[Event "World Blitz Final KO 2024"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "1.1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Date "2024.12.31"] [ECO "A22"] [WhiteElo "2831"] [BlackElo "2734"] [PlyCount "86"] [GameId "2129342040402525"] [EventDate "2024.12.31"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,86,20,-18,16,-2,-27,0,-2,-1,0,-7,-4,-5,-1,0,-11,-22,-6,-37,-24,-16,-15,-19,2,-12,12,12,0,18,14,22,28,34,5,-38,8,10,25,14,-36,1,23,7,-45,-26,-36,-35,-84,-35,-61,-33,-120,-35,-30,-95,-17,-12,-7,9,1,-20,-28,1,0,-31,1,4,1,1,20,110,12,8,8,8,1,1,1,23,1,2,1,1,1,1,1,1,1] In game 1, Niemann played quickly and confidently, holding with ease as Black.} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. g3 Bb4 4. Nf3 e4 5. Nd4 O-O 6. Bg2 Re8 7. Nc2 Bxc3 8. dxc3 h6 9. c5 b6 10. cxb6 axb6 11. c4 d5 12. cxd5 Qxd5 13. Qxd5 Nxd5 14. O-O Nd7 15. Rd1 N7f6 16. Ne3 Be6 17. a3 c6 18. Nxd5 Bxd5 19. Be3 b5 20. Rac1 Ng4 21. Bd4 Ne5 22. Bxe5 Rxe5 23. e3 Kf8 24. Bf1 Ke7 25. Rd4 Kd6 26. Be2 c5 27. Rd2 c4 28. Kf1 Kc5 29. Ke1 Be6 30. Rcd1 Rd5 31. Rxd5+ Bxd5 32. Kd2 b4 33. axb4+ Kxb4 34. Kc2 Kc5 35. Kc3 Ra4 36. h4 g6 37. Bg4 Ra7 38. Be2 f5 39. Rg1 h5 40. Rd1 Ra8 41. Bf1 Ra7 42. Be2 Ra8 43. Bf1 Ra7 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Blitz Final KO 2024"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Murzin, Volodar"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "1.1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Date "2024.12.31"] [ECO "C53"] [WhiteElo "2755"] [BlackElo "2664"] [PlyCount "120"] [GameId "2129342040410718"] [EventDate "2024.12.31"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,120,15,43,22,16,18,9,48,15,8,10,40,29,14,26,23,27,18,18,0,25,33,34,18,0,40,26,46,25,29,5,24,6,26,13,9,-29,25,-5,10,41,18,113,66,29,26,19,67,21,24,-13,20,17,-154,-9,-22,-26,-35,10,-8,195,3,77,2,0,-4,-4,5,49,1,26,-6,-1,40,33,-105,21,43,51,53,40,48,58,42,37,38,19,26,30,-1,13,1,13,1,9,-1,1,13,-45,1,-1,1,1,-44,-1,-1,-1,-1,-31,1,-82,-95,-76,-95,-52,-59,-64,-65,-52,-57,-54,-66]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 h6 6. b4 Bb6 7. a4 a6 8. O-O O-O 9. h3 d6 10. Nbd2 Be6 11. Bxe6 fxe6 12. Re1 Ne7 13. Nf1 Ng6 14. a5 Ba7 15. Be3 Bxe3 16. Rxe3 Qd7 17. g3 Rf7 18. Ra2 Raf8 19. N1h2 Kh8 20. Rd2 Qc6 21. Qb3 d5 22. Rde2 Rd7 (22... Qd6 $142 $11) 23. exd5 Nxd5 24. Nxe5 (24. Rxe5 $1 Qxc3 25. Qxc3 Nxc3 26. Rc2 Rxd3 27. Rxe6 Rf6 $8 (27... Kh7 $4 28. Rxg6 $18) 28. Rxf6 gxf6 29. Ne1 Rd1 30. Rxc3 Rxe1+ 31. Kg2 Re7 32. Ng4 Kg7 33. Ne3 $14) 24... Nxe5 25. Rxe5 Qxc3 $11 26. Qxc3 Nxc3 27. Rc2 Nb5 28. Re3 Nd4 29. Rc4 Rf5 30. Kg2 Rb5 31. Ng4 Nc6 32. Rxe6 Rxd3 33. Rf4 Rd7 34. Ree4 Kh7 35. h4 Re7 36. Rc4 Ne5 37. Nxe5 Rbxe5 38. g4 h5 39. g5 Kg6 40. Kg3 Rd5 41. f3 c6 42. Rfe4 Rxe4 43. Rxe4 Kf7 44. Kf4 Rb5 45. Rc4 Ke6 46. Re4+ Kf7 47. Rc4 Ke6 48. Ke3 Ke7 49. f4 Ke6 50. Ke4 g6 51. Rd4 c5 {Up to now it has been White who's pressing, but now it's Murzin who enjoys some slight hopes. Nepo does a nice job of quickly putting out the fire.} 52. bxc5 Rxc5 53. Rd8 Rxa5 54. Rf8 Rf5 55. Rxf5 gxf5+ 56. Kd4 {Thanks to the g-pawn, White survives the pawn ending despite Black's connected passers. Black's king doesn't have the freedom needed to help those outside passers advance.} b6 57. Kc4 Kd6 58. Kb4 Kd5 59. Ka4 Ke6 60. Kb4 Kd5 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Blitz Final KO 2024"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "1.1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.31"] [ECO "B45"] [WhiteElo "2740"] [BlackElo "2805"] [PlyCount "111"] [GameId "2129342040410719"] [EventDate "2024.12.31"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,111,15,39,17,-40,27,25,19,19,44,85,58,22,-3,23,23,2,23,18,25,2,-22,33,-83,54,26,32,26,5,14,1,-130,0,-4,-104,-6,-145,0,-1,-96,0,-141,-22,-166,-75,-108,-42,-34,-61,-37,-34,-28,-24,-4,-9,10,4,-119,-10,29,-69,9,12,12,-44,19,19,12,-7,24,27,-18,-1,1,-2,-109,-46,-10,-119,-268,-107,-154,-155,-274,-189,-172,-102,199,178,191,215,192,229,232,168,279,218,221,257,174,263,251,224,222,296,157,311,515,458,513,544,568,601]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Bc5 6. Nb3 Bb4 7. Bd2 Nf6 8. Bd3 O-O 9. f4 e5 10. O-O d6 11. a3 Bxc3 12. Bxc3 Be6 13. Nd2 exf4 14. Rxf4 Ne5 15. Kh1 Rc8 16. Bd4 Nfd7 17. Qe2 a6 18. Raf1 b5 19. h3 Qg5 20. Be3 Qe7 21. Qh5 f6 22. R4f2 Nc5 23. Qe2 Na4 24. Bd4 Nc6 25. Qe3 Nxd4 26. Qxd4 Nc5 27. Nf3 Nd7 28. Nh4 Ne5 29. Nf5 Qd7 30. Rd1 Rfd8 31. Ne3 Kh8 32. Bf1 Qc7 33. c3 Qc5 34. Rfd2 Re8 35. Be2 Bb3 36. Re1 Nc6 37. Qxc5 dxc5 38. Bf3 Ne5 39. Nf5 Rcd8 40. Ree2 Nc4 41. Rd5 Bd1 42. Rf2 Bxf3 43. Rxf3 {Up to now Caruana has played a great game, steadily outplaying Duda. He has a winning advantage and is close to converting, but in a single move all his good work is undone and then some.} Nxb2 $4 (43... Rxd5 44. exd5 g6 45. Ng3 Kg7 46. Rf2 f5 $19 {White will soon lose one of his weak pawns, and the game.}) 44. Nd6 $1 {Winning an exchange and the game.} Rxd6 (44... Rf8 $4 {makes things even worse:} 45. Nf7+ Kg8 (45... Rxf7 46. Rxd8+ Rf8 47. Rxf8#) 46. Nxd8 $18) 45. Rxd6 h6 46. Rxa6 Rxe4 47. Ra5 c4 48. Rxb5 Nd3 49. Rb1 Re2 50. Ra1 Nc5 51. a4 Nb3 52. Ra3 Nd2 53. Rf4 Nb1 54. Ra1 Nxc3 55. Rxc4 Ne4 56. a5 1-0 [Event "World Blitz Final KO 2024"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "1.1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Date "2024.12.31"] [ECO "D33"] [WhiteElo "2747"] [BlackElo "2763"] [PlyCount "109"] [GameId "2129342040410720"] [EventDate "2024.12.31"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,109,21,23,9,15,16,14,27,37,32,41,-51,18,4,17,21,33,33,45,23,39,62,41,-52,49,17,-9,0,114,15,42,33,45,51,93,-244,21,46,32,-138,59,-188,36,55,-153,34,-91,-16,24,39,39,50,0,-3,1,12,-43,40,1,38,41,35,31,24,1,13,-3,1,1,-1,33,1,8,1,7,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,-1,1,62,53,64,17,53,62,45,54,73,-16,-6,-16,-1,1,-7,-39,-16,-35,-5,-13,-20,-26]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. g3 Nf6 7. Bg2 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bc5 {The Dubov Tarrasch has been an effective drawing weapon for a few years now. Here's another success story.} 9. Nb3 Bb6 10. O-O d4 11. Na4 O-O 12. Nxb6 axb6 13. Bg5 h6 14. Bxf6 Qxf6 15. Bxc6 bxc6 16. Qxd4 Rd8 17. Qxf6 gxf6 18. Rfc1 Be6 19. Kf1 Ra4 20. Ke1 Rda8 21. Rc3 Rxa2 22. Rxa2 Rxa2 23. Nc1 Rxb2 24. Rxc6 {Not only has this all happened before, it has happened in a game where So had Black.} b5 (24... Kg7 25. Nd3 Rb1+ 26. Kd2 f5 27. Nf4 Kf6 28. h4 (28. Nd5+ Kg7 29. Nxb6 h5 30. Na4 Bd7 31. Rb6 Rh1 32. Nc5 Be8 33. h4 f4 34. Ne4 f5 35. Rb7+ Kg6 36. Rb6+ Kg7 37. Ng5 fxg3 38. fxg3 Rg1 39. Rb3 Ra1 40. Rb7+ Kf6 41. Rb6+ Kg7 42. Ne6+ Kf7 43. Nf4 Kg7 44. Rb7+ Kf6 45. Ke3 Ra3+ 46. Kf2 Bf7 47. Rb6+ Kg7 48. Nh3 Ra2 49. Rc6 Ra3 50. Ng5 Bg8 51. Nf3 Ra4 52. Rc5 Kf6 53. Ng1 Bf7 54. Nh3 Ra3 55. Nf4 Ra6 56. Ke3 Ra3+ 57. Nd3 Ra4 58. Rc6+ Kg7 59. Rb6 Re4+ 60. Kf2 Bc4 61. Rb4 Bxd3 62. Rb7+ Kf6 63. exd3 Rd4 64. Ke3 Rg4 65. Kf3 Rd4 66. Rb6+ Kg7 67. Rb3 Kf6 68. Ra3 Kg6 69. Rc3 Kf6 70. Rc6+ Kg7 71. Rc4 Rxd3+ 72. Kf4 Kf6 73. Rc6+ Kg7 74. Re6 Rd4+ 75. Kxf5 Rg4 76. Re3 Kf7 77. Ra3 Kg7 78. Rb3 Kh7 79. Kf6 Rg6+ 80. Kf7 Rg7+ 81. Ke6 Rg6+ 82. Ke5 Rg4 83. Kf6 Rg6+ 84. Kf5 Rg4 85. Rb7+ Kh6 86. Rb3 Kh7 87. Re3 Kg7 88. Rd3 {½-½ Daneshvar,B (2577)-Salem,A (2661) FIDE World Cup Baku 2023 (3.3)}) 28... Ke7 29. Rc7+ Kf6 30. h5 Ba2 31. Kc2 Rf1 32. Rc6+ Be6 33. Nd3 Kg7 34. Rxb6 Bc4 35. f3 Bxd3+ 36. Kxd3 Rg1 37. Rb5 Kf6 38. Rb6+ Kg7 39. Rb5 {½-½ Aronian,L (2735)-Caruana,F (2766) Tata Steel-A 85th Wijk aan Zee 2023 (11)}) 25. Nd3 Rb1+ (25... Ra2 26. Rb6 Bc4 27. Rxf6 b4 28. Nxb4 Rxe2+ 29. Kd1 Re4 30. Kd2 Kg7 31. Rf3 Be2 32. Rb3 Bf1 33. Rb2 h5 34. h4 f5 35. Nc2 f4 36. Rb4 Re2+ 37. Kd1 Rxf2 38. Rxf4 Rxf4 39. gxf4 Kf6 40. Ne3 Ba6 41. Kd2 Bb7 42. Ke2 Ba6+ 43. Kf2 Ke6 44. Kg3 Bd3 45. Kf3 Kd6 46. Nd1 Ke6 47. Nf2 Bb5 48. Nd1 Bd3 49. Nc3 Kf5 50. Kg3 Bc4 51. Nb1 Bd3 52. Nd2 Be2 53. Nb3 Ke4 54. Nd2+ Kf5 55. Nf3 Ba6 56. Nd4+ Ke4 57. Ne6 Bc4 58. Nf8 Bd5 59. Ng6 Bf7 60. Ne5 Bd5 61. Nf3 Bb7 62. Nd2+ Kf5 63. Nc4 Bc6 64. Ne3+ Ke4 65. Nc2 Bb7 66. Ne1 Kf5 67. Nd3 Be4 68. Nf2 Bc6 69. Nh3 Bb7 70. Ng5 Bd5 71. Nf3 Ke4 72. Nd2+ Kf5 73. Nb1 Be4 74. Nc3 Bc6 75. Ne2 Ke4 76. f5 Be8 77. f6 Ke5 78. Ng1 Kxf6 79. Kf4 Bc6 80. Ne2 Be8 81. Ng3 Bg6 82. Ne4+ Bxe4 83. Kxe4 Ke6 84. Kf4 Kf6 85. Ke4 Ke6 86. Kf4 Kf7 87. Kg5 Ke6 88. Kxh5 Kf5 89. Kh6 Kf6 90. h5 Kf7 91. Kh7 Kf8 92. h6 Kf7 93. Kh8 Kf8 94. h7 Kf7 {½-½ Robson,R (2693)-So,W (2751) USA-ch Saint Louis 2024 (9)}) 26. Rc1 $146 {A new move of no consequence.