[Event "8th Altibox Norway Chess 2020"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2020.10.05"] [Round "1"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2767"] [BlackElo "2863"] [Annotator "Shahid"] [PlyCount "74"] [EventDate "2020.10.05"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 a6 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 {D37: Queen's Gambit Declined: 5 Bf4.} Be6 7. Bxf6 (7. e3 Nbd7 8. Bd3 Bd6 9. Bf4 Qe7 10. O-O O-O 11. h3 Rfe8 12. Qc2 {1/2-1/2 (12) Aronian,L (2805)-Carlsen,M (2837) Riadh 2017}) 7... Qxf6 8. Qb3 {The position is equal.} b6 $5 {Exploring less charted territory.} 9. g3 ({But not} 9. Nxd5 Qd8 $17) 9... Qd8 {[#]} 10. h4 $146 ({ Predecessor:} 10. Ne5 Bd6 11. Qa4+ Nd7 12. Qc6 Bxe5 13. dxe5 O-O 14. f4 d4 15. Ne4 Nc5 16. Bg2 Nxe4 17. Bxe4 {1/2-1/2 (52) Sarkar,J (2373)-Nestorovic,N (2469) New York 2020}) 10... Be7 11. Bh3 O-O 12. O-O-O $17 Bxh3 (12... c6 $11 { remains equal.}) 13. Rxh3 ({Better is} 13. Qxd5 $16 Nd7 14. Rxh3) 13... c6 $11 14. e4 dxe4 15. Nxe4 Nd7 16. Qc2 Nf6 17. Ne5 Nxe4 18. Qxe4 Bf6 (18... Rc8 $11) 19. g4 (19. Nxc6 $16 Rc8 20. Rhh1) 19... Re8 20. g5 Bxe5 21. dxe5 Qe7 22. f4 Rad8 23. Rhd3 Rxd3 24. Qxd3 {Endgame KQR-KQR} Qe6 25. b3 (25. Kb1) 25... Qg4 26. Qe4 g6 27. Rd2 c5 28. Qc6 Rf8 29. Qf6 Qxh4 30. Kc2 {[#] Hoping for e6.} Qe1 31. Qc6 Qe3 32. Qf6 b5 33. Rd3 Qe2+ 34. Rd2 Qe4+ 35. Kb2 c4 {White must now prevent ...c3+!} 36. bxc4 bxc4 {( -> ...c3+!)} 37. Ka3 $2 {[#]} (37. Rd8 $11) 37... Qe3+ {Double Attack. Accuracy: White = 76%, Black = 85%.} 0-1 [Event "Stavanger"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2020.10.06"] [Round "1"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B19"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2728"] [Annotator "Shahid"] [PlyCount "104"] [EventDate "2020.10.05"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. h5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 e6 11. Bd2 Ngf6 12. O-O-O Be7 13. Kb1 O-O 14. Ne4 c5 { B19: Classical Caro-Kann: 4...Bf5 main line.} 15. Be3 Nxe4 16. Qxe4 Nf6 { The position is equal.} 17. Qxb7 Nd5 (17... Rb8 $5 18. Qa6 (18. Qxa7 $2 Ra8 $19 ) 18... Qc7 $11) 18. Qa6 Rb8 19. Bd2 (19. dxc5 $11 Nc3+ 20. Kc1 Nxd1 21. Rxd1) 19... cxd4 20. Nxd4 Bf6 21. Nb3 ({But not} 21. Qxa7 $2 Qc8 $19) 21... Qc7 22. Rhe1 Rfc8 $40 {White needs to defend precisely.} 23. Rc1 {[#]} (23. Qd3 $11) 23... Nb6 $1 $17 24. Re4 {[#]} Nc4 $146 ({Predecessor:} 24... Qc6 25. Rb4 Qxg2 26. Qxa7 Qxf2 27. a4 Bxb2 28. Rf4 Qe2 29. Re1 Qg2 30. Qxf7+ Kh8 31. Rxe6 Nd5 32. Rg6 Qxd2 {0-1 (32) Beliavsky,A (2652)-Gyimesi,Z (2580) Bled 2002}) 25. Bf4 {[#]} Qb6 $1 26. Qxb6 Rxb6 27. Be3 Rb4 28. f3 a5 29. Rxc4 Rcxc4 30. Bd2 Rb5 { ...a4 is the strong threat.} 31. Bxa5 Rxh5 32. Rg1 Rb5 33. Bd2 h5 34. c3 g5 35. Kc2 g4 36. Nc1 g3 ({Black should play} 36... gxf3 $17 37. gxf3+ Kf8) 37. b3 $11 Rc8 38. a4 Rf5 39. Ne2 h4 40. c4 e5 (40... Kf8 {with more complications.