[Event "World Championship 2021"] [Site "?"] [Date "2021.12.01"] [Round "5"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C43"] [WhiteElo "2782"] [BlackElo "2855"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "91"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.12.05"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 (3. Nxe5) 3... Nxe4 4. Bd3 d5 5. Nxe5 Nd7 6. Nxd7 Bxd7 7. Nd2 {played in only 48 games out of 4800+ games.} (7. O-O {is the main move by a huge margin.}) 7... Nxd2 (7... f5 $5) 8. Bxd2 Bd6 (8... Qe7+) (8... Be7 9. O-O O-O 10. Qh5 (10. Bf4)) (8... Qf6) 9. O-O h5 (9... O-O 10. Qh5 f5 11. Bg5 $14) 10. Qe1+ (10. Re1+ Kf8) 10... Kf8 (10... Qe7 11. Qd1 (11. Qxe7+ Kxe7 12. Rae1+ Be6 (12... Kf8) 13. f4) 11... O-O-O) 11. Bb4 Qe7 12. Bxd6 Qxd6 13. Qd2 Re8 14. Rae1 Rh6 15. Qg5 c6 16. Rxe8+ Bxe8 17. Re1 Qf6 18. Qe3 (18. Qg3 Qd6 ) 18... Bd7 19. h3 h4 20. c4 dxc4 21. Bxc4 b5 $2 (21... Kg8 $1 22. Qe7 Qxe7 ( 22... Be6 23. Bxe6 (23. Qxf6 Rxf6) 23... Qxe7) 23. Rxe7 Rd6 24. Rxf7 Kh7) 22. Qa3+ Kg8 (22... Qd6 23. Qxa7 g5) 23. Qxa7 Qd8 (23... Bxh3 24. Qxf7+ $1 (24. Re8+ Kh7 25. Bxf7 (25. Qxf7) 25... Rg6 $1 26. Rh8+ (26. Bxg6+ Qxg6 $19) 26... Kxh8 27. Qa8+ Kh7 28. Qg8+ Kh6 29. Qh8+ Kg5 30. Bxg6 Qxg6 31. gxh3 $11) (24. gxh3 bxc4) 24... Qxf7 25. Re8+ Kh7 26. Bxf7 Bf5 $16) 24. Bb3 Rd6 25. Re4 (25. Qc5 $5) 25... Be6 26. Bxe6 Rxe6 27. Rxe6 fxe6 28. Qc5 Qa5 29. Qxc6 Qe1+ 30. Kh2 Qxf2 31. Qxe6+ Kh7 32. Qe4+ Kg8 33. b3 Qxa2 34. Qe8+ Kh7 35. Qxb5 Qf2 36. Qe5 Qb2 37. Qe4+ Kg8 38. Qd3 Qf2 39. Qc3 Qf4+ 40. Kg1 Kh7 41. Qd3+ g6 42. Qd1 Qe3+ 43. Kh1 g5 44. d5 g4 45. hxg4 h3 46. Qf3 1-0 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2021.12.05"] [Round "8"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C43"] [WhiteElo "2856"] [BlackElo "2782"] [Annotator "samsh"] [PlyCount "38"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.12.05"] {[%evp 0,91,19,31,34,19,13,69,35,13,13,10,-6,4,1,14,27,29,51,39,71,32,32,23,28, 14,14,37,34,34,76,60,61,61,67,39,67,61,65,73,69,71,59,75,120,130,129,124,123, 129,186,110,118,122,122,113,121,101,187,182,192,196,189,189,189,189,189,189, 227,231,220,235,225,234,234,242,241,211,207,169,168,170,215,197,243,196,190, 186,381,394,394,400,400,345] I think Nepo tilted a little bit in game 8. He had thus far played a very good match, only losing a single game, and it took 136 moves for him to go down-the longest game in world championship history, in fact. But today, he looked like a shadow of himself, and made a lot of poor decisions, and Magnus more or less cruised through.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. Bd3 d5 5. Nxe5 Nd7 6. Nxd7 Bxd7 7. Nd2 $5 {This is a very rare move with basically no games played by anyone notable, but it's actually quite a bit more challenging than it looks. It's funny that White aims to make the game *more* symmetrical in the Petroff as an attempt to fight for an advantage, but in this particular case, it does seem quite challenging.} Nxd2 8. Bxd2 { Now, Nepo played Bd6 very quickly, but I already think this is a mistake.} Bd6 $2 (8... Qe7+ $1 {I think this surprising move is the best way to fight for equality. White has to move his king to avoid a queen exchange.} 9. Kf1 (9. Be3 {I suppose this is possible too, but after} Qb4+ 10. Qd2 Qxd2+ 11. Kxd2 Bd6 $11 {Black should be totally fine in spite of the machine's insistence on +0.2.}) 9... O-O-O {Black should be okay here. I suspect Magnus was aiming for this position and found some interesting way to coordinate his pieces that makes Black find some move or two, but it's hard to imagine Black can really have too many major issure here. At least the opposite-side castling allows for some dynamism.