Un Mondiale di scacchi come non si era mai visto, quello di Londra tra Magnus Carlsen e Fabiano Caruana. Da quando, nel match della riunificazione del titolo, vinto dal primo, tra il russo Vladimir Kramnik e il bulgaro Veselin Topalov, cambiò il regolamento di un match iridato dando vita a quello attuale, non era mai successo che, quando sono stati necessari, i quattro spareggi a tempo rapido si concludessero anzitempo senza bisogno di disputare il quarto perché uno solo dei due giocatori aveva vinto i primi tre, come invece ha fatto Carlsen quest’anno confermandosi sul trono per la terza volta dopo esservisi issato nel 2013. Ma soprattutto, non era mai successo che tutte e dodici le partite a tempo lungo si concludessero in parità. E sta proprio qui il punto del contendere. Dopo aver mancato la vittoria nella partita più bella, la prima, durata 115 mosse, Magnus è andato in tilt e da quel momento non ha più giocato al suo meglio, invece Caruana ha giocato quasi sempre in modo più preciso del suo avversario rischiando a sua volta di vincere la sesta partita. Magari le rivaluterò tutte in futuro, da semplice appassionato di scacchi che armeggia coi motori destinati al gioco essendo assolutamente incapace di giocare una partita a tavolino pur conoscendo bene le regole, ma quattro partite belle su dodici, e cioè la prima, la quinta, molto combattuta, la sesta e la dodicesima nella quale Carlsen ha buttato una posizione superiore proponendo la patta al suo avversario, sono troppo poche. Anche il match del 1984-1985, il primo tra Garry Kasparov e Anatoly Karpov, indubbiamente il più noioso dei cinque giocati dai due K, fu più combattuto di questo, dato che delle 40 patte su 48 partite tra i due (servivano 6 vittorie a uno dei due giocatori per vincere il match senza contare le patte) ci furono tante sfide combattute in cui i contendenti per errori reciproci mancarono qualche vittoria a testa. Dopo quel match la federscacchi internazionale ripristinò saggiamente il regolamento precedente al 1978 prevedendo 24 partite e se il match finiva pari il campione in carica manteneva il titolo. Sarebbe il caso di ripristinarlo anche adesso ed eliminare le partite di spareggio: i motori scacchistici hanno fatto diventare i migliori giocatori del mondo (e Carlsen e Caruana sono i primi due delle classifiche) quasi delle macchine, e il rischio che le 12 partite dell’attuale regolamento finiscano tutte patte c’è eccome, a maggior ragione se il match lo giocano due come Magnus e Fabiano. Sulla distanza di 24 partite a tempo lungo c’è invece la possibilità che uno o tutti e due i giocatori si stanchino e crollino (come successo a Caruana nelle partite rapide dove peraltro si è rivisto il vero Carlsen). Voi direte: ma c’è il rischio che anche le 24 partite finiscano tutte patte. Ma con la clausola che se il match finisce pari il titolo rimane al campione, lo sfidante, man mano che le partite passano, deve provare a fare qualcosa di più perché non avrebbe l’eventuale ancora di salvezza degli spareggi, e poi voglio vedere se uno dei due non commette degli errori decisivi! Insomma, un match, quello londinese, a suo modo storico per i motivi che abbiamo detto all’inizio, ma che deve far riflettere seriamente la federscacchi sull’attuale regolamento e sull’eventualità di cambiarlo. Così come va cambiato quello del Mondiale femminile, nel quale la campionessa del mondo cinese Jun Wenjun, a sei mesi dall’aver conquistato il titolo, ha dovuto rimetterlo in palio (ma per fortuna lo ha confermato) in un torneo a tabellone tennistico a 64 giocatrici. Di seguito, con la grafica di ChessBase, tutte le partite (senza commenti) del Mondiale di Londra tra Magnus Carlsen e Fabiano Caruana. Foto: World Chess.
Dopo dodici patte in tutte e dodici le partite a tempo lungo della sfida, nell’ultima delle quali il campione in carica, in una posizione superiore, alla 31a mossa ha incredibilmente proposto la divisione del punto allo sfidante che l’ha immediatamente accettata, negli spareggi a tempo rapido il match mondiale di scacchi di Londra è andato a finire com’era prevedibile, e cioè con la conferma del titolo iridato da parte del norvegese Magnus Carlsen che aveva già trionfato con l’indiano Viswanathan Anand nel 2013 e nel 2014 rispettivamente in dieci e undici partite a tempo lungo, due e una d’anticipo, e che nel 2016 aveva avuto la meglio sul russo di origine ucraina Sergey Karjakin, che dopo aver resistito e pattato le prime due partite a tempo rapido si dovette arrendere nelle ultime due. Oggi Carlsen ha letteralmente surclassato Fabiano Caruana vincendo tre partite su tre ciascuna con 25 minuti a disposizione sull’orologio con l’incremento di 10 secondi a mossa per giocatore e pertanto non c’è stato bisogno della disputa dell’ultima. Dopo le precedenti partite in cui entrambi avevano brillato più col Nero che col Bianco, ma Carlsen, che tuttavia nelle ultime fasi del match era letteralmente terrorizzato di perdere, era stato particolarmente passivo, oggi si è finalmente rivisto il vero Magnus, quello che tutti ammirano in ogni cadenza di gioco, ma è chiaro che in quella delle partite di oggi sarebbe partito avvantaggiato contro chiunque al mondo, e ancor più nelle partite lampo se si fossero disputate. Fabiano ha invece profuso una quantità enorme di energie nei giorni scorsi per tenere testa al suo avversario e purtroppo oggi è crollato: nella prima partita, un’inglese simil siciliana a colori invertiti, dopo un inizio a fasi alterne, ha cominciato a sbagliare poco prima della quarantesima mossa e la sua posizione si è letteralmente sbriciolata, Fabiano ha inutilmente provato a resistere e a provare a mandare fuori tempo massimo il suo avversario ma ha dovuto alzare bandiera bianca alla 55a mossa, in un finale di torre e con due pedoni in più da parte di Carlsen che giocava col Bianco. Nella seconda partita, una siciliana variante Sveshnikov, Caruana, dopo essere stato anche in vantaggio posizionale coi pezzi bianchi, nel centropartita ha commesso un errore alla 26a mossa e uno ancora più grave alla 28a, forse il più grave del match, quando ha portato un cavallo nella casella d5 invece della regina, per poi abbandonare subito dopo la risposta dell’avversario. Infine, nella terza partita, un’altra siciliana ma con variante Paulsen-Taimanov, Carlsen col Bianco ha giocato con l’evidente intenzione di pattare e assicurarsi il mezzo punto decisivo per conservare il titolo, ma Fabiano ha nuovamente sbarellato e nel giro di meno di dieci mosse la sua posizione è andata in pezzi con Magnus che ha potuto anche promuovere un suo pedone guadagnandosi una seconda regina e il match è finito alla 51a mossa. Di seguito lo svolgimento delle ultime tre partite a tempo lungo e delle tre a tempo rapido, per le quali domani metteremo i commenti in inglese degli esperti di ChessBase, già presenti invece per la 10a, 11a e 12a partita. Foto: World Chess.
