[Event "Opera Euro Rapid KO 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.02.09"] [Round "1.12"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D96"] [WhiteElo "2781"] [BlackElo "2784"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "76"] [EventDate "2021.02.09"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,76,17,13,29,-3,43,46,56,53,56,37,33,32,78,32,24,43,35,28,28,25,11,18, 70,-39,-39,-91,-106,-141,-141,-186,-203,-203,-237,-217,-194,-186,-115,-175, -198,-181,-174,-169,-303,-310,-442,-449,-470,-446,-305,-751,-336,-313,-323, -318,-320,-306,-309,-360,-324,-576,-341,-360,-250,-243,-244,-244,-202,-222, -214,-219,-200,-204,-213,-218,-254,-256,-261] Aronian and Vachier-Lagrave have contested many exciting matches, and this was another thriller. Both men play exciting, aggressive, tactically fearless chess, and it's always a pleasure to see them go head-to-head.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Qb3 dxc4 6. Qxc4 Be6 $5 (6... O-O {is far more common.}) 7. Qa4+ (7. Qb5+ $1) 7... Bd7 8. Qb3 c5 9. d5 b5 $1 10. Nxb5 {It's not a pawn that White is especially happy to take, but allowing it to go to b4 (or to support ...c4, in some cases) is also unpleasant.} Na6 11. Nc3 Rb8 12. Qd1 {With several free tempi (White's queen has already moved five times, only to return home) and lots of active pieces, Black has more than enough for the pawn.} Qa5 13. Qd2 $2 ({ Surprisingly,} 13. Bd2 $1 {is White's best move, immediately returning the extra pawn. That's a very hard move to play unless one is sure that it's okay and the alternatives are (much) worse.}) ({In the only previous game to reach this position, White chose a different way to block up the a5-e1 diagonal. It didn't go well this time around, either.} 13. Nd2 $2 Nxd5 $1 14. Nxd5 Ba4 15. b3 Bc6 {0-1 (15) Drenchev,P (2434)-Ivic,V (2548) Bajina Basta 2020. White's resignation is premature, as he does enjoy some compensation for the exchange after} 16. e4 Bxa1 17. Bc4 {, but Black is probably still winning in the long run.}) 13... Nb4 $19 14. e4 Ba4 $1 15. b3 Bxb3 16. Rb1 Bc2 ({The flashy} 16... Nxe4 17. Nxe4 Bxa2 {is even stronger, but as a practical matter in a game with a short time control MVL chose the right way.}) 17. Rb3 Bxb3 18. axb3 Nd7 { Black's extra exchange and continued activity guarantee the win, which came in due course.} 19. Bb2 O-O 20. Be2 Na2 21. Na4 Qxa4 22. Bxg7 Rxb3 23. Bxf8 Rb1+ 24. Bd1 Qxe4+ 25. Kf1 Nc3 26. Qxc3 Rxd1+ 27. Ne1 Nxf8 28. h4 Qxd5 29. Rh3 Ne6 30. Re3 Rd4 31. Nf3 Qc4+ 32. Qxc4 Rxc4 33. Ra3 Nd4 34. Nxd4 cxd4 35. Rxa7 d3 36. Ke1 Re4+ 37. Kd2 Re2+ 38. Kxd3 Rxf2 0-1 [Event "Opera Euro Rapid KO 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.02.10"] [Round "1.22"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Dubov, Daniil"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C55"] [WhiteElo "2862"] [BlackElo "2710"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "50"] [EventDate "2021.02.09"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,50,18,25,25,25,14,16,14,9,32,33,37,18,13,13,10,6,5,-6,31,29,36,36,63, 52,23,31,18,29,-1,36,12,26,41,59,161,-65,-31,-60,-46,-42,-87,-87,-87,-83,-91, -90,-31,-113,-113,-662,-675]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 h6 {The first of two games with this somewhat unusual line.