[Event "FIDE World Championship 2021"] [Site "?"] [Date "2021.11.26"] [Round "2"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E05"] [WhiteElo "2855"] [BlackElo "2782"] [Annotator "samsh"] [PlyCount "116"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.11.27"] 1. d4 {Game two of the FIDE World Championship 2021 followed a very different script than game one. Rather than a nitty-gritty endgame, the players quickly reached a wild middlegame that was next-to-impossible to play well. Every other move was a mistake, but this had nothing to do with the players playing badly and everything to do with the position simply being complicated! It's really surprising to me that, so far, both players have really managed to show strong ideas with White as early as the first game. Normally, Black is equalizing easily at the start of these matches. I suspect this one will be more bloody than the last couple.} Nf6 2. c4 e6 {The first minor surprise. Nepo has mostly relied on the Grunfeld in the past.} 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 {Magnus chooses the Catalan, and Nepo goes for the old mainline.} Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 b5 $5 {A very enterprising move, and a suprising practical decision. Magnus was the one who put it back on the map in his first game, playing Black against the Catalan, after the 2018 World Championship match, where he only faced 1.e4. I suspect this is what he must have prepared for that match and likely would have some very deep analysis.} (7... a6 {This is much more common, and has been seen in endless top level games. I even chose it in my most recent classical game myself!}) 8. Ne5 $5 {And now this is almost a novelty. There are no correspondence games, and just 15 OTB games, with none played by anyone too notable. But Magnus was still playing reasonably quickly and confidently. He was surely still in his preparation.} c6 {This is a typical response. White does not want to take the pawn.} 9. a4 (9. Nxc6 $2 Nxc6 10. Bxc6 Rb8 $15 {White got the pawn back, but has an unpleasant position thanks to Black's extra space.}) 9... Nd5 10. Nc3 (10. axb5 {The machine prefers this one, and I found some truly remarkable lines while poking around, but they didn't really work for White at the end of the day. Magnus' choice seems stronger.}) 10... f6 11. Nf3 Qd7 {This is a safe looking move, and a very understandable choice against an opponent who is clearly still in preparation. Under other circumstances, Nepo might have considered 11...b4 as a feistier alternative.} (11... b4 {This has to be the critical move, hitting the knight with a gain of tempo, gaining space, and getting ready for Ba6 next. The position gets very messy very fast, for example after} 12. Ne4 Ba6 13. Nc5 $1 Bxc5 14. dxc5 {when White is ready for some e4 and Rd1, and he has obvious compensation for the missing pawn, but the game is still very messy. I let my computer run for a long time here, and it eventually settled on equal. I'm sure Magnus had checked it much further and found some ways to put a lot of pressure on Black's position. We may end up seeing these lines play out in subsequent games!}) 12. e4 $1 {Now White is taking a lot of space in the center.