Caruana goes for one of the most flexible opening systems out there, a common choice when one player feels that they are the stronger side, and just wants to avoid forcing theoretical sequences and instead just reach a complex middlegame.
Robson steps his king's pawn out, preparing to contest the center.
Caruana develops his knight
He doesn't yet signal how he's going to advance his pawns in the center, making Robson guess as to what formation (or setup) he will choose. This is a typical way of trying to 'trick' an opponent, as subtle move order decisions can make it easy for even strong grandmasters to go wrong.
Robson challenges the center.
Caruana switches to a typical queen's pawn position, transposing from what started out as an English opening.
Robson steps his knight out, supporting his central pawn.
The most popular system, and a favorite of Caruana's for many years now. The idea is to change the structure, in a way that the White player is going to be left with two pawns along central files versus just one for Robson. That's a small, but significant long-term asset.
Robson takes back with the pawn, so as to maintain good central control.
Caruana knows that he'll be stepping his king's pawn out one square soon, so he wants to first develop his bishop so that it doesn't get stuck behind a wall of friendly pawns.
Robson stabilizes his pawn chain, and also opens up the diagonal for his queen.
Caruana continues to develop, and is now prepared to bring his light-squared bishop into the game.
A supposedly drawish line
Robson makes his intentions clear. He's not looking to try to win against Fabiano. Instead, he's more than happy to make a draw. How he plans to do it is by entering a very forcing line where he'll have the worst pawn structure, but he'll have the bishop pair and a very simplified position.
Caruana damages the structure
This is the key idea to know against this variation, in order to take advantage of the early development of the bishop. Now the point is that there's no way for Robson to avoid his pawns from getting doubled.
Robson drops the bishop back
It wouldn't have been helpful to try to defend this piece with say his queen, as then bishop takes knight would have caused the same structural damage, but without trading queens.
Caruana gives up the bishop pair, since locking in the healthier structure is worth it.
Robson knows his king is going to be weaker because of his damaged pawns, so he wants to get rid of the queens.
All of this has been very well-studied, with many high-level games taking place in this line over the years. One of these is Carlsen-Kramnik (Norway Chess, 2016). Worth checking out!
Robson takes back, with his structure now damaged but with the bishop pair as partial compensation.
A trendy idea in this system, aiming to push the pawn forward by one square and grab some space.
Robson doesn't try to stop the plan, since otherwise if he did so (by pushing his own right-edge pawn) then his bishop would lack stability, and that could be a case of the cure being worse than the disease.
Caruana continues to push, harassing the bishop while securing a significant space advantage (something that could be very useful in certain endgames).
Robson steps his bishop forward, away from the attack.
A mysterious move
This has almost never been played, and the computer doesn't especially like it. Yet it's almost certainly home preparation by Caruana. Likely, it contains some very subtle poison - but for now, even though I'm playing around with the position with the help of the computer, I can't figure out what particular danger might be in store for Robson!
Robson goes passive
It's a little early to suggest that Ray is panicking in any shape or form, though it does surprise me to see that he voluntarily steps the bishop back from the diagonal. A more natural move, to my eyes, would have been to take over the semi-open file with his rook and pressure Caruana a little in that way.
Caruana is more than happy to take over the main diagonal, if Robson is going to surrender it without a fight.
This doesn't feel like the best plan
Caruana seems to be getting exactly what he wanted out of his rare approach to the opening. Robson has buried his own bishop, while his pawn now might be a soft target over the coming ten or twenty moves.
Caruana isn't yet defining his plan from here. But this move makes the most sense, bringing the final of the minor pieces into the game, while waiting to seehow Robson chooses to complete his own development.
The tempo of the game slows down, as both players prepare for a long battle ahead. Caruana must try and prove that Robson's structure is going to be a problem long term.
Caruana lifts his pawn forward, in order to take control of the center.
Robson secures the semi-open file, pressuring Caruana's undefended pawn with his rook.
Caruana jumps forward with his knight, defending the pawn. Robson will likely be thinking about trying to destabilize this piece, by hitting it with his bishop.
Robson pushes his pawn forward, likely just wanting to ensure that Caruana cannot push his own forward and grab a little too much space for comfort here.
