[Event "chess.com SpeedChess 2022"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2022.12.18"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C89"] [WhiteElo "2768"] [BlackElo "2859"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "78"] [EventDate "2022.11.23"] [EventType "k.o. (blitz)"] [EventRounds "4"] {[%evp 0,78,5,-1,61,13,11,8,25,-12,3,7,11,6,13,12,10,-27,16,13,13,19,36,21,21,-20,-14,1,23,-86,38,23,46,18,20,27,33,31,32,32,29,28,19,14,19,14,15,20,28,6,0,0,18,8,5,0,0,0,-1,-10,-9,-13,11,7,36,9,27,-52,0,-53,-22,-18,-4,-4,-12,-5,-5,-5,-1,-5,-24]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 {Many top players avoid the Marshall because of its drawish tendencies, but Nakamura has no fear of technical positions - even against Carlsen.} d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 c6 12. d3 Bd6 13. Re1 Bf5 14. Qf3 Qh4 15. g3 Qh3 16. Nd2 (16. Be3 Bxd3 17. Nd2 {is far more common, as played bazillions of times.}) 16... Rae8 17. Ne4 Bg4 18. Qg2 Qxg2+ 19. Kxg2 f5 20. Bf4 Bxf4 21. gxf4 fxe4 22. dxe4 Bf3+ {The commentators got all excited about this move, but that's either because the Marshall isn't something they've ever worked on or - far, far, far more likely - for the sake of the audience. This has been played plenty of times, going back almost 20 years.} 23. Kxf3 Rxf4+ 24. Kg3 Rfxe4 25. Rxe4 Rxe4 26. Rc1 $146 (26. f3 Re5 27. c4 bxc4 28. Bxc4 {was usual, when White succeeded in making a draw 90% of the time. (One loss.) Achieving c4 is what Nakamura aimed for as well, and indeed, it is the only thing that could make the line worth trying for White, as Black's kingside structure is superior and his pieces are well-placed.}) 26... Kf8 27. c4 Ne7 28. Kf3 Rh4 29. cxb5 axb5 30. Rd1 Nf5 (30... Rxh2 $4 31. Rd8#) 31. Bc2 Nd4+ 32. Kg3 g5 33. Rd2 ({White seems to have missed} 33. Bxh7 {, but it doesn't lead to much. If you don't believe me, stick around - we'll see it later.}) 33... Ke7 34. f3 (34. Bxh7 {is still possible, and still nothing.}) 34... Nxc2 35. Rxc2 Kd6 36. Rd2+ Ke6 37. Rc2 Kd6 38. Rd2+ Ke6 39. Rc2 Kd6 1/2-1/2 [Event "chess.com SpeedChess 2022"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2022.12.18"] [Round "4.2"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E90"] [WhiteElo "2859"] [BlackElo "2768"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "136"] [EventDate "2022.11.23"] [EventType "k.o. (blitz)"] [EventRounds "4"] {[%evp 0,136,13,20,17,-16,45,47,31,35,35,35,33,2,13,11,31,13,24,6,21,-19,-2,-2,2,-18,27,2,13,17,45,-5,56,75,80,79,83,102,103,67,75,71,76,54,18,69,70,81,98,83,94,77,107,29,96,65,46,69,117,117,98,101,96,100,114,95,100,89,107,95,113,22,11,0,61,104,114,99,178,154,182,182,176,164,151,151,173,165,173,149,167,127,151,153,152,149,177,151,170,155,161,168,177,168,168,165,177,179,183,183,181,176,177,177,181,168,168,162,150,185,173,147,161,24,0,0,5,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Bd3 Bg4 7. Be2 $1 {A very cool idea, one Carlsen himself faced a couple of years ago against Dubov, known for his ingenious opening ideas (though the idea goes back before Dubov).} e5 8. d5 a5 9. Be3 Na6 10. Nd2 Bxe2 11. Qxe2 {This swap favors White, and was the idea of the Bf1-d3-e2 shuffle. White is better.} Nd7 12. g4 Ndc5 13. O-O-O Qd7 14. h4 Na4 15. Ndb1 h6 16. Nxa4 Qxa4 17. Nc3 Qd7 18. h5 g5 19. Kd2 c5 20. Ke1 Rfb8 21. Kf1 a4 22. Rb1 Nc7 23. b4 b6 24. Kg2 Na6 25. a3 Bf6 26. Kg3 Bd8 27. Qc2 cxb4 28. axb4 Rc8 29. b5 Nc5 30. Bxc5 Rxc5 31. Nxa4 Rcc8 32. Rb4 Ra5 33. Nc3 Qe7 34. Rhb1 Qf6 35. Qd2 Ra3 36. Kg2 Rca8 (36... Qf4 $1 {was a strong move, after which Carlsen would be on the defense despite his extra pawn.}) 37. R4b3 R3a5 38. Ne2 Be7 39. Ng3 Bf8 40. Nf5 Qd8 41. Qe3 Qc7 42. Rc3 Ra4 43. Qd3 Qd7 44. Ne3 Qc7 45. Rbb3 Qc5 46. Nf5 Ra1 47. Qe3 Qc7 48. Rc1 R1a4 49. Qd3 Ra2 50. Rbc3 R2a4 51. R3c2 Qc5 52. Qe3 Qc7 53. Rc3 Ra2 54. R3c2 R2a4 55. Qd3 Ra3 56. Rc3 R3a4 57. R1c2 Qc5 58. Rb3 Ra1 59. Qe3 Qc7 60. Rcc3 R1a4 61. Ra3 $2 (61. c5 $1 $18) 61... Rxa3 62. Rxa3 Rxa3 63. Qxa3 Qxc4 $11 {Now Black is fine, and the draw soon follows. A very close call for Nakamura.} 64. f3 Qe2+ 65. Kg3 Qe1+ 66. Kg2 Qe2+ 67. Kg3 Qe1+ 68. Kg2 Qe2+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "chess.com SpeedChess 2022"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2022.12.18"] [Round "4.3"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D27"] [WhiteElo "2768"] [BlackElo "2859"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "95"] [EventDate "2022.11.23"] [EventType "k.o. (blitz)"] [EventRounds "4"] {[%evp 0,95,34,17,18,27,32,-23,52,1,40,44,45,33,40,15,34,34,68,78,63,43,74,6,39,39,24,26,37,2,47,-9,3,-26,-7,-7,-14,-32,-16,-9,-12,-10,0,0,6,3,0,-8,48,8,57,34,15,15,28,19,26,26,58,-7,14,16,11,8,6,-1,29,-23,-38,-34,-29,-58,-22,-34,-41,-41,-39,-36,-21,-19,-19,-36,-19,-19,52,27,17,21,64,86,107,103,86,103,90,99,87,94]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 dxc4 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 a6 6. O-O c5 7. b3 Nbd7 8. Bb2 Be7 9. a4 O-O 10. Nc3 cxd4 11. Nxd4 Ne5 12. Be2 Bd7 13. Nf3 Ng6 14. Qb1 Qa5 15. Nd2 Bc6 16. Bf3 Bxf3 17. Nxf3 Rac8 18. Ne2 Rfd8 19. Rd1 Rxd1+ 20. Qxd1 Qd5 21. Bxf6 Qxd1+ 22. Rxd1 Bxf6 23. Rd7 Rb8 24. g4 Kf8 25. Kg2 Ke8 26. Rc7 Ne7 27. g5 Nd5 28. Rc4 Bd8 29. Ng3 Nb6 30. Rc2 Rc8 31. Rxc8 Nxc8 32. h4 f6 33. Nh5 Kf7 34. gxf6 gxf6 35. Nf4 Nd6 36. Nd3 e5 37. Nd2 h5 38. e4 Ke6 39. Nc5+ Ke7 40. Nd3 Ke6 41. Nc5+ Kf7 $6 {An ill-advised winning try.} 42. Nc4 Nxc4 43. bxc4 Ke7 (43... Be7 $1 44. Nxb7 Ke6 $11) 44. Nxb7 Bb6 (44... Bc7 $14) 45. c5 Bc7 46. c6 Bb6 47. f3 Ke6 48. Kf1 {Black is still okay, despite his missing pawn and his king's being cut off...but he flagged.} 1-0 [Event "chess.com SpeedChess 2022"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2022.12.18"] [Round "4.4"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E05"] [WhiteElo "2859"] [BlackElo "2768"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "96"] [EventDate "2022.11.23"] [EventType "k.o. (blitz)"] [EventRounds "4"] {[%evp 0,96,17,32,32,-16,-16,0,-4,-15,-16,-17,11,-21,27,-24,-21,-14,-2,-11,-28,-24,14,7,26,11,11,9,30,12,12,26,28,7,8,20,25,19,20,14,3,23,58,53,49,32,53,36,36,27,27,35,41,51,41,-56,54,20,54,62,80,69,87,65,91,3,11,15,5,5,5,20,29,26,33,15,15,4,8,5,4,0,-28,-22,28,16,16,24,13,14,22,9,15,0,15,0,9,0,24]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4 Bd7 9. Qxc4 Bc6 10. Bg5 a5 11. Nc3 Nbd7 12. Rfd1 h6 13. Bxf6 Nxf6 14. Ne5 Bxg2 15. Kxg2 c6 16. e4 Bb4 17. Qe2 Qb6 18. Rac1 Rad8 19. Nf3 Rd7 20. Qc2 Bxc3 21. bxc3 c5 22. Ne5 Rdd8 23. Nc4 Qa6 24. Ne3 cxd4 25. cxd4 Rd7 (25... b5 $11 {was the right idea, aiming for counterplay thanks to his coming passer. After missing this chance he gets ground down for a while, but still manages to save the game in the time scramble.}) 26. d5 Rfd8 27. Qb1 exd5 28. exd5 g6 29. Qb2 Rd6 30. Rc5 Qa7 31. Rdc1 b6 32. Rc6 Qa8 33. Qxb6 Nxd5 34. Nxd5 Rxd5 35. h4 h5 36. Kh2 Kh7 37. Rf6 R8d7 38. Qb3 Qd8 39. Qf3 Kg7 40. Rf4 Rd3 41. Qe2 Qe7 42. Qxe7 Rxe7 43. Rc5 Ra7 44. Kg2 Ra3 45. Rb5 Ra2 46. Rc5 Ra3 47. Rb5 Ra2 48. Rc5 Ra3 1/2-1/2 [Event "chess.com SpeedChess 2022"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2022.12.18"] [Round "4.5"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A50"] [WhiteElo "2768"] [BlackElo "2859"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2022.11.23"] [EventType "k.o. (blitz)"] [EventRounds "4"] {[%evp 0,69,32,29,29,38,63,6,14,6,65,40,73,6,9,-10,20,22,28,28,19,31,31,31,46,13,17,1,6,14,1,10,41,58,44,46,82,149,117,97,110,110,110,104,104,108,134,117,134,104,150,153,220,242,226,205,217,223,223,196,221,181,202,201,228,243,262,253,279,279,308,266]} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. d4 b6 3. c4 Bb7 4. g3 e5 $2 {Say what? In fact it's just a loan, not a real sac, but the resulting Budapest-style structure gives White a pleasant advantage.