} Nb4 13. Qe2 Nd3 $5 {Very ambitious, and I like it! Nepo clearly is not playing scared, despite being caught in the opening by the World Champion. Black gets ready for b4 next. If he can pull this off, White will be worse.} ( 13... N8a6 {This was a reasonable alternative, but White has obvious compensation for the pawn after} 14. Be3) 14. e5 $1 {Clearing the e4-square for the knight.} Bb7 {This feels like the most human move, although the machines prefer pushing f6-f5.} (14... f5 {This was a more solid alternative, but I do not mind Nepo's move.} 15. axb5 Bb7 $1 (15... cxb5 $6 16. d5 $1 { Black is rapidly losing control. After} exd5 17. Ne1 $1 Nxc1 18. Rxc1 Bb7 19. e6 $36 {Black's position will soon start to crumble. Once Rd1 comes and d5 falls, things could get very bad very fast.}) 16. Ne1 cxb5 17. d5 Nc5 $1 { Black has things more or less under control, and the machine claims he is fine. But this feels a bit inhuman to me, and I am not surprised that Nepo chose another direction.}) 15. exf6 Bxf6 16. Ne4 Na6 {White has obvious compensation for the pawn, but now Magnus took a very aggressive decision. I really doubt he missed any basic tactics; I suspect he just overestimated his compensation for the exchange. Still, the position remained totally unclear to the human eye.} 17. Ne5 $6 {The machines really hate this move, particularly in connection with how Magnus played down the road, but to the human eye, the position is still totally unclear.} (17. Nxf6+ {This should have been preferred. After} gxf6 (17... Rxf6 18. Ne5 $1 Nxe5 19. dxe5 {This leaves Black in a very bad way, with Be3 and a rook coming to d6 on the agenda.}) 18. Bh6 Rf7 19. b3 $5 {White has excellent compensation for the missing pawn. It will be hard for Black to keep the position under control, and the machine is already saying he needs to find some only moves.} Nab4 $1 20. Nd2 $1 {And apparently here, f6-f5 is the only clean equalizer, which I doubt I would even consider. In practice, it feels super hard for a human to play the black side of this position.}) 17... Bxe5 18. dxe5 Nac5 19. Nd6 Nb3 20. Rb1 $5 {Magnus may have overestimated his compensation here, but this is very easy to do. Take the position after Black goes rook grabbing...} (20. Be3 {This was a fine alternative, and should be around equal.}) 20... Nbxc1 21. Rbxc1 Nxc1 22. Rxc1 {I was watching without a machine running around here, and I was naive enough to believe White might even be better. The first question you always need to ask yourself when evaluating any exchange sacrifice is \"how good are the rooks\". For now, they are quite bad! Certainly, neither black rook is any better than the d6-knight. In the meantime, some combination of Rd1, Be4, and Qh5 looks incredibly dangerous, as Black's king will be super lonely without the help of the b7-bishop or h8 rook. The machine just laughs and claims Black is much better, but in human terms, I am not sure I believe he has any advantage at all, much less a big one.} Rab8 $1 {Black needs to activate his rooks. Opening the b-file would solve that problem.} 23. Rd1 Ba8 24. Be4 c3 $2 {This one is a little mysterious to me. I guess Nepo wanted to give himself a passed a-pawn, but it's hard to believe he is ready to go make a queen anytime soon.