1. e2e4  1... e7e5  2. g1f3  2... b8c6  3. f1c4  3... f8c5 In my conversation with Ben Johnson for the \"Perpetual Chess Podcast,\" I said that we would see a lot of Italians in this tournament. I admit that you didn't need to be Nostradamus to predict this. 4. e1g1  4... g8f6  5. d2d3  5... d7d6  6. c2c3  6... a7a6  7. a2a4  7... c5a7  8. b1d2  8... e8g8  9. h2h3 I'm happy to write that for the first time in the Italians played in this tournament, I was able to understand all the moves up to move 10. The subtlety in this opening when played at the elite level is beyond my capabilities, but in this game, all the moves were classic and logical. 9... c6e7 A typical maneuver to place the knight on g6. Of course, other moves are also possible. 10. f1e1  10... e7g6  11. a4a5 On the 11th move, my \"easy\" opening understanding finally comes to an end. Not that Caruana's move, which is rare, is a total mystery: He gains space on the queenside, and a4-a5 will prove to be very useful later in the game. However, it is certainly not the first move that crosses the mind of anyone who has not studied these positions for many hours. 11... c7c6  12. c4b3  12... f8e8  13. d3d4  13... d6d5 [%c_effect d5;square;d5;type;Interesting;persistent;true] A good theoretical novelty by Vidit, simplifying the game. From the time spent so far, I'd say that he didn't have this exact position prepared, but the understanding of similar positions certainly helped his decision. 14. d4e5  14... g6e5  15. f3e5  15... e8e5  16. e4d5  16... e5e1  17. d1e1  17... f6d5 After this sequence of exchanges, the game is close to equality. Black is ready to finish development with Bf5 (or e6) and then Qd7. Caruana cleverly tries to organize an attack on the kingside before Black takes away the pieces. 18. b3c2 [%c_effect c2;square;c2;type;GreatFind;persistent;true] An accurate move, pointing the bishop toward the opponent's king before Black can play the bishop to f5. 18... c8e6  19. d2f3  19... d8d7  20. c3c4 [%c_effect c4;square;c4;type;GreatFind;persistent;true] The knight must be removed from its centralized post. 20... d5e7 [%c_effect e7;square;e7;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true] This is not the best square for the knight, but to be fair to Vidit, the consequences of the right move, 20...Nf6, are very difficult to calculate. In chess, sometimes you need to make a decision between a move that may not be the best and another that may be the best but which involves difficult calculation and where a mistake can be fatal. 21. c1e3 [%c_effect e3;square;e3;type;GreatFind;persistent;true] 21... a7e3  22. e1e3 White manages to exchange bishops and now has a small advantage. Remember the a4-a5 advance $2 Look at the pawn structure on the queenside with the weaknesses on the dark squares. 22... a8d8  23. e3c5 