[Event "World Chess Championship 2018"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Site "London"]
[Round "10"]
[Annotator "Shankland, Sam"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B33"]
[WhiteElo "2832"]
[BlackElo "2835"]
[Date "2018.11.22"]
[PlyCount "107"]
{The 10th game of the World Championship match was the most back and forth
affair of any game thus far. There were plenty of games where one side did not
make the most of their chances, but this has been the only one where I thought
both players at some point had very real winning chances.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 {Magnus stays true to his Rossolimo/Sveshnikov repertoire for the 5th time in
a row. Starting from game 5, I have expected him to pivot every single game,
and been wrong every single time. Perhaps he will just play this the whole way
through?} 3. d4 {Caruana eschews Bb5, which he chose in his first 3 White
games.} cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Nd5 {I was a bit surprised to
see Caruana enter the same line as game 8. Even though he got an excellent
position in that game, he had to figure Magnus would have come with
improvements, and the line is supposed to be okay for Black.} (7. Bg5 {Leads
to the mainline Sveshnikov.} )Nxd5 8. exd5 Nb8 9. a4 Be7 10. Be2 0-0 11. 0-0 Nd7 12. b4 $5 {The first major deviation. Caruana chose Bd2 in the
previous game. Still, the move does not look too impressive to me.} (12. Bd2 {
Carlsen misplayed the position and quickly ended up worse.} )a6 13. Na3 a5 $5 {A very commital decision, but not a bad one. Magnus forces the
queenside open right away, a fearless decision against a prepared opponent,
but he had other options.} (13... b6 {Appeals the most to me. Black tries to
keep the queenside closed and will look for his own counterplay with f7-f5. In
fact, I actually prefer Black in a practical game here.} )14. bxa5 Rxa5 15. Nc4 Ra8 16. Be3 {Caruana was still playing very fast. He probably was in his
preparation.} f5 $1 {Black absolutely needs counterplay, and f5-f4 is coming.
However, unlike game 8, here White cannot comfortabll play f2-f4 himself to
keep his kingside secure.} 17. a5 (17. f4 {Black is absolutely fine after} exf4 18. Bxf4 Nb6 (18... g5 $5 {If Black is in a feisty mood} ))f4 $1 18. Bb6 Qe8 {The battle lines are drawn. White clearly has an edge on the queenside,
Black's pieces (particularly the c8-bishop and d7-knight) look a little clumsy,
and the b6 square could prove to be a problem. But Black's kingside pawn mass
promises him decent counterplay.} 19. Ra3 {A not so mysterious rook move. It
looks pointless now but Black's plan is clearly to launch a kingside attack,
and the rook will be a good defender laterally along the third rank.} (19. Re1 {This is the computer's recommendation by a wide margin, but I don't really
understand the move? I guess it just serves as some vague prophylaxis against
e5-e4. It claims white is better but I am unconvinced because after} Rf6 $1 {
Black is ready to challenge the b6-bishop via Be7-d8.} )Qg6 20. Bc7 e4 $1 {Carlsen is in burn the bridges mode. His pawns are vulnerable and could
quickly fall if the center were to open at an inopportune moment, but he is
looking for direct counterplay against White's king, truly in the style of the
Sveshnikov.} (20... Ra6 {A quiet defensive move like this one was surely fine,
but I think the World Champion was right to go for it.} )(20... b5 $5 {It was
also possible to play in the same manner as the game, only without committing
to e5-e4. This could make some sense as the central pawns proved weak.} 21. Nb6 (21. axb6 $2 {It's possible this move annoyed Magnus since e5-e4 no longer
works, but it is also insufficient.} Rxa3 22. Nxa3 {The problem is here Black
needs a new attacking plan since e5-e4 fails to bring its desired returns.} Nc5 $1 {The b-pawn is well under control, and most importantly, White's pieces are
totally unprepared to defend his king. How will the c7-bishop ever contribute
to a proper defense? Rf6-h6 is coming and Black should win.} (22... e4 23. Bh5 $1 Qg5 24. Qg4 $1 {White is doing well. Getting his queen to g4 will really
lesse any attacking chances Black can hope for} ))Nxb6 22. Bxb6 {This
leads to a similar position to the game, but Black does not need to play e5-e4
if he so desires. For instance, he seems to have a good position after} b4 23. Rb3 Bf5 $1 {When it is clear there are reasons the pawn is good on e5 as well.} )21. Kh1 b5 $5 {A very commital move, but not a bad one.} (21... Qh6 {The
machines prefer a slower buildup with something like this. Black certainly
will have attacking chances by lifting the f8-rook, but I don't mind Magnus's
decision either.} )22. Nb6 $1 (22. axb6 $2 {This would be asking for trouble.
I find it unlikely White will survive after the energetic} Rxa3 23. Nxa3 f3 $1 24. gxf3 Ne5 $1 {Black's attack looks devastating.} )Nxb6 23. Bxb6 Qg5 $6 {Technically, this move loses the game against best play, but it comes with a
very nasty idea of playing Rf6-h6 and delivering mate on the h-file. A machine
with its nerves of steel would have no trouble grabbing h5, but for a human,
it looks absurdly dangerous.} 24. g3 {Caruana's move makes a lot of sense.
Taking on f4 and bringing the rook to g3 should dispel any mating dreams.} (24. Bxb5 $1 {White could have gotten away with this.} Rf6 {Extreme precision is
needed to beat back the attack, but it is possible.} 25. Re1 $1 {An important
move. White hits the e4-pawn while simultaneously clearing f1 for the bishop.} Bf5 (25... Rh6 26. Rxe4 )(25... Rg6 26. Bf1 Bf5 (26... Ba6 27. Rxe4 $1 $18 )27. a6 Rh6 28. a7 Qh4 29. h3 f3 {This loks absolutely terrifying for a human, but
apparently White wins with another only move:} 30. Qd4 $1 $18 {The point is to
defend against the threat of Bxh3 followed by Qg4.} Bxh3 31. gxh3 Qg4 32. Rxf3 $1 {No more exf3 thanks to the pin exerted by the queen being on d4. After} Qxf3+ 33. Bg2 {The a-pawn will carry the day. One certainly cannot fault
Caruana for not seeing all of this.} )26. f3 $1 e3 27. a6 Rh6 28. Re2 $3 {
An incredibly difficult only move that would have to have been prepared in
advance. White is ready to play Qg1 and hold the position together. Even then,
the variation continues.} Qh5 29. Qg1 Bh4 30. g4 $1 fxg3 31. Raxe3 $1 {White
wins. But this is really just a machine line, and outside of human capability.} )b4 25. Rb3 (25. gxf4 {I would have been tempted to clear the 3rd rank
for defensive purposes, and this probably is an easier route to equality.
Still, while Caruana's choice gives him some only moves to find, he did find
the moves and he objectively was not worse.} )Bh3 26. Rg1 $1 {The rook
is needed for defensive purposes.} (26. Re1 Bf6 $1 {Moves like Bc3 or Be5
could come next. White is in trouble.} )f3 {White is under a lot of
pressure. Around here I thought Caruana might crack and give Magnus the first
decisive result, but he defended very well.} 27. Bf1 $1 {This is a tough move.
I would have been tempted to just let the bishop stay on h3, since White can
always sacrifice an exchange on g2 very happily and otherwise it's not clear
what active role the bishop plays. But it was absolutely critical to play Bf1.} (27. Bb5 $2 {A move like this looks sensible...} Rf6 $1 {Until you realize
White will simply be mated on the h-file! Rh6 and Qh5 is coming, and there is
nothing to be done.} )Bxf1 $1 (27... Qh5 {Caveman play does not work
here since White is in better shape to keep the h-file under control. The
queen coming to f1 is very important, for instance after} 28. Rxb4 Rf6 29. Bxh3 Qxh3 30. Be3 $1 {Black will not get Rh6 very easily, and e4 is hanging to boot.