} (24... g6 $1 {This should have been preferred. Black prevents Qh5 and could be getting ready for Qg7. The machines claim he is clearly better, but I'm not totally convinced. White can play Qg4 to threaten a sac on g6, or h4 instending h5, or just bishop back to g2 to go Ne4-f6. Lots of ideas, and it is very hard for black to keep all the balls in the air. It's very understandable why Nepo did not play this way.}) (24... bxa4 {At some point, the machines suggested this move, but it's not enough for an edge.} 25. Bxh7+ $1 Kxh7 26. Qh5+ Kg8 27. Rd4 $1 {Black faces a vicious attack, but should make a draw after} Qe7 $1 28. Rh4 Qxh4 29. Qxh4 Rxb2 30. Qxc4 {I'd imagine White will have to give a perpetual sooner rather than later.}) 25. Qc2 (25. bxc3 $5 bxa4 26. Qc2 {This also looked totally playable for White.}) 25... g6 26. bxc3 {Apparently here, Black could have been better by letting White take on g6 and then just ignoring the bishop. Such things don't really occur to a human.} bxa4 (26... a5 27. Bxg6 Qg7 {And Black is better? Whaddya know. This is not going to happen in human practice.}) 27. Qxa4 Rfd8 {At this point, despite Stockfish's insistence on absolute equality, I think White is having a lot more fun in practice. Around here, I thought Magnus would have real chances to score the full point, but Nepo kept his head above water.} 28. Ra1 c5 29. Qc4 Bxe4 30. Nxe4 Kh8 $1 31. Nd6 Rb6 32. Qxc5 Rdb8 33. Kg2 $1 {An important move. White makes sure not to let a pair of rooks trade.} a6 (33... Qc6+ $2 {This is too desperate. After} 34. Qxc6 Rxc6 35. Rxa7 $1 {Black will face a real uphill battle defending this endgame.} Rxc3 36. Nf7+ Kg8 37. Ng5 $16 {White wins a second pawn, and this will be a nightmare to defend.}) 34. Kh3 $1 {Avoiding the queen exchange.} Rc6 35. Qd4 Kg8 36. c4 Qc7 37. Qg4 {This allows Black to bail out into a pawn-down but easily drawn ending.} (37. Kg2 {Perhaps this would have been a bit more patient. I like White's position, but breaking through is another story.}) 37... Rxd6 38. exd6 Qxd6 39. c5 Qxc5 40. Qxe6+ Kg7 41. Rxa6 Rf8 {Black is holding easily despite the pawn deficit. 3 vs 2 is so dead that I'm even somewhat surprised Magnus played as long as he did once the queens came off the board.} 42. f4 Qf5+ 43. Qxf5 Rxf5 44. Ra7+ Kg8 45. Kg4 Rb5 46. Re7 Ra5 47. Re5 Ra7 48. h4 Kg7 49. h5 Kh6 50. Kh4 Ra1 51. g4 Rh1+ 52. Kg3 gxh5 53. Re6+ Kg7 54. g5 Rg1+ 55. Kf2 Ra1 56. Rh6 Ra4 57. Kf3 Ra3+ 58. Kf2 Ra4 {I think Magnus was the clear moral winner of the day. He really managed to get a fighting position, and while he misplayed it at some moments and gave Nepo some chances (at least according to the machine), I don't think he was ever particularly close to losing. This should give him more confidence that he can take risks, knowing that he is totally capable of fighting back in complicated positions where things have gone awry and the computer doesn't rate his chances too highly. His white preparation looks very practical and impressive so far. It will be interesting to see if he repeats the same endgame tomorrow. I did not get the impression that Black was easily equalizing, but he certainly will have studied the positions more and might have reached a different conclusion. For the last 2 matches, he kept the same black repertoire throughout, but I somehow suspect he will be the first to deviate in game 3. We find out tomorrow!