}) 9. O-O {Now, suddenly things do not look so easy for Black. He cannot castle due to Qh5, winning a pawn, and otherwise Re1+ is coming.} h5 $1 {This strikes me as the best practical decision. Black keeps the queen off of h5, and can hope for Qh4 to come next. Then, it will be a bit annoying for White to stop the mate threat since g2-g3 will eventually walk into h5-h4.} 10. Qe1+ $6 {This is soft. I was very surprised by this move pair—White allows Qe7, which should equalize easily, and then Black doesn't play it!} (10. c4 $1 {The machine gives this as clearly best. It makes a lot of sense—Black is not castling due to the hanging h5-pawn, so let's blow up the center.} dxc4 11. Bxc4 {[%csl Gd4]} Qh4 12. Re1+ Kf8 13. Qf3 $1 {This is one computer line that is not so easy for a human to spot. Qf3 is the only move for an advantage, and it is possible that Magnus missed it or misevaluated it once Black gets the h2-pawn.}) 10... Kf8 $2 {This strikes me as very poor. Once the dark-squared bishops trade, Black will have no attack, and the rook on h8 will be out of play. Around here, I joined Hikaru's stream, and he thought that Nepo was already trying to be ambitious and not make a draw with Black, but instead trying to win on command with a kingside attack since he had already committed to h7-h5. But Qd8-e7 looked so natural and like it would equalize easily, and if Nepo was looking to get a sharper game with Black, why play the Petroff in the first place? It all did not seem to add up.} (10... Qe7 {This was best, and it looks very equal. Now that Black no longer has to worry about a rook coming to e1, he can castle on either side next and should be totally fine in the resulting symmetrical position.}) 11. Bb4 $1 {This prevents Qh4 from forcing a kingside weakness. Now, Black is a little worse thanks to the difficulty of getting the h8-rook into play.} Qe7 12. Bxd6 Qxd6 13. Qd2 { [%CAl Ga1e1,Re1e8]} Re8 {[%CAl Re8e1,Re1e7]} 14. Rae1 Rh6 $2 {[%csl Rg6][%CAl Gh6e6,Rd3g6] According to the timestamp, Nepo played this move in under 2 minutes. It makes perfect sense to try to swing the rook to e6 to fight for the e-file, but the rook ends up frozen on h6 as the h5-pawn is loose.} 15. Qg5 $1 {Now, it will be a nightmare to get the h6-rook into play.} c6 {Preparing for Qf6 by overprotecting d5. But this does not solve Black's problems.} 16. Rxe8+ Bxe8 17. Re1 Qf6 18. Qe3 (18. Qg3 $1 {[%csl Gd4] Hikaru and I discussed this move a bit on his stream. It looks very powerful, but you have to notice that after} Qxd4 {There is a silent killer in} 19. Bf5 $1 {When Re6 is prevented, and Black is helpless to prevent an invasion on b8.}) 18... Bd7 19. h3 g5 {This looked more natural to me. Black can plan Kg7 and Rh8-e8 next. It's still not easy, but he should have reasonable holding chances.} (19... h4 20. c4 $1 {White aims to open the center while the h6-rook remains sidelined. Black is undoubtedly a little uncomfortable here, but it is far from critical just yet. Around here, Nepo started to drift a lot.} dxc4 {This is not a bad move, per se, but it is a very dangerous one since it allows the bishop to come to c4, lasering down on the f7-pawn, and it also frees the third rank for the queen to come to a3. It's a little strange to play this move and not have the next move ready—White is obviously taking back on c4. So I was surprised when Nepo took some time to play his next move, which lost the game immediately.