Game 1
Game 1
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Nc3 0-0
7.Be3 Bd6 8.Bg5 Qe7 9.h3 Re8 10.g4 Qe6 11.Nh4 Nd7 12.Nf5
Nc5 13.h4 Bf8 14.h5 f6 15.Be3 Qf7 16.f4 exf4 17.Bxf4 b5 18.
Qf3 Ne6 19.Be3 Bb7 20.0-0-0 b4 21.Na4 c5 22.h6 g6 23.Ng7
Bxg7 24.hxg7 c4 25.Nc5 Nxc5 26.Bxc5 cxd3 27.cxd3 a5 28.Bf8
Rxf8 29.gxf8Q+ Rxf8 30.Kb1 Qd7 31.Rc1 a4 32.Qe3 Rf7 33.Rc4
b3 34.a3 Qxg4 35.Rxa4 f5 36.Rd4 fxe4 37.Rd8+ Rf8 38.Rxf8+
Kxf8 39.Qc5+ Ke8 40.Qxc7 Bc8 41.Qe5+ Kd8 42.Qh8+ Kc7 43.
Rxh7+ Kc6 44.Qc3+ Kd6 45.Qd4+ Ke6 46.dxe4 1-0
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.0-0 0-0 6.d3
d6 7.Bg5 Ne7 8.Re1 c6 9.Ba4 Ng6 10.Bb3 h6 11.Bd2 Bg4 12.h3
Bh5 13.g3 d5 14.Kg2 d4 15.Ne2 Bxf3+ 16.Kxf3 Bxd2 17.Qxd2
Nd7 18.a3 Kh8 19.Kg2 Nc5 20.Ba2 f5 21.exf5 Rxf5 22.Rf1 Qf6
23.f4 Rf8 24.Rae1 h5 25.Rf3 h4 26.g4 Nxf4+ 27.Kh2 Rg5 28.
Nxf4 exf4 29.b4 Nd7 30.Re6 Qd8 31.Qe1 Rb5 32.a4 Rb6 33.Re7
Nf6 34.Qxh4+ Nh7 35.Be6 Rf6 36.Bf5 Rh6 37.Qe1 Qd6 38.Re8+
Nf8 39.Qe7 Qxe7 40.Rxe7 Rxb4 41.Re8 Rf6 42.Rxf4 g6 43.g5
Rf7 44.Rh4+ Kg7 45.Be4 Rb2 46.Kg3 Rxc2 47.Rf4 Rc5 48.h4 Ra5
49.Rxf7+ Kxf7 50.Rb8 b5 51.Rb7+ Ke6 52.axb5 cxb5 53.Kf4 Ra2
54.Rxb5 Rf2+ 55.Kg3 Re2 56.Ra5 Nd7 57.Ra6+ Ke7 58.Bxg6 Ne5
59.Be4 Nxd3 60.Bxd3 Re3+ 61.Kf4 Rxd3 62.h5 Rh3 63.h6 d3 64.
Rxa7+ Ke6 65.Ra6+ Kf7 66.g6+ Ke7 67.g7 d2 68.g8Q 1-0
1.e4 e5 2.
Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Ba4 0-0 6.0-0 d6 7.c3 Bb6 8.
Nbd2 Ne7 9.Nc4 Ng6 10.h3 h6 11.Bc2 Be6 12.Nxb6 axb6 13.d4
b5 14.Be3 c6 15.Re1 Qc7 16.a3 Rad8 17.Qd2 Rfe8 18.Rad1 Qe7
19.Qc1 Nh5 20.dxe5 dxe5 21.Rxd8 Rxd8 22.Rd1 Nhf4 23.Kh2 f6
24.Rxd8+ Qxd8 25.Qd2 Qc8 26.Ng1 Bf7 27.g3 Ne6 28.h4 Qd8 29.
Qxd8+ Nxd8 30.Nf3 Nf8 31.Nd2 g5 32.f4 gxf4 33.gxf4 exf4 34.
Bxf4 Ng6 35.Kg3 Nxf4 36.Kxf4 Kf8 37.e5 Ke7 38.exf6+ Kxf6 39.
Ne4+ Ke7 40.Nf2 Be6 41.Bf5 Nf7 42.Ng4 h5 43.Ne3 Kf6 44.Bxe6
Kxe6 45.Nf5 Kf6 46.Ng3 Kg6 47.b3 Nh6 48.Ke5 Ng4+ 49.Kd6 Ne3
50.Kc7 c5 51.Kxb7 c4 52.b4 Nd1 53.Ne2 Kf5 54.Kc6 Kg4 55.
Kxb5 Kxh4 56.a4 Kg4 57.a5 Ne3 58.a6 Nd5 59.a7 h4 60.Kc6 h3
61.a8Q 1-0
1.e4 e5
2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Qe2 Qe7 7.h3 h6
8.Nbd2 Bd6 9.Nc4 Nd7 10.Bd2 b6 11.0-0-0 Ba6 12.Ne3 g6 13.
Kb1 0-0-0 14.Bc3 h5 15.Nd2 Nc5 16.Ndc4 f6 17.h4 Kb8 18.g3
Na4 19.Bd2 Qe6 20.Rhe1 Rhe8 21.Qf1 Bf8 22.f4 exf4 23.gxf4
f5 24.exf5 gxf5 25.b3 Nc5 26.Ng4 hxg4 27.Rxe6 Nxe6 28.Ne5
Bb7 29.h5 c5 30.Re1 Nd4 31.Bc3 Nf3 32.Nd7+ Kc8 33.Rxe8 Rxe8
34.Nxf8 Rxf8 35.h6 Rf7 36.Qe2 Bd5 37.Bg7 Kb7 38.h7 Rxg7 39.
h8Q Rg8 40.Qh7 g3 41.Qxg8 1-0
1.e4 e5 2.
Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 An Anti-Berlin that has done well
this tournament. MVL beat Giri with it. 4...Bc5 5.0-0 d6 6.
Nbd2 0-0 7.Bxc6 bxc6 8.h3 h6 The game will be quite
strategical. White has the structural advantage but Black
can remain solid and in the long run he has the pair of
bishops. 9.Re1 Re8 10.Nf1 a5 11.Ng3 Rb8 12.b3 Bb4 13.Bd2
Ra8?! Black's last few moves are difficult to understand.
Now White gets a slight edge by building up his center. 14.
c3 Bc5 15.d4 Bb6
[15...exd4 16.cxd4 Bb6 changes the character of the
position to something more agreeable with the pair of
bishops, but it still looks more pleasant to be White.]