} 41. Rh1 Ke8 42. Nc3 Be7 43. Ne4 Ra8) 41. Be3 Bg5 42. Bxg5 Rxg5 {Endgame KRR-KRN} 43. Rh1 Rh5 44. Kc3 (44. Nxg3 Rg5 45. Ne4 Rxg2+) 44... f5 45. b4 $1 f4 (45... h3 $5) 46. a5 $2 (46. Ng1 $11) (46. b5 h3 47. Rxh3 Rxh3 48. gxh3 e4 49. Ng1 Re8 50. b6 exf3 51. Nxf3 Kf7) 46... h3 $1 $19 47. gxh3 {[#]} (47. Rxh3 Rxh3 48. gxh3 Ra8 49. Kd2 (49. c5 Kf7 50. c6 Ke7) 49... Kf7 50. Ke1 Ke6) 47... e4 $1 48. fxe4 $2 (48. Rf1 g2 49. Rf2 exf3 50. Ng1 (50. Rxf3 Re8 51. Ng1 Re1)) 48... g2 49. Rg1 Rxh3+ 50. Kd4 f3 51. c5 Kf7 (51... Rh1 $142 52. Kc3 Rxg1 53. Nf4 Rc1+ 54. Kd4 g1=Q+ 55. Kd5 Qg5+ 56. Ke6 Qxf4 57. Kd5 Qf6 58. e5 Rd8+ 59. Ke4 Re1#) 52. Nf4 {[#]} f2 $1 {Accuracy: White = 51%, Black = 70%.} 0-1 [Event "Stavanger"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2020.10.06"] [Round "1"] [White "Tari, Aryan"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B47"] [WhiteElo "2633"] [BlackElo "2828"] [Annotator "TA"] [PlyCount "110"] [EventDate "2020.10.05"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. g3 a6 7. Bg2 Nf6 8. O-O Nxd4 9. Qxd4 Bc5 10. Bf4 d6 11. Qd2 h6 12. Rad1 e5 13. Be3 Bxe3 {B47: Sicilian: Taimanov: 5 Nc3 Qc7 6 f4, 6 g3 and 6 Be2.} 14. fxe3 Be6 15. Qxd6 Rc8 {[#] White is slightly better.} 16. a4 $146 ({Predecessor:} 16. Qxc7 Rxc7 17. Rd2 Ke7 18. Nd5+ Bxd5 19. exd5 Kd6 20. c3 Rc4 21. Rdf2 e4 22. Rd1 {1-0 (58) Bogut, Z (2285) -Zulj,L Medulin 1997}) 16... h5 17. h3 Qxd6 18. Rxd6 Nd7 19. h4 Ke7 20. Rd2 Nb6 21. Nd5+ Bxd5 $1 22. exd5 {Threatens to win with d6+.} Nc4 23. Re2 Nd6 24. e4 a5 25. Ra1 Rc4 26. c3 f6 27. Re3 Rhc8 28. Kf2 g5 29. Bf3 g4 30. Bg2 R4c5 31. Bf1 f5 32. exf5 Rxd5 33. Rd3 Rcc5 34. Rad1 Rxd3 35. Bxd3 $11 {Endgame KRB-KRN} e4 36. Be2 {White is now going downhill.} ({Better is} 36. Bc2 $15 Rxf5+ 37. Kg2) 36... Nxf5 $17 37. Bb5 {[#]} Nd6 $1 38. Be2 {[#]} Ke6 $1 39. Rc1 (39. Rd4 $17 {might work better.}) 39... Ke5 40. Rd1 Rc7 41. Kg2 b6 42. Ba6 Rf7 43. Be2 Rf8 44. Rb1 Nf5 45. b4 Ne3+ 46. Kg1 Nd5 47. Rb3 Rc8 48. bxa5 bxa5 49. c4 Nb4 50. Rb1 {White hopes to continue with Rd1.} Kd4 51. Bf1 Nd3 52. Rb5 Rc5 53. Bxd3 exd3 {Black mates.} 54. Kf2 Kxc4 55. Rb1 Re5 {Accuracy: White = 49%, Black = 92%.} 0-1 [Event "Stavanger"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2020.10.05"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E51"] [WhiteElo "2767"] [BlackElo "2863"] [Annotator "chessvibes"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Armenia"] [BlackTeam "Norway"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ARM"] [BlackTeamCountry "NOR"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. e3 O-O 6. Bd2 b6 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Rc1 (8. Bd3 Bd6 9. O-O Re8 10. Qc2 Ba6 11. Rac1 Bxd3 12. Qxd3 a6 13. Ne2 Nbd7 14. Rc6 Nb8 15. Rc2 Nbd7 16. Rfc1 c5 {Sargissian,G (2682)-Vidit,S (2726) chess.com 2020}) 8... Re8 9. Bd3 Ba6 10. Bxa6 Nxa6 11. O-O Bf8 12. Ne2 Qc8 13. Qa4 ({ Aronian said he should have played} 13. Qc2 {here.