} (20... g5 {In light of how things went, this might have been a better choice, again aiming for Kg7 next. After} 21. cxd5 cxd5 22. Rc1 { White is surely a little better, but Black is still very solid after either Qe7 or Bc6, and he has good defensive chances.}) 21. Bxc4 b5 (21... Kg8 $1 { This was absolutely the only move, getting the king off of f8 so that Qa3 does not come with check, and Black would be able to play Qxd4 in response. Still, it looks very scary after} 22. Qe7 Be6 23. Qe8+ Kh7 24. Bxe6 fxe6 25. Re4 $1 { The machine does not mind Black's position, but it looks very unpleasant for a human. Still, this was absolutely the only way, and if you want to take on c4, you need to see this in advance.}) 22. Qa3+ $1 Kg8 23. Qxa7 {I suspect Nepo was planning on taking h3 here when he chose to play b5 but only now realized there would follow Qxf7+ and Re8+, with a pawn-up ending for White. This is not totally obvious to see, but it is not wildly difficult either and it's surprising that a player of Nepo's calibur would not notice it, particularly given his strong play in previous games, but I can't really find another explanation for b5.} Qd8 (23... Bxh3 {This was still the best option. After} 24. Qxf7+ $1 Qxf7 25. Re8+ Kh7 26. Bxf7 Bf5 $16 {White is a clean pawn up, but there is still some work to do. I do think it should be technically winning though, at least if Black is unable to trade the bishops.}) 24. Bb3 {The rest was an easy cleanup for Magnus. He is a pawn up, his pieces are much more active, and Black has no counterplay at all. Nepo found nothing better than transitioning into a hopeless queen endgame.} Rd6 25. Re4 Be6 26. Bxe6 Rxe6 27. Rxe6 fxe6 28. Qc5 Qa5 29. Qxc6 Qe1+ 30. Kh2 Qxf2 31. Qxe6+ Kh7 32. Qe4+ Kg8 33. b3 Qxa2 34. Qe8+ Kh7 35. Qxb5 Qf2 36. Qe5 Qb2 37. Qe4+ Kg8 38. Qd3 Qf2 39. Qc3 Qf4+ 40. Kg1 Kh7 41. Qd3+ g6 42. Qd1 {A nice final touch. Black will never get another check once the king sits on h1, and White can shove the d-pawn down the board.} Qe3+ 43. Kh1 g5 44. d5 g4 45. hxg4 h3 46. Qf3 {This was the first of the 8 games where I felt one of the players really just had a bad day. After scoring 0.5/3 in the last 3 games, Nepo is surely looking forward to the rest day tomorrow, when he can hope to regroup a little bit, press the reset button, and come back ready to fight on Tuesday. If I were on his team, I would suggest going for something sharper and riskier than what he has done so far—these slight advantages in the Spanish are playing right into Magnus' wheelhouse; he is easily holding every time. While on stream with Hikaru, we learned that the last time Magnus lost with Black in the Spanish in classical chess was 2015!}) 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Championship 2021"] [Site "Dubai, United Arab Emirates"] [Date "2021.12.05"] [Round "8"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C43"] [WhiteElo "2855"] [BlackElo "2782"] [Annotator "MF Sylvain Ravot"] [PlyCount "91"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [Source "ChessBase"] {[%evp 0,91,19,21,28,24,35,40,40,10,4,4,4,26,14,17,28,20,30,30,82,28,25,25,18, 32,32,25,35,34,60,61,60,44,39,54,69,69,69,49,59,75,91,68,115,105,119,117,129, 138,156,122,122,122,114,112,112,102,187,187,189,181,180,186,193,189,189,211, 220,225,234,234,241,241,246,244,243,207,215,170,184,173,204,237,251,186,187, 201,400,394,394,402,402,345]} 1. e4 {Carlsen revient sur 1.e4 comme dans la partie 4.