} 5. dxe5 Ng4 6. Bg2 Nxe5 7. Nbd2 $6 (7. O-O $1 $16) 7... Nxf3+ 8. Nxf3 Bb4+ 9. Bd2 Bxd2+ 10. Qxd2 O-O 11. O-O $14 a5 12. Rfd1 Re8 13. Rac1 d6 $2 (13... Qe7 14. e4 $5 d6 {was the right way.}) 14. c5 $1 $16 {This break is also known from the Budapest.} bxc5 15. Rxc5 a4 16. Rc4 Nd7 (16... Ba6 $2 17. Rxa4 Rxe2 18. Qc3 $18 {is terrible for Black. The immediate threat is Nd4.}) 17. Qc2 a3 $2 {Ingenious, but Nakamura refutes it on his way to his second victory in the match.} 18. Ng5 Qxg5 19. Bxb7 Rab8 20. Rxc7 axb2 21. Qxb2 $1 $18 {Rightly unafraid of the scary-looking pin on the b-file.} Nc5 22. Rxd6 Ne6 23. Rc4 $1 g6 24. Rb6 Qa5 25. Rb5 Qa7 26. a4 Red8 27. Bf3 {With the pin broken and two extra pawns, the rest is smooth sailing for Nakamura.} Rbc8 28. Rxc8 Rxc8 29. Rb4 h5 30. h4 Qa5 31. Kg2 Rd8 32. Rc4 Qa6 33. Qb5 Qd6 34. a5 Qa3 35. Bd5 1-0 [Event "chess.com SpeedChess 2022"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2022.12.18"] [Round "4.6"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2859"] [BlackElo "2768"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "64"] [EventDate "2022.11.23"] [EventType "k.o. (blitz)"] [EventRounds "4"] {[%evp 0,64,29,31,19,20,19,7,36,40,77,63,12,31,-8,-8,25,-26,35,42,30,49,36,22,31,55,37,37,41,63,30,14,9,9,16,35,35,-3,26,-46,16,16,19,-3,23,39,53,53,89,64,-17,-5,-13,-27,23,6,-4,-23,-36,-67,-65,-65,-34,-65,-55,-55,-50]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. a4 {An interesting little sideline that has been used by a few strong GMs lately, including Nihal, Ni Hua, Niemann, and Nakamura himself. (Other players whose names don't begin with an "N" have also tried it.)} Be7 7. Nc3 O-O 8. d4 e4 9. Nxe4 Nxe4 10. Rxe4 d5 11. Re1 Bg4 12. c3 Bd6 13. h3 Bf5 $146 (13... Bh5 {was played in an earlier game.}) 14. a5 $6 a6 $6 ({Both players missed the nice tactic} 14... Nxa5 $1 {, the idea being} 15. Rxa5 (15. Ba6 $1 $11) 15... c6 {with an advantage for Black.}) 15. Bd3 (15. Bxc6 $142 bxc6 16. Bg5 $14) 15... Qd7 16. Bxf5 Qxf5 17. Nh4 Qd7 18. Qf3 Rfe8 19. Bd2 Rxe1+ 20. Rxe1 g6 21. g3 Bf8 22. b4 Ne7 (22... Na7 $1 $11) 23. Bg5 c6 24. Kg2 (24. Qg4 $142) 24... Nc8 25. Qf4 Nd6 26. Nf3 Re8 27. Rxe8 Qxe8 28. Bh6 Qe4 29. Qf6 Ne8 30. Qf4 Nd6 31. Qf6 Ne8 32. Qf4 Nd6 1/2-1/2 [Event "chess.com SpeedChess 2022"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2022.12.18"] [Round "4.7"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E90"] [WhiteElo "2768"] [BlackElo "2859"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2022.11.23"] [EventType "k.o. (blitz)"] [EventRounds "4"] {[%evp 0,67,38,23,36,36,49,31,31,35,33,33,46,13,47,36,58,41,22,22,20,16,46,18,40,-1,28,8,18,10,78,20,11,23,28,9,64,79,100,101,95,81,107,83,70,50,30,6,164,181,181,105,89,29,157,112,144,134,191,193,228,193,193,209,207,179,181,195,195,179]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. Nc3 O-O 5. e4 d6 6. Bd3 {Repeating Carlsen's line from game 2. Both players grinned here, but Carlsen didn't return the imitative flattery and varied from Nakamura's 6...Bg4.} Nbd7 7. h3 a5 8. Bg5 h6 9. Be3 e5 10. d5 Nc5 11. Bc2 Nh5 12. g3 Bd7 13. Qd2 Kh7 14. O-O-O a4 15. Kb1 Qf6 16. Qe2 Qe7 17. Nh4 Rfb8 18. Nf5 Qe8 19. Nxg7 Nxg7 20. f4 b5 21. Bxc5 dxc5 22. d6 $1 cxd6 23. Nd5 $5 (23. Rxd6 $16 {/+- was better, but Nakamura's sac was very interesting, especially with these time controls.}) 23... Qd8 $2 ({The unobvious} 23... Nh5 $1 {had to be played.}) 24. fxe5 $18 Ne8 25. exd6 bxc4 26. Qxc4 Be6 27. Qxc5 $2 (27. e5 $18) 27... Nxd6 $2 (27... Ra5 $1 $11) 28. e5 $2 (28. Rhf1 $18) 28... Rb5 $2 (28... Nb7 $14 {/?}) 29. Nf6+ Kg7 30. Qxd6 $2 (30. Qxb5 $1 Nxb5 31. Rxd8 Rxd8 32. Bxa4 $18) 30... Qxd6 $2 (30... Qc8 $1 $11 {Despite the major material deficit, Black's counterplay will suffice for a draw. But the players were very short of time, and had no opportunity to notice such subtleties, let alone figure them out.}) 31. Rxd6 $18 Rab8 32. Rxe6 $5 Rxb2+ 33. Kc1 fxe6 34. Rd1 1-0 [Event "chess.com SpeedChess 2022"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2022.12.18"] [Round "4.8"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E05"] [WhiteElo "2859"] [BlackElo "2768"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2022.11.23"] [EventType "k.o. (blitz)"] [EventRounds "4"] {[%evp 0,72,23,23,36,-4,-4,-4,-3,-21,-7,3,3,5,3,-4,2,-19,-28,-28,5,-6,11,9,29,11,3,13,26,20,13,21,18,15,29,19,20,20,18,9,21,18,49,53,44,55,56,32,48,68,77,54,51,40,88,9,-12,4,28,0,2,15,25,14,90,60,108,36,42,0,59,-830,-1100,-29993,-29994]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4 Bd7 9. Qxc4 Bc6 10. Bg5 a5 11. Nc3 Nbd7 12. Rfd1 h6 13. Bxf6 Nxf6 14. Ne5 Bxg2 15. Kxg2 c6 16. e4 Bb4 17. Qe2 Qb6 18. Rac1 Rad8 19. Nf3 Rd7 20. Qc2 Bxc3 21. bxc3 c5 22. Rb1 $146 {White finally varies from game 4.} (22. Ne5 {was played in the earlier game.}) 22... Qc7 23. Qe2 Rfd8 24. Rb5 cxd4 25. cxd4 b6 26. Rdb1 Qb7 (26... Rb8 $142 $11) 27. d5 exd5 28. Rxb6 Qa8 $2 (28... Qc8 29. e5 Ne4 30. Nd4 Qc4 {is the difference. Black is still okay here, though the position is dangerous after} 31. Qe3 $36) 29. e5 $1 Ne4 30. Ra6 $2 ({After} 30. Nd4 $18 {Black is in deep trouble. White has ideas like Qg4 and Nf5, not to mention e6.}) 30... Qc8 $11 31. Rbb6 Nc5 $5 (31... Rc7 $11) 32. Rxa5 d4 33. Qc4 (33. Rd6 $1 $14 Rxd6 $6 (33... d3 $8 34. Qe3 Nb7 35. Rxd7 $14 {with a slight White edge after either recapture.}) 34. exd6 $16 Rxd6 $2 35. Qc4 $1 Rc6 36. Nxd4 Rc7 37. Qd5 $1 $18) 33... Rc7 $11 34. Qb4 Nd3 35. Qb5 $4 (35. Qd2 $8 Nxf2 $1 36. Qxf2 Rc2 37. Nd2 Qc3 38. Rd5 $3 Rxd2 $8 (38... Rxd5 $4 39. Rb8+ Kh7 (39... Qc8 40. Rxc8+ Rxc8 41. Qf4 $18) 40. Qf5+ g6 41. Qxf7#) 39. Rxd8+ Kh7 40. Rbd6 Rxf2+ 41. Kxf2 $11) 35... Nf4+ $1 36. Kh1 Qh3 {Mate is unstoppable, either with the queen on g2 or due to a check on c1. This put Nakamura up four, 6-2.} 0-1 [Event "chess.com SpeedChess 2022"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2022.12.18"] [Round "4.9"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B98"] [WhiteElo "2768"] [BlackElo "2859"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2022.11.23"] [EventType "k.o. (blitz)"] [EventRounds "4"] {[%evp 0,79,23,13,46,51,100,72,70,46,51,53,88,57,90,33,63,20,23,55,60,-13,-2,4,16,19,16,-3,28,16,60,23,36,25,46,9,16,-68,-35,134,94,93,93,93,93,92,92,96,53,90,84,84,84,81,72,72,72,84,101,101,101,119,152,144,259,223,187,187,294,-138,308,367,391,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Be7 8. Qf3 Bd7 {A weird move that doesn't even seem to have been played by an IM, let alone a GM or a super-GM. In blitz, surprises can be good, though so far Nakamura has reacted well to everything Carlsen has thrown at him.} 9. O-O-O Nc6 10. Bc4 (10. e5 $1 Nxd4 $8 (10... dxe5 $2 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. fxe5 Nd5 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14. Ne4 $18 {is positionally catastrophic for Black.