16.dxe5 dxe5 17.c4 Nh7 18.Qe2 Nf8 19.Be3 c5 Even though
this is (some) engines recommendation and the move that
Radjabov chose... it is so painful to see this bishop on b6
trapped as it is.
[19...Bxe3 20.Qxe3 Qe7 at least there is no entombed
bishop on b6 here.]
20.Rad1 Qf6 21.Nh5 Qe7 22.Nh2 White starts a slow but
standard attack on the kingside. And why not? It's not like
Radjabov's pieces on the queenside are doing much at the
moment. 22...Kh7 23.Qf3 f6
[23...a4 24.Ng4 Ng6 was a better choice, probably.]
24.Ng4 Already White threatens nasty sacrifices 24...Bxg4
[24...a4 25.Ngxf6+ gxf6 26.Nxf6+ Kg6 27.Nxe8 Qxe8 28.Rd5
with a strong attack.]
25.Qxg4 Red8?
[25...g6! Black absolutely needed to take control over
some lightsquares!]
26.Qf5+ Kh8 27.f4 Rxd1 28.Rxd1 exf4 29.Bxf4 Qe6 30.Rd3 Re8
Missing White's blow, but Radjabov's position was already
delicate. 31.Nxg7! Kxg7 32.Qh5 Black cannot hope to hold his
kingside together, much less with that bishop stuck on b6.
32...Nh7 33.Bxh6+ Kh8 34.Qg6 Qg8 35.Bg7+ Qxg7 36.Qxe8+ The
rest is easy. For all practical purposes White is up the
echange. 36...Qf8 37.Qe6 Qh6 38.e5 Qc1+ 39.Kh2 Qf4+ 40.Rg3 1-0
1.
e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.0-0 Nd7 7.
c3 0-0 8.d4 Bd6 9.Bg5 Qe8 10.Re1 h6 11.Bh4 c5 12.Bg3 Qe7 13.
d5 Re8 14.a4 a5 15.Na3 Nf8 16.Nd2 Ng6 17.Ndc4 b6 18.Nb5 Rb8
19.b4 cxb4 20.Ncxd6 cxd6 21.cxb4 axb4 22.Qb3 Bd7 23.Qxb4
Bxb5 24.Qxb5 Rec8 25.Rec1 Qd8 26.Rab1 Ne7 27.Rxc8 Rxc8 28.
h3 Ra8 29.f3 Nc8 30.Bf2 Qc7 31.Bxb6 Nxb6 32.Qxb6 Qc2 33.Ra1
Qc3 34.Ra2 Qc4 35.Qb2 Kh7 36.Kh2 Rxa4 37.Rxa4 Qxa4 38.Qb7
f6 39.Qe7 Qa3 40.h4 h5 41.Qe8 Kh6 42.Qh8+ Kg6 43.Qf8 Qb4 44.
Qe8+ Kh6 45.Qc8 Qd2 46.Qf5 Qe3 47.Kh3 Qc1 48.Kh2 Qd2 49.Qc8
Qf4+ 50.Kh3 Qd2 51.Qd8 Qb4 52.g4 hxg4+ 53.Kxg4 Kh7 54.Qe8
Qd2 55.Qh5+ Kg8 56.Kf5 Qc3 57.Ke6 Qc8+ 58.Kxd6 Qd8+ 59.Kc6
Qc8+ 60.Kb5 Qb7+ 61.Kc4 Qa6+ 62.Kc3 Qa3+ 63.Kd2 Qb4+ 64.Ke2
Qb2+ 65.Kf1 Qc1+ 66.Kg2 Qd2+ 67.Kh3 Qd1 68.Qf5 Kf7 69.Qe6+
Kg6 70.Qg4+ Kf7 71.Qg2 f5 72.h5 Kf8 73.Kh4 Qd2 74.Qxd2 1-0
1.e4
e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.h3 Be6 7.Nc3
Qd6 8.Na4 Bb6 9.0-0 0-0 10.b3 h6 11.Bb2 Nd7 12.Nxb6 axb6 13.
d4 exd4 14.Nxd4 c5 15.Nb5 Qc6 16.c4 f6 17.f4 Rfe8 18.Qf3
Re7 19.a4 Nf8 20.Nc3 Qe8 21.Rae1 Diagramm
r3qnk1/1pp1r1p1/1p2bp1p/2p5/P1P1PP2/1PN2Q1P/1B4P1/4RRK1 b - - 0 1
Carlsen hat seine gesamte Streitmacht zum sofortigen
Losschlagen aufgebaut. Der weiße Vorteil ist
offensichtlich. 21...c6 22.f5 Bf7 23.e5! Diagramm
r3qnk1/1p2rbp1/1pp2p1p/2p1PP2/P1P5/1PN2Q1P/1B4P1/4RRK1 b - - 0 1
23...fxe5?
[23...Rxe5 24.Ne4 Nd7 25.Bxe5 Nxe5 26.Qg3 war nötig.
Schwarz hätte zwar die Qualität eingebüßt, dafür
aber den Durchbruch am Königsflügel verhindert.]
24.Ne4 Weiß hat einen Bauern weniger, aber spätestens
jetzt stehen alle seine Figuren perfekt für den
Schlussangriff. 24...Nh7 25.Qg3 Rd7
[25...Kh8 hätte nichts genützt: 26.f6 gxf6 27.Rxf6! Nxf6
28.Nxf6+-]
26.Bxe5 Qf8 27.Kh2 b5 28.Nxc5 Rd2 29.Ne6 1-0
1.e4
e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.0-0 Nd7 7.c3
h6 8.Nbd2 0-0 9.Nc4 Re8 10.b4 Bd6 11.Be3 Nf8 12.Nfd2 Ng6 13.
Nxd6 cxd6 14.a4 d5 15.Nb3 b6 16.a5 Rb8 17.Qc2 Be6 18.Rfb1
Re7 19.c4 d4 20.Bd2 f5 21.axb6 axb6 22.f3 Rf7 23.Rf1 Kh7 24.
exf5 Bxf5 25.Be1 Qg5 26.Rd1 h5 27.Bd2 Qh4 28.Rde1 Ra8 29.
Ra1 Raf8 30.Ra6 It is a commonly used trick by seconds for
upcoming World Championship matches to refuse to say
anything about the opening moves claiming the need for
secrecy and not revealing any secrets. Using that privilege
to skip the first 30 moves is indeed taking it too far, but
the only thing to report til now is that Karjakin has a
strategically winning position and that after e.g the
retreat 30...Qd8!? the Norwegian computer "Sesse" always
following Magnus games, gave as much as +3(!) for Black.