} e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 {Nepo reste sur sa Petroff.} 3. d4 {Carlsen change par rapport à son 3.Cxe5 précédent.} Nxe4 (3... exd4 4. e5 $14) 4. Bd3 (4. dxe5 {est l'autre façon de jouer} d5 5. Nbd2) 4... d5 (4... Nc6 {est amusant} 5. Bxe4 ({meilleurs sont} 5. dxe5) ({ou} 5. Nxe5) 5... d5 6. Bd3 e4 { récupère la pièce dans de bonnes conditions}) 5. Nxe5 Nd7 6. Nxd7 (6. Nc3 $5 ) 6... Bxd7 7. Nd2 $5 {Un coup très rare, quasiment absent de la pratique des grands maîtres, et qui semble peu ambitieux car menant à une position symétrique.} (7. O-O {est le coup habituel}) 7... Nxd2 (7... f5 $5 {mais sûrement pas sans risque face à un joueur préparé}) (7... Nf6 8. O-O Be7 { semble très solide.}) 8. Bxd2 {Dans cette structure symétrique, que l'on retrouve aussi dans la Française d'échange, chaque petit détail peut faire une différence, en particulier au niveau de l'activité des pièces. Premièrement il est important de comprendre que chaque joueur aimerait bien échanger son mauvais Fou (Fd2 et Fd7). Dans cette optique, après Fd6, une thématique est Df3 idée Ff4 et la réciproque Df6 idée Ff5. Deuxièmement les Blancs (comme les Noirs) peuvent envisager c4(c5) pour bousculer la structure centrale. Troisièmement le contrôle de la seule colonne ouverte, centrale, est un enjeu.} Bd6 {Un coup naturel, joué en 3 minutes, mais possiblement une imprécision !} (8... Qe7+ $5 9. Be3 Qb4+ 10. c3 Qxb2 11. O-O Bd6 {avec une position difficile à juger. Les Blancs ont des compensations pour le pion mais dur de savoir ce qui se passe.} (11... Qxc3 $2 12. Rc1 $16)) (8... Qf6 $5 {attaque d4 mais empêche surtout Df3} 9. O-O Be6 (9... Qxd4 10. Bc3 {une position dangereuse pour les Noirs mal développés})) 9. O-O { Et soudainement Nepomniachtchi s'est rendu compte que ce n'était pas aussi simple que ça ! Il a réfléchi 17 minutes pour son prochain coup.} h5 $5 { Arrivé comme un coup de tonnerre ! Peter Svidler : "Ian est de bonnes dispositions aujourd'hui !". Objectivement, et après une analyse minutieuse, le coup peut être qualifié, sinon d'imprécision, au moins de dangereux. Mais il pimente très sérieusement la partie, créant un déséquilibre et un potentiel combat tranchant là où on pouvait ne voir qu'une pâle symétrie ! Ce type de coup correspond beaucoup plus au style de jeu naturel de Nepomniachtchi, pour rebondir sur l'observation d'Igor Nataf avant la partie.} (9... O-O {pourrait devenir pénible après la double attaque} 10. Qh5 f5 ( 10... g6 11. Qxd5) 11. Bg5 $1 Qe8 (11... Be7 12. Bxe7 Qxe7 13. Rae1 Qb4 14. c3 Qxb2 15. Re7 $16) 12. Qf3 c6 13. Rfe1 Qg6 (13... Qb8 $14) 14. Bf4 Rae8 15. c3 $14 {et la position blanche est légèrement supérieure. Ils peuvent espérer utiliser la case e5 comme un avant-poste. Le Fd3 est meilleur que le Fd7 et les Fd6-Ff4 vont s'échanger. Les Noirs sont même proches du zugzwang.}) (9... Qh4 $5 {serait un autre coup intéressant et risqué}) 10. Qe1+ {Après une très longue réflexion de 40 minutes ! Il est certain que Carlsen s'est senti tiraillé entre l'envie d'essayer de "punir" le coup h5 en allant au combat, et celle de ne pas prendre de risque alors qu'il mène dans le match. Le dilemme a dû être cornélien.} (10. Re1+ Kf8 {L'idée des Noirs. Le Roi est assez bien sécurisé en f8.} 11. c4 {Les Blancs doivent chercher à ouvrir la position pour pouvoir atteindre le Rf8 et profiter du moins bon développement des Noirs.} Qh4 {le coup critique qui gagne d4} 12. g3 Qxd4 13. Bc3 Qg4 $1 { il est peu clair que les Blancs soient mieux}) (10. Qf3 Bg4 {un coup permis par h5, qui lutte donc lui aussi contre Df3.