White should win.} )28. Qxf1 $1 {Another important decision. White cannot
allow a disaster on the h-file. His position looks awful with the queen and
the rook so passively placed and the d5-pawn falling, but he remains solid and
can rely on the a5-pawn for counterplay.} (28. Rxf1 $2 {Keeping active pieces
comes at a heavy price. After} Qg4 $1 29. Rxb4 Rf5 $1 {White will promptly be
mated by Rh5 and Qh3.} )Qxd5 29. Rxb4 Qe6 30. Rb5 $11 {The position is
dynamically balanced, but White has to be more careful than Black. He managed
without a ton of trouble.} Bd8 31. Qe1 $1 {The queen returns to life.} Bxb6 32. axb6 Rab8 33. Qe3 Qc4 34. Rb2 Rb7 35. Rd1 Qe2 $1 {Setting a devilish trap,
though it is not enough to claim an advantage.} 36. Re1 $1 {Far from the only
holding move, but I am awarding an exclamation point for not falling for
Black's idea.} (36. Qb3+ $2 Kh8 37. c4 {Looks like it traps Black's queen. But
the nasty response} Rxb6 $1 $19 {Would promptly turn the tables!} )Qxe3 37. Rxe3 d5 {The position is balanced as neither side can easily mobilize
their pawn majority. Black's center looks impressive, but he can't do anything
with it so long as he is left with a passive rook on b7.} 38. h4 Rc8 39. Ra3 Kf7 40. Kh2 Ke6 41. g4 Rc6 42. Ra6 Ke5 43. Kg3 h6 44. h5 {The position is some
kind of mutual stalemate where neither side can do anything. Magnus tried to
make something happen with} Kd4 $2 {But only made trouble for himself after
the strong response} 45. Rb5 $1 {When Black has to be somewhat accurate to not
get into trouble. Still, he has more than one route to a draw, and Magnus
found a very easy one.} Rd6 $1 {Overprotecting the d5-pawn White was planning
to harass with Raa5.} 46. Ra4+ Ke5 47. Rab4 Ke6 {Nice and easy. White has no
good way to challenge Black's central pawn mass without allowing liquidation.} 48. c4 dxc4 49. Rxc4 Rdxb6 50. Rxe4+ Kf7 51. Rf5+ Rf6 {Black loses a pawn but
simplifies into an easily drawn 3 vs 2 on the kingside. Caruana did not even
bother trying. His winning chances are approximately zero.} 52. Rxf6+ Kxf6 53. Kxf3 Kf7 54. Kg3 {With only 2 games to go, each player has only one game to
try with White. Carlsen gets to go first, and I'll be interested to see what
first move he chooses, as well as if we will see a 6th 2.Nf3 Nc6 Sicilian in
the final game.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "World Chess Championship 2018"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Site "London"]
[Round "11"]
[Annotator "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Date "2018.11.24"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "2835"]
[BlackElo "2832"]
[PlyCount "110"]
1. e4 {It is noteworthy that Magnus shuffles beetween 1.d4, 1.c4 and 1.e4,
while Fabiano had always started his games with 1.e4.The reason is a totally
different attitude to an opening preparation by World Champion and the
Challenger} e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 {I am happy to see that Fabiano sticks to a Petroff,
which served him well this year (especially in the Candidates,where he didn't
face any problems in this opening) I had successfully used this opening for
many years and during World Cup 2009 which I won it was my only weapon.
However, before my World Championship match vs Vishy Anand in 2012, I switched
to the Sveshnikov (Magnus' choice in this match!) in order to surprise my
opponent. It seems that Fabiano has even more trust in Petroff than I had!} 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 {One of the most popular systems nowadays} Nxc3 6. dxc3 Be7 7. Be3 0-0 {Here, two schools of thoughts exist. Vladimir Kramnik and
myself had always castled short, which is a more ambitious try. More popular
is 7...Nc6, followed by Be6, Qd7 and long castle with a solid, but passive
position. Fabiano tried it both, but had chosen a more principaled approach in
this important game.} 8. Qd2 Nd7 9. 0-0-0 Nf6 (9... Ne5 {was a system I
advocated with quite a success, but since then some new, interesting ideas
have been found.} )(9... c6 {was Fabiano's choice earlier this year. He
equalized convincingly against Levon Aronian.} 10. h4 (10. Kb1 d5 11. c4 Nb6 12. cxd5 Nxd5 13. Bc4 Bf5 14. Bxd5 cxd5 15. Qxd5 Qc8 16. Nd4 Bg6 17. Ka1 Re8 18. Rhe1 Bf6 19. c3 Re5 20. Qb3 a6 21. Bf4 Rxe1 22. Rxe1 Qd7 23. Be5 Re8 24. f4 Bd8 25. a4 h6 26. Rd1 Qg4 27. Rd2 b5 28. axb5 axb5 29. Qd1 Qd7 30. f5 Bg5 31. Rd3 Bxf5 32. Nxf5 Qxf5 33. Bg3 Ra8+ 34. Kb1 Rd8 35. Kc2 b4 36. cxb4 Rc8+ 37. Kb3 Qe6+ 38. Rd5 Rd8 39. Kc4 Qc6+ {0-1 (39) Robson,R (2660)-Caruana,F (2804)
Saint Louis 2018} )d5 11. Kb1 Re8 12. Bd3 Bc5 13. Rde1 Bxe3 14. Rxe3 Rxe3 15. Qxe3 Nf6 16. Re1 Qd6 17. Qe8+ Qf8 18. Qxf8+ Kxf8 19. Kc1 Bd7 20. c4 dxc4 21. Bxc4 Re8 22. Rxe8+ Bxe8 23. Kd2 Ke7 24. Ne5 Nd7 25. Nf3 Nf6 26. Ne5 Nd7 27. Nf3 Nf6 28. Ne5 {1/2-1/2 (28) Aronian,L (2780)-Caruana,F (2827) Batumi 2018} )10. Bd3 ({Fabiano failed to equalize with White in the following game} 10. h3 c5 11. Bf4 Be6 12. a3 d5 13. Ng5 Bd7 14. g4 Bc6 15. Bg2 Re8 16. Qd3 Bd6 {
1/2-1/2 (98) Caruana,F (2784)-Hou,Y (2654) Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden 2018} )c5 11. Rhe1 Be6 {ex-Women's World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk is the main
advocate of this setup.} 12. Kb1 (12. Bg5 {White won a beautiful game after} h6 $2 13. Bxh6 c4 14. Bxg7 $1 cxd3 15. Qg5 Ne4 16. Qh6 Bg5+ 17. Nxg5 Qxg5+ 18. Qxg5 Nxg5 19. Bxf8 dxc2 20. Rxd6 Kxf8 21. h4 Nh7 22. Kxc2 {1-0 (62) Karjakin,S