} 5. Nc3 Bb4 6. O-O Bxc3 7. bxc3 O-O 8. Bb3 d6 ({Later Dubov played} 8... d5 {here, in one move.}) 9. Nd2 d5 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Ne4 Na5 12. Bxd5 Qxd5 13. Bxh6 f5 14. c4 Qc6 15. Bd2 fxe4 16. Bxa5 Qg6 17. Qe2 Rf4 {All reasonable play so far. White should now play 18. f3 or 18.dxe4, with a minimal edge. But why not kick Black's rook away first?} 18. Bd2 $2 Bg4 $1 $19 {Because the rook doesn't have to respond to the "kick", that's why! Just like that, Black is winning. While Carlsen came close to winning the event, he made a lot of tactical errors in the tournament. Some of that can be chalked up to the speedy time control; some, but not all.} 19. f3 ( 19. Qe3 Bf3 20. g3 Qg4 $19 {followed by ...Qh3 wins.}) 19... Bxf3 20. Qf2 Rg4 21. g3 Rf8 22. Rae1 Rf6 23. dxe4 Qh5 24. Re3 Bxe4 25. Qe2 $4 {A blunder, albeit one in a lost position.} (25. Qe1) 25... Rxg3+ $1 (25... Rxg3+ $1 26. Rxg3 (26. hxg3 Qh1#) 26... Qxe2 27. Rxf6 Qxd2 $19) 0-1 [Event "Opera Euro Rapid KO 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.02.10"] [Round "1.23"] [White "Dubov, Daniil"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E16"] [WhiteElo "2710"] [BlackElo "2862"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "2021.02.09"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,49,18,29,29,-3,-4,6,22,3,3,18,10,14,19,24,24,26,21,26,36,29,42,45,48, 46,28,21,29,70,59,60,71,60,72,61,48,48,58,58,53,37,33,33,38,60,360,377,1170, 483,497,323]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 c5 7. Bxb4 cxb4 8. O-O O-O 9. Nbd2 a5 10. Re1 d6 11. e4 Nfd7 12. Qe2 e5 13. Rad1 Nc6 14. Nf1 Qf6 15. Ne3 Nxd4 16. Nxd4 exd4 17. e5 $2 ({The simple} 17. Nf5 { , intending to regain the d4-pawn, gives White a winning positional advantage. At least in this game, we can see that Carlsen's positional/strategic play wasn't at its finest, either.}) 17... Qxe5 18. Bxb7 Ra7 19. Qg4 Nf6 20. Qxd4 Rxb7 21. Qxd6 Qxb2 $2 (21... Qxd6 22. Rxd6 {is only slightly better for White.} ) 22. Rd2 Qc3 $2 (22... Qa3 {is better, but a similar trick to the one in the game leaves Black with a lost position.} 23. Ng4 $1 $18 Nxg4 24. Qxf8+ $1 Kxf8 25. Rd8#) 23. Nd1 $1 {Threatening both the queen and Qxf8+ followed by Rd8+, mating.} Re8 24. Rxe8+ (24. Qd8 $1 {is even better, but seeking and playing clever ideas like this when it's unnecessary is a prescription for disaster in games with a short time control.}) 24... Nxe8 25. Nxc3 (25. Nxc3 Nxd6 26. Rxd6 bxc3 27. Rd8#) 1-0 [Event "Opera Euro Rapid KO 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.02.10"] [Round "1.31"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Dubov, Daniil"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C55"] [WhiteElo "2862"] [BlackElo "2710"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2021.02.09"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,55,16,-2,33,30,14,16,9,9,18,18,13,21,21,21,24,5,19,16,19,7,-15,-15,2, -12,8,-93,-103,-145,-150,-151,-117,-122,-122,-209,-204,-120,0,0,0,0,189,48,70, 84,188,98,489,489,525,566,29985,29986,29987,29988,29989,29990]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 h6 5. Nc3 Bb4 6. O-O Bxc3 7. bxc3 O-O 8. Bb3 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. h3 $6 Nxc3 11. Qe1 Nd4 12. Nxe5 Nce2+ 13. Kh1 $2 (13. Kh2 {had to be played, with a worse but tolerable position.