} (26. Kd2 Kg7 27. Nf4 Bc4 28. g4 Be6 29. h3 b4 30. Nxe6+ fxe6 31. Rxe6 b3 32. Rb6 b2 33. f3 Rh1 34. Rxb2 Rxh3 35. Rb5 Kg6 36. Kd3 Rh2 37. Ke3 Rg2 38. Rh5 Rg1 39. Kf2 Ra1 40. f4 Ra4 41. Kf3 Ra3+ 42. e3 Ra7 43. Rb5 Rc7 44. Kg3 Re7 45. Kf3 Rc7 46. Rb6 Ra7 47. Rc6 Rb7 48. Ra6 Rc7 49. f5+ Kg7 50. Kg3 Rc1 51. Ra7+ Kg8 52. Kf3 Rg1 53. Kf4 Rg2 54. e4 Rg1 55. Ra6 Kg7 56. Re6 Rf1+ 57. Ke3 Rg1 58. Kf3 Rf1+ 59. Kg2 Ra1 60. Re7+ Kg8 61. Kf3 Rf1+ 62. Ke3 Rg1 63. Kd4 Rxg4 64. Kd5 Rf4 65. Ke6 Rxe4+ 66. Kxf6 Rf4 67. Re8+ Kh7 68. Ke6 Kg7 69. Re7+ Kf8 70. Ra7 {½-½ Nguyen,T (2653)-Shankland,S (2711) Prague Masters 5th 2023 (4)}) 26... Rxc1+ 27. Nxc1 Bc4 28. Kd2 f5 29. Nd3 Kg7 30. Kc3 Kf6 31. Kd4 Ke6 32. Nf4+ Kd6 33. h4 Ba2 34. e3 Bc4 35. Nh5 Ke6 36. Ng7+ Kf6 37. Ne8+ Ke7 38. Nc7 Kd6 39. Ne8+ Ke7 40. Nc7 Kd6 41. Na6 Bf1 42. Nb4 Bc4 43. Na6 Bf1 44. Nc5 Bc4 45. Nb7+ Ke6 46. Nd8+ Kd7 47. Nb7 Ke6 48. Nc5+ Kd6 49. f4 Kc6 50. Na6 Kb6 51. Nb4 Be6 52. Nd3 Kc6 53. Nb4+ Kb6 54. Nd3 Kc6 55. Nb4+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Blitz Final KO 2024"] [White "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "1.2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.31"] [ECO "B30"] [WhiteElo "2734"] [BlackElo "2831"] [PlyCount "81"] [GameId "2129342040414817"] [EventDate "2024.12.31"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,81,12,38,16,26,23,20,38,5,11,3,12,8,8,6,2,-26,-20,-35,-8,-10,0,28,7,16,87,95,95,94,92,80,79,75,93,80,80,67,-88,103,90,188,130,57,64,-11,76,47,-6,14,22,4,24,96,28,8,35,161,76,57,101,91,169,71,185,257,264,142,258,154,-15,139,126,123,136,74,185,147,743,457,760,673,29999,29999]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 e5 4. Nc3 d6 5. Bc4 {Rare but logical, now that Black has created the hole on d5.} Be7 6. d3 Nf6 7. h3 O-O 8. Nh2 Be6 9. Ng4 Nd4 10. a4 a6 11. Nxf6+ Bxf6 12. Nd5 b5 $2 {A fairly simple oversight, which Carlsen recognized immediately after Niemann's reply.} (12... Bg5 $11) 13. axb5 $1 Nxb5 $16 (13... axb5 $2 14. Rxa8 Qxa8 15. Nxf6+ gxf6 16. Bxe6 Nxe6 17. Bh6 $18 {There's no immediate mate thanks to the knight on e6, but Black's position is horrible nevertheless.}) 14. Bd2 Bg5 15. Ba5 Qb8 16. O-O Kh8 17. Qh5 Bd8 18. Bxd8 Qxd8 19. f4 f6 20. fxe5 dxe5 21. Kh2 Nd6 22. b3 a5 23. Nc3 Nxc4 24. dxc4 Qd2 25. Na4 Qxc2 26. Nxc5 Bf7 27. Qd1 Qxd1 28. Rfxd1 {Black has worked his way back almost to equality, but Niemann retains the better practical chances, especially with both players getting down to their increments.} Rfb8 $6 29. Ra3 Rc8 $2 30. Nb7 $1 $18 Rab8 31. Nd6 Rc7 32. Rxa5 Kg8 33. Rb5 Ra8 34. Nxf7 $6 (34. Ra1 $1) 34... Kxf7 35. c5 $6 (35. Rd2 $1) 35... Ra2 $1 $16 36. b4 Rb2 $2 (36... Rc2) 37. Rb8 $2 {I don't know if Niemann was setting a trap with this move or if that was a happy accident, but it worked out for him.} (37. Rc1 $1 $18) 37... Rxc5 $2 (37... Rc2 $1) 38. Rd7+ $1 Ke6 $2 (38... Kg6 39. Rbb7 $18 {isn't pleasant for Black, but it's what he needed to try.}) 39. Rxg7 Rc6 40. b5 Rd6 {Black was completely lost in any case.} 41. Re8# $1 1-0 [Event "World Blitz Final KO 2024"] [White "Murzin, Volodar"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "1.2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "0-1"] [Date "2024.12.31"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2664"] [BlackElo "2755"] [PlyCount "66"] [GameId "2129342040414818"] [EventDate "2024.12.31"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,66,15,23,12,21,13,8,22,10,1,9,35,-62,24,31,68,-5,12,9,69,81,82,-12,-90,-25,2,-126,28,-24,46,17,-152,20,11,-26,-26,-36,30,-17,28,1,-12,-74,-19,-98,-49,-99,-82,-99,-102,-112,-88,-81,-127,-123,-129,-125,-138,-102,-150,139,-137,-56,-150,-334,-433,-321,-327]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 Nc6 6. Qa4 Bb4+ 7. Bd2 Nd5 8. Bxb4 Ndxb4 9. O-O O-O (9... Rb8 $142) 10. Nc3 (10. a3 $142 Nd5 11. Qxc4 $16) 10... Bd7 11. Qd1 $2 (11. Qb5 $142) 11... Nd5 $11 (11... Na5 $15) 12. Ne4 Qe7 13. Rc1 Na5 14. Ne5 Rfd8 (14... Bb5 $15) 15. Nxc4 Nxc4 16. Rxc4 Bc6 17. Rc1 e5 18. e3 exd4 19. exd4 Qb4 $11 (19... Ne3 20. fxe3 Bxe4 $11) 20. b3 Ne7 21. Qe1 (21. Rc4 $142) 21... Qxd4 22. Nc5 $2 Bxg2 23. Kxg2 Qd5+ 24. Qe4 b6 {Black is up a pawn for nothing.} 25. Rfd1 Qxe4+ 26. Nxe4 c5 27. Nd6 Nc6 28. Nb5 Kf8 29. a3 Rac8 $2 30. Rxd8+ Rxd8 31. b4 $1 Nd4 32. Nxa7 $4 {Blundering the knight and the game.} ({After} 32. Nxd4 cxd4 33. Kf3 $1 {the d-pawn is lost, and White should draw.}) 32... Ra8 33. bxc5 bxc5 0-1 [Event "World Blitz Final KO 2024"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "1.2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Date "2024.12.31"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2805"] [BlackElo "2740"] [PlyCount "87"] [GameId "2129342040414819"] [EventDate "2024.12.31"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,87,20,3,20,38,22,14,16,19,9,7,0,8,4,0,11,0,25,-7,-1,-4,0,7,12,-3,8,12,3,-31,9,16,14,18,26,34,44,35,62,-16,82,67,114,88,89,51,149,18,-44,-12,4,145,13,37,-38,4,-28,-28,-34,-49,-50,-58,-84,-70,-63,-102,-70,4,-32,144,8,186,-1,-1,27,-6,10,-6,103,37,36,39,34,91,75,24,39,81,75,1] Duda holds easily to keep the lead.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. Nbd2 Be6 7. O-O Bd6 8. Nb3 b6 9. Bg5 h6 10. Bh4 c5 11. Nbd2 g5 12. Bg3 Nd7 13. Nc4 f6 14. a4 a5 15. Nxd6+ cxd6 16. c3 Bg4 17. d4 Qe7 18. Qd3 Bxf3 19. Qxf3 O-O 20. Rad1 Rfd8 21. Rd3 Nf8 22. Qh5 Kg7 23. Qd1 cxd4 24. cxd4 Ne6 25. d5 Nc5 26. Re3 Rab8 27. f3 b5 28. axb5 Rxb5 29. Be1 Rxb2 30. Bxa5 Rdb8 31. Bc3 Ra2 32. Kh1 Qd7 33. Re2 Rba8 34. Rxa2 Rxa2 35. Bb4 Qb5 36. Bxc5 Qxc5 37. h3 Qc3 38. Rg1 h5 39. Qb1 Rb2 40. Qa1 h4 41. Qa7+ Kg6 42. Qa1 Kg7 43. Qa7+ Kg6 44. Qa1 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Blitz Final KO 2024"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "1.2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Date "2024.12.31"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2747"] [PlyCount "79"] [GameId "2129342040414820"] [EventDate "2024.12.31"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,79,17,25,16,1,11,11,7,14,6,17,1,14,19,14,19,0,14,15,-54,7,9,19,21,18,25,-30,40,-39,53,29,13,-7,24,-4,-194,0,27,-8,27,15,12,70,0,-7,-66,-20,10,-3,-47,-14,1,-1,1,-18,-99,-4,-46,-44,60,53,54,78,101,172,101,46,42,28,93,28,30,1,1,1,1,2,1,1,1,1]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. Re1 h6 8. h3 a5 9. Bb3 Ba7 10. Nbd2 b5 11. a4 b4 12. Bc4 Ne7 13. d4 exd4 14. cxd4 d5 15. e5 Nd7 16. Bf1 c5 17. dxc5 Nxc5 18. Nd4 Ne4 19. Nxe4 dxe4 20. Nb5 Qxd1 21. Rxd1 Bb6 22. Nd6 Be6 23. Nxe4 Ng6 24. Be3 Bxe3 25. fxe3 Nxe5 26. Nc5 Rfd8 27. Bb5 Bc4 28. Rd4 Bxb5 (28... Rdc8 $142 $11) 29. axb5 $14 Rxd4 (29... Rdb8 $142) 30. exd4 Nc4 31. Na4 (31. b3 $142 Nd6 32. b6 Rb8 33. Rxa5 Rxb6 34. Kf2 $14 {keeps the pressure on Black.