fabianocaruana vs vi_pranav

Caruana began with 4.h3 to prevent Black’s ...g5 ideas and keep the king’s knight safe, then developed the bishop to c4 (5.Bc4) and played 6.d3 to solidify the e4 pawn while keeping the dark‑squared bishop flexible. By advancing the a‑pawn with 7.a4 and 8.a5 he claimed space on the queenside, forcing Black to waste a tempo with ...a6. This demonstrates the principle of gaining space and limiting the opponent’s counterplay before castling.

After Black’s 22...Ne7, Caruana rerouted his knight via 23.Ndc4 and then exchanged on d5 with 27.Ned5 Nxd5 28.Bxd5, leaving White with a strong bishop on d5 and a pawn on e5 ready to advance. The pawn break 29.exf5 opened the e‑file, and 30.c4 created a passed pawn on the c‑file while the rooks entered the seventh rank with 33.Rb3 and 35.Rxb4. Coordinating the rooks on the open b‑ and c‑files let White seize the initiative, illustrating the power of open‑file rook activity and creating passed pawns.

With queens off, Caruana’s king marched to the center (41.Kf2‑44.Ke2) and the rooks infiltrated via the seventh rank (60.Rb8, 61.Rg8). The decisive pawn push began with 57.axb6, followed by 71.Rxh4 to eliminate Black’s last pawn and the final rook lift 72.Rg4, which forced Black’s a‑pawn to advance and eventually be captured. This shows how an active king and rook behind a passed pawn can convert a small material edge into a win in the endgame.