}) 13... Bxh3 $1 14. gxh3 Nxb3 15. Qxe2 Qd5+ 16. Kh2 {The critical moment. Had Dubov found the right move, it's likely that he would have qualified for the next round, as he was due for White in the second playoff game. (As it went, he won that game, but lost the Armageddon - see the next entry.)} Nxa1 $2 (16... Nd4 $1 17. Qe4 Qxe5+ 18. Qxe5 Nf3+ 19. Kg3 Nxe5 $19) 17. Bb2 $2 (17. Rg1 $132) 17... Rae8 $2 (17... f6) 18. Rg1 f6 19. Qg4 g5 20. Qf5 Re7 $2 (20... Rxe5 {had to be played. White can still play for a win, for a while, but with accurate play Black draws, generally by forcing White to take the perpetual with Qg6+, Qh6+, Qg6+ etc.}) 21. Ng6 $18 Qd6+ (21... Qxf5 22. Nxe7+ $18) 22. Rg3 Nxc2 23. Nxf8 Nd4 24. Bxd4 Qxd4 25. Ne6 Qe5 26. Qg6+ Kh8 27. Qxh6+ Kg8 28. Qf8+ 1-0 [Event "Opera Euro Rapid KO 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.02.10"] [Round "1.33"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Dubov, Daniil"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B31"] [WhiteElo "2862"] [BlackElo "2710"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "127"] [EventDate "2021.02.09"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,127,33,30,57,56,48,38,65,48,30,25,37,15,38,-6,1,2,-18,-8,-10,-20,-17, -29,-25,-9,-22,-27,-4,1,5,-6,63,44,178,164,160,170,186,171,247,245,244,192,239, 234,254,224,207,178,179,184,168,190,173,119,99,101,101,108,112,111,119,78,77, 72,84,89,64,64,64,57,60,58,104,60,76,71,63,62,56,61,69,77,85,94,100,92,101,101, 101,97,111,101,127,97,94,94,112,109,123,112,110,100,135,95,108,93,90,63,64,51, 175,170,163,173,187,190,212,190,256,238,291,313,346,375,348,474,537,531] Armageddon!} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. Bxc6 bxc6 6. Re1 Nh6 7. e5 Nf5 8. d3 O-O 9. Nbd2 d6 10. b3 Nd4 11. Nxd4 cxd4 12. exd6 exd6 13. Qf3 Re8 $2 (13... Qa5 $142) (13... Be6 $142) 14. Rxe8+ Qxe8 15. Ba3 $16 Be6 16. Ne4 (16. Bxd6) 16... d5 $2 (16... Qd8 17. Nxd6 Bd5) 17. Nf6+ Bxf6 18. Qxf6 Qd8 19. Qxd4 {White is winning handily, thanks more to Black's catastrophically weak dark squares than to the extra pawn.} f6 20. Re1 Kf7 21. Bb2 (21. Re3 $142) 21... a6 22. Qh4 h5 23. Qf4 g5 24. Qf3 Bg4 25. Qe3 Qd6 26. h3 Bd7 {White hasn't played perfectly, but he's still clearly winning - until his next move.} 27. Qf3 $2 (27. Qb6 $18) 27... g4 28. hxg4 hxg4 29. Qg3 Qxg3 30. fxg3 Re8 $5 ({ The obvious} 30... c5 {probably should have been played, getting an important pawn to a dark square before White sets up a blockade and fixes all Black's pawns on light squares. Dubov's move is a semi-bluff, I'd say.}) 31. Rc1 $6 { Carlsen fears the pure opposite-colored bishop ending - understandably.} (31. Rxe8 Bxe8 32. Bd4) 31... c5 {Now Black has made enough progress that he should draw, though against Carlsen in particular it's not going to be easy to hold such an ending forever.