} 11. Rfe1+ (11. Qxd5 $4 Bxh2+) 11... Kf8 12. Qe3 Rh6 $5) (10. c4 $1 {Le bon ordre de coups ! Difficile à trouver sur l'échiquier.} Qh4 (10... dxc4 11. Bxc4 Qf6 (11... Qh4 12. Re1+ Kf8 13. Qf3 $1 {(plutôt que g3 ou h3) Une séquence de coups qui a pu échapper à Carlsen. L'attaque sur f7 et b7 procure un net avantage blanc.} Qf6 (13... Qxh2+ 14. Kf1 f6 15. Qd5) 14. Qxb7 Bc6 $1 15. Qb3 $16) 12. Re1+ Kf8 13. Qb3 $14 ) (10... Qf6 11. Re1+ Kf8 12. c5 Bf4 13. Bxf4 Qxf4 14. Qb3 Bc6 15. Qc3 $14 { meilleur Fou mais ce n'est pas si clair}) 11. g3 Qxd4 (11... Qf6 12. Re1+ Kf8 13. c5 Be7 14. Re5 $1 $16 {menace Fg5}) 12. Bc3 Qg4 13. Qxg4 hxg4 {Notez comment les Blancs ont astucieusement évité Te1+ Rf8 pour pouvoir prendre en g7 dans cette position !} 14. Bxg7 Rh5 15. Rfe1+ Kd8 (15... Be6 $2 16. Rxe6+ fxe6 17. Bg6+ Ke7 18. Bxh5 Rg8 19. Bh6 (19. Bc3 Rg5) 19... Kf6 20. Be3 $18) 16. cxd5 Rxd5 17. Be4 Rb5 18. a4 Rb6 19. Bd4 Rb4 20. Bc3 Rxa4 21. Bf6+ Kc8 22. Rxa4 Bxa4 23. Bf5+ Kb8 (23... Bd7 24. Re8#) 24. Bxg4 $18 {Le pion h2 va sprinter vers h8.}) 10... Kf8 (10... Qe7 $11 {pour viser une nulle sans histoires}) 11. Bb4 {L'échange du mauvais Fou contre le bon par l'autre côté ! Carlsen aime beaucoup cette manoeuvre dans les gambits Dame aussi. Cela empêche Dh4.} Qe7 12. Bxd6 ({Si Carlsen voulait simplifier au maximum il pouvait jouer} 12. Qxe7+ Bxe7 13. Bxe7+ Kxe7 $11 {meilleur Fou blanc mais le Roi noir va se mettre en d6.}) 12... Qxd6 13. Qd2 {Bilan : les Blancs ont échangé leur mauvais Fou, ce qui leur procure un léger avantage.} Re8 (13... Qf6 $2 {idée Ff5 mais} 14. Qb4+ Kg8 15. Qxb7 $18) 14. Rae1 {On peut voir ici que les Tours noires ne sont pas liées.} Rh6 {Joué immédiatement ! Active la Tour, profitant de l'absence du Fd2, idée The6.} (14... Rxe1 15. Rxe1 g6 {idée Rg7, avec une position solide.}) 15. Qg5 $1 {Empêche The6 (car Txe6 puis Dxh5) ! La Dame blanche est confortable en g5 et contrôle beaucoup de cases.} c6 {Protège d5 pour pouvoir jouer Df6.} (15... f6 $6 16. Rxe8+ Bxe8 17. Qd2 $14) 16. Rxe8+ Bxe8 17. Re1 Qf6 18. Qe3 (18. Qxf6 Rxf6 $11) 18... Bd7 {Les Blancs dominent la colonne ouverte centrale, ce qui est toujours un enjeu dans cette structure de pions, mais ils n'ont pas de case d'infiltration. Il est important de noter que les Noirs ne peuvent jouer ni Tg6, ni Ff5.} 19. h3 h4 (19... Qd6 20. Qg5 Qf6) 20. c4 {Magnus ne reste pas les bras croisés !} dxc4 (20... a6 21. cxd5 cxd5 {reste solide}) 21. Bxc4 {La position s'ouvre, le jeu est vivant. Les Blancs ont à présent un pion isolé en d4 mais ils jouent pour l'activité et sur le Rf8. Notons que les Noirs ont à présent le coup Tg6 possible. Les conséquences de chaque coup doivent être observées attentivement. Ici la reprise Fxc4, qui peut sembler anodine, menace Da3+ !} b5 $2 {Quel coup impulsif de Nepomniachtchi ! Sa façon de jouer très vite (3 minutes néanmoins sur ce coup - la première minute il n'était pas devant l'échiquier), ou disons au minimum son manque de patience, se retourne contre lui sur ce coup. Une gaffe terrible pour le challenger.} (21... Qd6 22. Qb3 b5 23. Bxf7 Rf6 (23... Qf6 24. Bg8 {Un pion de plus pour les Blancs et un Roi noir précaire mais une situation chaotique} Rh8 $2 25. Be6) 24. Bh5 Qxd4 25. Qc2 $14 {le Roi noir est moins confortable que le Roi blanc.}) (21... Kg8 { laisse la case e7} 22. Qe7 Be6 23. Qxf6 (23. Qe8+ Kh7 24. Bxe6 fxe6 $11) 23... Rxf6 24. Bxe6 fxe6 25. Re4 Rh6 $11 (25... g5 $2 26. Rg4 Rg6 27. f4)) (21... a6 22. Qa3+ Qd6 23. Qb3 {avec des lignes similaires mais avec un pion en a6.