(2779)-Harikrishna,P (2763) Shamkir 2016 CBM 173 [Mekhitarian,K]} )Qa5 13. c4 Qxd2 14. Bxd2 {Black's position is extremely solid and I believe he has
solved all the opening problems. Either Magnus trusted in his ability to
exploit minimal advantages or he was not well prepared for this game. I would
tend to believe the first option.} h6 {A small deviation from an earlier game} (14... Rfe8 15. Ng5 Bd7 16. f3 Bc6 17. a3 h6 18. Ne4 Nxe4 19. Bxe4 Bxe4 20. Rxe4 Bf8 21. Bf4 g5 22. Bg3 f5 23. Ree1 Kf7 24. Kc1 Rxe1 25. Rxe1 Re8 26. Rxe8 Kxe8 {1/2-1/2 (48) Sasikiran,K (2671)-Miroshnichenko,E (2606) Saint Louis USA
2018} )15. Nh4 (15. h3 $5 {would prevent Ng4-e5 ,but give Black time to
prepare d6-d5} )Rfe8 16. Ng6 Ng4 17. Nxe7+ Rxe7 18. Re2 Ne5 19. Bf4 (19. Bc3 {Was the last attempt to spice things up.} Nxd3 $140 ({Safer is} 19... f6 20. Bxe5 dxe5 21. Bg6 Rd7 $11 )20. Rxd3 Rd7 21. Rg3 g6 22. Rxe6 (22. Bf6 $5 )fxe6 23. Rxg6+ Kh7 24. Rxe6 {with a complicated endgame} )Nxd3 20. Rxd3 Rd7 {The rest of the game is hardly interesting.} 21. Rxd6 Rxd6 22. Bxd6 Rd8 23. Rd2 Bxc4 24. Kc1 b6 25. Bf4 Rxd2 26. Kxd2 a6 ({Avoiding a cute trap:} 26... Bxa2 $2 27. b3 c4 28. Kc3 cxb3 29. Kb2 )27. a3 Kf8 28. Bc7 b5 29. Bd6+ Ke8 30. Bxc5 {Even though White is a full pawn up, this is a dead draw.} h5 31. Ke3 Kd7 32. Kd4 g6 33. g3 Be2 34. Bf8 Kc6 35. b3 Bd1 36. Kd3 Bg4 37. c4 Be6 38. Kd4 bxc4 39. bxc4 Bg4 40. c5 Be6 41. Bh6 Bd5 42. Be3 Be6 43. Ke5 Bd5 44. Kf4 Be6 45. Kg5 Bd5 46. g4 hxg4 47. Kxg4 Ba2 48. Kg5 Bb3 49. Kf6 Ba2 50. h4 Bb3 51. f4 Ba2 52. Ke7 Bb3 53. Kf6 Ba2 54. f5 Bb1 $1 {The only finesse Black should
know.} 55. Bf2 Bc2 (55... Bxf5 $4 56. h5 )1/2-1/2
[Event "World Chess Championship 2018"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Site "London"]
[Round "12"]
[Annotator "So, Wesley"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Date "2018.11.26"]
[ECO "B33"]
[WhiteElo "2832"]
[BlackElo "2835"]
[PlyCount "62"]
{The last game, where so much is at stake. If Fabiano wins he'll become the
17th world champion. All his tournaments, all the work of his life has been
aimed at reaching this point. After accomplishing everything necessary to
reach the goal of playing for the World Championship, Fabiano has survived
eleven tough rounds to get to this last game. I cannot think of any game where
there's so much to play for. Will we see Fabiano win the biggest game of his
life? Or will we see Carlsen defend his title once again?} 1. e4 $1 {In the
last few months and in tournaments before this one, Fabiano had been
experimenting with 1.d4 or 1.c4. Although he had great results with White in
some games in the Catalan or the Nimzo, that was just a distraction for Magnus
to ponder. In this match of all matches, Fabiano will stick to his main
opening 1.e4!} c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 {Shelving 3.Bb5, which has been played
three times in this tournament.} cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 {
As predicted by many people including myself, we see the Sveshnikov Sicilian
for the last game. I'm sure many people were pleased to see such a sharp
opening for the final game of the match. Magnus has strongh nerves. In order
to be able to play such a sharp opening you have to come very well prepared;
there are many pitfalls and traps that Black can easily fall into in the
Sveshnikov. You have to have complete trust in your ability to calculate and
assess the arising positions. Part of me wonders what would happen if Magnus
employed 1...e5 in a game in this match.} 7. Nd5 (7. Bg5 {is the main move
here by far. Fabiano has played this many times before, his most recent being
a big win against Gata Kamsky in the 2017 US Championships.} a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Bxf6 gxf6 10. Nd5 {Now Black can play both 10...f5 or 10...Bg7. This complex
variation used to be very popular. Just a few years ago Boris Gelfand and
Teimour Radjabov were staunch defenders of this line. These days we'll
probably see 7.Nd5 grow into popularity since everyone copies the top player's
games.} )Nxd5 8. exd5 Ne7 {While annotating game 8 for ChessBase, I
wondered what would happen if Magnus chose 8...Ne7. Today we'll see exactly
that.} ({The usual move} 8... Nb8 {was played in games 8 and 10.} )9. c4 ({
Many years ago while reading Rogozenco's The Sveshnikov Reloaded book, I
remember that 9.c3 was considered White's best. It gives White some extra
options on the queenside.} 9. c3 {Now Black should probably play 9...Nf5 to
keep d6 defended. If he tries} Ng6 $2 {it's a mistake since} (9... f5 $5 10. Qa4 Kf7 {is playable too, though White might be a bit better after} 11. Qb4 )10. Qa4 Bd7 11. Qc4 {is unpleasant. Especially after} Rc8 12. Qb4 {hitting the
d6 and a7 pawns.} )Ng6 10. Qa4 Bd7 {is a quick way to decide the last
round game and head for the rapid playoffs. But if this happens we might see
protesters and rioters in London, and the fans who paid tickets would
definitely want a full refund. Playing top level chess is not easy, but
fortunately Fabiano comes well prepared and ready to fight for an advantage.} 11. Qb4 Bf5 {The best move, I'm sure Magnus is still following his prep.} ({
The most natural move is} 11... Qb8 {It has been played 13 times in the past
according to the ChessBase Live Book. Still it doesn't seem to equalize. White
just has too much space.} 12. h4 h5 13. Be2 a6 14. Nc3 Be7 15. g3 $14 {for
example here. I still like White, after making natural moves for both sides.
It seems to me that White has an easier game and the knight on g6 is misplaced.