} 32. Kf2 c4 (32... Bf5 {followed by ...Ra8 and ... a5-a4, aiming to systematically swap off the queenside, is the most precise approach.}) 33. Rd1 Bf5 34. Rd2 Rc8 35. Bd4 cxd3 36. cxd3 Rc1 $2 (36... Re8 $1 {was best, cutting off White's king.}) 37. b4 $2 (37. Ke2 $1) 37... Rb1 38. Bc3 d4 $1 39. Bxd4 Rxb4 40. Ke3 Ra4 41. Bc5 Ke6 (41... Ra5 $11) 42. a3 Kd5 43. Bb4 $14 a5 44. Be7 Ke6 45. Bf8 Kd5 $2 (45... Ke5) (45... Kf7) 46. Rc2 $6 (46. Rb2 $18) 46... Ke6 (46... Bd7 $142) 47. Rc6+ Kf7 48. Bc5 Be6 49. Rd6 Bf5 $2 (49... f5) 50. Ra6 $18 Be6 51. d4 $2 {In a slow game this would never happen, but in an Armageddon game, especially in the mad dash before the increment shows up, big errors are almost guaranteed.} (51. Kd2 {takes advantage of the poor Black rook, which is trapped. White's idea is simple: Kc3-b3, taking on e6 if/when necessary.}) 51... Rc4 52. Ke4 Rc2 53. Rxa5 Re2+ 54. Kd3 Rxg2 $11 55. Bd6 f5 $2 (55... Rg1 {would have been better, but best of all was the brilliant}) (55... Bd5 $3 {, which is the best way of stopping White's intended d4-d5!} 56. Rxd5 Ke6 {is the point, regaining the piece and achieving a draw rook ending. Dubov would have held this without any trouble. Of course, Carlsen wouldn't have taken on d5, but that ending would also have been equal and drawish.}) 56. d5 $18 Bd7 57. Ra7 Ke8 58. a4 Rg1 59. Kd4 Re1 60. a5 Re4+ 61. Kc5 f4 62. Bxf4 Ra4 63. Ra8+ Kf7 64. a6 1-0 [Event "Opera Euro Rapid KO 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.02.12"] [Round "2.23"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B30"] [WhiteElo "2784"] [BlackElo "2862"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2021.02.09"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,61,30,30,56,48,48,47,54,40,51,32,32,30,30,25,47,29,26,2,15,16,27,28, 30,10,6,2,8,2,24,15,15,17,21,25,176,187,187,169,169,185,221,228,220,245,242, 236,237,243,261,298,296,299,290,312,312,310,347,340,367,305,445,416] More evidence of Carlsen's poor form, especially in tactics.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 e6 4. O-O Nge7 5. b3 Nd4 6. Nxd4 cxd4 7. Bb2 a6 8. Be2 Nc6 9. f4 Bc5 10. d3 O-O 11. Nd2 d5 12. Kh1 b6 13. a3 a5 14. Qe1 dxe4 15. dxe4 Bb7 16. Nf3 Qc7 17. e5 {It's a complicated, three-results position - but not after Black's next move.} Ne7 $4 (17... h6) (17... Rfd8) 18. b4 $18 {Oops.} axb4 19. axb4 Rxa1 20. Bxa1 Nf5 21. bxc5 bxc5 22. c3 Ne3 23. Rg1 Nd5 24. Qc1 Rc8 25. cxd4 cxd4 26. Qd2 Qc2 27. Qxc2 Rxc2 28. Nxd4 Ra2 29. Bf3 Ba8 30. f5 Ra4 31. fxe6 1-0 [Event "Opera Euro Rapid KO 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.02.12"] [Round "2.33"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D85"] [WhiteElo "2862"] [BlackElo "2784"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2021.02.09"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,79,30,29,29,-3,43,46,56,50,46,34,45,36,58,41,30,15,4,-37,-9,-16,-16, -43,-17,-35,-17,-24,5,0,-4,-53,0,-13,2,25,63,64,95,72,66,27,116,111,125,104, 113,149,143,103,114,151,123,127,290,262,282,299,295,307,307,316,322,241,295, 299,326,315,403,423,325,291,268,356,356,311,525,545,563,489,789,808] Despite his mixed form, however, Carlsen fought to the last bullet in every match. Here he is again, winning another Armageddon game.