Caruana,Fabiano vs. Sevian,Samuel - CCT Chessable Masters Playoffs 2025 1-0
In the CCT Chessable Masters Playoffs 2025 on February 18, 2025, between Caruana-Fabiano (white) and Sevian-Samuel (black), Black's move Kh7 is a noteworthy choice. This pawn push threatens to gain control of the center, but instead of pursuing it, Black ignores a stronger threat from White's position. By playing Kh7, Black reveals that their attack on the kingside is not well-developed and blocked. However, this move does gain Caruana-Fabiano some tempo advantage, as they can now develop their piece more quickly. Unfortunately for Black, this pawn push fails to seize the winning tempo and instead misses an opportunity to escape White's attack. The knight on h7 is now relatively well-defended, but Black could have done better by protecting the underdefended piece on d5. Furthermore, playing Kh7 blocks White's attempt to force a material exchange and blocks their attack. In summary, while Kh7 gives Caruana-Fabiano some development opportunities, it ultimately fails to achieve its intended goals, making it a suboptimal choice for Black.
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[Date "2025.02.18"]