“It’s Quite Nice to Shut up all the Idiots Who Think That I can’t Play Chess Anymore”

This summary details the game between Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana in round eight of the Feday Candidates tournament, focusing on Hikaru's victory and its implications for the tournament standings and Hikaru's rating. Hikaru, playing with white, opened with pawn to C4, leading into an English opening. The game followed standard theory for several moves, with Hikaru playing knight to C3, pawn to E6, and then bishop to F4, a less common but still strong move. Fabiano responded with pawn to D5, spending about seven minutes, but Hikaru continued to play quickly, spending only two minutes to reach his next move. Hikaru's queen to A4 on move nine, while not entirely new, has only been played a few times at the top level. The game reached a completely new position by move 10 after Fabiano's pawn to A5. Hikaru continued his rapid play, seemingly within his preparation, leading to pawn to E4, knight captures on C3, and then bishop back to E7. Hikaru's strategy involved messing up both his and Fabiano's pawn structures, creating a position that was not symmetrical in appearance but was symmetrical in terms of file pawn distribution, suggesting an equal position. After bishop to E2 and castles kingside, Hikaru brought his bishop back to F4. The commentator noted the potential usefulness of Hikaru's bishops compared to Fabiano's bishop on A6, which prompted Fabiano to immediately trade bishops, leading to rook captures. Hikaru then played rook to D1, putting pressure on Fabiano's queen, followed by queen B6 and castles kingside. Fabiano's queen to B5 suggested confidence in his position, despite being an hour down on the clock. The critical moment arrived when Hikaru played queen back to C2, and Fabiano responded with bishop to C5. This was the first time Hikaru entered a deep thought, spending nearly 40 minutes on his next move, pawn to C4. Both players were observed intently staring at the C4 square, anticipating the move. Fabiano responded by moving his queen back to B7, and Hikaru followed with bishop to E5. Fabiano's subsequent move, pawn to F6, was identified as a mistake. Instead of playing a more neutral move like pawn to H6, pawn to F6 weakened the E6 pawn, allowing Hikaru to play bishop to D6. This forced Fabiano to trade pieces, leading to a series of captures that left Hikaru attacking the E6 pawn. Fabiano, seeing that defending the pawn would lead to a difficult position where Hikaru would control the open files, opted for activity, playing rook B8 and sacrificing the pawn. Hikaru captured on E6, and Fabiano played rook to B2, a strong defensive move. Hikaru's plan involved infiltrating the seventh rank with his rooks, aiming for a decisive advantage. Fabiano's rook A to B6 aimed to trade rooks and secure a draw. However, Hikaru played rook to A7, putting pressure on the A5 pawn. Fabiano's rook captures on A2, while not immediately losing, set up a precarious situation. Hikaru played pawn to H3, and the position, though still a draw, required one perfect move from Fabiano: rook A to B1. This move would involve sacrificing a pawn to cut off White's access to the seventh rank, leading to a draw. Fabiano instead played pawn to H5, a move that the commentator stated had no purpose and immediately lost the game. Hikaru's winning move was rook to D1. Although Fabiano had rook B2, Hikaru's rook to D8 check, followed by king H7 and rook D to D7, led to the fall of the G7 pawn with check, defending Hikaru's G2 pawn. This created significant problems for Fabiano. Hikaru continued to gain time by repeating moves while maintaining his winning position. He eventually played rook to G6, defending the G2 pawn and threatening to capture on F6 and C6. The commentator explained that any attempt by Fabiano to create counterplay, such as pushing the E-pawn, would lead to a checkmate for Hikaru. Fabiano eventually played rook to F4, and Hikaru captured on F6. After a series of exchanges and Hikaru being up two pawns, the position was completely winning for Hikaru. The game continued with Hikaru skillfully maneuvering his king and rooks, cutting off Fabiano's king and pushing his pawns. Fabiano's checks were futile, and Hikaru maintained the opposition with his king, ensuring the promotion of his pawn. On move 67, after Hikaru played e5, Fabiano Caruana resigned the game. This victory significantly boosted Hikaru Nakamura, who regained his world number two spot on the live ratings, nearing the 2800 mark. The tournament standings now show Javokhir Sindarov leading by a two-point margin with six and a half points, followed by Fabiano Caruana and Anish Giri, both tied with four and a half points. Hikaru Nakamura, Praggnanandhaa, and Alireza Firouzja are tied with three and a half points, and Andreas Penko is in last place with two and a half points. The commentator noted that Javokhir still has to play both Anish and Fabiano in the second half, making the tournament outcome still uncertain, with potential for a three-way tie or a closer race for the lead. The commentator also addressed speculation about Javokhir's preparation being leaked, stating that the leaked material was from an old account not used for this tournament.