}) 11. Rxd4 Qb6 12. Rd2 Bc6 13. Qg3 dxe5 14. fxe5 Nh5 15. Qh4 Bxg5 16. Qxg5 g6 17. Bd3 $16) 10... h6 11. Bh4 Qb6 (11... Qa5 $14) 12. Bf2 Qc7 13. Bb3 Na5 14. Kb1 O-O-O $2 {This just doesn't work.} 15. f5 Nxb3 16. cxb3 $18 Kb8 17. Rc1 Qa5 18. b4 $1 (18. a3 {is also very strong, intending b4 on the next move.}) 18... Qxb4 19. a3 Qc4 20. Nd5 {Forcing Black to give up the queen, but he gets enough material for it and some chances for counterplay.} (20. b3 Qc5 21. b4 $18 {is an excellent alternative.}) 20... exd5 21. Rxc4 dxc4 22. h3 (22. Re1 $142 $18) 22... Rhe8 23. Re1 Rc8 24. Ne2 Bc6 25. Nc3 Bd8 26. Bd4 Ba5 27. Bxf6 gxf6 28. Qf4 Re5 29. Qxh6 Bxc3 $2 {Having come back from the dead, Carlsen errs again. But the time trouble was getting severe (in fact, it had been severe for Nakamura for a long time, who spent a very long time before deciding on 20.Nd5), and various errors and misjudgments will be seen the rest of the way.} (29... d5 $142 30. Qxf6 Rce8 $14) 30. bxc3 Bxe4+ 31. Ka1 (31. Ka2 $142 $18) 31... Rcc5 (31... Rc6 $142) 32. Qxf6 Rcd5 33. Qxf7 Ka7 34. f6 $4 (34. g4 $18 {was best, but not the only move to keep a decisive advantage.}) 34... Rd2 $4 (34... Bg6 $1 35. Rxe5 (35. Qxg6 $2 Rxe1+ 36. Kb2 Rd2+ $19) 35... Rd1+ $1 (35... Bxf7 $4 36. Rxd5 Bxd5 37. h4 $1 $18 {and White will promote one of his kingside passers.}) 36. Kb2 Bxf7 37. Re7 Bg6 $19) 35. Qc7 (35. Qxc4 $142 $18) 35... Rb5 36. Rxe4 $2 (36. Qe7 $1 $18 {was the only winning move.} Rbb2 37. Qxe4 d5 38. Qe3+ d4 39. Qxd4+ {Simplest.} Rxd4 40. Kxb2 $18) 36... Rd1+ 37. Ka2 Rd2+ 38. Ka1 Rd1+ 39. Ka2 Rd2+ 40. Ka1 {This was the end of the 5'+1" segment, with Nakamura enjoying a comfortable, shocking 6.5-2.5 lead.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "chess.com SpeedChess 2022"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2022.12.18"] [Round "4.10"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2859"] [BlackElo "2768"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2022.11.23"] [EventType "k.o. (blitz)"] [EventRounds "4"] {[%evp 0,69,18,13,38,27,27,9,38,17,47,38,25,13,18,-1,12,5,12,-1,27,8,18,12,11,8,17,6,0,-10,-15,-21,-8,-13,4,-18,0,-26,19,30,38,33,62,30,60,60,64,56,57,41,46,35,73,73,95,52,98,55,83,79,53,64,60,60,60,63,63,85,209,163,249,246] The first game of the 3'+1".} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. a3 {The second joke-y line of the match, after the dubious ...e5 experiment in game 5.} c6 4. Bf4 Bf5 5. e3 e6 6. c4 Bd6 7. Bg3 Bxg3 8. hxg3 Nbd7 9. Nc3 Ne4 10. Rc1 h6 11. Be2 O-O 12. O-O Qe7 13. Nxe4 dxe4 {Ambitious and not bad, but it also sows the seeds of his later defeat.} (13... Bxe4 $11) 14. Nd2 c5 (14... e5 $142 $11) 15. Qb3 (15. b4 $1 $14 cxb4 $2 16. axb4 $16 Qxb4 17. Rb1 Qd6 18. Rxb7 $18) 15... b6 16. Rfd1 Rfd8 17. Qc3 Nf6 $2 (17... a5 $142 {was better, to prevent White from mobilizing his queenside majority.}) 18. b4 (18. dxc5 $142 {followed by b4 gives White a clear advantage.}) 18... Rac8 (18... cxd4 $142) 19. dxc5 bxc5 20. Nb3 (20. b5 $16) 20... cxb4 (20... Rxd1+ $142) 21. Qxb4 (21. Rxd8+ $1 Rxd8 22. axb4 $18) 21... Qc7 (21... Rxd1+ $142) 22. Rxd8+ Rxd8 23. c5 $16 {/+- White's passed c-pawn is a big asset, while Black's kingside majority only serves to impede his pieces.} Bg4 24. Bf1 $1 Rb8 25. Qa4 e5 26. c6 Rb6 27. Nd2 Bf5 28. Qa5 Be6 {White wants to play Nc4, but that would hang the c-pawn. Ergo...} 29. Rc5 h5 30. Nc4 Bxc4 31. Rxc4 g6 32. Rc5 Kg7 33. Qc3 Rb1 34. Rxe5 Qd6 $1 {Nakamura is remarkably resourceful, even against Carlsen. White now has only one move that doesn't *lose*.} 35. Rb5 $1 {That was it, and now White wins. The gap narrows to three points.} (35. c7 $4 Qa6 $19) (35. Rc5 $4 Qd3 36. Qxd3 exd3 37. c7 d2 38. c8=Q Rxf1+ 39. Kxf1 d1=Q#) 1-0 [Event "chess.com SpeedChess 2022"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2022.12.18"] [Round "4.11"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C89"] [WhiteElo "2768"] [BlackElo "2859"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "124"] [EventDate "2022.11.23"] [EventType "k.o. (blitz)"] [EventRounds "4"] {[%evp 0,124,29,19,31,18,22,17,17,-6,-2,-30,21,-56,-18,-14,10,-55,42,35,14,-11,-11,25,40,-30,-41,-10,-2,-34,40,7,25,23,13,14,14,-51,31,27,23,23,23,23,4,4,4,14,4,4,7,0,0,0,0,-7,-7,0,0,-16,0,0,0,29,15,15,18,18,39,44,32,17,18,11,17,6,31,19,21,13,13,8,13,20,19,7,17,19,13,-4,0,0,0,-16,0,0,3,3,-7,-7,18,-9,4,-37,-6,-16,48,-45,-38,-66,-29,-18,-17,-21,-17,-17,-17,-14,0,-18,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 c6 12. d3 Bd6 13. Re1 Bf5 14. Qf3 Qh4 15. g3 Qh3 16. Nd2 Rae8 17. Ne4 Bg4 18. Qg2 Qxg2+ 19. Kxg2 f5 20. Bf4 Bxf4 21. gxf4 fxe4 22. dxe4 Bf3+ 23. Kxf3 Rxf4+ 24. Kg3 Rfxe4 25. Rxe4 Rxe4 26. Rc1 Kf8 27. c4 Ne7 28. cxb5 axb5 29. Kf3 Rh4 30. Rd1 Nf5 31. Bc2 Nd4+ 32. Kg3 g5 {So far, exactly as in game 1! This time Nakamura takes on h7 and...it makes no difference; in fact, Black ends up being the one with some (slight) winning chances.} 33. Bxh7 Ne2+ 34. Kf3 Nd4+ 35. Kg2 Rg4+ 36. Kh1 Rh4 37. Bd3 Ke7 38. Re1+ Kf6 39. Re3 c5 40. b3 Rh8 41. Kg2 Ra8 42. Bb1 c4 43. bxc4 bxc4 44. Re4 Rd8 45. Re3 (45. h4 {is a reasonable bail-out, swapping Black's g-pawn and giving White the option of sacrificing his bishop for the c-pawn to reach (at worst) a drawn rook vs. rook and knight ending.}) 45... Rc8 46. Rc3 Ne2 47. Rc2 Nf4+ 48. Kf3 Ke5 49. a4 Nd3 50. Kg4 c3 51. a5 Kd4 52. Re2 (52. Ra2) 52... Ra8 53. f3 Ne5+ 54. Kxg5 Nxf3+ 55. Kf4 Nd2 (55... Nxh2 56. Rxh2 Rxa5 {is a theoretical draw, but rook vs. rook and bishop is a far less pleasant task than rook vs. rook and knight. (Assuming White wins the c-pawn.)}) 56. Bg6 Rxa5 57. h4 Ra1 58. h5 Rf1+ 59. Kg4 Rg1+ 60. Kf4 Rf1+ 61. Kg4 Rg1+ 62. Kf4 Rf1+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "chess.com SpeedChess 2022"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2022.12.18"] [Round "4.12"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2859"] [BlackElo "2768"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "52"] [EventDate "2022.11.23"] [EventType "k.o. (blitz)"] [EventRounds "4"] {[%evp 0,52,30,31,22,22,24,17,5,11,40,21,19,8,8,-4,-4,18,18,-8,-8,-3,9,4,45,33,46,19,24,24,23,23,23,33,34,31,40,41,41,40,40,36,33,31,14,8,8,8,8,8,8,1,1,1,5]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 (6. a4 {was played back in game 6. This time, we get the sleepy main line of the 5.Re1 anti-Berlin.}) 6... Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Re8 11. Bf4 Rxe1 12. Qxe1 Ne8 13. c3 d5 14. Nd2 Bf5 15. Qe3 c6 16. Re1 Nd6 17. Qg3 Ne4 18. Nxe4 Bxe4 19. Bd3 Bxd3 20. Qxd3 Qd7 21. Qe3 Kf8 22. g3 Re8 23. Bd6+ Be7 24. Bf4 Bf6 25. Bd6+ Be7 26. Bf4 Bf6 {An easy hold for Black - Nakamura is up to the technical task.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "chess.com SpeedChess 2022"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2022.12.18"] [Round "4.13"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C95"] [WhiteElo "2768"] [BlackElo "2859"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "98"] [EventDate "2022.11.23"] [EventType "k.o. (blitz)"] [EventRounds "4"] {[%evp 0,98,29,24,33,24,24,5,28,-2,-4,-25,20,-14,2,3,3,-39,-27,-30,-3,-3,4,8,8,-24,1,7,13,18,34,9,51,11,10,42,36,12,16,34,67,43,53,44,48,43,45,51,56,11,115,112,118,46,23,24,26,29,74,53,72,55,46,59,78,58,74,56,81,66,97,90,90,85,96,87,87,87,95,93,125,105,102,95,103,103,74,74,89,66,71,55,66,65,65,66,54,58,77,54,54]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d6 {Perhaps Carlsen saw something in that last game that concerned him, or simply wanted to play a variation where he'd have winning chances. Carlsen heads for the Breyer, a line he used to play on a regular basis.