But simply ...h4-h3 next would undermine White's defences
and win trivially. But having already beaten Magnus once
during this event, Karjakin thought why not make it 2-0 and
in style? 30...e4?! Magnus won 4 games in a row at Stavanger,
and while in other sports or even in earlier stages of
chess history that would not be seen as something special,
in modern top-level tournaments it certainly is. Streaks
requires a mixture of luck and skill, and as Larsen once
pointed out, it is easier to win a bad position than a
completely equal one.
[30...Qd8!?]
31.Nxd4! Taking his chance ( and a pawn!) immediately, but
Karjakin obviously was expecting that and has a cunning
plan up his sleeve: 31...exf3 32.Nxf3 Bh3!? One can
understand Karjakins attraction to this move. Not only is
it beautiful, but also logical. White has a stranded rook
on the queenside, while all black pieces join the attack on
the white king. It would not be unreasonable if Black was
just winning, but Magnus has a resource: 33.Rf2! Absolutely
neccesary amd modest-looking, but excactly enough fence off
the black attack! 33...Bxg2 perhaps was what Karjakin
intended, hoping for 34 Nxh4 Rxf2 but 35 Ng5+! turns the
tables, as in this version of Black sacrificing his queen,
after 35...Qxg5 36 Bxg5 Rxf2 suddenly 37 Qxf2 has become
available. The computer suggests the calm 33...Kg8!? with
an ultimately balanced position, but Karjakins ove also is
not bad: 33...Rxf3
[33...Bxg2 34.Ng5+! (34.Nxh4 Rxf2) 34...Qxg5 35.Bxg5 Rxf2 36.
Qxf2!;
33...Kg8!?]
34.gxf3 Rf5? But here however he falters.
[34...Bg4!? was the logical way continuing to attack with
maximum energy, when after 35.f4 Ne5! Black once again
exploits that White can not take the offered piece.
Surprisingly White would still be able to defend, as both
36.Bc3 and 36.Be3 keeps him in the game most likely to
end in a draw by perpetual check]
35.d4! Materially White is ahead plenty, so more
importantly this opens the diagonal of the white queen
towards the king on h7, as well as the 3-rank where the
rook via a3 can join the defence. 35...Qxd4 36.Ra3 36.f4!
would have been more precise, as now 36...Re5!? becomes an
extra option.
[36.f4!]
36...Rf7
[36...Re5!?]
37.Re3 Bf5 38.Qc3 Qd8 39.Re1?! "Sesse" gave 39 f4! as the
winning move, but from a human perspective once can
understand the logic behind leaving the the pawn on f3
giving the king somewhat more protection, as well as
preparing the following manouver. And wile tactically
flawed, it does win the game!
[39.f4!]
39...Rd7 40.Qe3 Rd4? When Karjakin played his 30th move, he
had considerably more time left on is clock than Magnus,
but in the ensuing complications he caught up and being
short on time blunders the game with his last move before
the time-control. 40...Re7! was possible as 41 Qg5?? then
loses to 41... Rxe1+ as 42 Bxe1 leaves the queen
unprotected on g5. Thus 41 Qc3 would be neccesary but after
41...Rd7 white would according to the computers not have
better than a repetition draw after 42 Qe3.
[40...Re7 41.Qc3 (41.Qg5?? Rxe1+ 42.Bxe1 Qxg5+) 41...Rd7 42.
Qe3]
41.Qg5 Now, however, White just wins trivially. There
thraet of exchanging queens as well as h5 and f5 hanging,
is more than the black position can handle. 41...Qxg5+ 42.
Bxg5 Rxc4 43.Rb2! Perhaps looking passive, but defending
the b-pawn was neccesary. And as Larsen said: while
opposite colored bishop endings often are drawn, when they
are winning, the often win easily! And this is the case
here indeed: White will rearrange to attack g7, and Black's
bishop being of the opposite colour, means there just is no
way to defend. 43...b5 44.Kf2 c5 45.bxc5 Rxc5 46.Rc1 Rd5 47.
Rd2 Rxd2+ 48.Bxd2 Ne5 49.Rc7 b4!? Trying to confuse the
issue as else Bc3 next wins trivially. 50.Rb7 Be6 51.Re7!
Nd3+ 52.Ke3 Bc4 53.Kd4 But as 53... Bb5 54 Rb7 Ba6 55 Rb6
wins a piece and 53....Nb2 54 Bxb4 is hopeless, Karjakin
resigned.
[53.Kd4 Bb5 (53...Nb2 54.Bxb4) 54.Rb7 Ba6 55.Rb6]
1-0
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Ne7 5.0-0 c6 6.Ba4 Ng6 7.
Re1 Be7 8.d4 d6 9.c3 0-0 10.Nbd2 h6 11.Nf1 Re8 12.Ng3 a5 13.
Bc2 Qc7 14.a4 Bd7 15.h3 b5 16.Be3 Rab8 17.Qd2 b4 18.Bd3
bxc3 19.bxc3 Be6 20.Qc2 Rb7 21.Nf1 Nh5 22.N1d2 Nhf4 23.Ba6
Rbb8 24.dxe5 dxe5 25.Rab1 Bd7 26.Bc4 Ne6 27.Qa2 Nh4 28.Nxh4
Bxh4 29.Nf3 Be7 30.Rbd1 Bc8 31.Qc2 Nf8 32.Rd2 Be6 33.Qa2
Red8 34.Rxd8 Bxd8 35.Rd1 Be7 36.h4 Rd8 37.Rb1 Rb8 38.Rxb8
Qxb8 39.g3 Bd8 40.Kg2 Bc7 41.Bxe6 Nxe6 42.Qc4 Qe8 43.h5 Kh7
44.Qd3 Qe7 45.Nd2 Bd6 46.Nc4 Bc7 47.Qd1 Nf8 48.Qg4 Nd7 49.
Kf1 Qe8 50.Kg2 Qe7 51.Qf5+ Kg8 52.g4 Nf8 53.g5 hxg5 54.Bxg5
Qc5 55.Ne3 Qd6 56.Qg4 g6 57.Bh6 Nd7 58.Nc4 Nf6 59.Qc8+ Qd8
60.Qxd8+ Bxd8 61.Bg5 gxh5 62.Bxf6 Bxf6 63.Nxa5 Kf8 64.Nxc6
Ke8 65.Nb4 Bd8 66.Nd3 f6 67.Kg3 Kd7 68.f3 Ba5 69.c4 Ke6 70.