} 1/2-1/2 [Event "lichess.org"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.11.27"] [Round "?"] [White "Magnus Carlsen"] [Black "Ian Nepomniachtchi"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2855"] [BlackElo "2782"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "116"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] 1. d4 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 2. c4 {[%emt 0:00:07]} e6 {[%emt 0: 00:06]} 3. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:08]} d5 {6 Out of the 146 times that Magnus has faced this position, he has gone g3 in only 14 games! In 126 games he has played Nc3.} 4. g3 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Be7 {[%emt 0:00:11]} 5. Bg2 {[%emt 0:00:17] } O-O {[%emt 0:00:08]} 6. O-O {14 The absolute main position of the Catalan with close to 42,000 games played.} dxc4 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 7. Qc2 {[%emt 0:00: 05]} b5 $5 {9 Nepo throws the challenge to his opponent with the second most popular move in the position.} (7... a6 {is the main move here.} 8. Qxc4 b5) 8. Ne5 $5 {220 Carlsen thinks for around 4 minutes before making this provocative move. The engines do not like it and give an advantage to Black. The main move here is a4. But Carlsen must have analyzed it deeper and found that Black has some serious practical problems to solve.} (8. a4) 8... c6 {548} (8... Nd5 { was another way to play.}) 9. a4 {262 In this position Nd5 was the only move, yet Nepo took nearly 10 minutes to play. Just goes to show how stressful it is to play high stakes games and remember all your preparation.} (9. Nxc6 Nxc6 10. Bxc6 Rb8 $17 {is not the best way for White to play of course.}) 9... Nd5 {653} ({Of course not} 9... Qxd4 $6 10. Nxc6 Nxc6 11. Bxc6 $18) 10. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00: 31]} f6 {642} (10... Nxc3 11. bxc3 $18) 11. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:32]} Qd7 {377} 12. e4 {394} Nb4 13. Qe2 Nd3 14. e5 Bb7 (14... fxe5 15. Nxe5 Nxe5 16. dxe5) 15. exf6 Bxf6 16. Ne4 {The position looks very dangerous for Black.} Na6 17. Ne5 $6 {Magnus misassessed something or he misevaluated the position.} (17. Nxf6+ gxf6 18. Bh6 Rf7 19. Ne1 Nab4 20. Nxd3 Nxd3 21. b3 $13) (17. Be3 $5 {Keeping more pieces on the board was interesting.}) 17... Bxe5 $1 {Excellent decision by Ian.} (17... Nxe5 $2 18. dxe5 Bxe5 19. Rd1 Qe7 20. Ng5 $18) 18. dxe5 Nac5 19. Nd6 (19. Nxc5 Nxc5 20. Be3 Nxa4 $17) 19... Nb3 20. Rb1 $6 (20. Be3 {Keeping the dark squared bishop would have been better in this situation.} Nxa1 21. Rxa1 $13) 20... Nbxc1 21. Rbxc1 Nxc1 22. Rxc1 Rab8 $17 23. Rd1 Ba8 (23... Qe7) 24. Be4 (24. Nxb5 Qe7 $15 (24... Qxd1+ 25. Qxd1 cxb5 26. Bxa8 Rxa8 27. axb5 $16 ) 25. Nd6) 24... c3 $6 (24... g6) 25. Qc2 (25. Qh5 g6 26. Bxg6 cxb2 27. Bb1 ( 27. Rd4 bxa4 28. Bb1)) 25... g6 26. bxc3 bxa4 (26... Qg7 27. f4 g5 $17) 27. Qxa4 {After this Nepo is able to exchange his bad bishop for White's good one but in return loses a pawn and also the knight remains dominant on d6.