}) 31... Nd6 $2 (31... Rb8 $1 32. Rc1 Nb6 33. b3 Nd5 34. Rc5 Nc3 $11) 32. b6 $18 Rc8 33. Nc5 $2 {Easy come, easy go. Black saves the game.} (33. Re1 $1 $18 {followed by Re5 would have won.}) 33... Rb8 34. Rxa5 Rxb6 35. Ra8+ Kh7 36. Nd7 Rc6 37. Nf8+ Kg8 38. Nd7+ Kh7 39. Nf8+ Kg8 40. Nd7+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Blitz Final KO 2024"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "1.3"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.31"] [ECO "A45"] [WhiteElo "2831"] [BlackElo "2734"] [PlyCount "77"] [GameId "2129342040414821"] [EventDate "2024.12.31"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,77,13,35,5,7,9,7,15,4,13,0,25,14,8,-2,19,-23,38,-1,31,54,40,55,45,20,36,-40,57,62,62,47,-89,68,47,1,41,68,67,27,67,-37,41,50,76,49,49,3,69,-8,46,25,52,73,43,54,73,92,114,115,127,138,185,294,218,188,169,173,178,170,216,257,241,251,328,159,167,179,657,522] It's not quite do-or-die for Carlsen, but it's close.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 d5 3. e3 Bf5 4. c4 e6 5. Nc3 Nbd7 6. Nf3 Bb4 7. Be2 O-O (7... dxc4 $1 8. Bxc4 Nd5 $11) 8. O-O h6 $6 9. Qb3 $16 Bxc3 10. bxc3 b6 11. cxd5 exd5 12. c4 (12. Ba6 $1) 12... Be6 13. Rac1 c5 14. Rfd1 {Thanks to the bishop pair White enjoys an enduring advantage.} Qe7 15. dxc5 (15. Ne5 $142 $16) 15... Nxc5 16. Qb2 $14 Rfd8 17. cxd5 Nxd5 18. Be5 f6 19. Bd4 Rac8 20. h3 Na4 21. Qa1 Nc5 22. Qb1 Na4 23. Qa1 Nc5 24. Bc4 Bf7 25. a4 Nb4 26. Bxc5 Rxd1+ 27. Rxd1 bxc5 $5 (27... Rxc5 28. Bxf7+ Kxf7 $1 $14) 28. Qc3 Na2 $2 (28... Bxc4 29. Qxc4+ Qf7 $1 30. Qf4 $1 c4 31. Qf5 $1 Qf8 $1 $14) 29. Qd3 $18 Nb4 30. Qf5 (30. Bxf7+ $142 Qxf7 31. Qf5 Rb8 (31... Qe8 32. Rd7 $18) (31... Rc7 $2 32. Rd8+ $18) 32. Qxc5 $18) 30... Rd8 $2 (30... Rc7) 31. Rxd8+ Qxd8 32. Qxc5 a5 33. Nd4 Bxc4 34. Qxc4+ Kh7 35. Qf7 Qg8 36. Qe7 Nd5 37. Qc5 Qd8 38. Ne6 Qb8 $2 (38... Qa8 {is better but still lost after} 39. e4 {followed by Qc7. Black will be lucky if he only loses the a-pawn.}) 39. Qxd5 1-0 [Event "World Blitz Final KO 2024"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Murzin, Volodar"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "1.3"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.31"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2755"] [BlackElo "2664"] [PlyCount "103"] [GameId "2129342040418918"] [EventDate "2024.12.31"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,103,21,29,21,15,14,20,13,10,32,17,16,8,28,70,30,36,67,45,18,47,20,16,56,54,14,70,66,77,70,74,75,48,66,68,82,72,148,72,59,74,121,216,138,139,130,152,125,154,156,113,124,247,146,257,119,119,169,161,175,168,159,155,195,198,295,200,124,197,199,176,260,1,228,235,189,253,273,300,282,224,275,311,316,238,247,240,203,240,312,248,146,239,250,258,173,221,226,185,266,218,204,261,586,438] Nepo finishes the match early, outplaying Murzin to close it with a 2.5-0.5 victory.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 h6 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. a3 d6 7. Na4 Bb6 8. O-O O-O 9. h3 Be6 10. Bxe6 fxe6 11. b4 d5 12. Nxb6 axb6 13. Bb2 dxe4 14. dxe4 Qxd1 15. Raxd1 Nxe4 16. Nxe5 Nd6 17. Rfe1 Rfe8 18. Rd3 Re7 19. Ng6 Ree8 20. Ne5 Re7 21. Nxc6 bxc6 22. Rc3 b5 23. Rxc6 Nc4 24. Bc1 Nxa3 25. Rc5 Ra6 26. Kh2 Kf7 27. Re3 Nc4 28. Rf3+ Kg6 29. Rxb5 Ra1 30. Rc5 Nb6 31. Bf4 Nd5 32. b5 Rb1 33. c4 Nxf4 34. Rxf4 Rb2 35. Kg3 Rd2 36. Re4 Kf6 37. Rf4+ Kg6 38. Rf8 Rdd7 39. Rc6 Kg5 40. h4+ Kg6 41. f3 Rd4 42. Rc8 Rdd7 43. Ra8 Kf6 44. Ra7 Kf7 45. c5 Kf6 46. Rb7 Rf7 47. Ra6 Rd5 48. c6 Rc5 49. Raa7 Re7 50. Ra8 e5 51. Rc8 Rc3 52. Rcxc7 1-0 [Event "World Blitz Final KO 2024"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "1.3"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.31"] [ECO "A15"] [WhiteElo "2740"] [BlackElo "2805"] [PlyCount "97"] [GameId "2129342040418919"] [EventDate "2024.12.31"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,97,22,33,17,15,31,-56,17,25,34,15,16,12,7,14,30,30,33,18,27,30,31,84,54,17,-30,10,25,20,14,12,45,29,139,14,30,0,3,13,13,0,9,7,-144,7,24,-113,-9,0,-5,-54,-16,-28,-134,-12,-19,12,-13,-14,0,-66,-34,-5,-34,-46,-36,-53,-59,-50,-79,-72,-4,-38,-56,-63,-42,-156,-118,-130,-134,-119,-130,1,79,7,16,73,71,-56,69,75,182,106,464,363,379,410,610,460]} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 b6 3. g3 Bb7 4. Bg2 g6 5. b3 Bg7 6. Bb2 O-O 7. O-O d6 8. d4 Nbd7 9. Nc3 Ne4 10. Qc2 Nxc3 11. Bxc3 Nf6 12. Rfe1 Be4 13. Qb2 c5 14. Rad1 Qc7 15. Bh3 Rab8 16. Nd2 Bb7 17. a4 cxd4 18. Bxd4 e5 19. Bc3 h5 20. Bg2 h4 21. Bxb7 Qxb7 22. e4 h3 23. f3 Nh7 24. Qc2 Ng5 25. Qd3 Rbd8 26. Re3 f5 27. Qd5+ Qxd5 28. exd5 Bh6 29. Re2 Rf7 30. Rde1 Nh7 31. Nb1 Nf6 32. Bd2 Bxd2 33. Rxd2 g5 34. Nc3 Kg7 35. Rf2 Kg6 36. Kf1 a6 37. Ke2 g4 38. Ref1 gxf3+ 39. Rxf3 Ng4 40. Rh1 Rdf8 41. Nd1 {As in game 1, Caruana managed to achieve a winning position with the black pieces. And - as in game 1 - he went on to lose.} f4 $2 $11 (41... b5 $1 $19 {was best, cracking up the queenside. White will have a couple of weaknesses over here, too, in addition to his weak h-pawn and his lack of kingside space.}) 42. gxf4 Rxf4 (42... exf4 $142) 43. Rxh3 $14 Re4+ $6 (43... Kf5) 44. Kd3 $16 Rd4+ 45. Kc3 $14 (45. Kc2 $142) 45... Kg5 $2 (45... Rdf4) 46. Rg1 $18 Rdf4 $4 (46... Kf5) 47. Ne3 Re4 48. Rhg3 Rff4 49. h3 {Duda moves on, winning 2.5-0.5.} 1-0 [Event "World Blitz Final KO 2024"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "1.3"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.31"] [ECO "A30"] [WhiteElo "2747"] [BlackElo "2763"] [PlyCount "147"] [GameId "2129342040418920"] [EventDate "2024.12.31"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,147,16,20,11,5,15,11,17,15,18,4,17,24,46,45,29,24,38,28,28,28,24,28,29,13,4,15,-4,2,10,12,39,37,31,-7,-19,19,16,-8,-75,-6,-101,-11,-60,-9,-9,-22,-31,-32,-1,-23,17,-11,-15,-34,-20,-28,-21,-46,-4,-42,3,4,13,29,104,65,36,45,36,38,38,32,13,30,40,33,36,1,1,-14,1,-1,1,12,29,1,-61,-11,-4,5,52,52,71,50,83,80,82,119,93,-1,114,-1,71,-1,29991,29992,29993,29982,29993,29990,29991,29992,29993,29990,29991,29992,29993,29990,29991,29992,28478,29988,29993,577,29987,1593,29985,29986,29987,1649,29985,117,-42,27,-70,-2,159,1,31,1,237,190,424,505,962,972,1022,1269]} 1. c4 c5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 Nc6 4. Nf3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. d4 cxd4 7. Nxd4 Ndb4 8. Nxc6 Qxd1+ 9. Kxd1 Nxc6 10. Nc3 Bd7 11. Be3 g6 12. Rc1 Bg7 13. f4 O-O 14. Ke1 Rac8 15. Kf2 Be6 16. Rhd1 h5 17. b3 Nb4 18. Bd4 Rfd8 19. Bxg7 Rxd1 20. Rxd1 Kxg7 21. Rc1 b6 22. a3 Nd5 23. Bxd5 Bxd5 24. b4 Be6 25. e4 a5 26. bxa5 bxa5 27. Ne2 Rb8 28. Nd4 Bg4 29. Ke3 e6 30. e5 h4 31. gxh4 Rh8 32. Kf2 Rb8 33. Kg3 Bh5 34. Rc5 a4 35. Rc7 Kg8 36. Rc4 Bd1 37. Rc1 Bh5 38. Rc4 Bd1 39. Kf2 Rb2+ 40. Kg3 Ra2 41. Rc3 Bb3 42. Nb5 Bd5 43. h5 gxh5 44. Nd6 Rg2+ 45. Kh3 Rb2 46. Rc8+ Kg7 47. Rc7 {Black is certainly under pressure, but with correct play the position is equal. In a nutshell, the relevant matter is that Black's king can survive against the rook and the knight, but if White's king can join the attack is should be hopeless.} Rb3+ $2 (47... Ra2 48. Rxf7+ Kg6 49. Rf6+ Kh7 50. Kh4 Rxh2+ 51. Kg5 Rg2+ 52. Kxh5 Rh2+ 53. Kg4 Rg2+ 54. Kh3 Ra2 $11) 48. Kh4 $18 Rxa3 49. Rxf7+ Kg8 50. Ra7 Ra1 51. Kg5 $1 a3 52. Kf6 a2 53. Rg7+ $1 {Mating - and it should have mated in just four more moves.} Kf8 54. Rc7 $6 (54. Rd7 $1 Kg8 55. Rd8+ Kh7 56. Nf7 {and Black has no answer to the threatened 57.Rh8#.