2017 World Cup 2-27 September, Tbilisi

[JustinHorton]

If Carlsen had So's position, you'd be pretty sure he'd go on to win.

[Geoff Chandler]

Current position Ding (Black) to play

r1r5/2pk2pp/1p1p1p2/1Pn1pP2/pNP1P1P1/R2PK3/1P5P/3R4 b - - 0 4

[Nick Burrows]

Think So missed a win with 41.Rxb3 axb3 42.gxf6 gxf6 43.Rg8+

[LawrenceCooper]

Think So missed a win with 41.Rxb3 axb3 42.gxf6 gxf6 43.Rg8+

It looked a decent try, the game has just ended in a perpetual after 47 moves.

[JustinHorton]

Think So missed a win with 41.Rxb3 axb3 42.gxf6 gxf6 43.Rg8+

....and then?

[Geoff Chandler]

That was back here yes?

2k5/2p3p1/1p1p1p2/rP1NpPP1/p1P1P3/RnKP3r/1P6/6R1 b - - 0 41

I'm at the main site and the three of them keep tossing the position about
going off on fantasy trips and not updating the play. But I think it's right

[Nick Burrows]

If 43..Kd7 44.Nb4 and black is walking into a mating net

if 43..Kb7 44.Rg7 Ra2 45.Rxc7+ Ka8 46.Kc3 Rh2 47.Nxb6 is winning

[Geoff Chandler]

Switched to chessdom.

Wes to play.

2k5/2p3p1/1p1p1P2/rP1NpP2/p1PnP3/R1KP4/1P5r/6R1 w - - 0 43

He is having a long think. Is he pondering what would have happened back on Rxb3.
Or is it here the ramifications of 43.Rg2 and 44.Ne3

[Geoff Chandler]

They drew. Chessdom must be on some kind of time of lag.

[Jonathan Bryant]

Think So missed a win with 41.Rxb3 axb3 42.gxf6 gxf6 43.Rg8+

Jon Tisdall less certain

https://twitter.com/GMjtis/status/910155489341788160

[Chris Rice]

Was So Winning? No, but it was mighty close. Sagar Shah does some intense analysis and concludes (as does the Chess24 report) that White should have played the exchange sac anyway.

The draw in Aronian-MVL was weird, the reports seem to agree that Aronian had forgotten the theory, probably because he was very tired after the gruelling schedule, but was pretending he hadn't by playing quickly. If so, great bluffing but he was lucky to get away with it.

[Mick Norris]

Think So missed a win with 41.Rxb3 axb3 42.gxf6 gxf6 43.Rg8+

Jon Tisdall less certain

https://twitter.com/GMjtis/status/910155489341788160

Chess Mind agrees with Nick

[MartinCarpenter]

In some ways the rather better question is why he played g5 a couple of moves before the time control. Remarkably impractical unless there was a clean win there.

[Angus French]

Was So Winning? No, but it was mighty close. Sagar Shah does some intense analysis and concludes (as does the Chess24 report) that White should have played the exchange sac anyway.

Sagar Shah appears to have updated his analysis and now concludes - after reaching the same N v R ending that Dennis Monokroussos reached - that the exchange sac *is* winning.

[LawrenceCooper]

MVL-Aronian drawn in 19 moves, Ding-So on move 8 of an unusual Catalan with 6 b3.