Kh4 f5 71.Kxh5 fxe4 72.fxe4 Kd6 73.Kg6 Bc7 74.Kf5 Kc6 75.
Ke6 Kb6 76.Kd7 Bb8 77.c5+ 1-0
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3
Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.h3 Nd7 7.Be3 0-0 8.Qd2
Re8 9.Nc3 a5 10.Bxc5 Nxc5 11.0-0-0 f6 12.Qe3 Qe7 13.d4 exd4
14.Nxd4 Bd7 15.Rhe1 b5 16.f3 b4 17.Nb1 Kh8 18.Nd2 Na4 19.
Nc4 c5 20.Nf5 Qe6 21.b3 Bb5 22.bxa4 Bxc4 23.Qxc5 Qf7 24.Qc6
Be6 25.Kb2 h6 26.g4 Rad8 27.Rxd8 Rxd8 28.Qc5 Qd7 29.Qe7
Qxe7 30.Nxe7 c5 31.Nc6 c4 32.Nxd8 1-0
1.e4 e5
2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 0-0 6.0-0 d6 7.h3 a6 8.
Bxc6 bxc6 9.Re1 Bb6 10.Nbd2 a5 11.Nc4 h6 12.d4 exd4 13.cxd4
Re8 14.Qc2 c5 15.d5 a4 16.Bd2 Bd7 17.Bc3 Bb5 18.b3 Nd7 19.
Nfd2 Qe7 20.Re3 c6 21.Rg3 f6 22.Ne3 Qf8 23.Nf5 g5 24.dxc6
Bxc6 25.Rd1 Ne5 26.Bxe5 Rxe5 27.Re3 Bc7 28.Nc4 Re6 29.Qe2
axb3 30.axb3 Kh7 31.Qh5 Be8 32.Qg4 Qf7 33.Nfxd6 Bxd6 34.
Nxd6 Qe7 35.e5 fxe5 36.Qe4+ 1-0
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Nbd2 Be6
7.0-0 Nd7 8.Nb3 Bb6 9.Ng5 Bxb3 10.axb3 Qe7
[10...f6 11.Nf3 Nc5 12.Nd2 0-0 13.Nc4 Ne6 14.Kh1 Qd7 15.
Qg4 Rad8= 1/2-1/2 (72) Nakamura,H (2787)-Kramnik,V
(2801) Zuerich 2016]
11.Bd2
[11.Kh1 f6 12.Nf3 Nc5 13.Nh4 Ne6 14.Qg4 0-0-0 15.f4 exf4
16.Bxf4 Qd7= 1/2-1/2 (54) Sethuraman,S (2622)-
Karthikeyan,P (2400) Kottayam 2014]
11...0-0-0 Castling queenside is a bit careless - White can
quickly drum up an attack. 12.b4 Kb8 13.c4 Bd4 14.Nf3 Nf8
[14...Bxb2 15.Ra2 Bd4 16.Qa4 a6 17.Nxd4 exd4 18.b5→]
15.Qa4
[15.Nxd4 Rxd4 (15...exd4 16.b5 cxb5 17.cxb5 followed by
17...-- 18.Qa4+-) 16.Be3+-]
15...a6 A move Black would prefer not to make but how else
to defend a7?
1k1r1n1r/1pp1qppp/p1p5/4p3/QPPbP3/3P1N2/1P1B1PPP/R4RK1 w - - 0 1
16.b5 cxb5 17.cxb5 Qd7 18.bxa6 Qxa4 19.Rxa4 Ne6 20.axb7 Nc5
21.Ra3 Bxb2 22.Ra2 Nxd3
[22...Bd4 23.Nxd4 exd4 24.Rb1+- is not much fun for Black.
24...Nxb7 25.Rab2+-]
23.Rb1 c5
[23...c5 24.Ne1+-]
1-0
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Nbd2 Bg4
7.h3 Bh5 8.g4 Bg6 9.Qe2 Nd7 10.Nc4 Qe7 11.Be3 0-0-0 12.
0-0-0 f6 13.Nfd2 Bf7 14.Kb1 Kb8 15.f4 Bxe3 16.Qxe3 exf4 17.
Qxf4 Nc5 18.Ne3 Ne6 19.Qf2 c5 20.Nf5 Qd7 21.Nf3 h5 22.Rhg1
hxg4 23.hxg4 c4 24.d4 Nc5 25.Qe1 Na4 26.Qb4 c5 27.Qa3 b5 28.
Qe3 b4 29.d5 Qb5 30.g5 Nc3+ 31.Ka1 Nxd1 32.Rxd1 Ka8 33.Nxg7
fxg5 34.Nxg5 Bh5 35.Nxh5 Rxh5 36.Ne6 Rd7 37.Nxc5 Rdh7 38.
Ne6 Rh1 39.Qc1 Rxd1 40.Qxd1 Qb6 41.b3 c3 42.a3 Qf2 43.axb4
Rh2 44.d6 Qd2 45.Qf1 Qxd6 46.Nc5 Rxc2 47.e5 Rf2 48.Qh1+ 1-0
1.e4
e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Nbd2 0-0 7.h3
Nd7 8.Nc4 a5 9.g4!?N
[More aggressive than 9.Be3 which had been played earlier
(on the same day!) between the same two players: 9...f6
10.0-0 b5 11.Ncd2 Bxe3 12.fxe3 a4 13.Nh4 c5 14.Nf5 Nb6=
0-1 (43) Nakamura,H (2736)-Carlsen,M (2863) chess24.com
2020;
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Nbd2 0-0
7.Qe2 Re8 8.Nc4 Nd7 9.h4 a5 10.h5 b5 11.Ne3 Nf8 12.Bd2 Ne6
13.a4 b4 14.b3 Ba6 15.g3 Bxe3 16.Bxe3 f5 17.Rh4 f4 18.Bd2
Nd4 19.Nxd4 Qxd4 20.Rc1 fxg3 21.fxg3 Qg1+ 22.Qf1 Qxg3+ 23.
Qf2 Qxf2+ 24.Kxf2 Re6 25.Rg1 Rf8+ 26.Ke1 Bc8 27.h6 g6 28.
Bg5 Ree8 29.Rh2 Rf3 30.Rf2 Rxf2 31.Kxf2 Rf8+ 32.Ke3 Kf7 33.
Rf1+ Ke8 34.Rxf8+ Kxf8 35.Bd8 c5 36.Bxc7 Ke7 37.Bxe5 Kd7 38.