} Rg1 57. Rh8#) 54... Bb7 55. Rf7+ (55. Rd7 $1) 55... Kg8 56. Rg7+ Kf8 57. Rf7+ (57. Rd7 $1) 57... Kg8 58. Rg7+ Kf8 59. Re7 (59. Rd7 $1) 59... Bc6 60. Rc7 Bb7 61. Nxb7 (61. Rd7 $1) 61... Kg8 62. Nd6 (62. Rg7+ $1 Kf8 63. Nc5 Rc1 64. Nxe6+ Ke8 65. Re7#) 62... Rg1 (62... Rf1 63. Kg6 Rxf4 64. Ra7 $18) 63. Rc8+ (63. Nf7 $1) 63... Kh7 64. Rc7+ Kg8 65. Rc8+ (65. Nf7 $1) 65... Kh7 66. Ra8 $8 a1=Q 67. Rxa1 Rxa1 68. Kxe6 {So's technique has been suboptimal, to put it mildly, but he's still winning.} Rh1 69. f5 Rxh2 70. f6 Rf2 71. f7 Kg7 72. Ke7 Rxf7+ 73. Nxf7 Kg6 (73... h4 74. Ng5) 74. e6 (74. e6 h4 75. Ne5+ Kf5 76. Nf3 h3 77. Kd6 Kg4 78. e7 Kxf3 79. e8=Q h2 80. Qc6+ Kf2 81. Qh1 $18) 1-0 [Event "World Blitz Final KO 2024"] [White "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "1.4"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "0-1"] [Date "2024.12.31"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2734"] [BlackElo "2831"] [PlyCount "170"] [GameId "2129342040418921"] [EventDate "2024.12.31"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,170,11,27,21,117,23,0,19,3,8,10,-20,8,15,11,-52,14,14,-2,30,22,25,-11,28,25,2,50,43,48,7,61,14,50,59,46,53,3,53,-10,46,58,-96,32,32,27,17,26,26,-18,-65,-88,-91,-103,-11,-49,-135,-82,12,-69,-58,-9,-50,-39,-26,-19,-18,-40,-22,-33,-34,-38,-37,-47,-102,-64,-38,-41,-38,-117,-143,-195,-124,-207,-174,-153,-262,-175,-190,-160,-247,-210,-142,-228,-220,-249,-215,-399,-238,-271,-278,-272,-272,-272,-121,-228,-287,-157,-234,-268,-186,-247,-264,-389,-416,-448,-467,-449,-434,-449,-271,-376,-424,-417,-449,-486,-467,-188,-406,-245,-387,-363,-179,-256,-352,-106,-322,-377,-290,-301,-136,-260,-255,-279,-278,-239,1,-303,-325,-337,-297,-314,-181,-336,-317,-336,-220,-114,-234,-298,-75,-153,-288,-298,-266,-266,-261,-348,-363,-411,-387,-615,-485] Carlsen outplays his opponent to finish the match. He played well and with a great deal of pent-up emotion, as he practically slammed the king in the center when indicating the result on the DGT board.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. O-O O-O 6. h3 h6 7. c3 d6 8. Re1 a6 9. Nbd2 Re8 10. Nf1 Ba7 11. Ng3 Be6 12. Bxe6 Rxe6 13. d4 Re8 14. Be3 exd4 15. Bxd4 Nxd4 16. cxd4 c6 17. Qb3 Rb8 18. Rad1 Re6 19. Qc2 g6 20. Qc1 Kg7 21. Qf4 Qe7 22. Nh4 Kh7 23. Nf3 Re8 24. e5 Nd5 25. Qg4 dxe5 26. Rxe5 Bb8 27. Rxe6 Qxe6 28. Qh4 Qe7 29. Qxe7 Rxe7 30. Nf1 Kg7 31. g3 Re2 32. N1d2 Ba7 33. Kf1 Re7 34. a3 Nc7 35. Nc4 Rd7 36. Ne3 Ne6 37. Nc2 f5 38. Ke2 Kf6 39. Kd3 c5 40. Kc3 cxd4+ 41. Nfxd4 Ng5 42. Rf1 Ne4+ 43. Kd3 Nc5+ 44. Ke2 Na4 45. Nf3 Re7+ 46. Kd2 Nxb2 47. Nb4 Rd7+ 48. Kc3 Na4+ 49. Kc2 Nc5 50. Nd2 Ne6 51. Nb3 g5 52. f3 Bb8 53. g4 Nf4 54. Re1 Be5 55. Kb1 Rc7 56. Rd1 Rc3 57. Ka2 Rxf3 58. Nc5 Rxh3 59. Nd7+ Ke6 60. Nc5+ Kf7 61. gxf5 Kf6 62. Rd7 Kxf5 63. Rxb7 a5 64. Nc6 Rh2+ 65. Kb1 Bf6 66. Rb5 Kg4 67. Ne4 Bg7 68. Rxa5 Rb2+ 69. Kc1 Ne2+ 70. Kd1 Nc3+ 71. Nxc3 Bxc3 72. Rc5 Bf6 73. a4 Ra2 74. a5 h5 75. Nb4 Ra4 76. Rc4+ Kf3 77. Rc6 Rxb4 78. Rxf6+ Kg3 79. a6 Ra4 80. Kc2 h4 81. Kb3 Ra1 82. Kb2 Ra5 83. Kb3 h3 84. Kb4 Ra1 85. Kb5 h2 0-1 [Event "World Blitz Final KO 2024"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "1.4"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "0-1"] [Date "2024.12.31"] [ECO "C55"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2747"] [PlyCount "121"] [GameId "2129342040418922"] [EventDate "2024.12.31"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,121,23,38,7,24,18,9,16,18,26,22,17,23,21,25,28,68,33,25,25,17,16,29,21,18,23,7,-34,22,18,23,-38,6,16,42,15,33,19,22,-58,23,-43,0,-34,18,-99,-8,0,-23,-8,51,-3,102,-13,-27,-33,-39,25,-18,-35,-110,-24,-63,18,27,49,-46,19,11,3,1,46,27,-39,38,35,-15,41,-22,16,8,39,1,1,-1,86,-3,89,117,24,124,90,148,130,136,91,177,92,118,-1,109,-22,130,118,21,148,137,195,-1,234,116,120,-175,17,53,-1,-34,-11,-57,-30,-14,0,-4]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. Nc3 d6 7. a4 Na5 8. Ba2 c5 9. Bg5 Nc6 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. Nd5 g6 12. c3 Bg7 13. Qd2 Bg4 14. Qe3 Rc8 15. h3 Be6 16. Rfc1 Ne7 17. Nxe7+ Qxe7 18. Bxe6 Qxe6 19. b4 b6 20. a5 d5 21. axb6 axb6 22. bxc5 Rxc5 23. Ra7 h6 24. h4 Rfc8 25. exd5 Rxd5 26. h5 gxh5 27. c4 Rd6 28. Re1 Rcd8 29. Ra3 Qf5 30. Nh4 Qg5 31. g3 Qxe3 32. Rxe3 f6 33. Nf5 R6d7 34. Rb3 Bf8 35. Rf3 Rb8 36. Ne3 Kg7 37. Nd5 Rd6 38. Rb5 Kg6 39. Kg2 Rc6 40. Rb1 Ra8 41. Rxb6 Rxb6 42. Nxb6 Rd8 $6 (42... Ra6 43. Nd5 Bc5 $11) 43. Nd5 $14 f5 $6 (43... Rd6) 44. Re3 $16 Bd6 45. f4 exf4 46. gxf4 Kf7 47. d4 Rg8+ 48. Kh3 $2 (48. Kf2 $16) 48... Rg4 $11 49. c5 Bxf4 50. Re7+ (50. Nxf4 Rxf4 51. d5 Rc4 $8 52. c6 f4 53. Re6 Kg7 $1 $11) 50... Kf8 51. c6 Rg3+ 52. Kh4 Rg4+ $2 (52... Rg6 $8 53. c7 Bxc7 54. Rxc7 Rg4+ 55. Kxh5 Rxd4 $11) 53. Kxh5 Rg5+ 54. Kh4 $2 (54. Kxh6 $1 {won, as Black has no useful discovered check. Maybe the players both assumed Black had} Rg7+ {, but} 55. Nxf4 $1 Rxe7 56. Ng6+ {wins for White, e.g.} Kf7 57. Nxe7 Kxe7 58. Kg5 Kd6 59. d5 $18) 54... Rg4+ $2 (54... Rg6 $1 $11) 55. Kh3 $2 Rg3+ 56. Kh2 $4 {Strange, going for a much worse version of what he could have had with 54.Kxh6.} Re3+ $2 (56... Rg7+ $1 57. Nxf4 Kxe7 $1 $19 {This is another difference with the 54.Kxh6 line. There, White would have had Kxg7.}) 57. Nxf4 $1 {Now there's no 57...Kxe7 (58.Nd5+ and wins).} Rxe7 58. d5 $5 {Trying to fight for a win rather than making the draw and hoping to play for a win with Black in the last game.} (58. Ng6+ Kf7 59. Nxe7 Kxe7 60. d5 Kd6 61. Kh3 h5 62. Kg3 {and unfortunately for White, Black cannot be put into zugzwang.} Kc7 $11) 58... Re4 59. c7 Rc4 60. d6 Ke8 61. Nd5 {Presuambly Firouzja lost on time here, as the position remains equal. That ends the match, with So winning 3-1.} (61. Nd5 Kd7 62. Nb6+ Kxd6 63. Nxc4+ Kxc7 $11) 0-1 [Event "World Blitz Final KO 2024"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "2.1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.31"] [ECO "A45"] [WhiteElo "2831"] [BlackElo "2740"] [PlyCount "119"] [GameId "2129342040423019"] [EventDate "2024.12.31"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,119,15,27,9,8,11,24,2,10,-1,-5,0,-68,17,6,11,5,10,-104,7,15,15,30,40,27,66,-28,100,92,95,211,76,100,99,80,68,64,65,64,41,20,-60,1,114,2,21,9,-4,21,50,83,47,54,61,67,38,72,-3,46,108,60,30,38,-9,80,60,136,154,147,95,78,99,67,103,123,146,115,99,109,141,143,169,136,204,212,248,264,273,297,159,281,273,270,289,199,199,208,214,232,246,175,271,289,276,213,281,226,233,276,302,182,236,128,299,360,196,417,394,353,515,410] Carlsen rolls.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 d5 3. e3 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nd2 e6 6. Ngf3 Bd6 7. Bg3 O-O 8. Bb5 Ne7 9. Bd3 b6 10. e4 Bxg3 11. hxg3 dxe4 12. Nxe4 Ng6 13. dxc5 Bb7 14. Nxf6+ Qxf6 15. cxb6 e5 16. Bxg6 hxg6 17. O-O axb6 18. Re1 Rfe8 19. Qe2 e4 20. Nh2 e3 21. fxe3 Ra5 22. Rad1 Rxa2 23. Rd4 Qe5 24. Qf2 Rea8 25. e4 Ra1 26. Nf3 Rxe1+ 27. Qxe1 Qe7 28. Qe3 Re8 29. e5 b5 30. Kf2 Qe6 31. Qf4 Bxf3 32. gxf3 Qh3 33. g4 Qh4+ 34. Kg2 Qe1 35. Re4 Qd1 36. Qe3 Qd5 37. Kg3 Qb3 38. Qe2 Qd5 39. Qe3 Qb3 40. Qd2 Qe6 41. Qd6 Qb3 42. Qd7 Rf8 43. e6 fxe6 44. Qxe6+ Qxe6 45. Rxe6 b4 46. c4 b3 47. Rxg6 Rc8 48. Rb6 Rxc4 49. Rxb3 Kf7 50. Rb7+ Kf6 51. Rb6+ Kf7 52. f4 Rd4 53. f5 Rd3+ 54. Kf4 Rd4+ 55. Kg5 Rc4 56. Rb7+ Kf8 57. b4 Rd4 58. b5 Rc4 59. b6 Rb4 60. Kh5 1-0 [Event "World Blitz Final KO 2024"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "2.1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "0-1"] [Date "2024.12.31"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2755"] [BlackElo "2747"] [PlyCount "170"] [GameId "2129342040423020"] [EventDate "2024.12.31"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,170,17,17,-4,22,14,3,12,5,5,17,4,1,12,13,28,19,39,74,31,29,36,46,27,48,42,21,5,15,26,125,15,1,15,-1,-4,-75,-29,27,-25,8,38,204,10,52,0,0,1,-5,0,1,0,4,2,4,0,4,0,-11,-9,-16,-45,-14,2,81,-9,73,18,-11,7,22,20,-4,1,1,1,-45,5,-18,16,1,1,29,-32,-19,-20,-45,-19,52,-171,53,0,-34,-36,-21,-1,-23,-131,-1,-1,-317,-41,-318,-275,-327,-395,-365,-322,-326,-356,-296,-187,-316,-363,-330,-142,-273,-186,-338,-157,-254,-235,-256,-260,-252,-259,-242,-267,-252,-268,-267,-257,-258,-302,-305,-312,-317,-301,-378,-307,-366,-367,-342,-365,-386,-337,-346,-264,-347,-243,-260,-224,-277,-255,-276,-277,-317,-282,-296,-296,-438,-384,-377,-385,-550,-361,-402,-343,-379,-357,-29971,-29976]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Nc3 O-O 6. h3 d6 7. Na4 Bb6 8. a3 Ne7 9. O-O Ng6 10. b4 Re8 11. Re1 h6 12. Bb3 Be6 13. Bxe6 Rxe6 14. c4 c6 15. Nxb6 axb6 16. a4 d5 17. Qb3 d4 18. c5 b5 19. Bd2 bxa4 20. Rxa4 Ne8 21. Rea1 Rxa4 22. Rxa4 Nc7 23. Qa2 Re8 24. Nh2 Nb5 25. Ra5 Qd7 26. Nf1 Kh7 27. Ng3 Nf8 28. Nf5 Ne6 29. Qb3 h5 30. Qd1 g6 31. Nh4 Kg7 32. Qc1 f6 33. Kh2 Kf7 34. Kh1 Rc8 35. Ra1 Qe8 36. Qc4 Ra8 37. Ra2 Rxa2 38. Qxa2 Ke7 39. Qa5 Kd7 40. g3 Ng7 41. Kg2 g5 42. Nf3 Ne6 43. Be1 h4 44. Nd2 hxg3 45. fxg3 Qh5 46. Nf3 g4 47. hxg4 Qxg4 48. Kf2 Ng5 49. Nxg5 Qxg5 50. Qa8 $2 (50. Qa2 $11) 50... Qe3+ 51. Kg2 Qxe1 $19 ({Oddly,} 51... Qxd3 {is apparently at least as good. Black wins in either case.}) 52. Qxb7+ Nc7 53. b5 Qe2+ 54. Kh3 cxb5 55. Qb6 Qh5+ 56. Kg2 Qf7 57. Qd6+ Kc8 58. c6 Qe6 59. Qf8+ Qe8 60. Qxf6 b4 61. Qd6 b3 62. Qb4 Qxc6 63. Qxb3 Qc3 64. Qb1 Kd7 65. Kh3 Qc6 66. Kg2 Qb5 67. Qd1 Ne6 68. Qf3 Kd6 69. Kh2 Qb2+ 70. Kg1 Qc1+ 71. Kh2 Qd2+ 72. Kh1 Qe3 73. Qf1 Qg5 74. Kh2 Qh6+ 75. Kg2 Qg7 76. Kh2 Qf8 77. Qe1 Qf3 78. Qb4+ Kd7 79. Qb5+ Ke7 80. Qxe5 Qxd3 81. Qd5 Qe2+ 82. Kh3 Qf1+ 83. Kh2 Qf2+ 84. Kh3 Qe3 85. e5 Nf4+ 0-1 [Event "World Blitz Final KO 2024"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "2.2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "0-1"] [Date "2024.12.31"] [ECO "A15"] [WhiteElo "2740"] [BlackElo "2831"] [PlyCount "94"] [GameId "2129342040423021"] [EventDate "2024.12.31"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,94,6,16,11,14,24,44,24,27,41,52,33,31,49,33,76,76,22,20,23,75,-3,72,18,17,11,27,-48,-8,23,9,13,57,15,-6,7,-7,-5,-10,8,1,0,3,12,11,6,-2,16,30,22,30,5,-29,74,-23,-35,92,-89,-115,-104,-107,-90,-42,-62,-87,-92,-74,2,-82,1,-241,36,-114,-245,-437,-302,-554,-428,-528,-580,-584,-500,-601,-415,-431,-711,-644,-659,-659,-522,-819,-1172,-1345,-1161,-1150,-1079]} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 b6 3. g3 Bb7 4. Bg2 g6 5. d4 Bg7 6. O-O O-O 7. Qc2 c5 8. d5 b5 9. Nc3 b4 10. Nd1 d6 11. e4 e6 12. Re1 Re8 13. Bf4 a5 14. a4 e5 15. Bc1 Bc8 16. b3 Ra7 17. Bb2 Rae7 18. h3 Nbd7 19. Ne3 Nh5 20. Re2 Ndf6 21. Rf1 Kh8 22. Kh2 Ng8 23. Ne1 Rf8 24. Bf3 Nhf6 25. Nd3 Nh6 26. Bc1 Nfg8 27. Bg2 f5 $17 {It took Black a long time to prepare this pawn break, and now it's here. Black's pieces are almost perfectly placed for this, even though they're largely bunched on the back two ranks. (An unusual detail is that no piece or pawn has been exchanged so far.)} 28. exf5 gxf5 29. f4 e4 30. Nf2 Nf6 31. Rg1 Nh5 32. Qd1 Rg8 33. Bf1 {Now it's White's pieces that are heading to the back rank - and to their original squares, at that (both bishops and the queen).} Qe8 34. Rc2 Bd4 35. Bb2 $2 Bxb2 36. Rxb2 Reg7 {Now it's essentially over, as White can't defend against both ...Nxg3 and ...Nxf4.} 37. g4 Nxf4 38. Qc1 Qe5 39. Kh1 fxg4 40. Nfxg4 Nxg4 41. hxg4 Bxg4 42. Nxg4 Rxg4 43. Rxg4 Rxg4 {White could resign here, down two pawns and on his way to getting mated.} 44. Rh2 Qc3 45. Qd1 Qg3 46. Bg2 Nxg2 47. Qa1+ Rg7 {A great game by Carlsen.} 0-1 [Event "World Blitz Final KO 2024"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "2.2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Date "2024.12.31"] [ECO "E39"] [WhiteElo "2747"] [BlackElo "2755"] [PlyCount "76"] [GameId "2129342040423022"] [EventDate "2024.12.31"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,76,12,42,21,19,18,19,15,0,2,7,7,15,-13,21,24,-15,11,20,25,-17,18,-7,33,15,11,-4,69,-23,-9,-13,-3,-31,-25,76,-5,-7,-6,101,36,52,28,23,-42,23,-148,-14,-13,-13,-13,-12,18,9,13,17,89,-5,-51,-33,-32,-46,-13,-30,-23,10,-86,14,-156,-25,1,-76,-1,12,1,110,63,112,11] So maintains his one-point lead in the match.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 c5 5. dxc5 O-O 6. a3 Bxc5 7. Nf3 d5 8. Bg5 dxc4 9. e3 h6 10. Rd1 Nbd7 11. Bh4 Qc7 12. Bxc4 a6 13. O-O b5 14. Ba2 Bb7 15. Bb1 Rfd8 16. b4 Bb6 17. Bg3 Qc6 18. Rd6 Qc8 19. Rfd1 Bc7 20. R6d2 Nf8 21. Bxc7 Qxc7 22. Ne4 Qxc2 23. Nxf6+ gxf6 24. Bxc2 Rdc8 25. Nd4 Bd5 26. e4 Bc4 27. f3 Ng6 28. Kf2 a5 29. g3 axb4 30. axb4 Ra3 31. f4 Ne7 32. Bd3 Ra4 33. Bxc4 bxc4 34. Rb1 c3 35. Rc2 Rc4 36. Ke3 Rcxb4 37. Rxb4 Rxb4 38. Rxc3 Ra4 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Blitz Final KO 2024"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "2.3"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.31"] [ECO "B22"] [WhiteElo "2831"] [BlackElo "2740"] [PlyCount "81"] [GameId "2129342040423023"] [EventDate "2024.12.31"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,81,18,22,-1,0,17,11,0,10,20,21,20,4,13,23,23,21,48,21,9,32,21,24,10,-8,-2,-2,23,43,33,18,-23,43,-82,-8,-25,-8,30,-31,166,138,166,174,159,144,158,199,138,381,225,403,456,504,477,413,373,378,365,368,367,367,354,360,330,359,359,355,428,403,455,214,411,433,454,467,791,456,313,386,491,439,326,746]} 1. e4 c5 2. c3 {Needing only a draw to clinch match victory, Carlsen goes for the ultra-safe Alapin. (Actually, I'm not sure how safe it is. I've seen Carlsen use this in numerous draw-equals-a-win situations the last couple of years, and he has often wound up worse in this opening. It worked out this time, though.)} Nf6 3. e5 Nd5 4. Nf3 e6 5. d4 cxd4 6. Bc4 Nb6 7. Bb3 dxc3 $5 8. Nxc3 d5 9. exd6 Bxd6 10. O-O Nc6 11. Qe2 {This isn't particularly Alapin-y, but whatever it is, it's very pleasant for White. His pieces all enjoy clear skies and easy attacking chances in return for the pawn. In blitz, this is going to be much easier for White to play, especially with Black's king lacking any protection once he castles short.} h6 $2 (11... O-O) 12. Rd1 $16 Qe7 13. Ne4 Bc7 14. Be3 Nd7 15. Rac1 $2 $16 (15. Rxd7 $1 {is the best move, as played in a seniors tournament(!).} Bxd7 16. Bc5 Qd8 17. Rd1 $18 {White is winning, but unfortunately for the oldster on the white side he let the advantage slip. But kudos to him for having better instincts for the attack than Magnus Carlsen, at least in this one case.} Rc8 18. Ba4 Bb8 19. g3 (19. b4 $1 $18 {followed by b5 was the way to go.}) 19... a6 20. Bxc6 Rxc6 21. Nd4 Qc8 22. Nf5 Rxc5 23. Nfd6+ Bxd6 24. Nxd6+ Ke7 25. Nxc8+ Rhxc8 26. b3 Rc1 27. Qd2 Rxd1+ 28. Qxd1 g6 29. Qd2 h5 30. f3 Bc6 31. Kf2 {½-½ Stokes,M (2187)-Khanukov,B (2323) WchT Seniors 65 Radebeul 2016 (8.3)}) 15... O-O 16. Nd4 (16. g4 $5 $16 f5 $1) 16... Qh4 (16... Nxd4 $142 17. Bxd4 Bf4) 17. Ng3 $16 Nde5 18. Nxc6 Nxc6 $2 (18... bxc6 19. Rd4 Qe7 20. Re4 Ng6 $16) 19. Rc4 $18 {The rest is a massacre. White's pieces are all in action, while most of Black's pieces are dormant.} Qe7 20. Bc5 Qe8 21. Nh5 f5 22. Bxf8 Kxf8 23. Nf4 b5 24. Rxc6 Qxc6 25. Bxe6 Bxf4 26. Rd8+ Ke7 27. Rxc8 Rxc8 28. Bd5+ Kf6 29. Bxc6 Rxc6 30. g3 Be5 31. Qxb5 Rb6 32. Qd7 Rxb2 33. Qxa7 Rd2 34. Qb6+ Kf7 35. Qa5 Rd1+ 36. Kg2 Kf6 37. a4 Bd4 38. Qd8+ Kg6 39. Qd6+ Kf7 40. a5 Rd2 41. Qf4 (41. Qf4 Rxf2+ 42. Qxf2 Bxf2 43. Kxf2 Ke6 44. a6 $18 {and the pawn promotes.}) 1-0 [Event "World Blitz Final KO 2024"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "2.3"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.31"] [ECO "D33"] [WhiteElo "2755"] [BlackElo "2747"] [PlyCount "83"] [GameId "2129342040423024"] [EventDate "2024.12.31"] [EventType "k.o."] 