} Rfd8 28. Ra1 c5 29. Qc4 Bxe4 30. Nxe4 Kh8 31. Nd6 Rb6 32. Qxc5 Rdb8 33. Kg2 { Thanks to the knight on d6, White has excellent compensation.} a6 34. Kh3 Rc6 35. Qd4 Kg8 36. c4 Qc7 37. Qg4 {Nepo now gives back the material in order to make his defensive task easier.} Rxd6 38. exd6 Qxd6 39. c5 Qxc5 (39... Qc6 40. Qc4 Rb5 $11) 40. Qxe6+ Kg7 41. Rxa6 Rf8 42. f4 Qf5+ 43. Qxf5 Rxf5 {Some care has to be taken here but this position would most likely end in a draw.} 44. Ra7+ Kg8 45. Kg4 Rb5 46. Re7 Ra5 47. Re5 Ra7 48. h4 Kg7 49. h5 Kh6 50. Kh4 Ra1 51. g4 Rh1+ 52. Kg3 gxh5 53. Re6+ Kg7 54. g5 Rg1+ 55. Kf2 Ra1 56. Rh6 Ra4 57. Kf3 Ra3+ 58. Kf2 Ra4 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE World Championship 2021"] [Site "Dubai, United Arab Emirates"] [Date "2021.11.27"] [Round "2"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E05"] [WhiteElo "2855"] [BlackElo "2782"] [Annotator "MF Sylvain Ravot"] [PlyCount "116"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [SourceTitle "europe-echecs.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 {Nepomniachtchi décide de ne pas utiliser sa défense fétiche, la Grunfeld, au profit du choix préféré des grands maîtres de top niveau, l'invitation à la Nimzo-Indienne} (2... g6 3. Nc3 d5) 3. Nf3 (3. Nc3 Bb4 {que les Blancs préfèrent la grande majorité du temps éviter}) 3... d5 4. g3 {Carlsen a préparé la partie Catalane, ouverture utilisée avec succès en championnat du monde par Kramnik et Anand contre Topalov dans les matchs de 2006 et 2010 (4 victoires, 3 nulles). En 1929, les organisateurs d'un tournoi à Barcelone souhaitaient que leur région, la Catalogne, soit immortalisée dans la théorie des ouvertures. Xavier Tartakover proposa que la combinaison d2-d4 et g2-g3, qu'il avait jouée trois fois pendant ce tournoi, soit nommée << ouverture catalane >>. L'idée est similaire au gambit Dame, sacrifier le pion c4 pour un meilleur contrôle central, la différence c'est que souvent si les Noirs prennent en c4, les Blancs ne récupèrent pas leur pion contrairement au gambit Dame, mais jouent sur les compensations, en particulier le fort Fg2, que l'on appelle même le Fou catalan, sur la grande diagonale, et l'avantage d'espace. [PHOTO]} Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 b5 {Nepo a préparé 7...b5, un coup secondaire par rapport à 7...a6 mais bien répertorié.} (7... a6) 8. Ne5 {Carlsen est venu avec une surprise, encore un coup de Cavalier au 8e coup, comme la veille ! Le très rare 8.Ce5 qui a semblé surprendre Nepo malgré son côté logique. Selon Judit Polgar il n'est pas normal de ne pas avoir prévu ce coup dans la préparation, même si l'ordinateur ne l'aime pas, car il faut un minimum se placer du point de vue humain. L'une des difficultés des adversaires de Carlsen est qu'il peut jouer à peu près toutes les ouvertures avec les Blancs, y compris des systèmes secondaires, et si l'équipe du Russe ne s'attendait pas spécialement à une Catalane, mais juste comme une des options possibles, ils ont pu passé à côté de ce coup rare. Je pense quand même que c'est une erreur de préparation, même si comme à l'habitude l'équipe de Carlsen montre encore une fois qu'ils font un super job en trouvant des idées quasiment nouvelles, dans des positions bien pourtant déjà beaucoup étudiées.