Caruana drives his king towards the center, almost certainly looking to lend support to his pawn that is under attack. It's really been a bit of a strange approach in the opening by Caruana, who keeps shuffling his king around!
Robson pressures the knight
He sets up the threat of taking it, which would kill the defender of Caruana's pawn and leave his right-hand pawn hanging.
Caruana steps to the right with his king, so that even if the knight gets captured, the pawn will remain stable.
Robson brings his own king forward
The reason you don't see either side castling, is because without the queens on the board, the kings tend to sit pretty well in the center. That's because if it reaches a more simplified endgame, the king wants to play an active role in the game. And from the center, it's got the most mobility and freedom to choose where exactly to go to.
Caruana drops his knight back, not only supporting his colleague, but also threatening to perhaps maneuver to take aim at Robson's weak pawn.
Robson does the right thing, expanding on the queenside in order to make sure that Caruana doesn't get any sort of space advantage on that side of the board.
Caruana does the same, avoiding a potential pawn storm by Robson.
The best square for the rook
Robson will be very happy with the outcome of the opening. He has reacted very well to Caruana's novel approach, and now he's got his structurally weak pawn well defended. There's no advantage here for Fabiano.
The game enters a phase of slow maneuvering, as the bishop drops back to protect the pawn and also to potentially carve out a square for Caruana to retreat his knight to.
Robson adds to the pressure along the semi-open file.
Caruana slides his rook over to defend the pawn. It's hard for either side to make real progress here, as there is no obvious plan available.
Robson sits in wait
He knows that Caruana has literally no pawn breaks available or dangerous piece maneuvers to initiate. So he can afford to sit and wait passively, as he too lacks an active plan. This game could be over very soon, unless Caruana manages to find some sort of plan that tempts him to continue trying.
Caruana slightly improves his rook, overprotecting the pawn along the semi-open file.
Robson returns with his rook, again continuing with his plan of basically sitting and waiting.
For now, Caruana doesn't repeat the position (which he could have started doing so by dropping his other rook back to the square it was on previously). This means that, at least just yet, Fabi seems to still be looking to try to play this position out.
Robson continues to shuffle his rooks
In theory, he could go for a pawn break by pushing the pawn forward. But I doubt that's his intention, as that would weaken his position heavily. I imagine he's just moving the rooks back and forth and waiting.
Caruana looking to slowly improve his pieces, likely going to bring his knight towards the center from where it might have some jumps available along the central dark squares.
Robson anticipates this, taking away the forward jumps for Caruana's knight once it does land on that square.
Caruana brings his rook towards the center
There's clearly no way of making progress on the right hand or the left hand sides. So, if Caruana wants to play for a win, he's going to have to find some kind of maneuver or breakthrough in the center. So he starts to bring pieces to that part of the board.
Robson continues to sit in wait, largely just moving his rooks around to safe squares.
Caruana reroutes his own rook, perhaps with the intention of also bringing this one towards the central files. As mentioned, this is the only area where Caruana might have a shot at generating winning chances.
Robson pressures the pawn
It's a good moment to return with the knight. Robson is basically saying to Caruana that he cannot bring his right-hand rook towards the center, without the risk that his right-hand pawn gets picked off.
The slow maneuvering continues
It's not the most exciting game, it must be said. Robson has been shuffling his rooks back and forth for quite a long time now, while Caruana has yet to make any real headway into the position. It's clear that Fabi wants to play for a win, but he's just struggling to draw blood from a stone.
More rook shuffling!
Caruana looking for the pawn break?!
It's the only one available in the position, and now that Fabi has his knight well-placed to support it, he might just try and go for it at the right moment. It's either that or accept a quick draw from here, it feels.
Robson improves his structure a little, blocking Caruana from being able to jump in with his knight. And also setting up a possible pawn break of his own in the future.
Blunder, or temptation?
Caruana drops his knight back, which allows Robson to now trade bishop for knight and then pick up the pawn on the edge of the board. But I suspect more than a blunder, it's something that Caruana wants to tempt Robson into as a way of imbalancing the position and set up some outside winning chances.
