The story behind the game
Firouzja advances his kingside pawns in this 2019 World Cup game, gaining space near Ding’s king. Black responds with active knights, a queenside pawn advance and pressure on central squares. The finish shows why a defender can sometimes offer a rook while keeping stronger threats with the queen and remaining pieces.
Take these ideas to your next game
- Answer a pawn storm by looking for active squares as well as retreats.
- A pawn advance can clear a future checking diagonal.
- A knight fork can restrict several defensive pieces at once.
- Before accepting a rook offer, calculate the opponent’s checks.
Read the complete annotated game
Full game transcript, including the result and the answers. Original explanations by chessgames.info; game score from the sources below.
Nf5 creates active threats while White’s f6-pawn remains advanced. The knight does more than defend the king. It attacks h4 and controls central squares useful to the rest of Black’s pieces. White still has space and threats, so compare the activity with the concrete danger near the king.
c4 clears c5 and creates queenside counterplay. After the kingside pawn exchange and White’s queen move, Black gives Qb6+ in the score. The checking diagonal depends on c5 being empty. A pawn move far from the king can therefore contribute directly to forcing play against it.
Nd3 forks the rook and bishop. The rook moves to f1, while Black prepares to double rooks on the d-file. The knight also affects White’s central choices. Look at how one active piece restricts several defensive tasks before calculating a material-winning sequence.
Rxe4 removes the knight while offering the rook to the queen. In the historical score White instead captures the knight on d3, and Black follows with Qxd2+. The saved analysis also examines Qxe4, so the rook cannot be assessed as simply hanging. Compare the queen checks and the remaining rook’s open d-file before choosing White’s response.
Result: 0-1. The recorded score ends here; it does not imply checkmate.
Think through the turning points
Move 21: Meet the storm with an active knight
Which knight move attacks the pawn on h4? In the game: Nf5. Nf5 creates active threats while White’s f6-pawn remains advanced. The knight does more than defend the king. It attacks h4 and controls central squares useful to the rest of Black’s pieces. White still has space and threats, so compare the activity with the concrete danger near the king.
Engine-supported alternatives
Nf5 h5 c4 Qc2 Nf8 Ne4 c5 hxg6 Nxg6 Bg4 Rd3 Qh2 · -0.70 · depth 20
Nb6 Qe4 Nf5 h5 Nd5 hxg6 fxg6 Rf2 Ba6 Bxa6 Nxc3 bxc3 · +0.01 · depth 20
Nh5 Bxh5 gxh5 Qc2 Kh8 Ne4 Ba6 Rf3 h6 Rh3 Rg8+ Ng5 · +1.86 · depth 20
Move 22: Clear a checking diagonal
Which c-pawn advance clears c5 for a later queen check from b6? In the game: c4. c4 clears c5 and creates queenside counterplay. After the kingside pawn exchange and White’s queen move, Black gives Qb6+ in the score. The checking diagonal depends on c5 being empty. A pawn move far from the king can therefore contribute directly to forcing play against it.
Engine-supported alternatives
Nxe5 fxe5 Rd4 Qc2 Qxe5 Rf2 Nh4 Kf1 a4 Bd2 a3 b3 · -0.61 · depth 17
Nf8 Ne4 Ba6 Bxa6 Rxa6 Bd2 Raa8 Bc3 Rd3 Rf2 gxh5 Rd1 · -0.57 · depth 17
c4 · -0.52 · depth 17
Move 28: Fork two pieces
Which knight move attacks the rook on f2 and the bishop on c1? In the game: Nd3. Nd3 forks the rook and bishop. The rook moves to f1, while Black prepares to double rooks on the d-file. The knight also affects White’s central choices. Look at how one active piece restricts several defensive tasks before calculating a material-winning sequence.
Engine-supported alternatives
Ra7 Qe2 Rd3 Kh2 Rad7 Rg2 Qb4 Rb1 Kf8 Qf2 Rd8 a3 · -2.81 · depth 19
Rd3 Bd2 · -2.47 · depth 19
Nd3 Re2 Nb4 Qb1 Rd3 Bd2 Qd4 Ne4 Nd5 Kh2 Rb6 b3 · -2.64 · depth 18
Move 33: Capture the centralized knight
Which rook capture removes White’s knight on e4? In the game: Rxe4. Rxe4 removes the knight while offering the rook to the queen. In the historical score White instead captures the knight on d3, and Black follows with Qxd2+. The saved analysis also examines Qxe4, so the rook cannot be assessed as simply hanging. Compare the queen checks and the remaining rook’s open d-file before choosing White’s response.
Engine-supported alternatives
Nxf4+ Rxf4 Qxb1 Be1 Qb5 Qf3 Qb2+ Qf2 Qxf2+ Bxf2 Ra4 a3 · -4.85 · depth 20
Qc2 Nc3 Rc4 Be1 Rxc3 Qxc2 Rxc2+ Kf3 Nd4+ Kg4 c5 Bxa5 · -4.82 · depth 20
Qxa2 Kg1 Nxf4 Qg4 Rxe4 Bxf4 Rb4 Rbe1 Rd3 Qg5 Qd5 Re2 · -4.03 · depth 19
Rxe4 Qxe4 Qxd2+ Kg1 Ng3 Qg2 Qe3+ Kh2 Nxf1+ Rxf1 Nxf4 Qf3 · -5.47 · depth 25
Every piece has a part to play.
Firouzja advances his kingside pawns in this 2019 World Cup game, gaining space near Ding’s king. Black responds with active knights, a queenside pawn advance and pressure on central squares. The finish shows why a defender can sometimes offer a rook while keeping stronger threats with the queen and remaining pieces.
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Accessible evaluation values & provenance
Stockfish 17.1 · 75,000 nodes per position; 1,000,000 at key moments. Actual depth 12–20. Positive centipawns favour White; mate scores remain separate. Selective search is evidence, not proof.
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