Bf6 Bb7 39.Kf4 Bc6 1-0
12...Nf4 13.Qf3]
13.Qh5 g6
[13...Qf6 14.N3g4]
14.Qf3 f6 15.Nxc6 Qd7 16.Qxf6
[The most precise move order would have been 16.Ng4 Qxc6
17.Qxf6!+-]
16...Qxc6 17.Bc3 Not the most precise move.
[17.Ng4! Bf8 18.Ne5 was simple and strong.]
17...Rf8 18.Qh8+ Kf7 19.Qxh7+ Ke8 20.Qxg6+ Kd7 21.d4 b4 22.
dxc5 Carlsen's blunder on move 11 was just unrecoverable.
[22.dxc5 bxc3 23.0-0-0+ Ke7 24.Nd5++-]
1-0
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Nxe4 5.Re1 Nd6 6.Nxe5 Be7
7.Bf1 Nxe5 8.Rxe5 0-0 9.d4 Ne8 10.Re1 d5 11.Bf4 Bd6 12.Qf3
Bxf4 13.Qxf4 Qd6 14.Qf3 Nf6 15.Nd2 Bg4 16.Qg3 Qxg3 17.hxg3
Rfe8 18.f3 Bd7 19.g4 h6 20.Kf2 Rxe1 21.Rxe1 Re8 22.Rc1 c6
23.a4 Re7 24.a5 Ne8 25.Nb3 Nd6 26.Nc5 Bc8 27.b3 g6 28.c4
dxc4 29.bxc4 Kg7 30.Bd3 f5 31.gxf5 Bxf5 32.Be2 h5 33.Nd3
Bc8 34.Nb4 Nf5 35.d5 c5 36.Nd3 Rc7 37.Nf4 h4 38.Bd3 g5 39.
Ne2 Nd6 40.Nc3 Kf6 41.Re1 Bd7 42.Ne4+ Nxe4+ 43.Bxe4 b5 44.
d6 Rc8 45.cxb5 Bxb5 46.Rb1 Bc4 47.Rb7 Rd8 48.Rxa7 Rxd6 49.
Rc7 Rd2+ 50.Kg1 Bd5 51.Rd7 Ke6 52.Rd8 c4 53.a6 c3 54.Rxd5 1-0
1.
e4 e5 2.Nf3 In round one Magnus won a good game against
Fabiano Caruana with 2.c4, but that move at top level is
almost exclusively seen as an anti-Petroff move order. 2...
Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6!? 4.0-0
[In round one Anand continued 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d5 6.Bd2 0-0 7.
0-0 Re8 8.exd5 a6! when while not only springing an
excellent novelty, Aronian also managed to amuse in the
confession booth saying he forgot to play it at move 3,
and now seemed at good moment to correct the mistake!
Even so, his switch from Marshall to Berlin seemed more
than just a fling.]
4...Nxe4 5.Re1 The most solid of lines, suiting well that
Magnus actually was the sole leader at this point. 5...Nd6 6.
Nxe5 Be7 7.Bf1 Nxe5 8.Rxe5 0-0 9.d4 Bf6 10.Re1 By far the
main move, but in the New York match vs. Karjakin, Magnus
did put the rook on e2, an idea of Caruana's second
Kasimdzhanov, and had some pressure before the game was
eventually drawn. 10...Nf5!? Also the latest trend.
[People used to go 10...Re8 and while that still makes a
solid apperance, the preference by the experts has been
for this slightly more aggressive move.]
11.d5 Grabbing space, or from Black's perspective, slightly
weakening White's pawn chain. Less ambitious but more solid
is 11.c3 d5, with numerous games being drawn shortly
thereafter. 11...Re8 Here everybody routinely played the
standard move, till Caruana in Baden tried 12.d3 against
Aronian. Magnus' next move was intended to be a novelty:
12.Rxe8+!? But to my surprise this had already been played
by Palac in 2005, against me! The unimpressive continuation
being 12...xe8 13.d2 d6 draw agreed. 12...Qxe8 13.
Qd3!? Putting the bishop on d3 similar to Caruana looks
like a normal move, while this somewhat goes against chess
principles. First developing your queen, and only then
figuring out how to proceed next is not excactly what is
recommended in the beginners' books. But apart from the
primitive threats of taking the knight on f5, more
relevantly it supports the e4-square planning to transfer
the knight there eventually as well and in general having
much more scope. Aronian seemed surprised but after some
thought played the obvious reply. 13...d6
14.Nd2 Intending
e4, followed by c3 d2 e1. The good thing about
White's position is that it has a lot of room for
improvement! For Black it's more difficult, and probably,
especially in light of White not being fully developed,
14...c6!? switching the position to an isolani-style type
after a white dxc6 or a black ...cxd5 would assure
counterplay. But Black has an almost perfect pawn structure
so voluntarily ruining it is not an easy over the board
decision. 14...Bg5?! A very logical move, assuring the
exchange of the dark-squared bishops and at the same time
eliminating the e4 threat.
15.Nf3 A case (the engines!) could be made for including
g3+h4 to gain a bit of time, but Magnus Magnus either
wanted to assure himself of the following favourable
exchanges, or perhaps as the games later shows the
relevance of, rather would not lose the flexibilty on how
to put his pawns on the kingside. 15...Bxc1 16.Rxc1 Bd7 17.
Re1 At first sight it looks like a typical quick e1
Berlin draw is in progress. Rooks will be exchanged in the
e-line and White has absolutely nothing constructive to do
with his moderate space advantage. But details do matter!
After 17...f8 White will immediately attack Black's
queenside with moves like 18.b3 or 18.c4, when Black
face a passive defence using his rook to defend the
weakness on especially c7. Perhaps a small difference, but
with a huge effect. Black has no way of getting the
neccesary echanges and is doomed to passive defence. His
position is so solid that the chances of sucess obviously
is there, but White's edge, as indicated by the engines, is
certainly larger than it looks at first sight. 17...Qd8 18.
Qc4 g6 19.h3 Ng7 20.Re3 A nice setup, the rook might be
used to attack the vulnerable spots on the queenside, or
more directely, the black kingside as in the game. It does
however give Aronian a chance to change the structure play
with an isolani. 20...a5
[After 20...c5! 21.dxc6 Bxc6 Black obviously is slightly
worse, but in a less suffocating way than the game.]
21.a4 Now ...c5 would leave the b5-square weak, thus 21...
c6! 21...Ne8 22.Qd4 An ideal square for White's queen.
Normally ...f6 would chase it away, but with the pawn
already on g6, White always has the small tactic xe8+!
meaning Black will never achieve a f6+g7 setup. 22...