} 9. h3 Nb8 10. d4 Nbd7 11. Nbd2 Bb7 12. Bc2 Re8 13. Nf1 Bf8 14. Ng3 g6 15. a4 Nb6 {A comparatively rare move, albeit one Carlsen has played at least twice before.} 16. b3 (16. a5 Nbd7 17. b4 Bg7 18. d5 Rc8 19. Bb3 c6 20. dxc6 Rxc6 21. Qc2 Qc8 22. Qa2 Re7 23. Bb2 Bh6 24. Rad1 Bf4 25. Nf1 Rc7 26. N1d2 Qa8 27. Qb1 Nf8 28. c4 bxc4 29. Nxc4 Bxe4 30. Nb6 Qc6 31. Rxe4 Qxe4 32. Qxe4 Nxe4 33. Nd5 Red7 34. g3 Bh6 35. Re1 Nd2 36. Nxd2 Bxd2 37. Rd1 Bxb4 38. Nxb4 Rc5 39. Nxa6 Rxa5 40. Bc4 d5 41. Bd3 d4 42. Bc1 e4 43. Bc4 Ra1 44. Nc5 Rc7 45. Nb3 Rb1 46. Rxd4 Ne6 47. Bxe6 fxe6 48. Rxe4 Rxb3 49. Be3 Rc6 50. Ra4 Rb7 51. Kg2 Kf7 52. Ra5 Rd6 53. h4 Rd5 54. Ra8 Rbd7 55. Rh8 Kf6 56. Rf8+ Kg7 57. Re8 Kf7 58. Rh8 h5 59. Ra8 e5 60. Kf3 Ke6 61. Rg8 Kf7 62. Ra8 Rb5 63. Ra6 Rb4 64. Bg5 e4+ 65. Kg2 Rd1 66. Rf6+ Kg7 67. Re6 Ra4 68. Re7+ Kf8 69. Re6 Re1 70. Be3 Kf7 71. Re5 Rb4 72. Bd2 {½-½ Vachier Lagrave,M (2784)-Carlsen,M (2862) Opera Euro Rapid KO chess24.com INT 2021 (2.12)}) (16. axb5 axb5 17. Bg5 Bg7 18. Bd3 Rxa1 19. Qxa1 c6 20. Be3 Qc7 21. dxe5 dxe5 22. Qc1 Bc8 23. Qc2 Nfd7 24. c4 Nxc4 25. Bxc4 bxc4 26. Qxc4 Nf8 27. Rc1 Bb7 28. Nf1 Ne6 29. N1d2 Qa5 30. Ng5 Nxg5 31. Bxg5 Bf8 32. Be3 {½-½ Anand,V (2767)-Carlsen,M (2834) Tata Steel-A 80th Wijk aan Zee 2018 (9)}) 16... bxa4 17. bxa4 a5 18. Bd3 ({The engine, in keeping with the whole Alpha Zero ethos we all know and love, suggests the untested} 18. h4 {.}) 18... Bg7 19. Bb5 $146 Re6 $2 (19... c6 {may slightly destabilize his minor pieces on the b-file, but the danger's not so great and he's only slightly worse.}) 20. d5 Re7 21. c4 $16 {/+- Black has an awful position now, with practically all of his pieces lacking scope.} Nfd7 22. Bg5 Bf6 23. Be3 Nc5 24. Nd2 Bc8 25. Qf3 Bg7 $5 {Throwing out some bait, and Nakamura bites.} 26. Bg5 $2 (26. Bxc5 dxc5 27. Nb3 $18 {is horrid for Black, who will soon lose his c-pawn or his a-pawn, and without getting any compensation, activity, or scope for his pieces in return.}) 26... f6 27. Bxf6 $6 Bxf6 28. Qxf6 $16 {White is a pawn up, obviously, but now Black's knights are secure and the f-file is open for business. While White is still better, Black is now in business, and he is able to put up enough resistance to save the game.} Qf8 29. Qxf8+ Kxf8 30. Ne2 Rf7 31. Nc3 Bd7 32. Bxd7 Nbxd7 33. Reb1 Nd3 34. f3 N7c5 35. Nb3 Nxb3 36. Rxb3 Nc5 37. Rb5 Ke7 38. Ne2 h5 39. Ra3 g5 40. Ng3 Rh7 41. Nf5+ Kf6 42. Kf2 g4 43. h4 gxf3 44. gxf3 Rhh8 45. Ra1 Rhg8 46. Rd1 Rgb8 47. Ra1 Rg8 48. Rd1 Rgb8 49. Ra1 Rg8 1/2-1/2 [Event "chess.com SpeedChess 2022"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2022.12.18"] [Round "4.14"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E05"] [WhiteElo "2859"] [BlackElo "2768"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "42"] [EventDate "2022.11.23"] [EventType "k.o. (blitz)"] [EventRounds "4"] {[%evp 0,42,16,28,29,-16,-16,-23,-10,-31,-6,-17,14,-26,17,-48,12,-49,-22,-28,-9,-15,5,9,37,30,37,39,37,23,36,20,38,49,53,34,77,56,76,72,88,79,98,-320,-268]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4 Bd7 9. Qxc4 Bc6 10. Bf4 (10. Bg5 {was played in games 4 and 8.}) 10... a5 11. Nc3 Na6 12. Ne5 Bxg2 13. Kxg2 c6 (13... Nd5 {is more common and probably better.}) 14. e4 Nb4 15. Rad1 Qb6 16. Qe2 Rad8 $146 17. h4 $16 Qa6 18. Qxa6 Nxa6 19. Nc4 Bb4 20. f3 Nh5 {Black's position is not very good, but it's not as bad as Carlsen thought!} 21. Bc7 $4 {This would win the a-pawn, were it not for one minor detail.} Nxc7 {With that, Nakamura's lead went back up to four points.} 0-1 [Event "chess.com SpeedChess 2022"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2022.12.18"] [Round "4.15"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C07"] [WhiteElo "2768"] [BlackElo "2859"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "70"] [EventDate "2022.11.23"] [EventType "k.o. (blitz)"] [EventRounds "4"] {[%evp 0,70,29,40,73,7,56,21,46,41,17,-7,41,61,58,23,41,59,62,49,59,21,3,15,10,-10,79,5,21,-61,-24,-15,-6,-40,-36,-36,-36,-12,-28,-3,146,-12,30,-1,4,4,100,-63,97,139,140,216,216,63,63,66,283,144,91,71,99,0,8,0,32,78,64,67,64,22,18,25,64]} 1. e4 e6 {A new opening in this match.} 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. dxc5 {A popular alternative to the 5.Ngf3 main line.} Qxc5 (5... Nf6 {is more common, but} 6. Ngf3 Qxc5 {transposes.}) 6. Ngf3 Nf6 7. Bd3 Nbd7 8. O-O Qc7 9. c3 {Relatively rare, but there's no clear consensus best move for White.} b6 10. a4 (10. Ne4) 10... Bb7 11. a5 Be7 12. Re1 Rd8 13. Nd4 O-O 14. Bf1 Nc5 (14... Ne5) (14... bxa5) 15. axb6 axb6 16. Qe2 Ra8 17. Rxa8 Rxa8 18. Nc4 Nce4 19. f3 Nc5 20. Nb5 Qd8 21. Ne5 Nd5 (21... Qc8) 22. b4 Na4 $2 (22... Nb3 23. Nxf7 Kxf7 24. Qxe6+ Kf8 $8 25. Bc4 Nxc1 26. Rxc1 Rc8 27. Bb3 Bxb4 $1 28. Rd1 Bc5+ 29. Kh1 Ra8 $1 30. h3 Qf6 31. Bxd5 Qxe6 32. Bxe6 h5 $11 {Black's bishops compensate for the missing pawn, as in the Marshall.}) 23. Bd2 $2 (23. Nxf7 $1 Kxf7 24. Qxe6+ Kf8 25. Bc4 Rc8 $1 26. Re4 $1 Rxc4 $1 27. Rxc4 Qe8 28. Nd6 Bxd6 29. Qxd6+ Kf7 30. Re4 Qc6 $8 31. Qxc6 Bxc6 32. Bd2 b5 33. c4 bxc4 34. Rxc4 $16) 23... Bf6 $2 24. Nxf7 $1 Kxf7 25. Qxe6+ Kf8 26. Nd6 $2 {Tempting, but the wrong way.} (26. Bc4 $1 {was again correct, as in the version seen above.} Nb2 27. Nd6 Qe7 28. Bxd5 Qxe6 29. Bxe6 Rd8 30. Bf4 $1 Bxf3 31. gxf3 Nd3 32. Nf7 $1 Nxe1 33. Nxd8 Bxd8 34. Bd5 Nd3 35. Bd6+ Ke8 36. Be4 Nb2 37. Be5 g6 38. Kf2 $18 {White will win this ending.}) 26... Qe7 $11 27. Nxb7 Qxb7 $6 (27... Qxe6 $142 28. Rxe6 Naxc3 $11) 28. Bb5 $1 Naxc3 29. Bc6 Qa7 30. Bxc3 (30. Bxd5 $142 Nxd5 31. Qxd5 Rd8 32. Qe4 Qd7 (32... Rxd2 $4 33. Qe8#) 33. Be3 Re8 $8 34. Qc4 $14) 30... Nxc3 31. Bxa8 Qxa8 $6 (31... b5+ $1 32. Kh1 Qxa8 $11) 32. Qd6+ (32. Qxb6 $14) 32... Kg8 $6 (32... Kf7 $142) 33. Qe6+ $6 (33. Qxb6 $142 $16) 33... Kf8 34. Qd6+ (34. Qxb6 $142) 34... Kf7 35. Qe6+ Kf8 {A narrow escape for Carlsen, who still trails by four points.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "chess.com SpeedChess 2022"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2022.12.18"] [Round "4.16"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2859"] [BlackElo "2768"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "107"] [EventDate "2022.11.23"] [EventType "k.o. (blitz)"] [EventRounds "4"] {[%evp 0,107,29,30,30,30,30,8,26,32,38,38,39,3,34,34,34,-18,14,-7,4,-8,-8,-5,12,7,13,17,24,13,91,91,91,102,114,116,323,308,297,294,332,328,336,329,329,270,205,202,186,213,230,258,267,262,296,220,292,293,323,323,320,301,399,324,335,335,370,307,307,271,359,359,426,426,407,252,252,324,344,277,316,302,331,256,323,219,306,306,1632,1667,28577,28950,1603,29313,29979,29980,29989,29990,29991,29992,29993,29990,29991,29992,29995,29994,29995,29996,29997,29998]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. a3 {Again!} c6 4. Bf4 Bf5 5. e3 e6 6. c4 Bd6 7. Bxd6 Qxd6 8. Qb3 b6 9. Nc3 O-O 10. Be2 Nbd7 11. O-O Ne4 12. Rac1 Rfc8 13. cxd5 exd5 14. Ba6 Rc7 $4 (14... Nxc3 $1 15. Qxc3 Rc7 $11) 15. Nb5 $1 {Oops.