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 c5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. g3 Nf6 7. Bg2 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bc5 {Another Dubov Tarrasch.} 9. Nb3 Bb6 10. Nxd5 (10. O-O {is more common, as we've already seen in So-Firouzja from the quarterfinals.}) 10... Be6 11. Nxb6 Qxd1+ 12. Kxd1 axb6 13. Kc2 {Rare, but played by Nepo once before.} (13. Nd2) ({and} 13. Bxc6+ {are more common.}) 13... O-O (13... Nb4+ $142 14. Kb1 O-O 15. Nd4 Bxa2+ 16. Rxa2 Nxa2 17. Bd2 Rfd8 18. e3 {½-½ Nepomniachtchi,I (2770)-Firouzja,A (2744) CrunchLab Masters Div 1 L Chess.com INT rapid 2024 (4.2)} Ra7 $11) 14. Bxc6 bxc6 15. f3 Bf5+ 16. Kd2 Rfd8+ 17. Ke3 Be6 18. Nd4 Bc4 (18... Bxa2 $142 19. Nxc6 Re8+ 20. Kf2 Rxe2+ $1 21. Kxe2 Bc4+ 22. Kf2 Rxa1 $11) 19. b3 c5 20. bxc4 Rxd4 21. Rb1 Rxc4 (21... Nd7 $142 $11) 22. Rd1 Rc2 23. Kf2 h5 24. a3 Re8 25. Rd2 Rxd2 26. Bxd2 Nd7 27. Bf4 Ra8 28. Rd1 Nf8 (28... Ra7 $11) 29. Rd6 Ne6 30. Be3 Rb8 {Perhaps So was starting to get a little ambitious, hoping to end the match with a win in this game?} (30... Rxa3 31. Rxb6 Rc3 $11) 31. f4 g6 32. h3 Kf8 33. Rd7 Ke8 34. Ra7 b5 35. g4 hxg4 36. hxg4 b4 37. f5 gxf5 38. gxf5 Nd4 39. axb4 Rxb4 40. f6 Ne6 $4 {This loses in an almost study-like way, with all of Black's pieces "perfectly" placed for a disastrous tactical finish.} (40... Rb6 41. Bg5 Re6 $11) 41. Re7+ $1 Kd8 (41... Kf8 42. Rxe6 $18) 42. Rxe6 {And now instead of needing only a draw to advance to the finals, So is back into a tied match.} (42. Rxe6 fxe6 43. f7 Ke7 44. Bxc5+ Kxf7 45. Bxb4 $18) 1-0 [Event "World Blitz Final KO 2024"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "2.4"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Date "2024.12.31"] [ECO "E39"] [WhiteElo "2747"] [BlackElo "2755"] [PlyCount "43"] [GameId "2129342040423025"] [EventDate "2024.12.31"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,43,17,21,13,-7,13,13,0,6,10,7,1,12,-3,15,23,21,17,17,32,0,20,-11,7,0,17,23,23,23,23,55,47,51,34,-80,-2,7,44,54,-53,59,56,69,49,66] So probably had an edge in this game, but may have needed more time to regain his bearings after his tragic loss in the last game.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 c5 5. dxc5 O-O 6. a3 Bxc5 7. Nf3 Nc6 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bh4 Be7 10. Rd1 d5 11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. cxd5 Bxc3+ 13. Qxc3 exd5 14. e3 Bg4 15. Be2 Rc8 16. O-O Qb6 17. h3 d4 18. exd4 Bxf3 19. Bxf3 Ne5 20. Qe3 Nxf3+ 21. Qxf3 Qxb2 22. d5 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Blitz Final KO 2024"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "2.5"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.31"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2755"] [BlackElo "2747"] [PlyCount "75"] [GameId "2129342040431218"] [EventDate "2024.12.31"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,75,15,33,25,32,21,18,0,23,16,16,13,14,8,13,29,34,35,32,34,68,25,31,81,27,24,15,-51,8,37,41,-71,19,41,51,39,59,31,41,47,56,38,105,31,-14,31,28,49,208,51,-55,173,238,285,222,400,230,506,366,444,299,533,429,473,692,700,669,544,572,462,493,488,577,595,707,539,737] So played this game as if on tilt. We all know about tilt and the need to avoid it, but some losses are so painful that we just can't recalibrate our mindset.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Nc3 O-O 6. h3 d6 7. Na4 Bb6 8. a3 Ne7 9. O-O Ng6 10. Re1 Re8 11. b4 h6 12. Bd2 c6 13. Nxb6 axb6 14. a4 Be6 15. Bxe6 Rxe6 16. c4 Qd7 17. Be3 b5 18. axb5 Rxa1 19. Qxa1 cxb5 20. Nd2 bxc4 21. dxc4 $14 Nh5 22. Qd1 Ngf4 23. Kh2 Rg6 $11 24. g4 Rf6 $2 {White can't take the knight on h5 *right now*, but that's temporary. Sooner or later the knight will be threatened, as putting the rook on f6 prevents it from escaping.} (24... Qe6 25. Rg1 Nf6 $11) (24... Nf6 $11) 25. c5 $2 (25. Nf3 $1 g5 26. Nxe5 Qe7 27. Nf3 Ng7 28. Bd4 Rg6 29. Ba1 $18 {followed by Nd4 leaves Black without a pawn and without an attack.}) 25... d5 $2 (25... dxc5 $1 26. bxc5 Nd3 $11 27. gxh5 $4 Nxf2 $19) 26. Nf3 $18 {What's wrong with Black's position? Everything.} g5 27. exd5 e4 28. Ne5 Qe8 29. Qd4 Ng7 30. d6 Qd8 31. Qxe4 Nge6 32. Qxb7 h5 33. Nc6 Qf8 34. Qb8 hxg4 35. Bxf4 Rxf4 36. Qxf8+ Kxf8 37. Rxe6 $1 {This was also the winning tactic in game 3 of their match.} fxe6 38. d7 1-0 [Event "World Blitz Final KO 2024"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "3.1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "0-1"] [Date "2024.12.31"] [ECO "B31"] [WhiteElo "2755"] [BlackElo "2831"] [PlyCount "114"] [GameId "2129342040431219"] [EventDate "2024.12.31"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,114,12,18,23,26,27,60,25,28,19,9,59,46,32,33,63,57,64,63,52,30,60,9,-58,21,21,31,60,5,1,62,19,34,61,-8,37,12,0,-6,-23,24,53,15,112,21,106,14,37,45,8,-48,-33,-1,-146,-36,-36,-36,-45,39,-27,19,-36,-46,1,-1,-1,-1,-67,-127,-127,-122,-122,-131,-143,-95,-156,-195,-195,-252,-178,-266,-181,-287,-260,-262,-340,-373,-358,-403,-588,-758,-747,-764,-391,-384,-378,-368,-654,-716,-816,-837,-738,-841,-881,-867,-810,-798,-773,-773,-571,-697,-767,-770,-1174,-1245,-1192]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. Re1 e5 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. d3 Qe7 8. a4 Nf6 9. a5 O-O 10. Be3 Rd8 11. Qc1 c4 12. Ra3 cxd3 13. cxd3 Nh5 14. Bg5 Bf6 15. Bxf6 Qxf6 16. Qc5 Re8 17. Nbd2 Bg4 18. h3 Bxf3 19. Nxf3 Nf4 20. Kh2 b6 21. axb6 axb6 22. Rxa8 bxc5 23. Rxe8+ Kg7 24. Re3 Qd6 25. Ne1 (25. Nxe5 $1 {looks scary as the knight is self-pinning on the diagonal to h2.} Ne6 {seems like it's winning, but White has two ways to maintain equality.} 26. f4 (26. Rxe6 Qxe6 (26... fxe6 27. f4 $11) 27. Nc4 $11) 26... Nxf4 27. Rf3 Ne6 28. Rxf7+ Kh6 29. Rxe6 Qxe6 30. Ng4+ Kg5 31. Rxh7 $11) 25... c4 26. dxc4 Qd2 27. Kg1 Qxb2 28. Rc8 Qb7 29. Rd8 Qb4 30. Nf3 Qxc4 31. Rd7 Qc1+ 32. Re1 Qc3 33. Re3 (33. h4 $142 $11) 33... Qb2 34. Ng5 $2 (34. Rd2 {and White's position still holds.}) 34... Qc1+ 35. Kh2 Qf1 $1 $19 {Probably missed by Nepo. The threat of mate on g2, or in case of Rg3 Ne2 threatening ...Qg1#, forces White to give up material.} 36. Rxf7+ Kg8 37. Rxf4 exf4 38. Rf3 h6 39. Ne6 g5 40. e5 Qc4 41. Nd8 Qd5 42. Nb7 Qxe5 43. Kg1 c5 44. Kh2 c4 45. Ra3 f3+ 46. Kg1 Qb2 47. Ra8+ Kg7 48. Nc5 Qc1+ 49. Kh2 Qf1 50. Ra7+ Kg8 51. Ra8+ Kf7 52. Ra7+ Ke8 53. Ra8+ Ke7 54. Ra7+ Kd8 55. Ne6+ Kc8 56. Rc7+ Kb8 57. gxf3 Qxf2+ (57... Qxf2+ 58. Kh1 Qe1+ 59. Kg2 Qxe6 $19 ({or} 59... Qe2+ 60. Kg3 Qxe6 $19)) 0-1 [Event "World Blitz Final KO 2024"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "3.2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.31"] [ECO "B22"] [WhiteElo "2831"] [BlackElo "2755"] [PlyCount "71"] [GameId "2129342040431220"] [EventDate "2024.12.31"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,71,16,20,27,38,2,8,0,19,19,5,29,20,15,33,-30,18,13,15,16,8,14,16,18,19,13,21,22,2,11,64,38,82,31,23,38,23,30,16,18,12,53,36,44,53,29,-16,-43,-9,44,68,28,78,147,168,317,306,368,390,401,391,402,393,197,349,356,469,483,367,405,457,538,547]} 1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 e6 6. Be2 Nc6 7. O-O cxd4 8. cxd4 Be7 9. Nc3 Qd6 10. Nb5 Qd8 11. Bf4 Nd5 12. Bg3 O-O 13. Rc1 Bd7 14. Nc3 Nxc3 15. bxc3 Qa5 16. Qb3 b6 17. Rfd1 Qa3 18. Qb1 Rfd8 19. h4 Rac8 20. Ng5 Bxg5 21. hxg5 Ne7 22. c4 Qa5 23. Bf4 Ba4 24. Rd3 Qf5 25. Be3 Bc6 26. Ra3 {White is and has been better, though it's nothing serious yet.} Be4 $4 (26... Qxb1 27. Rxb1 Rc7 28. g4 $14 {/? White has a serious and eternal advantage thanks to the bishop pair.