} (8. a4 b4 {et les Blancs vont reprendre le pion c4.} ({Illustratifs sont} 8... a6 $2 9. axb5) (8... c6 $2 9. axb5 cxb5 10. Ng5 Nd5 11. Qxh7#)) 8... c6 {Surprise, Nepo fait le choix de la solidité, proposant à Carlsen de reprendre son pion.} (8... Qxd4 $5 9. Nxf7 {mais infernal d'entrer là-dedans sans connaître} (9. Bxa8 Qxe5)) (8... Nd5 9. a4 c6 {transpose}) 9. a4 {Menace axb5.} (9. Nxc6 $2 Nxc6 10. Bxc6 Rb8 11. a4 a6 $15 {Les Noirs n'ont pas de souci, leur jeu est libéré. Les Blancs sont mal développés.}) 9... Nd5 {veut neutraliser le Fou catalan. Si e4 Cb4.} 10. Nc3 {Attaque b5. Une position désagréable à jouer pour les Noirs, encore plus quand on sait que les Blancs l'ont préparée en profondeur !} (10. e4 Nb4 { et le Fg2 est bloqué pour l'instant}) 10... f6 {Repousse l'agaçant Ce5 au prix de l'affaiblissement du pion e6 et du Roi.} (10... b4 11. Ne4 {est confortable pour les Blancs}) 11. Nf3 Qd7 $5 {Un coup bizarre mais solide de la part du challenger. Protège le pion b5 et le Fc8 ira en b7.} 12. e4 Nb4 13. Qe2 Nd3 {Une évolution importante de la position : les Blancs ont le centre parfait mais les Noirs ont implanté un Cavalier-pieuvre en d3, qui rappelle la 16e partie du championnat du monde Karpov - Kasparov 1985. Par contre le reste du développement des Noirs est catastrophique et la position blanche prometteuse.} 14. e5 $1 {Après 15 minutes de réflexion. Un fort coup de Carlsen qui libère la case e4 pour le Cc3 en cas de b4 et ouvre pour le Fou catalan.} (14. axb5 cxb5 15. d5 e5 $13 {peu prometteur}) 14... Bb7 ({Critique était} 14... f5 15. axb5 cxb5 {et ici le thématique} 16. d5 $1 exd5 17. Ne1 $1 {avec double menace sur d3 et d5.} (17. Nd4 $5) 17... Nxc1 18. Rxc1 Bb7 19. e6 Qd8 20. Rd1 $14 {récupère un des deux pions avec avantage blanc}) 15. exf6 Bxf6 {Une position très difficile à juger et à jouer !} ({inférieure est} 15... gxf6 16. Bh6 {le Fou se développe sur tempo et trouve une belle case} Rf7 17. b3 $16 {pour fragiliser le Cd3.}) 16. Ne4 $1 Na6 {Nepo commence à jouer beaucoup plus vite que Carlsen ! Finalement ça va indirectement le pousser à la faute.} (16... Bxd4 $2 17. Nxd4 Qxd4 18. Ng5 $16) 17. Ne5 $2 { Un aveuglement du champion du monde qui a oublié le 18e coup des Noirs.} ({ Il pouvait maintenir la pression avec} 17. Be3 $14) ({ou} 17. Nxf6+ Rxf6 (17... gxf6 18. Bh6 Rf7 19. Ne1 Nab4 20. Nxd3 Nxd3 21. b3 $14) 18. Ne5 Qxd4 19. axb5 Qxe5 20. Qxe5 Nxe5 21. bxa6 Bc8 22. Be3 Nf3+ 23. Bxf3 Rxf3 24. Rfc1 $16) 17... Bxe5 (17... Qxd4 $2 18. Nxf6+ Rxf6 19. axb5 {transpose dans la note précédente}) 18. dxe5 Nac5 {Le coup bizarrement oublié par Carlsen ! Il est resté sur l'idée Ca6-b4 et n'a pas bien visualisé la disparition du pion d4. Un aveuglement signe d'un manque de forme et/ou de stress. [PHOTO]} ({Il comptait sur ce genre de lignes} 18... Nxe5 $2 19. Ng5 Nd3 $2 20. Qe4 $1 { double action sur h7 et b7} g6 21. axb5 $16) 19. Nd6 {Après 11 minutes de réflexion. Chaque joueur à un Cavalier-pieuvre !} Nb3 {Mais ça implique que les Noirs fassent une fourchette qui gagne une qualité.} 20. Rb1 $6 (20. Be3 $1 Nxa1 (20... Nxe5 $11) 21. Rxa1 {avec compensations pour une qualité et un pion de moins !