} )({Needless to say} 11... Bxb5 12. Qxb5+ Qd7 {has to be avoided. No one
should give up the bishop pair without getting someting concrete in return.} )12. h4 h5 $146 {Black pushes back and does not give White any more space to
work with. Fabiano likes playing with a lot of space and it's dangerous to
give him too much ground to work with. Coincidentally this is also a novelty
according to my database.} (12... Be7 13. h5 Nf4 14. Be3 a6 15. Nc3 Nd3+ 16. Bxd3 Bxd3 17. Rd1 )(12... a6 13. h5 )13. Qa4 {A provocative move and a typical
strategy. By repeating the position twice a player can move the game closer to
the time control on move 40. This allows him or her to have more time to think
on critical positions. This makes more sense in complicated or unfamiliar
openings like the Sveshnikov. In a Berlin 5.Re1 or a symmetrical Petroff it is
perhaps unnecessary. But in this game it could be beneficial as we are in
foreign territory at such an early stage of the game.} Bd7 14. Qb4 Bf5 15. Be3 {White gains time from creating threats on the queenside. I suppose he has to
act quickly or else Black comfortably finishes his development. Then the
construction of Black active pieces on the kingside guarantees counterplay. In
that regard 15.Bg5 looks interesting too.} ({A slow move like} 15. Be2 {
will not cut it, if White is looking for an advantage. After} Be7 16. g3 a6 17. Nc3 e4 {Black creates strong counterplay with Bf6 and Ne5 coming next.} )({
It is tempting to disrupt Black's development with} 15. Bg5 {and with
hindsight I would recommend this move. Black does not really want to play f6,
and Be7 loses so} Qb8 {has to be played.} (15... Be7 $2 16. Bxe7 Kxe7 17. c5 {
is bad for Black. Now his king is forced unto f6} dxc5 18. Qxc5+ Kf6 {And now
19.Nd6 leaves Black's king in a tough spot.} 19. Nd6 $16 )16. g3 (16. Qa5 $5 {
is a deep computer move. The fun idea is that} b6 17. Qa4 Bd7 18. Bd3 {White
wants to win quickly with Bf5 but} Be7 $1 {equalizes and takes out the fun.} (18... a6 19. Bf5 $1 {is tough to meet for Black.} )19. Bxg6 fxg6 20. Bxe7 Kxe7 21. Qc2 Kf7 $11 )a6 17. Nc3 Be7 18. Be2 Qc7 {now we get a line very
similar to the game, but Black has to spend two tempi moving his queen from b8
to c7. Also Fabiano avoids the possibility of 15...Be7 as could happen in his
game. It does not look like there is much difference to the untrained eye, but
in top level chess little things like this matter.} )a6 {I wonder where
both players preparation ended. I suspect it was a move ago. Here Black has
another seemingly better (albeit more risky) option.} ({I like here} 15... Be7 {Black is going to get fast development and piece play for his pawn.} 16. Nxa7 (16. Bxa7 0-0 17. g3 b6 {the bishop on a7 is in a tricky spot.} )(16. g3 {
Black can finish his development by castling or go 16...Be4 and 17...Bf3.} )0-0 {White has many possibilities now. It is not simple to defend over
the board against Black's initiative. Perhaps} 17. Bb6 (17. g3 Be4 18. Rh2 Bf3 19. Nb5 f5 $1 {with attack.} )(17. Qxb7 $2 Qa5+ 18. b4 Qa3 $19 )(17. Nb5 Nxh4 )(17. Be2 Nf4 )(17. a4 Nxh4 $13 )Qd7 18. Qb5 {is the safest in order to
trade queens. The position is very complex.} Bd8 19. Qxd7 Bxd7 20. Bxd8 Rfxd8 21. Nb5 Bxb5 22. cxb5 Ra4 23. g3 Rc8 $13 )16. Nc3 Qc7 {Solid and simple.} ({
There is no need to go for assymetrical positions} 16... Be7 17. Qxb7 0-0 18. 0-0-0 Nxh4 19. Qb6 $14 {it feels that the h4 pawn is not as important as
Black's b7 pawn.} )17. g3 (17. Qa4+ Bd7 18. Qd1 Ne7 )Be7 18. f3 (18. Qa4+ Bd7 19. Qd1 Bg4 20. Be2 Bxe2 21. Qxe2 )(18. Be2 Nf8 )Nf8 $1 {Optimal
rearrangement of the pieces. In these kinds of positions you want to delay
castling until White shows his hand. Castling short now will only tempt White
to go for a full frontal kingside attack with Be2, and g4/f4 etc.} (18... 0-0 19. Be2 Bd7 20. a4 $1 {With the queenside closed, White can focus on planning
his kingside attack.} f5 21. f4 exf4 22. gxf4 {the position is complex, but it
should be in White's favour.} )19. Ne4 Nd7 (19... Bxe4 20. fxe4 Nd7 21. Bh3 $14 )20. Bd3 0-0 ({Watching this game live I expected} 20... Bg6 {although
perhaps it does not make much difference since Black has to castle sooner or
later.} )21. Rh2 $2 {No doubt the enormous tension of the last round of the
World Championship match takes its toll on everyone. Both players start making
mistakes. This has a nice idea to it, but it's too ambitious and simply does
not work. White wants to play Rc2 and castle long, but this gives Magnus more
than enough time and options to meet this plan. Fabiano gives the impression
that he likes positions of opposite castled kings. Therefore this move does
not come as a big surprise from him. It's just too ambitious.} ({White has to
acquiesce and play the calmer} 21. 0-0 Bg6 22. Qd2 {when f5 is always met by
Ng5. White can still try to fight for an advantage if Magnus is not careful.} )(21. 0-0-0 b5 $15 {castling queenside is unrealistic at this point.} )Rac8 ({Or} 21... Bg6 )22. 0-0-0 Bg6 {Now f5 is coming and its unpleasant to
meet it as White has no good way to prevent it. His best option now is to play
calmly and brace for the coming storm.} 23. Rc2 ({I thought at first} 23. Kb1 {
was better to keep the rook on the h-file for now.} f5 24. Ng5 Bxg5 25. hxg5 e4 26. fxe4 Ne5 27. Be2 {but still both Ng4 or fxe4 now is in Black's favour.} )f5 24. Nf2 (24. Ng5 Bxg5 25. hxg5 e4 )Nc5 $17 {Black has seized a
powerful initiative and is slowly taking over.} 25. f4 {Desperation, but what
else? White hopes to at least keep the g6-bishop away from action.} (25. Bxc5 dxc5 26. Qe1 Rfe8 {as I said earlier no one really wants to give up the bishop
pair unless necessary.} )a5 {An automatic move in conjuction with a
piece outpost on c5. I wonder if Magnus thought of or even considered b5 ideas
here.} (25... exf4 26. Bxf4 b5 {looks powerful, and might be just close to
winning.} 27. Qd2 {is the sternest defence, when Black can go 27...Bf6, or 27..
.Qb6. White's position is tough to defend and his consolation (asleep bishop
on g6) is not enough to save him objectively. His pieces are just badly placed
especially the knight on f2. Not to mention shaky king safety.} (27. Kb1 a5 {
when taking on b5 will lead to a queen trap after Be8.} 28. Qxb5 $2 Be8 )Bf6 )(25... b5 {is perfectly good too with the same ideas.} )26. Qd2 {I
expected Bf6 now to keep the tension on the kingside open for a while, but
Magnus has no qualms about closing it right away.} e4 (26... Bf6 27. Be2 {
is possible, and now Black can think whether to take on f4 or play like Magnus
with e4. The computer gives a large advantage for Black after taking on f4,
but it is definitely far from clear over the board.} exf4 28. gxf4 Rfe8 29. Rg1 (29. Bd4 Qe7 )Bf7 30. Kb1 a4 {Black has Nb3 ideas and even positional
exchange sacrifices on e3.} 31. Bf3 Rxe3 32. Qxe3 Re8 33. Qa3 Bd4 {these are
computer lines of course. I cannot imagine anyone finding any of these in a
tournament game.} )27. Be2 Be8 {Still even after not playing the best way on
move 25 Magnus keeps hopes alive by maintaining a stable advantage. White has
to solve the small issue of his vulnerable king.} 28. Kb1 Bf6 (28... Ba4 {
is possible, White can sac the exchange with} 29. Bxh5 {now} b5 {is an out of
this world move. Black is clearly better here by the way.} )29. Re1 ({White's
best defense is} 29. Nh3 $1 {posting the knight on g5. From there it always
has the option to jump on e6 and create distraction.} Ba4 $5 30. b3 {looks
scary for White, though he probably just survives the onslaught.} Bxb3 31. axb3 Nxb3 32. Qe1 b5 33. c5 )a4 {Magnus misses a great opportunity to try to
seal the deal.} (29... Ba4 $1 {is incredibly powerful. Black's attack is
simply much faster in all lines. Here are some ChessBase engine analysis:} 30. Rcc1 (30. b3 Bxb3 31. axb3 Nxb3 32. Qd1 a4 $1 {Is a steady but sure way to win
as White cannot defend against all the threats. Qa5 is Black's main idea.} 33. Bxh5 (33. Ka2 Qa5 34. Qb1 b5 )Qa5 34. Bg6 Qb4 {Now a possible line is} 35. Qh5 (35. Ka2 Nc1+ )Rfd8 36. Bxf5 Nd4+ 37. Rb2 Qxe1+ 38. Ka2 Nxf5 39. Qxf5 Bxb2 {when White loses all his pieces.} )(30. Bxh5 Bxc2+ 31. Qxc2 b5 32. cxb5 Qd7 33. Qe2 Na4 $19 )b5 $1 {An important follow up.} 31. cxb5 (31. Bxh5 Qb7 )(31. Bd4 Bxd4 32. Qxd4 bxc4 33. Rxc4 Rb8 )Qb6 32. Bd4 Bxd4 33. Qxd4 Bxb5 34. Bxh5 a4 {basically Black is almost winning after 29...Ba4. I
think though it is unrealistic to expect a person to find it over the board.