Ng7 23.g4!? Logical and strong. Magnus cntrols the f5-
square, not allowing ...f5 attacking his queen.
Weakening his own king is not a concern due to Black's
passivity, but even so the engine does seem to think White
would optimize his edge with the less compromising 23.d3.
23...c6 At last, and with the logical justification that
White's last move has changed the battle from a positional
one to a tactical, Aronian stops caring about his pawn
structure but tries creating counterplay.
[23...Qf8 intending 24...e8 looks solid and logical,
but 24.Ng5! becomes alarming as if 24...Re8 (Suffice it to
say that the engines suggests 24...Qd8!) then 25.Ne4!
gets access to the f6-square with immediate disaster for
Black.]
24.c4 Ne8 With all this suffering , why not at least have a
pawn for it?
[24...c5 25.Qf4 Bxa4 is possible, when White has
excellent compensation in numerous ways, the engines
preferring 26.Ra3!? Bd7 27.Rb3 eyeing the b6-square!]
25.Qf4 Kg7 Adding to his misery, Levon was also now
desperately short of time, and Magnus now pulls off an
almost basketball like trick, first looking to one side,
but the attacking fiercly on the other: 26.Rb3 Just a decoy.
26...Rb8 27.Ng5! Nf6?
[27...Qf6 still defends, as while 28.Qd2 does attack the
a5-pawn Black can defend with 28...h6 29.Ne4 Qd8 without
facing disaster. Now however swift tactics decide.]
28.Rf3! h6 Not even a blunder, as Black has no meaningful
defence anyway.
[The d6-pawn is attacked, and 28...Qe7 29.Re3 Qf8 leaves
White so many options that the engine does not even
mention that 30.xf6+?! followed by xh7+ wins a
pawn. Easiest is 30.Qd4! with a crushing pin.]
29.Ne4! Nxe4 30.Qxf7+ Kh8 31.Qxg6 And with the combined
threats to the knight in e4 and the h6-pawn as well as
f7 mating, Aronian resigned. 1-0
1.
e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 Bc5 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.
Nc3 Qe7 8.h3 Nd7 9.Be3 Bxe3 10.fxe3 Nb6 11.a4 a5 12.Qd2 Bd7
13.b3 Nc8 14.g4 h5 15.0-0-0 Nd6 16.Ne2 b6 17.Qc3 f6 18.Ng3
hxg4 19.hxg4 0-0-0 20.Nf5 Bxf5 21.gxf5 Kb7 22.Kb2 Qf7 23.
Nd2 g6 24.fxg6 Qxg6 25.Nc4 Nxc4+ 26.Qxc4 Qg5 27.Rhf1 Rd6 28.
Rf3 Qg7 29.Rdf1 Rh2 30.Qc3 Re2 31.R1f2 Rxf2 32.Rxf2 Qg3 33.
Qd2 Qg5 34.Rg2 Qh6 35.Rh2 Qg5 36.Qf2 Qg6 37.Rh8 Qg5 38.Qf3
Qg7 39.Qh3 Rd7 40.Re8 Qh7 41.Qf5 Qxf5 42.exf5 b5 43.Kc3 Kb6
44.Rf8 Rd6 45.Rf7 Kb7 46.Kb2 Kb6 47.Ka3 Kb7 48.b4 axb4+ 49.
Kxb4 bxa4 50.Kxa4 Kb6 51.Kb4 Kb7 52.Kc4 Kb6 53.c3 c5 54.e4
Kc6 55.Rf8 Kb6 56.Ra8 Rd7 57.Re8 Rd6 58.Re7 Kc6 59.Rf7 Kb6
60.Kb3 Kc6 61.Kc2 Kb6 62.c4 Kb7 63.Kd2 Kc8 64.Ke2 Kd8 65.
Ke3 Kc8 66.Rf8+ Kd7 67.Rh8 Ke7 68.Ra8 Kd7 69.Ra5 Kc6 70.Ra3
Kd7 71.Kf3 Ke7 72.Kg4 Kf7 73.Kh5 Rd8 74.Ra7 Rh8+ 75.Kg4 Rc8
76.Ra5 Ke7 77.Rxc5 c6 78.Kf3 Kd6 79.Ra5 Rh8 80.c5+ Kc7 81.
Ra7+ Kb8 82.Rf7 Rh6 83.Ke3 Kc8 84.Kd2 Kd8 85.Kc3 1-0
1.e4 e5 2.
Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 Be7 7.0-0 b5 8.Bc2
0-0 9.Nbd2 Re8 10.Re1 Bf8 11.Nf1 g6 12.a4 Bb7 13.Bg5 h6 14.
Bh4 Bg7 15.Ne3 Qd7 16.b4 Ne7 17.Bb3 Nh5 18.Qc2 Nf4 19.Bg3
d5 20.h3 Rad8 21.Ng4 Qd6 22.d4 dxe4 23.Nfxe5 Nfd5 24.Nxf7
Qd7 25.Nxd8 Rxd8 26.axb5 1-0
1.e4 e5 2.
Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a3
0-0 9.Nc3 Nb8 10.Bd2 Nbd7 11.a4 Rb8 12.axb5 axb5 13.Ne2 Nc5
14.Ba2 Be6 15.Ng3 Re8 16.Be3 Bxa2 17.Rxa2 Ne6 18.h3 Qd7 19.
Qd2 Ra8 20.Rfa1 Rxa2 21.Rxa2 Qc6 22.b3 Ra8 23.c4 bxc4 24.
bxc4 Nd7 25.Ne2 Rxa2 26.Qxa2 Ndc5 27.Ne1 Qb7 28.Nc3 c6 29.
g3 Bg5 30.Bxc5 Nxc5 31.h4 Bd8 32.Qc2 Ba5 33.Nf3 Bxc3 34.
Qxc3 Qb1+ 35.Kg2 Qxd3 36.Qa5 h6 37.Qa8+ Kh7 38.Qxc6 Nxe4 39.
Qc8 Nf6 40.c5 dxc5 41.Qxc5 Ng4 42.Nxe5 Qf5 43.f4 Qe4+ 44.
Kh3 Ne3 45.Qc6 Qb1 46.Qf3 Qg6 47.Nxg6 1-0
1.e4 e5 2.
Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.a4 Rb8 8.
Nxe5 Nxe5 9.d4 Bxd4 10.Qxd4 d6 11.f4 Nc6 12.Qc3 Ne7
[12...Bb7 has been played in a couple of games, but after
13.axb5 axb5 14.e5 Ne4 15.Qe3 Ne7 16.Nd2 Nxd2 17.Bxd2
0-0 18.e6 Black is in trouble.]