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Bd2 Bg7 6. e4 Nb6 7. Be3 O-O 8. a4 a5 9. h3 Nc6 10. Nf3 f5 11. exf5 Bxf5 12. Be2 Nb4 $6 13. Rc1 c6 $6 $16 14. O-O N6d5 15. Bd2 Qd6 16. Re1 Kh8 17. Nxd5 $6 (17. Bc4 $18) 17... Nxd5 $2 (17... cxd5) 18. Bc4 Nb4 $2 19. Qb3 (19. Bg5 $142 $18) 19... Rad8 $2 20. Bg5 $18 Bf6 21. Bh6 Bg7 22. Qe3 Rde8 23. Bf4 Nd5 24. Bxd5 Qxd5 25. Rc5 Qd8 26. Be5 {Dark squared domination!} Bc8 $2 27. Qh6 $1 Rf6 (27... Bf6 $2 28. Ng5 $1) 28. Bxf6 exf6 29. Rxe8+ Qxe8 30. Qe3 Qd8 31. Qe1 Bf8 32. Rxa5 Bd7 33. Ra7 Qb8 34. Qa5 Kg7 35. Ra8 Qf4 36. Qd8 Qc1+ 37. Kh2 Qf4+ 38. Kh1 Qd6 (38... Qc1+ 39. Ng1 {is the point - there's no perpetual.} ) 39. Qb8 Qb4 40. Ra7 1-0 [Event "Opera Euro Rapid KO 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.02.13"] [Round "3.12"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C58"] [WhiteElo "2770"] [BlackElo "2862"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "110"] [EventDate "2021.02.09"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,110,30,30,30,14,23,16,9,-14,-8,-8,-7,-8,-14,-14,5,-28,-28,23,12,-17, 11,8,67,82,34,60,60,-93,-70,-90,-90,-70,-45,-63,-120,-55,-42,-30,-77,-42,-13, -20,88,-7,-8,-25,47,47,32,22,65,-36,-18,-22,-32,-24,-11,-21,-53,-53,-32,-29, -21,-26,-11,-8,-28,-15,-2,-3,5,-119,-114,-116,-118,-160,-139,-224,-225,-260, -131,-131,-131,-131,-126,-275,-133,-197,-133,-133,-141,-209,-151,-200,-151, -140,-140,-140,-135,-113,-161,-180,-184,-184,-184,-188,-231,-309,-383,-378, -415]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Na5 6. Bb5+ c6 7. dxc6 bxc6 8. Bd3 Nd5 9. Nf3 Bd6 10. O-O O-O 11. Re1 f5 12. Nxe5 Qf6 13. Nf3 g5 14. c4 Nf4 15. Bf1 g4 16. d4 gxf3 17. Qxf3 Ne6 18. Qc3 Nb7 19. c5 Bc7 20. b4 a5 21. b5 {Apparently all of this is given by So himself in a 1.e4 repertoire series on Chessable. Here Black should take on b5, which may suffice for equality.} Qxd4 $2 (21... cxb5 22. Bxb5 a4 $11) 22. Qxd4 $2 (22. Bc4 $1 $16) 22... Nxd4 $17 {The exchange of errors was in Black's favor, and while he isn't winning he has the upper hand.} 23. Bc4+ $2 (23. Nc3 $1) 23... Be6 24. Bxe6+ Nxe6 25. Rxe6 Nxc5 $17 {/-+} 26. Re2 Rfe8 27. Nc3 cxb5 28. Be3 Be5 29. Bxc5 Bxc3 30. Rxe8+ Rxe8 31. Rb1 b4 $19 {Black's outside pawn majority is extremely dangerous; White's kingside majority is anything but.} 32. Kf1 Re5 33. Be3 a4 34. Rc1 a3 35. g3 Rb5 36. Rc2 b3 37. axb3 Rxb3 38. Kg2 Kf7 39. Bd2 (39. Ra2 $142) 39... Be5 $19 {Now Black is clearly winning.} 40. Bf4 Bxf4 41. gxf4 Rb7 42. Ra2 Ra7 43. Kg3 Ra4 44. Kh4 Kg6 45. Kg3 Kf6 46. h3 h5 47. Kh4 Kg6 48. Kg3 Kg7 49. Kf3 h4 50. Ke2 Kf6 51. Kd1 Ke6 52. Kc1 Kd5 53. Kb1 Ke4 54. Rd2 Kf3 55. Ka2 Kg2 0-1 [Event "Opera Euro Rapid KO 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.02.13"] [Round "3.14"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C53"] [WhiteElo "2770"] [BlackElo "2862"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2021.02.09"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,73,30,30,30,23,23,16,16,-3,6,-31,7,21,-4,7,-6,-25,-3,-3,-7,-7,18,-6, 15,-23,8,-3,-4,5,-32,-28,0,2,37,34,40,29,48,52,61,55,56,52,47,49,43,55,53,33, 45,73,72,69,69,69,63,61,66,59,68,58,75,65,72,61,61,50,225,637,1006,1023,1065, 1088,1088,1088]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. e5 d5 7. Bb5 Ne4 8. cxd4 Bb6 9. Nc3 O-O 10. Be3 Bg4 11. h3 Bh5 12. Qc2 {This line was incredibly popular for White in 2019 and 2020, but has faded slightly. But perhaps not for long.