Just reading the reports on ChessBase I can only imagine how much tension the
players are going through to perform well. Pressure, pressure pressure from
every side.} )30. Qb4 g6 31. Rd1 {When I first saw this move I thought it was
an internet glitch. I expected Fabiano to improve the position of his knight
with 31.Nd1.} (31. Nd1 {White will hopefully unravel and take a solid stance
with Qd2 and Nc3.} )Ra8 {Draw agreed. A big surprise, considering that
Black still had a stable advantage in the position and on the clock. (If I
remember correctly Magnus had 50 minutes left here compared to Fabiano's 20
minutes.) I guess Nh3 followed by Ng5 gives White a solid position, so Magnus
decided to call it a day. Magnus must be really looking forward to the rapid
tiebreaks, as he did two years ago against Sergey Karjakin. He missed great
winning opportunities on move 25 and move 29 and I sort of suspect he came
into the game with an eye on the tiebreaks. It's also posisble that he just
wanted to make a lot of people happy (including myself). As two years ago we
again get to see a four game rapid playoff! I am very excited to watch this
match live. My prediction is that Fabiano will give Magnus a run for his money.
That said, rapid games are a totally different kind of chess. Usually the
player with the better nerves wins. Let's see what happens.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "World Chess Championship 2018"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Site "London"]
[Round "13.1"]
[Annotator "Fernandez, Daniel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Date "2018.11.28"]
[ECO "A22"]
[WhiteElo "2835"]
[BlackElo "2832"]
[PlyCount "109"]
1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 Bb4 4. e4 $5 {This move is extremely rare, and
judging by the time situations that followed, it seems this came as a surprise
to the Challenger.} 0-0 (4... Bxc3 {is possible, but super-GM opinion
coalesced against White's position in the line} 5. dxc3 Nxe4 6. Qd5 Ng5 7. Qxe5+ Ne6 $14 {Black's position is slightly worse, even if from my modest
perspective I consider it to be relatively easy to play!} )5. Nge2 c6 {This
move makes sense in conjunction with ...Ba5-c7, or alternatively...} 6. Bg2 a6 $5 {At this point, if not on the move before, Black commits to a plan which
might be practically interesting, but doesn't particularly inspire confidence
on an objective level.} (6... d6 7. 0-0 a5 8. d3 Nbd7 {is a more 'traditional'
English follow-up.} )7. 0-0 b5 8. d4 $1 {This has to be critical. White is a
little better, but with the murky strategic situation and the rapid time
control anything could happen.} d6 9. a3 (9. f4 $6 exd4 10. Nxd4 bxc4 $15 )Bxc3 (9... Ba5 10. b4 Bc7 11. cxb5 axb5 12. d5 {may simply be a strategic
disadvantage, so it's wise to try and avoid this.} )10. Nxc3 bxc4 11. dxe5 ({
It is not yet time for} 11. f4 {:} Bg4 $1 12. Qd2 Qb6 )dxe5 12. Na4 (12. Qe2 {was the engine suggestion, and it seems to me that Black has to play
another unusual move in order to avoid being clearly worse.} a5 (12... Qd3 $2 13. Qxd3 cxd3 14. Rd1 $16 )(12... Be6 13. f4 $16 )13. Na4 $1 Ba6 14. Nc5 Qb6 15. Nxa6 Qxa6 $14 {White should be a little better, but nothing is too clear
yet.} )Be6 $1 {Black has to play this cold-blooded move in my opinion-
recognising that Nc5 isn't quite the dramatic positional masterstroke that it
seems.} (12... Nbd7 13. Qc2 Nb6 14. Nxb6 Qxb6 15. Qxc4 $14 {is miserable.} )13. Qxd8 (13. Nc5 Qe7 14. Nxe6 Qxe6 15. Be3 Rc8 $1 {With ...c5 and ...Nc6-d4 to
come; Black seems to be emerging from his difficulties now.} )Rxd8 14. Be3 Nbd7 15. f3 {White opts for a steady approach, seemingly convinced of
having some kind of edge. Indeed, in practical games between ordinary mortals
this would be the case.} Rab8 16. Rac1 Rb3 17. Rfe1 Ne8 $6 {This move is
strategically desirable, but only if Black can also get ...f6, ...Nd6 and ...
Kf7 without being interrupted. Now, he probably risks being somewhat worse
again.} (17... Rdb8 $1 {is better, intending to give back the pawn in a way
that makes White's structure a little weaker.} 18. Bf1 c3 19. Rxc3 Rxc3 20. bxc3 Rb3 21. Ra1 a5 $11 )18. Bf1 Nd6 19. Rcd1 Nb5 $2 (19... Nb7 $1 {was
required, followed by the cold-blooded sequence} 20. f4 g6 21. f5 gxf5 22. exf5 Bd5 23. Nc3 Nf6 {when despite the strange location of some of Black's pieces,
there is no objective problem. I suspect that Fabiano saw this, didn't notice
that the Nb7 defended the Rd8 and opted for a move that stopped Nc3.} )20. Nc5 $1 {This is a key move for White to see, after which he is clearly better.} Rxb2 21. Nxe6 fxe6 22. Bxc4 Nd4 23. Bxd4 exd4 24. Bxe6+ ({The engine suggests
the brutal and unfindable} 24. Rxd4 Kf7 25. Kh1 $3 $18 {when Black has no
defence against Red1 and Rd6; White will probably come out 2 pawns ahead.} )Kf8 25. Rxd4 Ke7 26. Rxd7+ Rxd7 27. Bxd7 Kxd7 28. Rd1+ Ke6 29. f4 c5 {
Watching this position live in the 'kibitzing' area, I was shocked to discover
that barely anyone else thought the position was closer to a draw than a win.} 30. Rd5 $6 (30. Rc1 Kd6 31. a4 $5 {is the engine opinion. Almost all these
positions will come down to some version of 3v2 on the kingside with an extra
a-pawn each to confuse the players; the point is to identify which versions