} Qb7 (13... c5 14. dxc5 bxc5 15. Bc3) 14. Qc6) 13... c5 14. Ng3 {N} ({Aronian didn't like} 14. dxc5 Nxc5 15. Qc2 Qa6 {which Kramnik recommended and was played before:} 16. Bc3 Nfe4 17. a3 Rac8 18. Rcd1 Na4 19. Rxd5 Naxc3 20. Nxc3 Nxc3 21. bxc3 Qxa3 22. c4 Red8 { Caruana,F (2835)-Carlsen,M (2863) chess24.com 2020}) 14... Qb7 15. dxc5 Nxc5 16. Qb5 Rac8 17. Rfd1 a6 18. Qf1 Nfe4 19. Be1 g6 20. Ne2 Na4 21. Rb1 Bg7 22. Nfd4 Nac5 23. Nf3 (23. b3 Ne6) 23... Ne6 24. Ned4 Nxd4 25. Nxd4 Rc4 26. b3 Rc7 27. Qd3 Nc5 28. Qd2 Ne4 29. Qd3 Nc5 30. Qd2 Ne4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Altibox Norway Chess"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2020.10.05"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2767"] [BlackElo "2863"] [Annotator "chessvibes"] [PlyCount "74"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Armenia"] [BlackTeam "Norway"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ARM"] [BlackTeamCountry "NOR"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 a6 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Be6 7. Bxf6 (7. e3 Nbd7 8. Bd3 Bd6 9. Bf4 Qe7 10. O-O O-O 11. h3 Rfe8 12. Qc2 {½-½ Aronian,L (2805)-Carlsen,M (2837) Riadh 2017}) 7... Qxf6 8. Qb3 b6 9. g3 Qd8 10. h4 {N} ( 10. Ne5 Bd6 11. Qa4+ Nd7 12. Qc6 Bxe5 13. dxe5 O-O 14. f4 d4 15. Ne4 Nc5 16. Bg2 Nxe4 17. Bxe4 Qe7 {Sarkar,J (2373)-Nestorovic,N (2469) New York 2020}) 10... Be7 11. Bh3 O-O 12. O-O-O Bxh3 13. Rxh3 ({A move that wasn't discussed at all is} 13. Qxd5 $5 {which seems to work!}) 13... c6 14. e4 dxe4 15. Nxe4 Nd7 16. Qc2 Nf6 17. Ne5 Nxe4 18. Qxe4 Bf6 19. g4 ({Aronian refrained from} 19. Nxc6 {because he didn't want his opponent "to get active." However, it's actually really bad for Black, but only if White after} Rc8 {continues with} 20. Rhh1 $1 {(not considered by the commentators and Aronian). Because there's always d4-d5 to protect the knight, Black has nothing.}) 19... Re8 20. g5 Bxe5 21. dxe5 Qe7 22. f4 Rad8 23. Rhd3 Rxd3 24. Qxd3 Qe6 25. b3 {"I just started sleeping. This was a stupid move" (Aronian).} (25. h5 $5 Qxa2 26. g6 {Kramnik}) (25. Qd7 Qc4+ 26. Kb1 {Polgar}) (25. Kb1 Qg4 26. Qd7 {Carlsen}) 25... Qg4 26. Qe4 g6 27. Rd2 c5 28. Qc6 Rf8 29. Qf6 Qxh4 30. Kc2 Qe1 31. Qc6 Qe3 32. Qf6 b5 33. Rd3 Qe2+ 34. Rd2 Qe4+ 35. Kb2 c4 36. bxc4 bxc4 37. Ka3 Qe3+ 0-1 [Event "Altibox Norway Chess"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2020.10.05"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Tari, Aryan"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B47"] [WhiteElo "2633"] [BlackElo "2828"] [Annotator "chessvibes"] [PlyCount "110"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Norway"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [WhiteTeamCountry "NOR"] [BlackTeamCountry "USA"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. g3 a6 7. Bg2 Nf6 8. O-O Nxd4 9. Qxd4 Bc5 10. Bf4 d6 11. Qd2 h6 12. Rad1 e5 13. Be3 Bxe3 $5 {Caruana: "I think it's been played before, but it's a novelty in the sense that people played it and it was a blunder. They probably didn't realize that...} 14. fxe3 {...is winning the pawn. In terms of serious games, this is a completely new idea."} Be6 15. Qxd6 Rc8 16. a4 {N} (16. Qxc7 Rxc7 17. Rd2 Ke7 18. Nd5+ Bxd5 19. exd5 Kd6 20. c3 Rc4 {Bogut,Z (2285)-Zulj,L Medulin 1997}) 16... h5 17. h3 Qxd6 18. Rxd6 Nd7 19. h4 Ke7 20. Rd2 Nb6 ({Caruana did look at} 20... Rxc3 21. bxc3 Rc8 {but he didn't like it so much after} 22. Rb1 Rc7 23. a5 {e.g.