}) 27. Qb2 $18 {Threatening Rxa7, but not only Rxa7.} Rd7 $2 28. f3 $1 {Only now did Nepo get what was going on. Too late.} Bxf3 {Better than losing the queen, but nowhere near good enough to save the game. Carlsen finishes things off quickly.} (28... Ba8 29. Bd3 {is the cruel, crushing point: the queen is trapped.}) 29. Bxf3 Ng6 30. Qc2 Nh4 31. Qxf5 Nxf5 32. d5 Nxe3 33. Rxe3 Rc5 34. dxe6 fxe6 35. Bg4 Rd2 36. Bxe6+ 1-0 [Event "World Blitz Final KO 2024"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "3.3"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.31"] [ECO "A28"] [WhiteElo "2755"] [BlackElo "2831"] [PlyCount "107"] [GameId "2129342040431221"] [EventDate "2024.12.31"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,107,15,24,0,0,2,11,19,-6,23,14,-29,4,0,7,7,-6,23,21,16,-3,16,10,221,15,20,0,17,30,52,7,18,4,25,17,3,-93,4,1,14,11,66,6,55,-2,-41,-58,6,77,23,52,357,77,226,221,207,99,224,268,318,307,346,290,383,314,314,367,337,384,379,267,244,242,315,213,252,348,275,157,353,320,349,279,358,268,326,429,357,405,762,385,791,240,239,238,405,320,421,330,229,268,197,312,289,254,409,285,380,413] Nepo needs to win this game to keep the match going. Considering his track record against Carlsen since their title match, and in the first two games of this match, and that Carlsen was now riding a seven-game winning streak, it might seem hopeless. Nepo has other ideas.} 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e3 d5 {When I was a youngster, this move wasn't considered slightly inferior. Judging by the overall score in the database that assessment seems plausible (White scores 62.4%), and the engine thinks White's a little better. Still, it shouldn't overstated: Black has a playable position, and Carlsen has been successful with this line before - including once against Nepo several months ago.} 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bb5 {This was seen as the problem. To keep e5 secure Black must trade on c3, strengthening White's center.} Nxc3 7. bxc3 Bd6 8. d4 Qf6 9. O-O (9. d5 a6 10. Be2 (10. Bd3 Nb8 11. Nd2 Nd7 12. Ne4 Qd8 13. Nxd6+ cxd6 14. Ba3 Qc7 15. Qa4 O-O 16. Qc4 Qxc4 17. Bxc4 b5 18. Be2 Nc5 19. O-O Bd7 20. c4 Rfc8 21. Rfc1 Rab8 22. cxb5 axb5 23. Bb4 Kf8 24. f3 Ke7 25. Rab1 Na6 26. Bd2 Rxc1+ 27. Rxc1 Nc5 28. Rb1 Ra8 29. Rb2 f5 30. Bb4 Na6 31. Be1 Nc5 32. h3 Ra3 33. Bd2 e4 34. Rc2 Nd3 35. Bc3 g6 36. Kf1 h5 37. Bd4 Nb4 38. Rd2 Nxd5 39. Bb2 Rxa2 40. Bf6+ Kxf6 41. Rxa2 Nxe3+ 42. Kf2 Nd5 43. fxe4 Nc3 44. Ra7 Nxe4+ 45. Ke3 Nc5 46. Bf3 Ke5 47. Ra8 b4 48. Rg8 f4+ 49. Kd2 Bf5 50. Rb8 b3 51. h4 d5 52. Kc3 Be4 53. Rb5 Bxf3 54. gxf3 Ne6 55. Rb8 b2 56. Rxb2 Nd4 57. Rf2 Nf5 58. Rh2 Nd4 59. Rf2 Nf5 60. Re2+ Kd6 61. Rh2 Ke5 62. Kd3 Kd6 63. Ke2 Ke5 64. Kf2 Kd4 65. Rh1 Ke5 66. Kg2 d4 67. Kf2 d3 68. Ra1 Nxh4 69. Ra4 d2 70. Re4+ Kd5 71. Ke2 g5 {0-1 Duda,J (2731)-Carlsen,M (2859) Meltwater Tour Final chess24.com INT rapid 2022 (7.4)}) 10... Nb8 11. O-O Nd7 12. c4 O-O 13. Bb2 Nc5 14. Nd2 Qg6 15. Kh1 Bf5 16. Rc1 b6 17. f3 Bd7 18. e4 f5 19. f4 Rae8 20. Bh5 Qh6 21. Bxe8 Rxe8 22. fxe5 Rxe5 23. Bxe5 Bxe5 24. Nf3 Bf4 25. e5 Ne4 26. Qe1 Ng3+ 27. Kg1 Nxf1 28. e6 Be8 29. Rc3 Nxh2 30. Ra3 Bd6 31. Rxa6 Bc5+ {0-1 Nepomniachtchi,I (2755)-Carlsen,M (2832) Julius Baer GenCup D1 W Chess.com INT rapid 2024 (1.5)}) ({Carlsen has been White in this line as well:} 9. Qc2 O-O 10. Bxc6 bxc6 11. O-O Re8 12. dxe5 Bxe5 13. Nxe5 Qxe5 14. f3 f5 15. Re1 Rb8 16. Bd2 Be6 17. e4 fxe4 18. Rxe4 Bf5 19. Qb3+ Qd5 20. Rxe8+ Rxe8 21. Bf4 Be6 22. Qa3 a6 23. Re1 Bf7 24. Rxe8+ Bxe8 25. h3 a5 26. Bxc7 Bf7 27. Qe7 a4 28. a3 Qe6 29. Qd8+ Qe8 30. Qd4 Bb3 31. Kh2 h6 32. Be5 Qe7 33. g4 Bd5 34. Kg3 Qf8 35. f4 Qxa3 36. Bxg7 Qc1 37. Be5 a3 38. c4 Qe1+ 39. Qf2 Qxf2+ 40. Kxf2 Bxc4 41. f5 a2 42. Kg3 Kh7 43. Kf4 Bb3 44. h4 Bc2 45. Bc3 Bd3 46. Ke5 Kg8 47. Kf6 Be2 48. g5 hxg5 49. hxg5 Bd3 50. g6 Bc2 51. Kg5 Bd3 52. f6 Bc4 53. Kf4 c5 54. Bb2 Bb3 55. Be5 Bd5 56. Ke3 Bc4 57. Kd2 Kf8 58. Kc2 Bd5 59. Kb2 Kg8 60. Bd6 Be6 61. Bxc5 Bd5 62. Bd6 Be6 63. Be5 Bd5 64. Ka3 Be6 65. Kb4 Kf8 66. Kc5 a1=Q 67. Bxa1 Bf5 68. g7+ Kg8 69. f7+ Kxf7 70. g8=Q+ Kxg8 71. Bh8 Kxh8 {½-½ Carlsen,M (2863)-Nakamura,H (2736) Carlsen Tour Final chess24.com INT rapid 2020 (2.14)}) 9... O-O 10. Re1 $146 {A novelty, but the computer's top move.} h6 11. a4 a6 12. Bd3 Re8 13. Nd2 Bf5 14. Bxf5 Qxf5 15. d5 Na5 16. e4 Qd7 17. Nf1 (17. c4 $14) 17... c6 18. Ne3 cxd5 19. Nxd5 Qe6 20. Re3 (20. Be3 $142 Rac8 21. Rb1 Rc6 22. Qd3 $11 {/?}) 20... Rad8 (20... Rac8 $142 $11) 21. Rg3 Bf8 22. Rb1 $2 (22. Be3) (22. Qh5) 22... f5 {Now Carlsen is better. Is a 3-0 match victory on the way?} 23. Qf1 fxe4 $5 (23... f4 24. Rd3 Qc6 25. Qd1 Nc4 $15 {/? probably would have led to a happy ending for Carlsen, and a controversy-free end to the tournament.}) 24. Nc7 Qa2 25. Bxh6 $1 {The game is getting random, and even Carlsen started to get nervous at this point. This position is impossible for humans to play perfectly, especially with little time left in a blitz game at the end of a very long day, after four previous days of play.} Qxa4 $2 (25... Re7 $8 26. Bg5 $1 Rc8 $1 27. Ra1 $1 Qf7 28. Nxa6 $1 Nb3 $1 29. Bxe7 Bxe7 30. Re1 bxa6 31. Rxe4 $3 Nd2 32. Qxa6 Rb8 33. Re1 Bc5 34. Qe2 Rf8 35. Re3 Bxe3 36. Qxe3 Nc4 37. Qe2 {Black is a little better, but White should hold.}) 26. Nxe8 $18 {White is simply winning, up material while Black's position remains a ragged mess. Not even Magnus Carlsen can put Humpty Dumpty back together again.} Qxe8 27. h3 b5 28. Ra1 Nc4 29. Rxa6 Qh5 30. Rg4 Rd7 31. Qe2 Qf5 32. Be3 Rd3 33. Ra8 Nxe3 34. fxe3 Rxc3 35. Rg3 (35. Qxb5 $142) 35... b4 36. Kh2 Kh7 37. Qe1 Be7 38. Ra7 Bf6 39. Rb7 Kh6 40. Rxb4 Rd3 41. Rg4 Bg5 42. Rbxe4 g6 43. Qg3 Bf6 44. Ra4 Bg5 45. Rge4 Rd1 46. Qf3 Qxf3 47. gxf3 Bf6 48. Ra6 Kg7 49. Rc4 Bg5 50. Rg4 Bxe3 51. Rgxg6+ Kf7 52. Rgd6 Bg1+ 53. Kg2 Bd4 54. Rd7+ (54. Rd7+ Ke8 55. Rh7 Be3 56. Ra8+ Rd8 57. Rh8+ $18) 1-0 [Event "World Blitz Final KO 2024"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "3.4"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "0-1"] [Date "2024.12.31"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "2831"] [BlackElo "2755"] [PlyCount "62"] [GameId "2129342040431222"] [EventDate "2024.12.31"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,62,16,28,20,18,-49,25,32,0,-45,0,-67,10,7,22,8,-25,16,18,44,43,39,45,51,59,48,62,74,68,64,61,98,88,105,93,132,160,91,87,106,83,81,102,72,66,154,53,0,7,24,17,73,16,-35,24,-8,-25,-84,-65,-384,-534,-574,-843,-719]} 1. e4 e6 {Nepo was playing the French before the Gukesh-Ding match, but as we'll see on move 5 the World Championship has affected current fashion.} 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Nce2 ({Prior to the match} 5. f4 {was just about automatic.}) 5... c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. a3 {This had been played before Gukesh, under Vincent Keymer's guidance, brought it out for game 13 against Ding. But it was Gukesh who put it on the map.} a5 8. Nf3 a4 9. h4 Nb6 $6 ({Nepo got butchered by Carlsen a week and a half ago, but the problem there was that he was once again in a must-win situation and had to play an inferior move rather than play for a repetition.} 9... Qa5 10. Bd2 Qb6 11. Rb1 Be7 12. Be3 O-O $2 {A second problem was that this was a very bad way to avoid the repetition, as Nepo himself acknowledged. Now he gets crushed.} (12... Qa5 $1 13. Bd2 Qb6 $11 {etc.