13.axb5 axb5 14.e5 Ne4 15.Qf3!?
[15.Qe1 had been play a little more often.]
15...Nc5
[15...d5? 16.Nc3 Nxc3 17.Qxc3 0-0 18.Be3 ½-½ (40)
Lobanov,S (2372)-Grigorjev,I (2203) St Petersburg 2014]
16.Ba2 0-0 17.Be3 Bb7N A good novelty by the World Champion
- but Hikaru Nakamura knew how to react to it!
[17...Nf5 18.Bf2 Be6 19.Rd1 Qe7 20.Nc3 ½-½ (47)
Milman,L (2462)-Mulyar,M (2410) New York 2011]
18.Qh3 Ne4 19.Nc3 Nxc3 20.bxc3 Bd5
[20...Nd5!? was also playable - but it's so much more
logical to exchange the light-squared bishops.]
21.f5! Bxa2 22.Rxa2 dxe5 23.f6 A very tricky position. 23...
gxf6
[23...Ng6 24.fxg7 (24.Bh6 Qd5 25.Raa1 Rfd8 can't be an
improvement for White) 24...Re8 25.Qf5 Nf4! should be
close to a draw.]
24.Bh6 Re8
[After 24...Qd6!? 25.Qg4+ Ng6 26.h4 Black has a choice
between two unbalanced slightly worse endgames: 26...Rfe8 (
26...Qe6 27.Qxe6 fxe6 28.Bxf8 Rxf8 29.Ra7 Rf7⇆) 27.h5
Qe6 28.Qxe6 Rxe6 29.hxg6 hxg6⇆]
25.Ra6!? Rb6
[25...c6!? may have been better: 26.Rxc6! Rb6 (26...Nxc6??
27.Qg4+) 27.Qg4+ Ng6 28.Rfxf6 Rxc6 29.Rxc6]
26.Rxb6 cxb6 27.Qg3+ Ng6 28.h4 f5 29.h5 f4
[29...Qh4 30.Qxh4 Nxh4 31.Bg5 and the knight is trapped.]
30.hxg6! hxg6
[30...fxg3? 31.gxf7+ Kh8 32.fxe8Q+ Qxe8 33.Rf8++-]
31.Qg4 Qc8?
[31...Qe7 was necessary, keeping good control of the
dark squares.]
32.Qh4! Now Black is lost as Bg5/f6 or Rf3/h3 is coming.
32...Qc5+
[32...Qd8 33.Bg5+-;
1.e4 e5 2.
Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.d3 d6 7.c3 0-0 8.Re1
b5 9.Bc2 Re8 10.Nbd2 Bf8 11.Nf1 Nb8 12.d4 Nbd7 13.Ng3 Bb7
14.b3 g6 15.a4 Bg7 16.Bd3 d5 17.Bg5 dxe4 18.Bxe4 Bxe4 19.
Nxe4 exd4 20.Nxd4 c5 21.Nc6 Qc7 22.Qd6 Qxd6 23.Nxd6 Rxe1+
24.Rxe1 bxa4 25.bxa4 Bf8 26.Ne7+ Kg7 27.a5 Rb8 28.h3 Rb3 29.
c4 Rd3 30.Bf4 Rd4 31.Bg3 h5 32.Kf1 Rd3 33.Bf4 Rd4 34.g3 Rd3
35.Ndc8 Bxe7 36.Rxe7 Kf8 37.Bh6+ Kg8 38.Be3 Ra3 39.Nd6 Rxa5
40.Kg2 Ra2 41.Rxf7 g5 42.Re7 g4 43.h4 a5 44.Bh6 1-0
1.e4 e5 2.
Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 Be7 7.0-0 0-0 8.Re1
b5 9.Bc2 d5 10.Nbd2 d4 11.Nb3 a5 12.a4 bxa4 13.Rxa4 dxc3 14.
bxc3 Nd7 15.Be3 Nb6 16.Ra1 Bd6 17.Nbd2 f5 18.Bxb6 cxb6 19.
Bb3+ Kh8 20.Bd5 Qc7 21.Nc4 fxe4 22.Ng5 exd3 23.Nxh7 Rf5 24.
Be4 Be7 25.Qxd3 g6 26.Ne3 Qd7 27.Qc4 Bc5 28.Nxf5 gxf5 29.Nf6 1-0
1.
e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 d6 7.c3
0-0 8.h3 Nd7 9.d4 Bf6 10.Be3 b5 11.Bc2 exd4 12.cxd4 Nb4 13.
Bb3 c5 14.a3 Nc6 15.Nc3 c4 16.Bc2 g6 17.Nd5 Bg7 18.Bg5 f6
19.Bf4 Ndb8 20.b3 cxb3 21.Bxb3 Kh8 22.Rc1 Ra7 23.Qd2 Be6 24.
Ba2 Bg8 25.Rc2 Ne7 26.Qb4 Rd7 27.Nxe7 Qxe7 28.Bxg8 Rxg8 29.
d5 Re8 30.Nd4 f5 31.Ne6 fxe4 32.Rxe4 Qf6 33.Bxd6 Qf5 34.
Nxg7 Qxe4 35.Nxe8 Qxe8 36.Qd4+ Kg8 37.Bb4 h5 38.Bc3 Kh7 39.
Re2 Qg8 40.Qf6 Rf7 41.Re7 Rxe7 42.Qxe7+ Kh6 43.Bd2+ g5 44.
h4 Qxd5 45.Bxg5+ Kg6 46.Qe8+ 1-0
1.e4 e5 2.
Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.
a4 b4 9.a5 d6 10.d3 Be6 11.Bxe6 A relatively new idea.
White exchanges the bishops, opens the f-file for Black,
but he hopes that the double-pawns on the e-file will be a
weakness for Black.
[11.Nbd2 is the another main move.]
11...fxe6 12.Nbd2 Rb8 13.c3
[In the first round Carlsen had this line with Black too,
13.Nb3 Qc8 14.Qe2 Nd8 15.d4 exd4 16.Nbxd4 c5 17.Nb3 e5
18.Nbd2 Ne6 19.Nc4 Nd4 20.Nxd4 cxd4 21.Nb6 Qc6 22.Bg5
Bd8 23.Bxf6 Bxb6 24.axb6 Rxf6 25.Rxa6 h6 26.Qd3 Rxb6=
Caruana-Carlsen, Saint Louis 2017, with an equal position.]