} b5 24. Bxf7 Rf6 25. Bh5 Qxd4 26. Bf3 $14 {avec léger avantage blanc, le Roi noir étant plus exposé, mais tout reste à faire}) 22. Qa3+ $1 (22. Bb3 {même ici, selon Anand, on peut questionner les affaiblissements du coup b5.}) 22... Kg8 (22... Qd6 23. Qxa7 g5 $16 (23... bxc4 24. Qa8+ {mate.})) 23. Qxa7 Qd8 { N'arrange pas la situation des Noirs. "Une erreur n'arrive jamais seule".} ({ Il aurait fallu tenter} 23... Bxh3 24. Qxf7+ (24. Re8+ Kh7 {et si} 25. Bxf7 $2 (25. Qxf7 $16) 25... Rg6 $1 (25... Qg5 $2 26. Rh8+ Kxh8 27. Qb8+ Kh7 28. Qg8#) 26. Rh8+ (26. Bxg6+ $2 Qxg6 27. g3 Qb1+ 28. Kh2 Qf1 $19) 26... Kxh8 27. Qb8+ Kh7 28. Qg8+ Kh6 29. Qh8+ Kg5) (24. gxh3 $2 bxc4 $11) 24... Qxf7 25. Re8+ $1 ( 25. Bxf7+ Kxf7 26. gxh3 $14) 25... Kh7 26. Bxf7 Bf5 $16 {avec net avantage blanc mais encore besoin de le transformer en victoire.}) 24. Bb3 {Les Blancs ont juste un pion net de plus avec 3 pièces plus actives, soit une position gagnante.} Rd6 {[%CAl Rd6d4]} (24... Rg6 {ne menace pas Fxh3 car Fxf7+}) 25. Re4 {Après 10 minutes.} Be6 26. Bxe6 Rxe6 (26... fxe6 27. Qc5 $18 {La position noire est très affaiblie.}) 27. Rxe6 fxe6 28. Qc5 {Recentralise la Dame et ne permet pas Dd5.} Qa5 {Sacrifie un 2e pion pour trouver du contre-jeu.} (28... Qd7 29. b3 $18 {suivi de a4 etc.}) 29. Qxc6 Qe1+ 30. Kh2 Qxf2 31. Qxe6+ Kh7 32. Qe4+ {Recentralise sur échec.} Kg8 33. b3 Qxa2 (33... b4 34. d5 Qd2 35. Qe5 (35. Qe8+ Kh7 36. Qh5+ Kg8 37. Qxh4 Qxd5 38. Qxb4 Qe5+ 39. Kg1 Qa1+ 40. Kf2 Qxa2+ 41. Kg3 $18) 35... Qxa2 36. Qb8+ Kh7 37. Qxb4 $18) ( 33... Qg3+ 34. Kg1 {et pas d'échec}) 34. Qe8+ Kh7 35. Qxb5 Qf2 36. Qe5 { Encore et toujours la centralisation, et bien sûr la protection de f4/g3.} Qb2 37. Qe4+ Kg8 38. Qd3 {Protège tout et prépare la poussée du pion d4.} (38. Qxh4 Qxb3 {doit gagner aussi mais pourquoi échanger un pion passé ?}) 38... Qf2 39. Qc3 {contrôle e1.} (39. d5 $2 Qe1 $1 (39... Qf4+ 40. Kg1 Qc1+ 41. Kf2 Qf4+ {gagne mais oblige à calculer plein d'échecs}) 40. d6 Qe5+ 41. Kg1 Qe1+ 42. Qf1 Qe3+ 43. Qf2 Qxb3 44. Qxh4 $2 Qd1+) 39... Qf4+ 40. Kg1 {Les Noirs n'ont plus d'échec.} Kh7 41. Qd3+ g6 42. Qd1 {Protège toujours les pions b et d et contrôle la 1ere rangée.} Qe3+ 43. Kh1 g5 44. d5 g4 {dernière tentative} 45. hxg4 ({mais pas} 45. Qxg4 $4 Qe1+ 46. Kh2 Qe5+ 47. g3 Qb2+ 48. Kg1 Qb1+ 49. Kf2 Qc2+ 50. Ke3 Qxb3+ 51. Ke4 Qc4+ 52. Ke3 $11) 45... h3 46. Qf3 $1 {Met fin à la partie. Les Blancs ont trop de pions d'avance et les Noirs ne peuvent plus avoir d'échec perpétuel. Une partie très animée où l'on retiendra malheureusement pour le joueur russe sa gaffe 21...b5? qui a totalement désagrégé sa position. Un aveuglement qui coûte très cher puisque Carlsen mène à présent 2-0 avec 6 parties restantes.} (46. gxh3 $6 { gagne aussi mais suspect} Qxh3+ 47. Kg1 Qg3+ 48. Kf1) 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Chess Championship 2021"] [Site "?"] [Date "2021.12.05"] [Round "8"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C43"] [WhiteElo "2856"] [BlackElo "2782"] [Annotator "samsh"] [PlyCount "91"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.12.05"] {I think Nepo tilted a little bit in game 8. He had thus far played a very good match, only losing a single game, and it took 136 moves for him to go down-the longest game in world championship history, in fact. But today, he looked like a shadow of himself, and made a lot of poor decisions, and Magnus more or less cruised through.