}) 13. Nf4 Qb3 14. Qc1 cxd4 15. cxd4 Na5 16. Bd3 h6 17. Rh3 Nc4 18. Bc2 Qb5 19. Nh5 Nxe3 20. Qxe3 f5 21. Rg3 Rf7 22. Qxh6 Bf8 23. Qg6 {1-0 Carlsen,M (2831)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2755) Oslo CCT Final KO 2024 (2.5)}) 10. Nf4 Na5 11. Rb1 (11. dxc5 $1 Bxc5 12. Nh5 Bf8 13. Nd4 $16) 11... Bd7 12. Bd3 h6 13. O-O Qc7 14. Re1 Nbc4 15. Nh5 $14 (15. Bc2 $142 $16 b5 16. Nd3 $1 $16 {/+-}) 15... Bb5 (15... Nb3 $142) 16. dxc5 $1 Qxc5 17. Nd4 Bd7 18. Qg4 $6 (18. Bc2 $142 $18) 18... O-O-O $1 $16 {White is better, but Nepo has succeeded in that he has achieved a messy three-results position.} 19. Qf4 (19. Nxg7 $1 {is best, but who wants to play this?} Nc6 $1 20. Nf3 $1 Bxg7 21. Qxg7 f6 $1 $16 {Regardless of what the engine says, White is not going to enjoy a smooth ride. He may win, but he can't just coast to victory making nice technical moves without having to calculate anything.}) 19... Qe7 20. b3 $6 {A very human move, but apparently a significant inaccuracy. Carlsen wants to start some trouble against Black's king, and this is the way to start.} axb3 21. Nxb3 Nxb3 22. Rxb3 Bc6 $1 $11 23. Be3 (23. Bxc4 g5 (23... dxc4 24. Qxc4 (24. Rb4 g5 $11) 24... Qc5 25. Qxc5 Bxc5 $44) 24. Qg4 dxc4 25. Rb4 Qc7 26. Rxc4 Be7 $44) 23... g5 $1 24. Qd4 gxh4 $1 {This isn't about having a beautiful pawn structure; it's about opening the g-file for an attack.} 25. Nf6 Bg7 26. Reb1 Bxf6 27. exf6 Qc7 $1 28. Qa7 $6 {Another very human inaccuracy.} Rhg8 $1 29. Bf4 $2 {You've got to be pretty good to come up with this move; unfortunately, he didn't manage to spot every relevant factor before playing it.} (29. Bf1 $1 Nxe3 30. fxe3 h3 31. Rb6 $8 Rd6 $1 32. R1b2 $1 {White is hanging on.}) 29... Qxf4 30. Rxb7 {Winning against *almost* everything.} Rxg2+ $1 {The only move, but after} 31. Kxg2 {what is Black supposed to do? All but two moves lose, and one move draws - and that's as good as a loss under the circumstances. There remains one move...} Ne3+ $3 {This prevents White's king from escaping via f1 (unless White chooses to lose the queen).} (31... Ne3+ $3 32. Qxe3 (32. fxe3 Rg8+ 33. Kh1 Qf3+ 34. Kh2 Qg2#) 32... d4+ 33. Be4 dxe3 34. Bxc6 Qxf2+ 35. Kh1 Rd2 $19 {White doesn't have a perpetual check, and he'll be mated once the checks run out.}) 0-1 [Event "World Blitz Final KO 2024"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "3.5"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Date "2024.12.31"] [ECO "B31"] [WhiteElo "2755"] [BlackElo "2831"] [PlyCount "85"] [GameId "2129342040435319"] [EventDate "2024.12.31"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,85,16,0,15,-10,26,23,23,24,22,35,9,34,38,41,64,56,65,62,55,14,43,44,-93,5,37,27,44,24,-12,27,27,27,27,37,28,5,-21,-7,47,-15,-13,49,33,-27,-32,31,9,5,73,67,60,52,57,56,23,1,3,-1,-1,1,1,-1,-1,14,3,3,-3,182,-3,201,1,102,-8,-19,17,106,18,12,55,74,12,25,10,9,6,10]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. Re1 e5 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. d3 Qe7 8. a4 Nf6 9. a5 O-O 10. Be3 Rd8 11. Qc1 c4 12. Ra3 cxd3 13. cxd3 Nh5 14. Bg5 Bf6 15. Bxf6 Qxf6 16. Qc3 Re8 17. Nbd2 Bg4 18. h3 Bxf3 19. Nxf3 Nf4 20. Kh2 Rad8 21. Re3 b6 22. axb6 axb6 23. b4 Rd6 24. Ra2 Red8 25. Rd2 {Now the game gets spicy. Very impressively, both players are up to the challenge.} Rd4 26. g3 Ne6 27. Qb2 Ng5 28. Nxd4 exd4 29. h4 Qe6 30. hxg5 dxe3 31. fxe3 Qg4 32. Qf6 Rxd3 33. Ra2 Qc8 34. e5 Qd8 35. Ra7 Rd7 36. Qxd8+ Rxd8 37. Rc7 Rd3 38. e6 fxe6 39. Rxc6 Rxe3 40. Rxb6 Re5 41. Kh3 Rxg5 42. Rxe6 Rb5 43. Re4 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Blitz Final KO 2024"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "3.6"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Date "2024.12.31"] [ECO "A45"] [WhiteElo "2831"] [BlackElo "2755"] [PlyCount "61"] [GameId "2129342040435320"] [EventDate "2024.12.31"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,61,21,23,18,5,10,6,6,9,3,0,0,0,15,9,13,14,6,6,63,14,20,42,27,48,26,44,36,51,54,48,74,72,76,62,82,42,30,46,-22,46,43,44,47,50,52,56,49,46,-38,-18,3,19,40,17,31,24,22,69,-12,11,-1,-6]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 (2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Qe7 5. g3 Bxd2+ 6. Qxd2 O-O 7. Bg2 d5 8. O-O dxc4 9. Na3 c5 10. dxc5 Qxc5 11. Rac1 Nc6 12. Nxc4 Qe7 13. Nfe5 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Nd5 15. Rfd1 Nb6 16. Qa5 g6 17. Rd3 Nd5 18. e4 Nb6 19. Bf1 Re8 20. Rdd1 Rf8 21. a3 Kg7 22. b3 Kg8 23. a4 Rd8 24. Qc5 {1-0 Kasparov,G (2640)-Petrosian,T (2605) Bugojno 1982 (6)}) 2... d5 3. e3 e6 4. Nf3 c5 5. Be2 Qb6 6. b3 Bd6 7. dxc5 Qxc5 8. Bxd6 Qxd6 9. c4 Qb4+ 10. Nbd2 dxc4 11. a3 Qe7 12. Nxc4 O-O 13. O-O Rd8 14. Qc2 Nc6 15. b4 a6 16. Rfd1 Bd7 17. Nb6 {From around move 11 or 12 through this point I was reminded of Kasparov's 24-move win over Petrosian, and expected that Carlsen would win a similarly one-sided game squishing Black to death on the queenside. (That game was a little different - White's light-squared bishop was fianchettoed, but have a look above and you might grasp the resemblance.) To Nepo's credit, though, he avoided Petrosian's fate.} Rab8 18. Nxd7 (18. Bxa6 Nxb4 19. axb4 bxa6 20. Qc7 {looks awful for Black, but} Kf8 $14 {keeps everything glued together.}) 18... Rxd7 19. Rxd7 Qxd7 20. Rd1 Qe7 21. g3 (21. Bxa6 Nxb4 22. axb4 bxa6 23. Ne5 Rd8 $11) 21... g6 22. Kg2 Rd8 23. Rc1 Rd6 24. Nd2 Ne5 25. Qb2 (25. Qc8+ $142 Rd8 26. Qc3 $14) 25... Qd8 $1 {Only now has Black finally equalized. The game ends quickly.} 26. Ne4 Nxe4 27. Qxe5 Rd2 28. Qxe4 Rxe2 29. Qf3 (29. Qxb7 Rxf2+ $1 30. Kxf2 Qd2+ 31. Kf3 Qxc1 32. Qxa6 Qh1+ $11 (32... h5 $11)) 29... Ra2 30. Qxb7 Qf6 (30... Rxf2+ $11) 31. Qf3 (31. Qf3 Qxf3+ 32. Kxf3 Rxa3 $11) 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Blitz Final KO 2024"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "3.7"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Date "2024.12.31"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2755"] [BlackElo "2831"] [PlyCount "95"] [GameId "2129342040435321"] [EventDate "2024.12.31"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,95,12,25,14,35,25,13,23,25,13,15,11,11,27,30,34,26,32,30,36,26,23,25,31,-1,46,33,30,39,14,-4,6,5,37,36,100,35,28,47,30,22,23,-31,62,68,-76,28,39,66,37,21,16,34,32,82,58,50,1,34,1,44,59,54,53,56,57,78,75,40,31,21,16,4,12,1,26,9,15,23,-129,5,7,17,29,0,-23,12,-12,1,0,1,-1,0,1,95,-1,-1]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Be7 4. d3 Nf6 5. O-O O-O 6. Nbd2 d6 7. a4 a5 8. Re1 Be6 9. b3 h6 10. Nf1 Re8 11. Ng3 Bf8 12. Bb2 g6 13. Bxe6 Rxe6 14. d4 exd4 15. Nxd4 Nxd4 16. Bxd4 Bg7 17. Qd3 Nd7 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. Qc3+ Kg8 20. f4 Nc5 21. e5 Qe7 22. exd6 Qxd6 23. f5 {White's initiative looks promising, but Carlsen handles the defense perfectly.} Rxe1+ 24. Rxe1 Rd8 $3 25. fxg6 fxg6 26. Qxa5 Qd4+ 27. Kh1 b6 $1 28. Qb5 Ne4 $3 {Without this resource, Carlsen is in deep trouble.} 29. Nxe4 Qxe4 30. Qf1 (30. Rxe4 $4 Rd1+ {mates.}) 30... Qxc2 $11 31. h3 Rf8 32. Qb5 Qc3 33. Qd5+ Kh8 34. Qe6 Kg7 35. Rd1 Rf7 36. Kh2 h5 37. Rd5 h4 38. Rg5 Qf6 39. Qxf6+ Kxf6 40. Rg4 g5 41. b4 c5 42. Kg1 Rd7 43. bxc5 bxc5 44. Kf2 Rd2+ 45. Ke3 Ra2 46. Kd3 c4+ 47. Kxc4 Rxa4+ 48. Kd5 {The match remains tied, and upon Carlsen's proposal and first Nepo's and then FIDE's approval, it ended that way, with Carlsen and Nepo declared co-champions. It's hard to see why Carlsen went for this - he's the stronger player (with a dominant head-to-head record the past three years), he's more physically fit, he's almost certainly better rested given his quitting the rapid championship, and he was due for the white pieces in the next game. For Nepo, it's extremely easy to see why he would say yes - one can only hope that he didn't strain his vocal cords saying "yes" too quickly or enthusiastically.} 1/2-1/2