} cxb5 16. Rxc7 Qxc7 17. Qxd5 {White regains his material, with interest. Nakamura decides to sac the rook for counterplay, which was a clever practical decision.} Nd6 $5 18. Qxa8+ Nb8 {White's queen and bishop are boxed in, so despite his huge material advantage the game isn't over.} 19. Ne5 $1 h5 20. Nc6 Qxc6 21. Qxb8+ Kh7 22. d5 Qxd5 23. Qc7 h4 24. h3 Bd3 25. Rd1 Qb3 26. Re1 Qd5 27. Qc3 Be4 28. f3 Bxf3 29. gxf3 Qg5+ 30. Kf1 Nf5 31. Ke2 Qg2+ 32. Kd1 Qxh3 33. Bxb5 {The bishop is out, but Black is keeping his slim hopes alive thanks to the passed h-pawn.} Qxf3+ 34. Be2 Qg3 35. Bd3 Qg4+ 36. Kc1 g6 37. Bxf5 Qxf5 38. e4 Qg4 39. Qe3 Qe6 40. Kb1 {It's definitely over now, but in blitz "miracles" sometimes happen. More to the point, it burns time off the match clock.} f6 41. Qf3 g5 42. e5 $1 Kg6 43. Qd3+ Qf5 44. Qxf5+ Kxf5 45. e6 h3 46. e7 h2 47. e8=Q Kg4 48. Qe4+ Kh5 49. Qh7+ Kg4 50. Qxh2 Kf5 51. Qh7+ Kg4 52. Qe4+ Kg3 53. Rg1+ Kf2 54. Rg2+ {The lead is back down to three points. Surprisingly, Carlsen has only two wins, and both are with this 3.a3 system.} 1-0 [Event "chess.com SpeedChess 2022"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2022.12.18"] [Round "4.17"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B09"] [WhiteElo "2768"] [BlackElo "2859"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "31"] [EventDate "2022.11.23"] [EventType "k.o. (blitz)"] [EventRounds "4"] {[%evp 0,31,19,31,80,74,88,105,74,64,50,24,119,31,31,84,78,-20,2,2,98,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 g6 2. d4 d6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. f4 Nf6 5. Nf3 c5 6. Bb5+ Bd7 7. e5 Ng4 8. e6 fxe6 9. Ng5 Bxb5 10. Nxe6 Bxd4 {This trick has been known since Sax-Seirawan, Brussels 1988. It seemed as if Nakamura forgot about this line, as he threw up his hands after this.} 11. Nxd8 (11. Nxb5 {keeps the game going.}) 11... Bf2+ 12. Kd2 Be3+ 13. Ke1 Bf2+ 14. Kd2 Be3+ 15. Ke1 Bf2+ 16. Kd2 {Played after waiting until his time nearly ran out, correctly burning as much time on the match clock as possible.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "chess.com SpeedChess 2022"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2022.12.18"] [Round "4.18"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2859"] [BlackElo "2768"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "119"] [EventDate "2022.11.23"] [EventType "k.o. (blitz)"] [EventRounds "4"] {[%evp 0,89,27,27,24,27,27,9,29,13,52,54,46,34,52,58,44,26,29,31,43,27,80,-20,19,9,72,71,71,73,88,87,81,94,94,73,82,80,73,61,64,70,56,64,74,58,79,25,152,85,137,127,123,75,91,75,112,112,110,67,65,47,52,40,44,49,44,43,35,29,42,42,32,14,31,36,56,54,97,54,94,26,64,77,76,68,67,65,75,79,74,95]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. a3 {For the third time.} e6 {Something different: Nakamura wants to get in ...c5.} 4. Bf4 c5 5. e3 Bd6 6. dxc5 Bxc5 7. c4 O-O 8. Nc3 {Lo and behold, the players have transposed into a very sharp, theoretical line of the 5.Bf4 QGD.} Nc6 9. Qc2 Qa5 10. Rd1 Re8 11. Bd3 {Almost a novelty.} (11. Nd2 {is the main line, with very sharp play after} e5 12. Bg5 Nd4 13. Qb1 Bf5 14. Bd3 Bxd3 15. Qxd3 Ne4 {etc.}) 11... e5 12. cxd5 {Here Nakamura started thinking.} Nd4 $6 {Not terrible, but not best.} (12... exf4 $1 13. dxc6 fxe3 (13... Bb6 $1 $15 {This is the remedy.}) 14. b4 exf2+ 15. Kf1 Ng4 16. Nd5 Qd8 17. Qxc5 bxc6 18. Nc3 Qf6 19. h3 Ne3+ 20. Kxf2 Nxd1+ 21. Rxd1 Be6 22. Ne4 Qb2+ 23. Rd2 Qxa3 24. Neg5 h6 25. Nxe6 Rxe6 26. Bc4 Rf6 27. Rd7 Qb2+ 28. Kg1 Qc1+ 29. Kh2 Qf4+ 30. Kh1 Qc1+ 31. Ng1 Qf4 32. Ne2 Qg5 33. Rxa7 Rf1+ 34. Ng1 Qxc5 35. Rxa8+ {1-0 Edouard,R (2640)-Zaibi,A (2381) Djerba Blitz Masters Europe Echecs INT 2020 (10)}) 13. exd4 exf4+ 14. Be2 $14 Bf8 15. O-O Nxd5 16. Nxd5 Qxd5 17. Bc4 Qh5 {Only now did Carlsen start thinking.} (17... Qf5 $142 {was better, as Black will have drawn White's bishop off of f7 after} 18. Bd3 Qh5 $14) 18. Qb3 $6 (18. Rde1 $1 $16 {/+-}) 18... Bg4 $1 19. Ne5 $1 Rxe5 20. dxe5 Bxd1 21. Rxd1 $14 b5 $5 22. Bd5 (22. Bxf7+ Qxf7 23. e6 Qe7 24. Rd7 Qc5 25. e7+ Kh8 {favors White, but it's nothing amazing.}) 22... Rb8 23. h3 Bc5 (23... Qxe5 $142 24. Bxf7+ Kh8 $11) 24. Rc1 Bb6 $6 (24... Bd4 $142) 25. Qxb5 $1 {Not afraid of ghosts.} h6 $4 (25... Bxf2+ $4 26. Kxf2 Rxb5 27. Rc8#) (25... Qxe5 $4 26. Bxf7+ Kxf7 27. Qxe5 $18) (25... Qf5 $1 $14) 26. Kf1 $4 (26. e6 {more or less won on the spot.}) 26... Kh8 27. Qe2 Qxe2+ 28. Kxe2 $16 {The ensuing ending is very unpleasant for Black, and it's not surprising that he was unable to hold it.} Bd4 29. b4 Bxe5 30. Rc4 Kg8 31. Kd3 Kf8 32. Rc6 Rd8 33. Kc4 Rd7 34. Ra6 Ke7 35. b5 Rc7+ 36. Bc6 f3 37. gxf3 Bh2 38. Kd3 Bg1 39. Ke2 Kd6 40. a4 Kc5 41. f4 Bh2 42. Kf3 g5 43. f5 f6 $2 {The losing move, weakening lots of light squares and condemning the h-pawn to an unhappy fate.} (43... h5 $16) 44. Kg4 Be5 45. Kh5 Bd4 46. f3 Kb4 47. Kxh6 Rc8 48. Kg6 Rh8 49. a5 Rb8 50. b6 axb6 51. axb6 Bxb6 52. Kxf6 Bd4+ 53. Kf7 Rh8 54. f6 Rxh3 55. Ra4+ Kc5 56. Rxd4 $1 {An elegant solution.} Kxd4 57. Kg7 Rh4 58. Bd7 $1 Rf4 59. Bg4 Ke5 60. f7 {Carlsen is now 3-0 with 3.a3, and has closed the match deficit to two points.} 1-0 [Event "chess.com SpeedChess 2022"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2022.12.18"] [Round "4.19"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C89"] [WhiteElo "2768"] [BlackElo "2859"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "91"] [EventDate "2022.11.23"] [EventType "k.o. (blitz)"] [EventRounds "4"] {[%evp 119,119,806]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d5 {Back to the Marshall.} 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 c6 12. d3 Bd6 13. Re1 Bf5 14. Qf3 Qh4 15. g3 Qh3 16. Nd2 Rae8 17. Ne4 Bg4 18. Qg2 Qxg2+ 19. Kxg2 f5 20. Bf4 Bxf4 21. gxf4 Bf3+ $4 {The players were blitzing out moves, and Carlsen got careless here.} (21... fxe4 22. dxe4 Bf3+ {is the correct move order, chosen in the previous games of the match (and plenty of prior games, too).}) 22. Kxf3 fxe4+ 23. dxe4 $4 (23. Rxe4 $1 Rxe4 24. Bxd5+ $1 cxd5 25. dxe4 dxe4+ 26. Kxe4 $18 {and Black is losing the rook ending.} ({Or} 26. Ke3 {, which may be more precise.})) 23... Rxf4+ {Back to the usual.} 24. Kg3 Rfxe4 25. Rxe4 Rxe4 26. a4 {A match novelty. Interestingly, it was played only once before, by Naroditsky(!), who didn't mention it in the commentary.} (26. f3 {is the usual move in the database:} Re5 27. c4 bxc4 28. Bxc4 a5 {etc., with lots of draws, while}) (26. Rc1 {was Nakamura's choice in games 1 and 11.}) 26... Re2 {Forcing White to liquidate, with a trivial draw.} 27. axb5 axb5 28. Rd1 Rxb2 29. Bxd5+ cxd5 30. Rxd5 Rb3 31. Kg4 (31. f3 Rxc3 32. Rxb5 {½-½ Naroditsky,D (2616)-Ding,L (2813) PRO League Stage Chess.com INT rapid 2019 (7)}) 31... Rxc3 32. Rxb5 {The result is a foregone conclusion, but the game continues long enough for Nakamura to bring the 3'+1" segment to an end.} Rc4+ 33. Kg3 Rc3+ 34. Kg2 Rc8 35. f3 Rf8 36. Kg3 h6 37. Ra5 Kh7 38. Rb5 Rf6 39. Ra5 Rg6+ 40. Kf2 Rf6 41. Kg2 Kg6 42. Kg3 Rf5 43. Ra6+ Rf6 44. Ra5 Rf5 45. Ra6+ Rf6 46. Ra5 {On to the bullet, with Nakamura beginning that segment with a two point lead.