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. Bd3 d5 5. Nxe5 Nd7 6. Nxd7 Bxd7 7. Nd2 $5 {This is a very rare move with basically no games played by anyone notable, but it's actually quite a bit more challenging than it looks. It's funny that White aims to make the game *more* symmetrical in the Petroff as an attempt to fight for an advantage, but in this particular case, it does seem quite challenging.} Nxd2 8. Bxd2 {Now, Nepo played Bd6 very quickly, but I already think this is a mistake.} Bd6 $2 (8... Qe7+ $1 {I think this surprising move is the best way to fight for equality. White has to move his king to avoid a queen exchange.} 9. Kf1 (9. Be3 {I suppose this is possible too, but after} Qb4+ 10. Qd2 Qxd2+ 11. Kxd2 Bd6 $11 {Black should be totally fine in spite of the machine's insistence on +0.2.}) 9... O-O-O { Black should be okay here. I suspect Magnus was aiming for this position and found some interesting way to coordinate his pieces that makes Black find some move or two, but it's hard to imagine Black can really have too many major issure here. At least the opposite-side castling allows for some dynamism.}) 9. O-O {Now, suddenly things do not look so easy for Black. He cannot castle due to Qh5, winning a pawn, and otherwise Re1+ is coming.} h5 $1 {This strikes me as the best practical decision. Black keeps the queen off of h5, and can hope for Qh4 to come next. Then, it will be a bit annoying for White to stop the mate threat since g2-g3 will eventually walk into h5-h4.} 10. Qe1+ $6 {This is soft. I was very surprised by this move pair—White allows Qe7, which should equalize easily, and then Black doesn't play it!} (10. c4 $1 {The machine gives this as clearly best. It makes a lot of sense—Black is not castling due to the hanging h5-pawn, so let's blow up the center.} dxc4 11. Bxc4 Qh4 12. Re1+ Kf8 13. Qf3 $1 {This is one computer line that is not so easy for a human to spot. Qf3 is the only move for an advantage, and it is possible that Magnus missed it or misevaluated it once Black gets the h2-pawn.}) 10... Kf8 $2 { This strikes me as very poor. Once the dark-squared bishops trade, Black will have no attack, and the rook on h8 will be out of play. Around here, I joined Hikaru's stream, and he thought that Nepo was already trying to be ambitious and not make a draw with Black, but instead trying to win on command with a kingside attack since he had already committed to h7-h5. But Qd8-e7 looked so natural and like it would equalize easily, and if Nepo was looking to get a sharper game with Black, why play the Petroff in the first place? It all did not seem to add up.} (10... Qe7 {This was best, and it looks very equal. Now that Black no longer has to worry about a rook coming to e1, he can castle on either side next and should be totally fine in the resulting symmetrical position.}) 11. Bb4 $1 {This prevents Qh4 from forcing a kingside weakness. Now, Black is a little worse thanks to the difficulty of getting the h8-rook into play.} Qe7 12. Bxd6 Qxd6 13. Qd2 Re8 14. Rae1 Rh6 $2 {According to the timestamp, Nepo played this move in under 2 minutes. It makes perfect sense to try to swing the rook to e6 to fight for the e-file, but the rook ends up frozen on h6 as the h5-pawn is loose.} 15. Qg5 $1 {Now, it will be a nightmare to get the h6-rook into play.} c6 {Preparing for Qf6 by overprotecting d5. But this does not solve Black's problems.} 16. Rxe8+ Bxe8 17. Re1 Qf6 18. Qe3 (18. Qg3 $1 {Hikaru and I discussed this move a bit on his stream. It looks very powerful, but you have to notice that after} Qxd4 {There is a silent killer in} 19. Bf5 $1 {When Re6 is prevented, and Black is helpless to prevent an invasion on b8.