} Bg6 13. Qb3 Ne7 14. O-O c6 15. Bd3 Nf5 16. Qc2 Nxc3 $146 (16... Nxe3 17. fxe3 Ng3) 17. bxc3 Nxe3 18. fxe3 Bxd3 19. Qxd3 $14 f6 20. c4 Bc7 21. cxd5 Qxd5 (21... fxe5) 22. exf6 gxf6 23. e4 (23. Nh4 $16) 23... Qd7 ( 23... Qe6) 24. Rad1 Rad8 25. Nh4 $16 {/+-} Kh8 26. Nf5 c5 27. d5 Be5 28. Rb1 b6 29. Qc4 Rfe8 30. Kh1 Bd4 31. Rf4 Rxe4 32. Rxe4 Qxf5 33. Rbe1 Rxd5 $2 34. Rg4 $18 h5 35. Re8+ Kh7 36. Re7+ $1 Kh8 37. Qc1 $1 {A nice comeback by So at the end of the first day to split the initial mini-match.} 1-0 [Event "Opera Euro Rapid KO 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.02.14"] [Round "3.21"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B30"] [WhiteElo "2770"] [BlackElo "2862"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2021.02.09"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,55,30,30,48,48,48,45,40,50,48,6,6,8,18,18,18,0,11,17,9,-4,6,6,27,9,9, 24,27,34,123,123,123,123,123,123,115,164,190,182,182,150,150,150,159,159,191, 191,199,175,176,199,308,324,324,291,352,352]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 e6 4. O-O Nge7 5. c3 a6 6. Ba4 b5 7. Bc2 Bb7 8. Re1 Rc8 9. a4 b4 10. d4 cxd4 11. cxd4 Ng6 12. Nbd2 Na5 13. g3 Be7 14. h4 $16 Bxh4 $2 {Either overoptimistic (of his chances with the sac) or overly afraid (of the situation without it).} 15. gxh4 Nxh4 16. Nxh4 Qxh4 17. Re3 $18 f5 18. Rg3 O-O 19. Nf3 Qh5 20. Ne5 Qxd1+ 21. Bxd1 d6 22. Nd3 fxe4 23. Nxb4 Nc4 24. a5 d5 25. Bg4 Rf6 26. Bg5 Rg6 27. Bh5 Rxg5 28. Rxg5 {An easy win, and a great start for So to the second day's mini-match.} 1-0 [Event "Opera Euro Rapid KO 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.02.14"] [Round "3.22"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2862"] [BlackElo "2770"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "109"] [EventDate "2021.02.09"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,109,30,30,23,23,11,16,16,16,9,7,7,7,20,19,19,0,36,28,48,62,45,-36,-18, -28,-43,-43,0,0,19,32,33,-16,-30,-12,20,-20,38,34,52,53,53,53,51,51,64,64,64, 69,48,56,64,43,58,37,87,87,85,87,78,78,78,70,70,29,26,16,16,0,0,0,23,7,1,0,1, -6,21,16,7,6,14,16,14,14,16,16,16,7,14,7,27,0,0,0,0,-12,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0, 0,0,0] Carlsen did most of the pushing in this game, but without ever achieving a major advantage.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. c3 d5 7. exd5 Nxd5 8. Re1 Bg4 9. Nbd2 Nb6 10. h3 Bh5 11. Bb3 Qxd3 12. Nxe5 Qf5 13. Nef3 Rad8 14. Qe2 Qc8 15. Qb5 Nd7 16. Nh4 a6 17. Qf1 Be7 18. Nf5 Rfe8 19. Nxe7+ Rxe7 20. Rxe7 Nxe7 21. Ne4 Bg6 22. f3 h6 23. Bf4 Nc6 24. Re1 Bxe4 25. fxe4 Nce5 26. Bg3 Re8 27. Rd1 Nc5 28. Bxe5 Nxb3 29. Bxg7 Kxg7 30. axb3 Rxe4 31. Qf3 Re7 32. Rd4 Qe6 33. Rg4+ Kh7 34. Qd3+ f5 35. Rf4 Kg6 36. Qg3+ Kh7 37. Qd3 Kg6 38. Kh1 Qe1+ 39. Rf1 Qe5 40. b4 c6 41. Qd8 Re8 42. Qd3 Re7 43. Qd2 Re6 44. Qf2 Re7 45. Rd1 f4 46. Kg1 Qe2 47. Rd6+ Kg5 48. Rd2 Qe1+ 49. Qxe1 Rxe1+ 50. Kf2 