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "chess.com SpeedChess 2022"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2022.12.18"] [Round "4.20"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2859"] [BlackElo "2768"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "58"] [EventDate "2022.11.23"] [EventType "k.o. (blitz)"] [EventRounds "4"] {[%evp 0,58,58,42,26,-29,-14,-16,-14,-13,-21,-23,10,15,46,55,71,47,48,56,54,45,38,11,25,-14,11,11,29,29,24,-122,-100,-105,-108,-112,-102,-112,-106,-108,-98,-168,-133,-121,-127,-127,-130,-279,-279,-279,-284,-335,-335,-355,-298,-290,-301,-387,-419,-554,-553] The 1'+1" begins.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 {No more 2.Nf3 with 3.a3, at least not for now.} e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. cxd5 {Playing the Exchange Variation is relatively uncommon when starting with Nf3 rather than Nc3, but Carlsen has done this a few times this year.} exd5 5. Nc3 c6 6. Bf4 Nh5 7. Bg5 Be7 8. Bxe7 Qxe7 9. e3 O-O 10. h3 Nd7 11. Bd3 {A little careless.} (11. Be2) 11... Nf4 12. Bf1 (12. O-O Nxd3 13. Qxd3 {is a favorable swap for Black.}) 12... a5 13. Qc2 b5 14. Ne2 {Tricky - Black has to assess Qxc6 possibilities if he moves the knight. Fortunately for Black, there's another option.} Qb4+ $1 15. Nd2 $4 {This good for White against every move but one.} (15. Nc3 Re8 $11 {/?}) 15... Qxb2 $1 {Oops. Black wins a very good pawn, and soon wins the game.} 16. Qxb2 Nd3+ 17. Kd1 Nxb2+ 18. Kc2 Nc4 19. Nf4 Ndb6 20. Nb3 Na4 21. g4 g5 22. Nd3 f5 23. h4 fxg4 24. hxg5 Bf5 25. Rh2 g3 26. fxg3 Nxe3+ 27. Kd2 Nc4+ 28. Kd1 Bg4+ 29. Be2 Nc3+ {Nakamura is up three points again.} 0-1 [Event "chess.com SpeedChess 2022"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2022.12.18"] [Round "4.21"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B42"] [WhiteElo "2768"] [BlackElo "2859"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "150"] [EventDate "2022.11.23"] [EventType "k.o. (blitz)"] [EventRounds "4"] {[%evp 0,150,16,28,44,54,74,34,34,45,102,49,60,71,82,54,85,43,79,69,69,55,89,78,82,45,45,5,5,2,12,1,6,3,23,43,32,32,70,29,16,-95,-31,-128,51,25,41,44,44,41,74,74,95,75,131,19,-17,-54,137,42,119,107,185,180,195,180,163,162,125,122,102,103,162,169,176,189,186,171,192,184,220,200,182,123,152,150,150,90,73,64,129,-15,41,-104,-2,0,28,28,29,-118,-118,-118,-118,-118,-72,-203,-128,-128,0,-522,-522,-603,-653,-653,-618,-1005,-1005,-1048,-1091,-1133,-1011,-1133,-1016,-1133,-1133,-1141,-1241,-1182,-1138,-1138,-1138,-1250,-1169,-1334,-1704,-1704,-1504,-1948,-1948,-29993,-2401,-2401,-29988,-2128,-29990,-29991,-29992,-29993,-29994,-29995,-29994,-29997,-29998]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 {Another new opening for the match.} 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Bd3 Bc5 6. Nb3 Be7 7. Be3 d6 8. f4 Nd7 9. N1d2 Ngf6 10. Qe2 b5 11. g4 $16 {White is well-situated for this typical idea.} Nc5 12. g5 (12. Nxc5 $1 dxc5 13. g5 Nd7 14. e5 $16) 12... Nfd7 13. O-O-O Bb7 14. Kb1 Nxd3 15. cxd3 O-O 16. h4 a5 17. h5 $2 (17. Nd4 $16) 17... a4 $2 (17... e5 $1 $15) 18. Nd4 a3 19. b3 Qa5 20. g6 Bf6 21. N2f3 Rac8 22. Rc1 (22. Ng5 $1) (22. h6 $1) 22... Rxc1+ 23. Rxc1 Nc5 24. e5 $18 dxe5 25. fxe5 Be7 26. Bg5 $2 (26. gxh7+ Kh8 27. Qg2 $1 $18) 26... Qd8 $1 27. Qe3 $2 (27. gxh7+ Kh8 28. Bxe7 Qxe7 29. Nxb5 $16) 27... fxg6 $15 28. Rxc5 gxh5 $6 (28... Bxf3 29. Bxe7 $8 Qxe7 30. Nxf3 Rxf3 31. Qxf3 Qxc5 32. Qa8+ $8 Kf7 $15) 29. Rxb5 $6 (29. Rc1 $14) 29... Bxg5 30. Qxg5 Bd5 $2 (30... Qd7 $15) 31. Qxd8 $16 Rxd8 32. Ng5 Re8 33. Rc5 $6 (33. Nf5 $1 $16) 33... h4 (33... h6 $142) 34. Rc2 (34. Nh3 $142 $16) 34... h6 35. Ne4 Rf8 $2 36. Rh2 Rf4 37. Kc2 $18 Kf7 38. Kd2 g5 39. Ke3 Kg6 40. b4 (40. Nc3 $18) 40... Rf1 41. b5 (41. Nc3 $1 $18) 41... Re1+ 42. Kd2 $2 (42. Re2 $18) 42... Rb1 $11 43. Ke3 Rb2 44. Rf2 h3 45. Nf3 $2 (45. Ng3 $11) 45... g4 $19 46. Nh2 h5 (46... Bxe4 $142) 47. Rf6+ Kg7 48. Nf1 h2 (48... Bxe4 $142) 49. Neg3 h4 $2 (49... Rxa2 $142) 50. Nh5+ Kh7 $2 51. Nxh2 Rxh2 52. Kf4 $2 (52. Rf4 $15) 52... g3 $19 {The rest is agony for White, but the game continues so he can burn as much time off the match clock as possible.} 53. Kg5 g2 54. Rf7+ Kg8 55. Rg7+ Kf8 56. Kf6 Rh1 57. Rf7+ Ke8 58. Ng7+ Kd8 59. Nxe6+ Bxe6 60. Kxe6 g1=Q 61. Rf8+ Kc7 62. Rf7+ Kb6 63. Rf6 Qg2 64. Kf7+ Kxb5 65. e6 Qd5 66. Kg6 Rg1+ 67. Kf7 Re1 68. Kg6 Rxe6 69. Kg7 Rxf6 70. Kxf6 Qxd3 71. Ke5 h3 72. Kf4 h2 73. Kg5 h1=Q 74. Kf6 Qhf3+ 75. Ke7 Qff5 {Carlsen could have been down four again, but he's back to within two points. This is also his first win with something other than the 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.a3 line.} 0-1 [Event "chess.com SpeedChess 2022"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2022.12.18"] [Round "4.22"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2859"] [BlackElo "2768"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "2022.11.23"] [EventType "k.o. (blitz)"] [EventRounds "4"] {[%evp 0,59,27,27,24,29,27,9,34,29,8,8,64,60,72,53,53,52,52,54,46,56,40,33,41,32,95,98,99,66,108,86,100,66,62,57,62,47,64,49,79,88,89,70,88,88,81,81,98,67,54,68,71,46,40,38,38,45,53,25,21,22]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. a3 {One more time!} g6 {Something new from Nakamura.} 4. c4 dxc4 5. Nc3 $146 Bg7 6. e4 $146 Bg4 $2 (6... c5 $1 7. d5 (7. e5 Ng4 8. d5 Nd7 9. e6 fxe6 10. dxe6 Nde5 $15) 7... b5 $1 8. e5 Nfd7 9. Nxb5 Qa5+ 10. Nc3 Nxe5 11. Nxe5 Bxe5 12. Bd2 Ba6 {is at least equal for Black.}) 7. Be3 Nc6 8. Bxc4 O-O 9. Be2 $146 Bxf3 10. Bxf3 e5 11. dxe5 Nd7 12. Be2 (12. e6) 12... Ndxe5 $2 (12... Bxe5 $14) 13. f4 Nd7 14. O-O $16 {White has a spectacularly good position with more space, a beautiful center, and the two bishops.} Nb6 15. e5 Qe7 16. Ne4 $6 (16. Nd5 $142 Nxd5 17. Qxd5 Rad8 18. Qe4 $18) 16... Rfd8 17. Qe1 Nd4 18. Rd1 $6 (18. Bd1 $16) 18... Nc2 19. Qc3 Nxe3 (19... Nd5 $4 {would win, were it not for} 20. Rxd5 $18) 20. Qxe3 Nd5 21. Qf3 Nb6 22. g3 Rxd1 23. Rxd1 Rd8 24. Rd3 (24. Re1 $142 $16) 24... Rxd3 25. Qxd3 f6 $1 $14 26. exf6 Bxf6 27. Bf3 c6 28. b4 Kg7 29. Kg2 Bb2 30. Nc5 a5 $6 (30... Nd5 $1 $11 {/?} 31. Bxd5 cxd5 32. Qxd5 $6 Qe2+ $11) 31. Qb3 $1 $16 Bd4 $4 32. Ne6+ {No more stalling; Nakamura resigned immediately. The lead is down to a single point.} 1-0 [Event "chess.com SpeedChess 2022"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2022.12.18"] [Round "4.23"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C89"] [WhiteElo "2768"] [BlackElo "2859"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "106"] [EventDate "2022.11.23"] [EventType "k.o. (blitz)"] [EventRounds "4"] {[%evp 0,106,41,20,18,24,3,15,8,-27,-6,-61,16,-37,-23,-2,0,-36,51,25,40,-36,-13,-17,25,-40,-14,-14,-2,-43,16,46,37,82,102,102,99,78,99,98,98,98,106,127,152,111,155,163,163,108,161,139,120,123,114,116,135,123,128,119,152,125,138,138,151,159,167,142,124,139,127,96,198,121,221,198,233,256,340,274,268,103,307,-104,-107,-107,-107,-116,-103,-114,-100,-131,-84,-118,-68,-61,-80,-82,-84,-111,-118,-121,-119,-145,-150,-154,-156,-159,-156]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 c6 12. d3 Bd6 13. Re1 Bf5 14. Qf3 Bg6 {Varying from the earlier games.} (14... Qh4 15. g3 Qh3 16. Nd2 Rae8 17. Ne4 Bg4 18. Qg2 Qxg2+ 19. Kxg2 f5 20. Bf4 {etc.}) 15. Nd2 {It's not clear what White's best move was, but this probably isn't it.} (15. Bxd5 cxd5 16. Bf4 d4 17. cxd4 Bb4 18. Nc3 Qxd4 {is the main line, while}) ({the rare} 15. g3 {was used earlier this year by Dominguez.