entail Black having a worse rook! For instance, see the line} Rd2 $6 32. e5+ Kd5 33. e6 Kxe6 34. Rxc5 g6 35. Re5+ Kf6 36. Ra5 Ke6 37. h3 Rd6 38. Kf2 $18 {
when White is close to winning.} )Rc2 31. h4 c4 32. f5+ Kf6 33. Rc5 h5 34. Kf1 Rc3 $6 {Not losing, but a bad idea.} ({Following} 34... c3 35. Ke1 Rg2 36. Rxc3 Ke5 $11 {Black would have very comfortably held this ending even two
pawns down.} )35. Kg2 Rxa3 36. Rxc4 Ke5 37. Rc7 Kxe4 $2 {Based on a flawed
trick. This is probably the decisive error.} (37... Ra2+ $1 {could have been
played first, and then the trick works as in the next note:} 38. Kh3 Kxe4 39. Rxg7 Ra1 {and since White has to think about getting mated, he is not able to
stay in position to deliver Rg5+.} )38. Re7+ (38. Rxg7 Ra2+ 39. Kh3 Ra1 $1 $11 {is the tricky point.} )Kxf5 39. Rxg7 Kf6 40. Rg5 a5 41. Rxh5 $18 {
Now the position is winning for Carlsen. Sometimes, a flank pawn can hold off
two central pawns in such cases, but definitely not when the opponent's two
pawns are both on the opposite side of the board.} a4 42. Ra5 Ra1 43. Kf3 a3 44. Ra6+ Kg7 45. Kg2 Ra2+ 46. Kh3 Ra1 47. h5 Kh7 48. g4 Kg7 49. Kh4 a2 50. Kg5 Kf7 51. h6 Rb1 52. Ra7+ Kg8 53. Rxa2 Rb5+ 54. Kg6 Rb6+ 55. Kh5 1-0
[Event "World Chess Championship 2018"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Site "London"]
[Round "13.2"]
[Annotator "Fernandez, Daniel"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Date "2018.11.28"]
[ECO "B33"]
[WhiteElo "2832"]
[BlackElo "2835"]
[PlyCount "56"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Nd5 $5 {
I didn't completely understand Fabiano's insistence on trying this move again
in game 12, and I certainly don't understand it now, given his apparent lack
of comfort with the resulting positions.} Nxd5 8. exd5 Ne7 ({In the 10th game,
} 8... Nb8 {was chosen, and while Black developed thematic play on the
kingside, it never looked like he was going to give mate.} 9. a4 Be7 10. Be2 0-0 11. 0-0 Nd7 12. b4 a6 13. Na3 a5 14. bxa5 Rxa5 15. Nc4 Ra8 16. Be3 f5 17. a5 f4 $13 {Caruana,F-Carlsen,M WC(10) London 2018} )9. c4 Ng6 10. Qa4 Bd7 11. Qb4 Qb8 (11... Bf5 {was played in the 12th standard game, and after some
messing around play took an independent trajectory:} 12. h4 h5 13. Qa4 Bd7 14. Qb4 Bf5 15. Be3 a6 16. Nc3 Qc7 17. g3 Be7 18. f3 Nf8 $1 $132 {Caruana,
F-Carlsen,M WC(12) London 2018} )12. h4 h5 13. Be3 a6 14. Nc3 a5 {With the
text move, Magnus makes it clear that he doesn't want a White knight to appear
on b6, which is understandable, but may leave him worse.} (14... f5 {would
nevertheless be playable, since a line like} 15. Na4 (15. g3 Be7 16. Be2 Kf7 17. Na4 f4 $40 )f4 16. Bd3 Nxh4 17. Rxh4 fxe3 18. Nb6 $13 {is simply a
mess rather than necessarily favouring one side or another.} )15. Qb3 (15. Qa3 f5 16. g3 Be7 17. Be2 Kf7 18. Na4 $14 {would be logical, when it seems that
Black's ...a5 has left the b6-square more rather than less weak.} )a4 16. Qd1 Be7 (16... Ne7 $5 {is one way to get an approximately equal position.} )17. g3 Qc8 18. Be2 Bg4 19. Rc1 Bxe2 20. Qxe2 Qf5 $5 {This move is interesting in
that it commits in some sense to a long-term regrouping. Black delays ...f5,
preferring to think about that push only after establishing his knight on d7
and queen on g6.} ({The engine suggests} 20... 0-0 {and only after} 21. b3 {then} (21. 0-0 Qh3 22. Qxh5 Nxh4 23. gxh4 Bxh4 $11 )axb3 22. axb3 Qf5 $11 )21. c5 $6 {This move is based on the flawed idea that White's advantage is
large enough to justify big-picture, light-square based play.} (21. 0-0 0-0 22. Kg2 {was perfectly possible and was indeed suggested by Malcolm Pein in the
press room. Black needs to do quite a bit more thematic re-arrangement before
he is ready with ...f5, for instance} Rfc8 23. f3 Nf8 $5 24. f4 $3 $14 )0-0 {Now Black is at least equal and White goes on to provide a perfect
example of why we usually castle in chess.} 22. c6 bxc6 23. dxc6 Rfc8 24. Qc4 Bd8 25. Nd5 {Automatic, but there was better.} (25. Ne4 Bc7 26. 0-0 $11 )e4 {Now Black has probably gained somewhat the upper hand. White took some
minutes to think about the question of whether allowing Black's knight to
assume its 'favourite Sveshnikov post' on e5 was worth a piece, eventually
coming up with the wrong answer.} 26. c7 $2 {The losing mistake.} (26. Bd4 {
was probably correct, notwithstanding that after} Ba5+ 27. Bc3 Bxc3+ 28. Rxc3 Ra5 $40 {Black will get the thrust ...d5 through.} )Bxc7 27. Nxc7 Ne5 28. Nd5 {Finishing the game.} ({Concretely, I couldn't see anything after} 28. Qd5 {and would have said Black simply has to play} Rab8 {with good compensation.
Just how good was only revealed by subsequent engine checks: -2.7! White is
unable to castle due to the trick} 29. 0-0 Rxc7 $1 $19 )Kh7 $1 (28... Nxc4 $4 29. Ne7+ Kh7 30. Nxf5 Nxe3 31. Rxc8 $1 Rxc8 32. Nxe3 Rc1+ 33. Nd1 $1 {
would be embarrassing.} )(28... Kh7 29. Ne7 Qf3 $1 {was the point, and White
can only solve 2 out of the 4 problems faced by his major pieces.} )0-1
[Event "World Chess Championship 2018"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Site "London"]
[Round "13.3"]
[Annotator "Fernandez, Daniel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Date "2018.11.28"]
[ECO "B44"]
[WhiteElo "2835"]
[BlackElo "2832"]
[PlyCount "101"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Bc5 {Enough with the Berlin
and the Petroff, now that Caruana needs to win, it's an Open Sicilian!
