Bxc6 Qxc6 22.Ne4, the bishops are traded (+1.11).

19.exd6! The only good move here: every alternative is clearly worse.

• Takes the pawn on d6.
• Creates a passed pawn on d6: no enemy pawn can stop it any more.
• The next best move, 19.Rfd2, would drop White's winning chances from 79% to 60% (+1.13).
• 19.exd6 wins two pawns and threatens dxe7, winning a knight for a pawn.
• Takes the d6 pawn and wins two pawns once the captures settle.
• It threatens dxe7, winning a knight for a pawn, so Black has to spend the next move on it.

• Both sides followed opening theory up to 10.Nxc6: 19 moves in all, 10 by White and 9 by Black.
• Black left the book with 10…Bxc6. In 26 games from this position, strong players played 10…Qxc6 (73%) or 10…dxc6 (27%).
• From here White scored 41% in those games, with 20% drawn.