}) 15... Nf4 $11 16. d4 Nd3 $2 (16... Qd7 $1) 17. Re3 Nxc1 18. Rxc1 $16 {/+- Now White is in business. White's extra pawn and lead in development matter here, especially as his king position is completely safe. Black is in serious trouble, and Nakamura was well ahead on the clock as well.} c5 19. Ne4 cxd4 20. cxd4 Be7 21. d5 Bxe4 22. Rxe4 Bd6 23. Rc6 Re8 24. Bc2 g6 25. g3 Rxe4 26. Bxe4 Qe7 27. Kg2 a5 28. Bd3 b4 29. b3 Rd8 30. h4 Qe5 31. Ra6 Bc7 32. Bc4 Rd6 33. Rc6 Bd8 34. h5 Kg7 35. h6+ $5 Kf8 $2 (35... Kxh6 $1 36. Qxf7 Rf6 $11) 36. Rc8 $18 Ke7 37. Ra8 Bb6 38. Rb8 Rf6 {Objectively a mistake, but a good try.} 39. d6+ $1 {A great shot, but Nakamura didn't figure out how to follow it up.} Qxd6 40. Rb7+ $2 (40. Qe4+ $1 Re6 (40... Kd7 41. Qe8+ Kc7 42. Qc8#) 41. Qb7+ $18 {White collects the exchange and wins.}) 40... Kd8 $2 (40... Bc7 $8 $16) 41. Qe4 $4 (41. Rb8+ $3 Qxb8 (41... Ke7 42. Qe4+ $18) 42. Qxf6+ Kc7 43. Qxf7+ $18) 41... Rxf2+ $19 42. Kh3 Bc7 43. Qd5 Qxd5 44. Bxd5 Rf5 45. Bc4 Kc8 $2 (45... Rh5+ $19) 46. Rb5 Rxb5 47. Bxb5 Kd8 48. Bc4 Ke7 49. Kh4 (49. g4 $142) 49... Bb6 (49... f5 $1 50. Bg8 Kf8 51. Bxh7 $4 Bd8+ 52. Kh3 Kf7 $19 {Black will play ...Bg5xh6 and then ...Kg7.}) 50. g4 Be3 51. g5 f6 52. gxf6+ Kxf6 53. Bg8 Bxh6 (53... Bxh6 54. Bxh7 Kg7 {is the problem. Nakamura resigned, and the match was tied. Carlsen has won three games in a row, and in two of them he was flat out lost.}) 0-1 [Event "chess.com SpeedChess 2022"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2022.12.18"] [Round "4.24"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A47"] [WhiteElo "2859"] [BlackElo "2768"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "120"] [EventDate "2022.11.23"] [EventType "k.o. (blitz)"] [EventRounds "4"] {[%evp 0,120,19,27,27,27,27,25,62,18,67,23,36,31,59,54,53,29,25,-11,29,3,52,66,54,54,54,54,54,54,76,62,94,62,32,22,66,82,82,69,73,54,67,41,83,48,73,55,55,53,71,33,55,-37,-37,-36,-31,-36,19,-39,-29,-39,-37,-29,-36,-40,-54,-55,-8,-36,-46,-50,-21,-119,-91,-101,-101,-103,-103,-98,-94,-93,-96,-107,-92,-100,-148,-148,-131,-136,-136,-121,-168,-173,-202,-203,-203,-199,-203,-244,-227,-274,-203,-248,-249,-343,-349,-349,-349,-349,-349,-349,-349,-349,-349,-349,-349,-349,-349,-349,-349,-711,-739]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 ({Avoiding the terrifying} 2... d5 3. a3 {variation.}) 3. Bg5 c5 4. e3 Nc6 5. c3 Be7 6. Nbd2 b6 7. Bd3 Bb7 8. O-O d5 9. Qe2 Qc7 (9... O-O) (9... Nd7 $5) 10. Bf4 Bd6 11. Bxd6 Qxd6 12. e4 dxe4 13. Nxe4 Nxe4 14. Bxe4 cxd4 15. Rad1 Qc7 16. Nxd4 Nxd4 17. Rxd4 O-O (17... Bxe4 $142) 18. Bxb7 Qxb7 19. Rfd1 $14 {White's advantage isn't huge, but it's significant and "forever".} Rac8 20. g3 Rc7 21. h4 h6 22. Rd6 (22. c4 $14 {/?}) 22... Re7 (22... b5) 23. R1d4 (23. Rd8) 23... e5 $1 24. R4d5 e4 25. Qe3 Rfe8 26. c4 $6 (26. a4) 26... Qa6 $1 27. b3 (27. c5 Qxa2 28. c6 Qxb2 29. Rd7 $44) 27... Qxa2 28. Rd8 (28. Kg2 $44) 28... Qb2 29. Kg2 Qf6 30. R5d6 Qf5 31. Rd5 Qf6 32. R5d6 Qe5 33. Rd5 Qc7 34. R8d6 Qc8 35. Qd4 e3 $1 36. fxe3 Rxe3 37. Qxe3 $1 Rxe3 38. Rd8+ Qxd8 39. Rxd8+ Kh7 40. b4 Rc3 41. Rc8 (41. c5 $1 bxc5 42. bxc5 Rxc5 43. Rd7 {is drawn, regardless of which pawn ends up getting taken.}) 41... f6 42. c5 $2 {It looks innocuous, but in fact it loses a second pawn, and with it the game. (At least it should lose the game.)} Rc4 $19 43. Rc7 Rxb4 44. Rxa7 bxc5 45. Rc7 Rc4 46. h5 Rc1 (46... Rg4 $1 47. Rxc5 (47. Kh3 Rg5 48. Kh4 Kg8 $19 {Black's king escapes, and with the rook defending g7 and c5 it can come over to the queenside, with a straightforward win.}) 47... Rg5 $19) 47. Kf3 c4 48. Rc8 c3 49. Kg2 (49. g4) 49... f5 50. Rc7 Kg8 51. Kh2 Kf8 52. Kg2 c2 53. Kh2 Ke8 54. Kg2 Kd8 55. Rc3 Ke7 56. Rc6 Kd7 57. Rc3 Ke6 58. Rc6+ Kd5 (58... Ke5 59. Rc5+ Kf6 {followed by ...Kg5 is the way to make progress.}) 59. Rc8 Ke4 60. Rc4+ $2 (60. Re8+ Kd4 61. Rd8+ {forces Black's king back. He's still winning; it will just take longer to finish.}) 60... Kd3 {Winning immediately - when the rook moves away, Black moves his rook to a safe square and promotes. After losing three games in a row to surrender the lead, Nakamura bounces back with an impressive victory, going one-up again.} 0-1 [Event "chess.com SpeedChess 2022"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2022.12.18"] [Round "4.25"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2768"] [BlackElo "2859"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "2022.11.23"] [EventType "k.o. (blitz)"] [EventRounds "4"] {[%evp 0,57,61,26,56,31,42,-14,16,19,36,-5,22,18,52,-18,-15,-39,-4,-18,2,24,30,-8,-2,-1,38,5,51,39,10,-4,55,41,61,37,39,47,69,37,52,33,105,75,107,103,103,92,116,85,88,89,98,90,205,235,235,257,288,321]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {No Marshall. There were two Berlins earlier in the match, but in those games Carlsen had White.} 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 ({Carlsen played} 5. Re1 {in both games.}) 5... Be7 {A fairly popular sideline Carlsen played several times back in 2017.} (5... Nd6 {is the main line, inviting the Berlin endgame after} 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8) 6. dxe5 O-O 7. Nbd2 (7. Qd5 {is perhaps the main move.}) 7... d5 8. Re1 Nc5 $146 (8... Bg4) 9. h3 Ne6 10. Nb3 a6 (10... a5 $5) 11. Bxc6 bxc6 12. Nfd4 $14 Qd7 13. Be3 Re8 14. Nxe6 Qxe6 15. Bc5 {Cookbook chess: the recipe calls for White to swap off the dark-squared bishops, when his forever blockade over c5 and d4 will leave Black positionally lost.} Bd8 16. Nd4 $16 Qg6 17. Qd3 Bd7 (17... Bg5 $142) 18. f4 Bh4 $2 19. Re3 $6 (19. f5 $1 $18) 19... a5 20. a4 (20. f5 $142 $18) 20... Bc8 21. Qc3 Bf5 22. Nxf5 Qxf5 23. Rf1 h5 24. Bd4 Re6 25. Qd3 g6 $2 {Black had been hanging on, barely, but now collapse is imminent.} (25... Qxd3 $8) 26. Qe2 $1 g5 27. g3 {White's position is so good that winning the bishop is at best his third-best move.} (27. Qxh5 $18) (27. g4 $18) 27... Rg6 28. gxh4 gxh4+ 29. Kh2 {Impressive chess by Nakamura, who is again up two points in the match.} 1-0 [Event "chess.com SpeedChess 2022"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2022.12.18"] [Round "4.26"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2859"] [BlackElo "2768"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "179"] [EventDate "2022.11.23"] [EventType "k.o. (blitz)"] [EventRounds "4"] {[%evp 0,179,37,13,21,-23,-16,-16,5,-22,3,-32,4,-2,46,29,47,44,44,41,55,46,37,43,49,7,10,18,31,10,22,10,67,47,32,25,28,15,7,25,46,51,60,60,63,50,64,48,67,67,55,8,19,27,32,19,19,19,17,46,21,-20,4,26,-5,51,56,18,111,130,132,66,113,16,68,57,71,-4,83,96,138,138,158,73,158,157,188,122,158,127,127,125,149,158,194,100,134,125,175,178,251,285,293,283,317,283,283,171,227,268,277,280,318,348,331,379,551,378,351,302,375,426,823,928,1023,1079,1085,573,695,695,711,508,1078,1191,1175,508,507,570,596,606,615,557,557,498,557,557,586,557,759,793,1032,1282,1631,2224,2224,2786,2786,2224,29240,29484,29498,2224,29981,29982,29983,29984,29985,29986,29991,29990,29991,29986,29987,29988,29995,29994,29995,29994,29995,29996,29997,29998]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. cxd5 {The same line from the first 1'+1" game, six games ago.} exd5 5. Nc3 c6 6. Bf4 Nh5 7. Bg5 Be7 8. Bxe7 Qxe7 9. e3 Nd7 (9... O-O 10. h3 Nd7 11. Bd3 $6 Nf4 {was played in the earlier game.}) 10. Be2 {Correcting the inaccuracy - there's no ...Nf4 business this time.