Rb1 51. Kf3 Rf1+ 52. Ke2 Rb1 53. Kf3 Rf1+ 54. Ke2 Rb1 55. Kf3 1/2-1/2 [Event "Opera Euro Rapid KO 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.02.14"] [Round "3.22"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B32"] [WhiteElo "2784"] [BlackElo "2765"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "96"] [EventDate "2021.02.09"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,96,30,30,48,40,40,39,39,0,5,0,0,-24,-8,3,-11,-18,-2,-4,0,-21,-23,-16, -43,-44,-44,-24,13,-11,-3,19,25,32,10,25,25,25,9,0,0,0,0,0,3,-42,-41,-41,-36, -44,-36,-36,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,-36,-31,-32,0,-9,-42,-50,-52,-52,-62,-79,-63,-110, -65,-57,-55,-59,-59,-63,-40,-79,-49,-57,-31,-27,-20,-81,-6,-6,-6,-14,-14,-11,0, -1032,-1032,-1032,-29952,-29955,-29952]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 5. Nb5 d6 6. c4 Be7 7. N1c3 a6 8. Na3 f5 9. exf5 Bxf5 10. Nc2 Nf6 11. Ne3 Be6 12. g3 O-O 13. Bg2 Qd7 14. Ncd5 Rae8 15. O-O Bd8 16. b3 Bh3 17. Bb2 Bxg2 18. Kxg2 Ne7 19. Nxf6+ Rxf6 20. Rc1 Qc6+ 21. Nd5 Bb6 22. f4 Bd4 23. Bxd4 Nxd5 24. cxd5 Qxd5+ 25. Qf3 Qxf3+ 26. Kxf3 exd4 27. Rfd1 Re3+ 28. Kf2 Rfe6 29. Rxd4 Re2+ 30. Kf3 Rxh2 31. a4 h5 32. f5 Re5 33. g4 hxg4+ 34. Kg3 Rb2 35. Rxd6 Rxf5 36. Kxg4 Rbf2 37. Rc8+ Kh7 38. Rc4 b5 39. axb5 Rxb5 40. Kg3 Rf6 41. Rxf6 gxf6 42. b4 a5 43. bxa5 Rxa5 44. Rh4+ Kg6 45. Rg4+ Rg5 {Things are not going well for MVL in the match. He lost the first day, and he's down 1-0 at this point on day two. Nevertheless, with a draw in this game he remains alive. In Armageddon, it's possible to lose this in the time scramble, but with a 10 second increment (which means that at worst, Vachier-Lagrave had at least 10 seconds left) it should be impossible, barring a mouse slip. This is an elementary error, the kind of thing many chess players learn from beginners' books. But at the end of a long tournament, with pain on each of the last four days, even one of the world's best can make horrible errors.} 46. Rxg5+ $4 { Wow.} (46. Kf4 $11 {is the obvious move to play, but *any* king move to the third or fourth rank maintains the draw.}) (46. Kh4 $11) (46. Kf3 $11) (46. Kh3 $11) 46... Kxg5 47. Kf3 Kf5 48. Kf2 Kf4 0-1 [Event "Opera Euro Rapid KO 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.02.14"] [Round "3.23"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2770"] [BlackElo "2862"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "107"] [EventDate "2021.02.09"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,107,30,23,11,12,12,16,16,9,9,7,7,2,32,-2,12,-36,-3,-5,-3,2,-8,-10,4,8, 18,17,14,0,17,5,5,14,15,-8,7,-61,13,-40,38,0,-5,-5,-5,-37,-37,-27,-27,-75,-79, -78,-50,-23,14,1,1,1,7,13,3,0,0,0,18,0,29,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,-94,-20,-20,0,0, 0,0,10,34,26,30,26,26,30,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 a5 7. Re1 O-O 8. Nbd2 Ba7 9. Nf1 Be6 10. Bb5 Ne7 11. d4 c6 12. Bd3 Ng6 13. h3 Nh5 14. Be3 Nhf4 15. Bc2 Qc8 { Now the tactics start, and neither player is up to the challenge. After nine days of play, this is not particularly surprising.