Robson doesn't deviate from his plan
He's happier to keep things solid. He doubles rooks again on the semi-open file, which means that now Robson is threatening to play bishop takes knight. After that, Caruana's pawn to the right of his king would fall.
Caruana returns with his knight, once again adding stability to his position.
Robson guides his king towards the queenside pawns, that are perhaps the most vulnerable of his position at the moment.
Caruana moves his bishop to a slihtly better square, still no hint that there is an active plan on the horizon for either side.
Robson continues to improve his king.
A change in the character of the position?!
It feels like it's no longer Fabiano who is seeking active play, but rather it's Robson. He continues to make small improvements on the queenside, while now Fabiano is the one just shuffling.
Robson adds a little more piece influence to the part of the board where he might be able to drum up some active play.
Caruana sits and waits, with the roles reversed and now Robson who is thinking of whether he can afford to play for more than a draw.
Robson finishes the king's journey, with it now sitting on the ideal square behind the slightly weak pawns.
More waiting
Earlier, it was Robson's moves that were hard to provide any comment of substance for. This time around, it's Caruana's! He keeps shuffling.
A draw on the horizon?
Given that Caruana hasn't been trying to play for a win for the past few moves, this king shuffle by Robson suggests that we might get a 3-fold repetition in the near future. That is to say, that there seems to be little reason for Robson to move his king back to where it came from unless he's looking for a draw.
Well, there is the possibility that he wants to make a move just to get closer to move 40, as he's a little low on time. So he may want to approach that point, as the players will receive a time bonus of 30 minutes on their clock.
Caruana doesn't go for any sort of active move, continuing to move his rooks around.
Robson drops his king back, hinting at a return towards the center. It's curious that neither player has gone for any active plan, yet at the same time they are both seemingly avoiding a draw by repetition...
Still no real updates
We likely wait until move 40, when the players will receive bonus time. If by then neither one feels like there's much to be done, then they will probably go for a quick 3-fold repetition*.
*When an identical position occurs three times, the player about to make the position the same for the third time, can call over the arbiter and claim a draw.
Caruana makes a very slight improvement to his position, organizing his pawns in a chain. About as exciting of a move as we've seen in the last dozen, I'm afraid 😅
🥸
Emojis might just capture the spirit of this particular position better than words.
Just when the endless repetition of moves had reduced me to emoji-only mode, we see Robson take a massive risk by sacrificing the exchange. I have to say, it's really surprising, as it feels like he can only lose the resulting endgame.
Caruana will almost certainly be very happy to see this sequence, as he was probably baiting precisely this sequence from Robson. Now, he has a very real chance of winning the game due to how imbalanced it is, even if objectively it should be close to level.
This is the idea that tempted Robson. The point is that now he picks up one pawn for the exchange, with a second on the way. Normally, minor piece + two pawns for a rook is much better, especially if you also have the bishop pair to boot. But here, Robson's weak pawn structure changes that evaluation and shifts it in Caruana's favor.
Robson has collected the two pawns by now, but Caruana is the side that runs no risk here because he can form the ideal pawn structure next, and win one of Robson's weak kingside pawns by force over the coming moves.
Caruana knows exactly how to arrange his pawns, and likely it is around here that Robson may be beginning to regret having changed the character of the position so dramatically without needing to. Caruana is going to pressure the kingside pawns with his rook over the next few moves, and one of them is bound to fall.
Robson looks to reroute his bishop, to target Caruana's weak central pawn.
Caruana kicks the bishop away from the defense of the right-hand pawn.
Robson drops the bishop away from the attack, targeting the weak central pawn.
Caruana defends his vulnerable pawn, before moving his rook to target Robson's own weaknesses next.
Nothing else makes sense, besides pushing in the center and trying to get the pawns rolling and the bishops active.
Caruana will trade, since there is no other way to deal with the threat on his pawn.
Caruana has to watch out that he doesn't blunder a skewer.
Caruana about to pick up a pawn
This is the problem mentioned some moves ago. The rook is very powerful against Robson's isolated pawns, and so one of them is going to drop by force.
Robson anticipates that he's going to be losing his pawn on the right hand side, and so activates his bishop to a good square from where it can support the passed pawn in pushing.