}) 18... Bd7 19. h3 h4 (19... g5 {This looked more natural to me. Black can plan Kg7 and Rh8-e8 next. It's still not easy, but he should have reasonable holding chances.}) 20. c4 $1 {White aims to open the center while the h6-rook remains sidelined. Black is undoubtedly a little uncomfortable here, but it is far from critical just yet. Around here, Nepo started to drift a lot.} dxc4 {This is not a bad move, per se, but it is a very dangerous one since it allows the bishop to come to c4, lasering down on the f7-pawn, and it also frees the third rank for the queen to come to a3. It's a little strange to play this move and not have the next move ready—White is obviously taking back on c4. So I was surprised when Nepo took some time to play his next move, which lost the game immediately.} (20... g5 {In light of how things went, this might have been a better choice, again aiming for Kg7 next. After} 21. cxd5 cxd5 22. Rc1 {White is surely a little better, but Black is still very solid after either Qe7 or Bc6, and he has good defensive chances.}) 21. Bxc4 b5 (21... Kg8 $1 {This was absolutely the only move, getting the king off of f8 so that Qa3 does not come with check, and Black would be able to play Qxd4 in response. Still, it looks very scary after} 22. Qe7 Be6 23. Qe8+ Kh7 24. Bxe6 fxe6 25. Re4 $1 {The machine does not mind Black's position, but it looks very unpleasant for a human. Still, this was absolutely the only way, and if you want to take on c4, you need to see this in advance.}) 22. Qa3+ $1 Kg8 23. Qxa7 {I suspect Nepo was planning on taking h3 here when he chose to play b5 but only now realized there would follow Qxf7+ and Re8+, with a pawn-up ending for White. This is not totally obvious to see, but it is not wildly difficult either and it's surprising that a player of Nepo's calibur would not notice it, particularly given his strong play in previous games, but I can't really find another explanation for b5.} Qd8 (23... Bxh3 {This was still the best option. After} 24. Qxf7+ $1 Qxf7 25. Re8+ Kh7 26. Bxf7 Bf5 $16 {White is a clean pawn up, but there is still some work to do. I do think it should be technically winning though, at least if Black is unable to trade the bishops.}) 24. Bb3 {The rest was an easy cleanup for Magnus. He is a pawn up, his pieces are much more active, and Black has no counterplay at all. Nepo found nothing better than transitioning into a hopeless queen endgame.} Rd6 25. Re4 Be6 26. Bxe6 Rxe6 27. Rxe6 fxe6 28. Qc5 Qa5 29. Qxc6 Qe1+ 30. Kh2 Qxf2 31. Qxe6+ Kh7 32. Qe4+ Kg8 33. b3 Qxa2 34. Qe8+ Kh7 35. Qxb5 Qf2 36. Qe5 Qb2 37. Qe4+ Kg8 38. Qd3 Qf2 39. Qc3 Qf4+ 40. Kg1 Kh7 41. Qd3+ g6 42. Qd1 {A nice final touch. Black will never get another check once the king sits on h1, and White can shove the d-pawn down the board.} Qe3+ 43. Kh1 g5 44. d5 g4 45. hxg4 h3 46. Qf3 {This was the first of the 8 games where I felt one of the players really just had a bad day. After scoring 0.5/3 in the last 3 games, Nepo is surely looking forward to the rest day tomorrow, when he can hope to regroup a little bit, press the reset button, and come back ready to fight on Tuesday. If I were on his team, I would suggest going for something sharper and riskier than what he has done so far—these slight advantages in the Spanish are playing right into Magnus' wheelhouse; he is easily holding every time. While on stream with Hikaru, we learned that the last time Magnus lost with Black in the Spanish in classical chess was 2015!} 1-0