13...Qe8 14.Nc4N A novelty by Carlsen.
[Recently 14.d4 was played by Topalov, 14...bxc3 15.bxc3
exd4 16.cxd4 Rb5 17.Nc4 Qg6 18.Qe2 Nd7 Topalov-Adams,
Shamkir 2017, with an unclear middlegame.]
14...Qg6 15.h3 Nd7 A typical continuation, Black prepares
for ...d5.
[Nevertheless I prefer 15...Nh5!? like an active move to
play for ...f4.]
16.Be3 d5 17.Ncd2 Of course White doesn't exchange. The e5-
and e6-pawns became weaker. 17...bxc3 18.bxc3 Nc5 19.Bxc5!
At first this seems a strange move. Why does White give up
his nice bishop? The knight was exerting pressure on d3;
moreover after removing the knight White has an extra
possibility on the next move. 19...Bxc5 20.Qa4! This was the
point of White's previous move. 20...Rb2!? Ambitious reply!
21.Rf1! Very deep move! Carlsen protects his f2-pawn in
advance, now the c6-knight is hanging already.
[The careless 21.Qxc6? loses immediately, because of 21...
Bxf2+! 22.Kxf2 Rxd2+-+ and Black is winning.]
21...Na7?! Too passive a move!
[21...Qe8 should have been played, however 22.Rab1 Rxb1 23.
Rxb1 and White is more comfortable.]
22.Nxe5 Qh6 23.Ndf3 Nb5 24.Rae1! White doesn't protect the
c3-pawn and he solves the problem with a nice idea.
[Moreover 24.Rac1? could have been met by 24...Rxf2! 25.
Rxf2 Qxc1+-+ and Black wins.]
24...Nxc3
[In the event of 24...Bd6 25.exd5 exd5 (25...Nxc3 26.
Qa1! important tempo!) 26.Qa1! Rc2 27.c4! White
is better too.]
25.Qc6! Suddenly Black has a lot of weaknesses on the
queenside. White is safe, his pieces are active, the white
queen is threatening to take the pawns. 25...Bb4 26.Kh1
Probably this is not the strongest move, but a good
practical prophylactic reply. The king moves away from a
possible ...e2+. 26...dxe4
[26...Ne2 27.Rb1 is similar to the text move.]
27.dxe4 Ne2 28.Rb1 White simplifies the position, so
Black's pressure is decreasing. 28...Rxb1 29.Rxb1 Bd6 30.
Qxa6 Carlsen starts to eat the pawns. 30...Nf4 31.Qb5 c5 32.
a6 It's time to advance the passed pawn. 32...Bxe5 33.Nxe5
Qg5 34.Ng4 h5 35.Ne3 White is safe. 35...Nxg2 Still the best
practical chance, otherwise White promotes his a-pawn
without any counterplay. 36.Nxg2 Rxf2 37.Rg1 Kh7 38.Qd3 It
is important to come back with the queen especially in time
pressure. 38...Qe5 39.Qe3 Ra2 40.Qf4 The best practical move.
White doesn't protect his a-pawn, he wants to exchange the
queens and then he can win without any difficulties. 40...
Qc3 41.Ne3 Qf6
[Or 41...Rxa6 42.Qg5+- and Black has no hope.]
42.Qxf6 gxf6 43.Rc1 Rxa6 44.Kg2! Correct reply!
[The greedy 44.Rxc5 could have been met by 44...Ra3 and
Black wins the h3-pawn and he survives.]
44...Ra2+ 45.Rc2 Ra5 46.Kf3 Kg6 47.h4 Rb5 48.Ra2 Rb1 49.Rc2
Rb5 50.Rc3 f5
[50...Ra5 51.Ng2+- is also hopeless for Black.]
51.exf5+ exf5 52.Rd3 A very nice victory by Carlsen! 1-0
1.e4 e5
2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.
a4 Bb7 9.d3 d6 10.Nbd2 Re8 11.Nf1 h6 12.c3 Bf8 13.Ne3 Ne7
14.h3 Ng6 15.Nh2 d5 16.exd5 Nxd5 17.Qf3 Nh4 18.Qe4 Nxe3 19.
Qxb7 Nexg2 20.Re4 Qxd3 21.Rg4 Qxh3 22.Rg3 Qf5 23.Rxg2 Nxg2
24.Qxg2 Rad8 25.Ng4 Kh8 26.axb5 axb5 27.Ne3 Qh5 28.Nf1 e4
29.Ng3 Qg6 30.Be3 Bd6 31.Ne2 Qh5 32.Ng3 Bxg3 33.fxg3 Rd3 34.
Qf2 f5 35.Bc2 Rd6 36.Kg2 Red8 37.Rh1 Qg6 38.Bf4 Rd5 39.Qe2
c5 40.b3 c4 41.bxc4 bxc4 42.Rf1 Qf6 43.Qxc4 Qb6 44.Bb3 Rc5
45.Qf7 Rxc3 46.Be5 Rd2+ 47.Kh1 1-0
1.e4 e5 2.
Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.
c3 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 c6 12.d3 Bd6 13.Re1
Bf5 14.Qf3 Qh4 15.g3 Qh3 16.Be3 Bxd3 17.Bxd5 cxd5 18.Qxd5
Rad8 19.Qg2 Qc8 20.Nd2 Bf5 21.Bd4 Rfe8 22.f3 Bf8 23.a3 Re6
24.Rxe6 Qxe6 25.Qf2 Re8 26.Nf1 h5 27.Ne3 Bh3 28.Re1 Qc6 29.
Ng2 Rxe1+ 30.Nxe1 Qg6 31.Qc2 Bf5 32.Qd2 Be6 33.Qd3 Bf5 34.
Qe3 Be6 35.Bc5 Bxc5 36.Qxc5 Qb1 37.Qf2 Bd5 38.Kg2 a5 39.Qe2
Qf5 40.Kf2 Be6 41.Nc2 Qh3 42.Kg1 Bc4 43.Qe8+ Kh7 44.Ne3 Qe6
45.Qxe6 Bxe6 46.b4 axb4 47.axb4 g5 48.h4 gxh4 49.gxh4 Kg6
50.Kf2 Kf6 51.Nf1 Ke5 52.Ng3 f5 53.Nxh5 f4 54.Ng7 Bf7 55.h5
Kf6 56.h6 Kg6 57.Nh5 Kxh6 58.Nxf4 Kg5 59.Ne2 Kf5 1-0
1.e4 e5 2.
Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3
[8.a4;