}) 20... Nbxc1 (20... Rab8 $5 {proposé par Anand} 21. Be3 c5 $5 {un sacrifice de qualité plutôt que de la gagner !} 22. Nxb7 Rxb7 23. Bxb7 Qxb7 24. axb5 Rf3 $5 (24... Qxb5) 25. Rbd1 Qe4 {avec 2 Cavaliers monstrueux et un énorme grip sur cases blanches, mais pas clair si les Noirs peuvent jouer pour le gain.}) (20... bxa4 $5 {une autre façon de ne pas prendre la qualité} ) 21. Rbxc1 Nxc1 22. Rxc1 {Le Cd6 pieuvre assure des compensations aux Blancs, mais pas assez pour équilibrer une qualité et un pion... Et Nepo joue plus vite.} Rab8 {Joué instantanément.} 23. Rd1 Ba8 {Laisse la découverte pour ouvrir des colonnes !} (23... bxa4 $5 {pas humainement pas évident de ruiner ainsi sa structure de pions en 4 pions isolés} 24. Be4 (24. Qxc4 c5 25. Bh3 Bc8) 24... g6 25. Qxc4 c5 $15 {joue sur le clouage. Une meilleure version que dans la partie.}) (23... Qe7 {logique}) 24. Be4 {C'est très tendu.} (24. Nxb5 Qe7 25. Nd6 Rb4 {et les Tours noirs jouent}) (24. Nxc4 Qe7 25. Nd6 bxa4 $17 { c5 suivra avec très net avantage noir}) 24... c3 $6 {Un mauvais choix, dicté par la crainte de se faire mater par Fxh7 Dh5 Td4 etc.} (24... bxa4 25. Bxh7+ Kxh7 26. Qh5+ Kg8 27. Rd4 Qe7 28. Rh4 Qxh4 29. Qxh4 Rxb2 (29... c5 30. Qxc4 Bd5 31. Qc2 $11) 30. Qxc4) ({Il aurait pu choisir} 24... g6 25. h4 {et maintenant} bxa4) 25. Qc2 (25. Qh5 $2 g6 26. Bxg6 Qg7 $1 (26... hxg6 27. Qxg6+ Qg7 28. Qxe6+ Kh8 29. Rd4 $11)) (25. Bxh7+ $2 {ne fonctionne plus} Kxh7 26. Qh5+ Kg8 27. Rd4 cxb2 28. Rh4 b1=Q+ 29. Kg2 c5+ 30. Kh3 Qf1+ 31. Kg4 Bf3+) 25... g6 26. bxc3 bxa4 ({Les Noirs auraient pu presser avec l'inhabituel} 26... Qg7 27. f4 g5 $15) 27. Qxa4 {Maintenant Carlsen a stabilisé et se retrouve hors de danger. Le Cd6 compense une Tour.} Rfd8 28. Ra1 c5 29. Qc4 Bxe4 30. Nxe4 { menace Cf6+} Kh8 (30... Qc6 31. Rxa7 Rb1+ 32. Kg2 Rd4 $1 33. cxd4 Qxe4+ 34. Kh3 Qf5+ 35. Kg2 Qe4+ {=}) 31. Nd6 Rb6 {Les joueurs manquent de temps mais la position n'est pas très tactique.} 32. Qxc5 Rdb8 33. Kg2 a6 34. Kh3 {Un assez bon abri pour le Roi blanc.} Rc6 35. Qd4 Kg8 36. c4 Qc7 37. Qg4 $6 {Etonnant : à 4 coups du contrôle de temps, avec 6 minutes à la pendule, alors qu'il contrôle la position, Carlsen laisse Nepo liquider avec Txd6. Un autre signe de stress.} (37. Kg2 Rcb6 $13) 37... Rxd6 38. exd6 Qxd6 39. c5 Qxc5 40. Qxe6+ Kg7 41. Rxa6 Rf8 (41... Qxf2 42. Qe5+ Kh6 43. Qxb8 Qf1+ 44. Kh4 Qxa6 45. Qf8#) 42. f4 Qf5+ 43. Qxf5 Rxf5 {Le 3 vs 2 sur la même aile est confortablement nulle pour des joueurs de ce niveau.} 44. Ra7+ Kg8 45. Kg4 Rb5 ({Encore plus sécurisé est} 45... Rh5 $11) 46. Re7 Ra5 47. Re5 Ra7 48. h4 Kg7 49. h5 Kh6 50. Kh4 Ra1 51. g4 Rh1+ 52. Kg3 gxh5 53. Re6+ Kg7 54. g5 Rg1+ 55. Kf2 Ra1 56. Rh6 Ra4 57. Kf3 (57. f5 Rf4+ 58. Ke3 Rxf5 $11) 57... Ra3+ 58. Kf2 Ra4 {Et nulle. Quelle partie ! Grâce à sa préparation Carlsen a obtenu une position très prometteuse à la sortie de l'ouverture mais il s'est trompé au 17e coup ce qui l'a placé Nepomniachtchi en position de jouer pour la victoire avec un net avantage matériel pas complètement compensé par le Cd6. La position restait complexe et quelques imprécisions du challenger ont suffi pour qu'elle se nivelle. Une partie de championnat du monde passionnante ! On a déjà hâte d'être à demain pour la 3e partie.} 1/2-1/2