Caruana picks up the pawn.
Caruana is anticipating that Robson might push his central pawn forward with check, so he drops his king back.
Caruana threatens to take the pawn.
Necessary, since now the left-hand pawn can be captured if Caruana takes on the kingside. Robson is doing all the right things to hold the balance.
Caruana is just looking for a way to try and muddy the waters. He pushes his pawn in order to grab one of Robson's own on the opposite flank.
Robson's control over the board is pretty good, as his bishops work well together. And given that Caruana's material advantage is minimal (rook versus bishop + pawn), it's hard to believe that he's going to find a way to win here unless Robson blunders.
One dangerous plan for Robson to watch out for is a well-timed trade of bishops. That would accentuate the strength of Caruana's rook, while also making it easier for him to maneuver with his king along the light squares.
Robson looks to simplify matters, inviting a pawn trade to reduce the material on the board.
There's still some work to be done for Robson, who is the only side taking risk due to having two bishops versus bishop and rook. But with good play, it should not be too difficult to hold the draw due to reduced material.
The tough thing for Robson here is that Caruana is likely to try to play this on for as long as possible, just setting as many traps as he can. It won't be easy in practical terms, since Robson is down to around 5 minutes on the clock.
A great piece setup by Robson, who eyes up a pawn advance while also monitoring the pawn advance of Caruana's own passed pawn.
Caruana looks to control Robson's passed pawn.
Robson steps his bishop forward, in order to be able to keep pushing his passer.
Caruana drops the bishop back, so that the pawn cannot march any further. Otherwise, Robson would be able to make a queen with it, costing Caruana his rook.
A cute tactic by Robson, who seems on his way to make the draw. The point is that the pawn cannot be captured by Caruana's king (as it would run into a fork on his rook) nor by his bishop (as it would allow Robson's passed pawn to keep advancing).
Threatening mate!
Caruana has to watch out for the cheapo, as Robson looks to give a bishop check, followed by pushing the pawn with mate!
Caruana drops back, since taking the pawn would allow Robson to push and win his bishop. But now we should get a quick repetition of moves.
Caruana set out with a clear goal in mind for this round: to defeat Ray Robson and try to carve out the sole lead for himself heading into the final rest day of the event.
Unfortunately for him, Robson had very different intentions as he faced the unenviable task of avoiding defeat from the Black side against an increasingly in-form Fabiano.
To try to do this, he essayed one of the most solid systems against Caruana's pet 'Exchange Variation' within the Queen's Gambit Declined. The line he chose involves allowing your structure to get damaged, but getting the bishop pair and an objectively equal endgame in return.
Robson proved that he was very much a match for Caruana in terms of opening theory in this one, and he was able to equalize rather effortlessly.
This led to a very long series of back-and-forths where the players largely shuffled their pieces around, without any kind of breakthrough in sight.
The only thing that added drama - and perhaps confusion! - was that at the last second, Robson decided to go for a sacrifice of the exchange that led to the game extending, and gave Caruana a small window of opportunity to try and fight for the full point.
But from here on out, Robson defended very precisely, and made sure to stop Fabiano from ever really being in a position to strike, with the players ultimately agreeing to a draw with almost no material left on the board.
A hard fought game, leaving Fabiano and Wesley where they started the round: in shared 1st place, as we head into tomorrow's rest day.
See you all again on Wednesday!
Caruana in the lead
With four rounds to go, top-seeded Fabiano Caruana appears to be hitting his stride in this year's U.S. Championships.
Yesterday, he posted a big result by defeating 22-year old Hans Niemann from the Black side, courtesy of a rare attacking idea that Fabi cooked up at home. Hans was unable to find the right way to handle the position early on, and once Caruana got the initative, he never let go.
In theory, today offers an excellent chance for him to try and jump into the sole lead in the event. Currently, he shares first place with the in-form Wesley So. A win today could mark the difference between the co-leaders, and set the tone for the last three rounds of the tournament.
On the other hand, Ray won't be an easy player to beat. So far, he's drawn all his games with one exception: a defeat against Fabi's co-leader Wesley So.
Will Fabiano become the second player to breach Robson's defenses?!