Interestingly, Magnus opts for as similar a formation as possible to the one
he used to clinch the 2016 tiebreak...} 6. Nc2 Nf6 (6... Qb6 $5 {is probably
the most obvious test of White's slow setup. Notwithstanding which, it was
only played in one game, between 1900-level players, so we may as well just
analyse without reference to praxis.} 7. Qd2 $5 (7. Qe2 d6 8. Nc3 Bd7 9. Rb1 Nf6 10. Be3 Bxe3 11. Nxe3 {seems easy enough, but it's also possible to
imagine White getting outplayed on the dark squares.} )Nf6 8. Nc3 Ng4 9. f3 Nf2 10. Na4 Qc7 11. Nxc5 Nxh1 12. f4 $13 {With a horrifically messy
position where the prepared player wins: White intends Be2, Kf1-g1, but Black
can play ...d5 and open the centre.} )7. Nc3 0-0 8. Be3 b6 9. Be2 Bb7 10. 0-0 Qe7 11. Qd2 Rfd8 12. Rfd1 $6 {This may be a little inaccurate and Black seems
to have ways to make his equality clearer.} (12. a3 a5 13. Rad1 {seems
preferable, securing the right to transfer a knight via b5 at will.} )Ne5 {In this way Black is forcing through ...d5, though for some reason he
ultimately decided not to play it.} 13. Bxc5 (13. Bd4 d6 {and the tension
doesn't help White, as (e.g.) ...Rac8 and ...h6 can be played before Black
needs to do any further thinking, while White's pushes b4 and f4 require some
serious thought.} )bxc5 14. f4 Ng6 15. Qe3 d6 (15... d5 {seemed clever
to me, but it's worth pointing out that the simplifications would not have
been useful in the match situation.} 16. exd5 exd5 17. Qxe7 Nxe7 18. cxd5 Nexd5 19. Nxd5 Rxd5 20. Ne3 $11 {It is hard to imagine Magnus losing this as White,
but maybe...?} )16. Rd2 a6 17. Rad1 Qc7 18. b3 h6 19. g3 Rd7 20. Bf3 Re8 {
White has a small something around here, even if engines disagree, because
Black simply has no way to execute either ...e5 or ...d5.} 21. Qf2 {The first
of a few moves that tempted Black to play ...d5 and accept drawishness; while
these weren't the most exact for White they may have been the least risky.} Ne7 22. h3 Red8 23. Bg2 Nc6 (23... d5 {again seems to give safe equality, but
that's not good enough.} 24. cxd5 exd5 25. e5 Ne4 26. Nxe4 dxe4 27. Ne3 $11 )24. g4 Qa5 25. Na4 Qc7 {An ill omen: Black doesn't know what to do.} 26. e5 $6 {Seeking simplification and possibly a bishop-vs-knight situation, but maybe
this is too quick.} (26. Nc3 $14 {was perfectly possible, challenging Black to
do better!} )dxe5 27. Nxc5 Rxd2 28. Rxd2 Rxd2 29. Qxd2 Ba8 {This is not
a bad move, but White is able to pretty much kill the game now, whereas after
the alternative Black could have played for 3 results.} ({I'm not sure if
Black thought he was worse after} 29... exf4 30. Nxb7 Qxb7 31. Qxf4 $13 {
but I don't think he is, and neither does the engine; the practical chances
look quite alright.} )30. fxe5 Qxe5 31. Nd7 Qb2 32. Qd6 Nxd7 33. Qxd7 Qxc2 {
Around here, there are of course tons of ways for Black to deliver perpetual
check, but it is extremely difficult to think of how he could do more.} 34. Qe8+ Kh7 35. Qxa8 Qd1+ 36. Kh2 Qd6+ 37. Kh1 Nd4 38. Qe4+ f5 39. gxf5 exf5 40. Qe3 Ne6 41. b4 Ng5 $6 {Now Black is more likely to lose, but of course he may
not have minded this.} (41... g5 {tries to keep something in the position, but
after} 42. c5 Qd1+ 43. Kh2 {it transpires that Black can't generate anything
without allowing White to deliver perpetual:} Nf4 44. Qe7+ Kg6 $11 )42. c5 Qf6 43. c6 $16 Ne6 $2 {This is where the 3rd game, and hence the match, were lost.} (43... Qd6 44. Qc1 Ne6 45. Qc4 {is passive for Black, but there are a few more
tricks than in the game.} )44. a4 Nc7 45. Qf4 Ne6 46. Qd6 {You could see
Magnus wondering whether to give one last tease and play Qe3, either for the
draw or for the trolling effect. In the end he chose this way, which is very
simply winning.} Qa1+ 47. Kh2 Nd4 48. c7 Qc3 49. Qc5 Qe3 50. c8=Q f4 51. Qg4 {
And it was all over.} 1-0
Stanotte mi sono svegliato e… ho subito notato che c’era qualcosa che non mi tornava. Intanto ero stato svegliato da un colpo in testa, rifilatomi non si sa bene da chi, forse perché non mi decidevo ad alzarmi. Guardandomi intorno ho visto la disposizione del letto uguale a quella di sempre ma le pareti che erano tappezzate di un inedito color blu scuro. Poi due filippini, o qualcosa del genere, che evidentemente mi stavano vegliando (e probabilmente era stato uno di loro due a colpirmi visto che non mi decidevo a svegliarmi) mi hanno condotto fuori dalla stanza e mi sono reso conto che quella non era affatto casa mia ma una casa nella quale ero stato trasportato chissà in che modo. Ma la particolarità è che la casa era strapiena di gente che mi dava il benvenuto e che mi chiedeva se avessi bisogno di qualcosa. Tutta gente amica anche se quasi tutta completamente sconosciuta e ragazze o donne più mature quasi tutte bellissime e sconosciute che mi ronzavano intorno e che apprezzavano la mia timidezza. Anch’io cercavo di essere meno timido ma poi questo difetto, che è quello più letale con le donne, ricompariva, eppure loro non sembravano farci troppo caso, anzi, ne ridevano soddisfatte. Poi, dopo i primi minuti di comprensibile smarrimento, ho intuito che la casa era un grande regalo (comprata? Affittata? Boh, questo non lo saprò mai) che mi avevano fatto i miei genitori a mia totale insaputa. Infine, ho scoperto che la casa era in realtà una specie di villa con giardino personale situata nel mio adorato paesello di fianco alla strada principale, a poche decine di metri di distanza dalla casa in affitto che ho dovuto lasciare due anni fa. Pur chiedendomi che fine avessero fatto tutti i miei libri, che non vedevo da nessuna parte, ero inebriato da queste due sensazioni: essere in mezzo a tutta quella gente dagli sguardi amici e dalle mille attenzioni (una ragazza, ovviamente a me completamente sconosciuta, mi ha addirittura detto che mi ero fatto molto muscoloso: figuriamoci, muscoloso io!) ed essere finalmente riuscito a tornare a vivere nel posto che amo di più. Mia mamma mi ha lasciato intendere che non dovevo più preoccuparmi del mio vecchio iPhone perché mi aveva regalato un cellulare molto più avanzato e tecnologico. Poi, dopo una mezz’ora abbondante, mi sono svegliato per davvero: tutto era completamente svanito, la villa, che peraltro non esiste nemmeno nella realtà, gli amici, le ragazze, ed ero rimasto di nuovo solo, nella mia stanza, nella mia solitudine e con un disperato bisogno di amicizia, di affetto e di un lavoro tranquillo e sereno e non precario. Del resto, anche mia mamma non poteva essere presente dato che è mancata ormai quasi due anni e mezzo fa. E’ stato un sogno bellissimo e anche il più realistico che abbia mai fatto in vita mia (non mi capita molto spesso di farne così realistici da ricordarmi praticamente tutto), ma adesso so che tutto ciò non si realizzerà mai e che devo continuare a fare i conti con ben altra situazione…
Giustizia è stata fatta: a Khanty Mansiysk, luogo di culto per le gare del mio amato biathlon, Jun Wenjun si è confermata ieri campionessa del mondo femminile di scacchi dopo aver dovuto rimettere in palio il proprio titolo che aveva conquistato sei mesi fa nel match con la sua connazionale Tan Zhongyi. Il tutto per colpa della federscacchi internazionale e del suo demenziale regolamento, che costringe la vincitrice del titolo a rimetterlo in gioco in un torneo a tabellone tennistico. Nella finale la ragazza cinese ha battuto agli spareggi a tempo rapido Kateryna Lahno (o Lagno), di nascita ucraina ma che gareggia per la Russia, unica a battere in tutto il torneo la campionessa del mondo nella seconda delle quattro partite a tempo lungo della finale e l'unica a portarla agli spareggi. Wenjun ha però vinto la quarta ed è riuscita quindi ad approdare agli spareggi a tempo rapido, le prime due partite sono finite patte e la settima e l’ottava sono state appannaggio di Ju, la quale, con 9 vittorie, 8 patte e 1 sola sconfitta in 6 turni, ha così strameritatamente mantenuto il titolo mondiale in contumacia della sua più forte connazionale Hou Yifan, che ormai da tempo non gareggia per l’iride femminile per protesta contro il demenziale regolamento che abbiamo spiegato. Katya invece, campionessa europea nel 2005 e nel 2008, si è dovuta accontentare di un'altrettanto strameritata piazza d'onore. Di seguito, per chi volesse guardarsele, tutte le 207 partite del tabellone del Mondiale riservato alle donne giocate a Khanty-Mansiysk, evento peraltro molto più combattuto (60 vittorie per il Bianco, 56 per il Nero e 91 patte) del match mondiale maschile visto che oggi a LondraMagnus Carlsen e Fabiano Caruana hanno pattato l'undicesima partita su undici...