} O-O 11. O-O g6 12. Ne1 Nhf6 13. Nd3 Ne4 14. Rc1 Nd6 15. b4 b5 $6 {It was better to avoid this. The battle of the outposts is in White's favor.} 16. a4 a6 17. Ra1 Bb7 (17... Nb6 $142) 18. Qb3 Nc4 19. Ra2 Rfe8 20. Rfa1 Rab8 21. axb5 axb5 22. Nd1 {Not best, but in bullet it's sensible to put an end to any worries about ...Nxe3.} h5 23. Ra7 h4 24. h3 Qg5 25. Qc3 Nf6 26. Bf3 Bc8 27. Ne5 $5 Bb7 $6 (27... Nxe5 $1 28. dxe5 Qxe5 29. Qxc6 Be6 $11) 28. Ng4 (28. Bg4 $1 $14) 28... Nxg4 (28... Bc8 $1 $11) 29. Bxg4 f5 30. Bf3 f4 31. exf4 Qxf4 32. Nb2 Nd2 $6 (32... Nxb2 33. Qxb2 Re7 $11 {leaves Black in a passive situation, but an eminently defensible one.}) 33. Rd1 $1 Nc4 $2 (33... Nxf3+ {was better, though the ending after} 34. Qxf3 Qxf3 35. gxf3 Bc8 36. Nd3 $1 {will be all suffering for Black.}) 34. Nd3 $18 Qf6 35. Rda1 (35. Re1 $142) 35... Bc8 36. Ra8 (36. Ne5 $142) 36... Bxh3 $6 (36... Rxa8 37. Rxa8 Bd7 $14) 37. Rxb8 Rxb8 38. Ne5 (38. Ra6 $142 $16) 38... Bf5 $2 (38... Be6 $14) 39. Ra6 $18 Rb6 $6 40. Rxb6 $2 (40. Ra8+ Kg7 41. Ra7+ Kg8 42. Bg4 $18) 40... Nxb6 41. Qc5 $14 Nc4 $2 42. Nxc6 $18 Be4 43. Ne7+ (43. Bxe4 $142 dxe4 44. Qxb5 $18) 43... Kg7 44. Nxd5 Bxd5 45. Qxd5 Qf4 46. Qxb5 Qxd4 47. Qb7+ Kh6 48. Qe4 {White is winning, and from here it's all about stalling, to burn as much of the match clock as possible.} Qa1+ 49. Kh2 Ne5 50. Qxh4+ Kg7 51. Qe7+ Kh6 52. Qh4+ Kg7 53. Qe4 Qc3 54. Be2 Qc7 55. g3 Qc3 56. Kg2 Qb2 57. b5 Nf7 58. Qe3 Nd6 59. b6 Nf5 60. Qe6 Nd4 61. Qe5+ Kh7 62. Qc7+ Kh6 63. Bg4 Nc2 64. Qf4+ Kg7 65. Qe4 Nd4 66. b7 Kh7 67. b8=Q Qxb8 68. Qxd4 Qb7+ 69. Bf3 Qf7 70. Qh4+ Kg7 71. Qf4 Qe7 72. Be4 Qe8 73. Qg4 Kh8 74. Qxg6 Qxg6 75. Bxg6 Kg7 76. Be4 Kf6 77. f4 Ke7 78. Kf3 Kd6 79. g4 Kc7 80. g5 Kb6 81. g6 Kc5 82. g7 Kd6 83. g8=Q Ke7 84. f5 Kd6 85. Qe6+ Kc5 86. f6 Kd4 87. f7 Kc3 88. f8=Q Kd2 89. Qb4+ Kc1 90. Qec4+ {Carlsen closes to within a point once again, with just under six minutes remaining.} 1-0 [Event "chess.com SpeedChess 2022"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2022.12.18"] [Round "4.27"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C07"] [WhiteElo "2768"] [BlackElo "2859"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "2022.11.23"] [EventType "k.o. (blitz)"] [EventRounds "4"] {[%evp 0,57,10,9,29,40,36,31,41,17,-2,-7,42,69,43,16,47,37,51,-31,7,-48,-15,-52,-25,-14,-14,-20,31,39,53,27,63,32,44,37,53,-12,65,72,72,6,93,43,83,57,78,83,84,97,85,72,95,170,441,413,456,374,456,456]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 {As played in game 15.} 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. dxc5 Qxc5 6. Ngf3 Nf6 7. Bd3 Nbd7 8. Qe2 {Varying from the earlier game.} b6 {And now White definitely varies from the earlier game by shoving the a-pawn all the way to a6.} 9. a4 $146 Bb7 10. a5 Be7 11. a6 Bd5 12. c4 Bxf3 (12... Bc6 {was an obvious alternative, but there was also the ingenious}) (12... Rc8 $3 {, clearing a8 for the bishop.} 13. cxd5 $2 Qxc1+ $19) 13. Nxf3 $14 O-O 14. O-O Rac8 15. Rd1 $16 Rfd8 16. b3 (16. b4 $142) 16... Qc7 (16... Nb8 $1) 17. Bc2 (17. Nd4 $142) 17... Nc5 18. Nd4 Bd6 19. g3 Be5 20. Nb5 Qb8 21. Ra2 Rxd1+ 22. Bxd1 Rd8 23. Bc2 Ncd7 24. Ba3 Nc5 $2 25. Bxc5 bxc5 26. Nxa7 $18 {It's over. Carlsen tries a few more moves, just in case, but it may have been better to resign right away to save time on the match clock.} Bxg3 27. Nc6 Bxh2+ 28. Kg2 Qa8 29. Qf3 {There are no tricks left, so Carlsen resigned. He's now down by two, with less than three and a half minutes remaining on the match clock. This means that if the next game goes more than three and a half minutes, Nakamura wins the match, no matter the result of the game. If that next game ends with just a couple of seconds left, however, another game can be started - all that's necessary is that the game starts before the match clock expires, not that the game is completed by that point.} 1-0 [Event "chess.com SpeedChess 2022"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2022.12.18"] [Round "4.28"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2859"] [BlackElo "2768"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "151"] [EventDate "2022.11.23"] [EventType "k.o. (blitz)"] [EventRounds "4"] {[%evp 0,151,18,8,24,24,24,8,19,33,26,-4,-2,-2,12,8,7,-3,11,-2,8,-16,3,-4,-12,-12,36,28,36,27,39,39,43,38,49,45,61,20,48,67,69,51,75,51,67,67,67,49,40,5,5,5,3,24,54,17,-1,-1,-1,-22,-41,-40,-29,-42,-26,-30,-37,-37,-37,-55,-51,-56,-54,-57,-54,-48,-11,-14,73,69,57,63,65,60,65,63,63,70,63,61,67,53,73,65,95,97,85,90,87,96,124,126,108,114,106,89,89,154,154,154,233,242,212,186,204,204,204,221,230,230,230,230,250,238,292,254,310,305,428,459,507,507,507,517,1016,1016,1016,1016,1032,1032,1911,2391,2421,2421,2441,29986,29987,29990,29993,29994,29995,29996,29999,1429]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 {Yet another anti-Berlin.} Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. O-O Qd6 7. Nbd2 Be6 8. b3 a5 9. Bb2 Nd7 10. Nc4 $146 (10. Ng5 $142) 10... Bxc4 11. bxc4 O-O (11... Qe6 $142) (11... Ba3 $142) 12. c3 Rfe8 13. d4 $14 Ba7 14. Qc2 (14. Re1 $142) (14. Qe2 $142) 14... Qg6 (14... Qe6 $1 $11) 15. Rfe1 (15. Rae1 $142) 15... c5 16. d5 {White is better, but the match clock is even more important than the result. With the board closed up, it will be difficult for Carlsen to win in time to get another game.} c6 $6 17. a4 $16 Bb8 18. Ba3 Bd6 19. Rab1 Rab8 20. Red1 Bf8 21. h3 $2 (21. Nh4 {followed by Nf5 keeps a clear advantage.}) 21... Nf6 $11 22. dxc6 bxc6 23. Rxb8 Rxb8 24. Nxe5 Qxe4 25. Qxe4 Nxe4 26. Nxc6 Rb3 27. Ra1 Nxc3 28. Nxa5 Rb6 29. Bc1 Ne2+ 30. Kf1 Nxc1 31. Rxc1 Ra6 32. Nb3 Rxa4 {Now the game should be a trivially easy draw, but the adventures aren't over yet.} 33. Nd2 g6 34. Nf3 Bg7 35. Rc2 Kf8 36. Ke2 Ke7 37. Nd2 Bd4 {A first step in the wrong direction.} 38. Nb3 Ra3 $2 (38... Kd6 39. Nxd4 cxd4 40. c5+ Kc6 41. Kd3 h5 $11 {is completely drawn.}) 39. Nxd4 cxd4 40. Rd2 {Goodbye d-pawn. It's still objectively drawn, but obviously White has winning chances where there were none before.} Rc3 41. Rxd4 Rc2+ 42. Ke3 h5 $2 (42... g5 $1) 43. h4 (43. Rf4 $1) 43... Ke6 44. g3 f6 $6 (44... f5 $1) 45. Re4+ Kd6 46. Rf4 Ke5 47. Kd3 Ra2 48. Re4+ Kd6 (48... Kf5 $142) 49. Re2 Ra3+ $2 (49... Ra1 $16) 50. Kd4 $18 g5 $4 {Nakamura was playing as quickly as possible, but the second or two he's saving here makes White's win much easier.} 51. c5+ Kd7 52. hxg5 fxg5 53. Re5 h4 54. Rxg5 hxg3 55. fxg3 {Now it's a simple theoretical win, and Carlsen can make lots of premoves. At this point, he still had enough time to win the game before the match clock ran out.} Ra1 56. Rg6 Rd1+ 57. Ke5 Re1+ 58. Kf5 Rf1+ 59. Kg5 Rc1 60. c6+ Ke7 61. g4 Rc5+ 62. Kh6 Kf7 63. g5 Rc1 64. Rf6+ Ke7 65. Kg7 Rc5 66. g6 Rc1 67. Rf7+ Kd6 68. c7 Ke6 69. Kf8 Rc2 70. g7 Kd6 71. g8=Q Ke5 72. Qg5+ Kd4 73. Qf4+ Kc3 74. c8=Q+ Kb2 75. Qb4+ {It's mate in two, but Nakamura had around 46-47 seconds left on his clock while there were only 44 seconds left on the match clock. So he sat, and only moved after the match clock hit zeroes.} Kc1 76. Ra7 {A premove, just in case Nakamura had put his king on the a-file. Nakamura's flag fell, but in the big picture it was Carlsen who lost on time. Nakamura wins the match by a single point, and wins his fifth consecutive Speed Chess Championship. Congrats!} 1-0