Hikaru – Donchenko: Forced Mate yet a Draw

The FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championship is in full swing on Wall Street, New York. Day 1 saw many bewildering results one of which was seen in the 3rd round on Hikaru Nakamura’s board.
Following is the position that was reached after a 128-move grind by Hikaru (white) against Alexander Donchenko (black):

It looks like white has trapped the black king in a mating net since Rxh4 is a mate after black plays the only move Rh4 (blocking the check). But this game, in fact, ended in a DRAW!
You guessed it right! The game was drawn due to the 50-move rule.

Hikaru Nakamura who is known for his tricky playing style did manage to grind his opponent in a theoretically drawn Rook+Bishop vs Rook endgame but it was ONE MOVE too late. Donchenko, who was on the receiving end of the Hikaru’s torturous grind kept making moves until the mate was inevitable – Donchenko called the Arbiter who confirmed that playing Rh4 from black would prevent Checkmate by 50-move rule.

It was also one of those rare cases where 50 moves were reached exactly one move before the checkmate.
This draw was Hikaru’s second in the first 3 games which made it even more “Heartbreaking and Frustrating” as mentioned by Hikaru himself in his recap video of the first day!

Follow the tournament results and pictures on the official website: https://worldrapidandblitz2024.fide.com/

Picture Courtesy: Lennart Ootes – FIDE (International Chess Federation)