} 16. Bb3 $2 (16. h4 $11) 16... exd4 $2 (16... Bxh3 $1 $17) 17. Nxd4 Bxd4 18. Qxd4 $4 (18. cxd4 $11) 18... Bxb3 $4 (18... Nxg2 $1 $19) 19. axb3 $6 (19. Bxf4 Nxf4 20. axb3 $11) 19... d5 $2 (19... Nxh3+ $1 $15) 20. Qd2 $6 (20. Bxf4 $1 Nxf4 21. Qd2 $16 {/+-} ) 20... Nxh3+ $11 21. gxh3 Qxh3 22. f4 Nh4 23. Nh2 dxe4 24. Qf2 (24. Bb6 $142) 24... Rfe8 (24... Rfd8 $1) 25. Qf1 Qg3+ 26. Kh1 Nf5 (26... h5 $142 $11) 27. Qg2 Qxg2+ 28. Kxg2 Nxe3+ 29. Rxe3 f5 30. Nf1 $14 {Now White is better, but So is content to survive the game.} Red8 31. Ree1 Kf7 32. Red1 Kf6 33. Rxd8 Rxd8 34. Rxa5 g5 35. fxg5+ Kxg5 36. Kf2 h5 37. Ne3 b5 38. Nf1 h4 39. Ra7 Rh8 40. Rf7 h3 41. Ng3 h2 42. Rxf5+ Kg4 43. Rf6 h1=N+ 44. Nxh1 Rxh1 45. Rxc6 Kf4 46. Rf6+ Ke5 47. Rf8 Rh2+ 48. Ke3 Rxb2 49. b4 Rh2 50. Re8+ Kd5 51. Rd8+ Ke5 52. Re8+ Kd5 53. Rd8+ Ke5 54. Re8+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Opera Euro Rapid KO 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.02.14"] [Round "3.24"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2862"] [BlackElo "2770"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "110"] [EventDate "2021.02.09"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,110,30,23,12,12,12,21,9,9,9,7,7,0,12,-25,12,-7,-33,-29,-22,-17,-11, -15,22,-48,-16,-53,-47,-53,-55,-40,-40,-63,-65,-45,-43,-32,-32,-46,-68,-52,-54, -98,-80,-115,-108,-76,-61,-41,-31,-110,-66,-53,-67,-143,-135,-119,-114,-135, -137,-137,-136,-161,-166,-131,-100,-108,-108,-108,-114,-107,-117,-117,-117, -166,-156,-182,-224,-249,-272,-307,-305,-303,-348,-299,-343,-334,-334,-351, -344,-344,-239,-266,-149,-238,-291,-570,-589,-29993,-291,-487,-258,-258,-258, -258,-258,-258,-258,-258,-258,-258,-258]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. Re1 a5 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bh4 g5 10. Bg3 Bb6 (10... g4 11. Bh4 gxf3 12. Qxf3 Kg7 13. Nd2 $44) (10... a4 $5 $146) (10... Ba7) (10... Nh7) 11. Na3 Nh7 (11... g4) 12. Nc2 $146 {+/=} h5 13. h3 h4 14. Bh2 g4 15. hxg4 Bxg4 16. d4 exd4 (16... Bh5 $1) 17. Ncxd4 Nxd4 $2 (17... Kh8 $14) 18. cxd4 Ng5 $6 19. Qd3 Nxf3+ 20. gxf3 Bh5 21. e5 d5 22. Bb3 a4 $2 (22... Bg6 $16 {/+- had to be played, but it's a terrible position for So in any case.}) 23. Bd1 $2 (23. Kh1 $1 Bg6 (23... axb3 $2 24. Rg1+ Kh8 25. e6 $1 {was the move Carlsen missed. Now Black's position will quickly collapse.}) 24. Rg1 Kh7 25. Rxg6 $1 fxg6 26. Rg1 Rf5 27. Bc2 $18) 23... Qg5+ $2 (23... Ba5 $142 24. Rf1 Qg5+ 25. Kh1 Bg6 26. Qe2 Qd2 $1 $14 {is the reason 23...Ba5 was important and strong.}) 24. Kh1 $18 Bg6 25. Qe2 Bxd4 26. Rg1 Qh5 27. Qd2 $2 (27. Rg4 $18) 27... c5 $16 28. f4 $2 ( 28. Rg5 Qh7 29. Rc1 $16) 28... Qh6 $1 $11 29. Rg5 $2 f6 $17 30. exf6 Bxf6 31. Qxd5+ Kh8 32. Bf3 a3 33. Rag1 axb2 34. Rxg6 Qxg6 35. Rxg6 b1=Q+ 36. Rg1 Qh7 37. f5 Rg8 38. Re1 $2 (38. Rg6 {is not dangerous for Black, but it keeps the game going, and White isn't much worse.}) 38... Rae8 $19 {Black is winning from here to the end of the game, but So is content to give Carlsen a gentleman's draw at the end to clinch victory in the match.} 39. Re6 Rxe6 40. Qxe6 Qh6 41. Bd1 Qg5 42. Qe4 Qd2 43. Bg4 Qg5 44. f3 Qc1+ 45. Kg2 h3+ 46. Kxh3 Qh6+ 47. Kg3 Rd8 48. Bh3 Qg5+ 49. Bg4 Qh6 50. Bg1 Qh4+ 51. Kg2 Rd2+ 52. Kf1 Rd1+ 53. Kg2 Rd2+ 54. Kf1 Rd1+ 55. Kg2 Rd2+ 1/2-1/2