} Nb8 { (Kramnik)} 24. Kh2 Nc6 25. Ra1 {followed by 26.Bh3, as explained by Caruana. This last detail means that the exchange sac on c3 is more promising for Black with the pawns still on h2 and h6 so that White's h2-h4 (then to go Kh2 and Bh3) can be met by ...g5.}) 21. Nd5+ Bxd5 22. exd5 Nc4 {Caruana felt he had a slightly more pleasant position here.} 23. Re2 Nd6 24. e4 a5 (24... Rc4 { Carlsen}) 25. Ra1 ({Carlsen recommended} 25. Rf3 $1 {followed by b3 and c4: "If anyone is slightly better, it's White here." The tactical justification is} Rc4 26. b3 $1 Rxe4 27. Rxf7+) 25... Rc4 26. c3 f6 27. Re3 Rhc8 28. Kf2 g5 29. Bf3 ({Polgar suggested} 29. g4 $1 {when} hxg4 30. hxg5 fxg5 31. Kg3 Rf8 32. b3 Rcc8 33. Rh1 {is at least equal for White.}) 29... g4 30. Bg2 R4c5 31. Bf1 (31. Re2 b5 32. axb5 Rxb5 33. Ke1 Rcb8 34. Ra2) 31... f5 32. exf5 Rxd5 33. Rd3 (33. Rae1 Kf6 34. Bg2 Rd2+ 35. R3e2 Rxe2+ 36. Rxe2 Kxf5 37. Rd2 {Caruana}) 33... Rcc5 34. Rad1 Rxd3 35. Bxd3 e4 36. Be2 $6 (36. Bc2 Rxf5+ 37. Kg2) 36... Nxf5 37. Bb5 Nd6 38. Be2 Ke6 39. Rc1 Ke5 40. Rd1 Rc7 41. Kg2 b6 42. Ba6 Rf7 43. Be2 Rf8 44. Rb1 Nf5 45. b4 Ne3+ 46. Kg1 Nd5 47. Rb3 Rc8 48. bxa5 bxa5 49. c4 Nb4 50. Rb1 Kd4 51. Bf1 Nd3 52. Rb5 Rc5 53. Bxd3 exd3 54. Kf2 Kxc4 55. Rb1 Re5 0-1 [Event "Altibox Norway Chess"] [Site "?"] [Date "2020.10.05"] [Round "1.3"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B19"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2728"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "90"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] {Rh1! would finish the game as well.} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 {The solid Caro-Kann.} 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 ({In an earlier blitz game Firouzja faced} 6. Nf3 Nd7 7. Bf4 Ngf6 8. Bd3 Qa5+ 9. c3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 e6 11. O-O Be7 12. h3 O-O 13. Rfe1 Rad8 {with approximate equality, Kushagra,M (2351) -Firouzja,A (2728) chess.com 2020}) 6... h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. h5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 e6 11. Bd2 Ngf6 12. O-O-O Be7 {Players now tend to castle short in the Caro-Kann. The dangers of checkmates have been carefully checked by the machines, and they apparently approve the way that the second player goes.} 13. Kb1 O-O ({The last time Duda faced this line was two years ago. He was not convincing then:} 13... Qb6 14. c4 Rd8 15. Bf4 O-O 16. Qc2 Rfe8 17. Nf1 c5 18. d5 exd5 19. cxd5 Ng4 20. N3h2 Nxh2 21. Rxh2 Bf6 22. Rh3 c4 {with a better position for Black in Duda,J (2724)-Esipenko,A (2571) Gibraltar 2018}) 14. Ne4 c5 {And Duda sank into deep thought. More than half an hour was spent on his clock, while the commentators were contemplating the reason for the thinking. Ultimately they came to the conclusion that he is not certain about his opening knowledge.} 15. Be3 {A very risky choice, called "very passive" by Firouzja.} ({The main line is:} 15. g4 Nxg4 16. Qe2 Qb6 17. Ne5 Ndxe5 18. dxe5 f5 {which in a recent top-GM game led practically to a draw straight of the opening:} 19. exf6 Nxf6 20. Rdg1 Nxe4 21. Qxe4 Bf6 22. b3 c4 23. Bxh6 cxb3 24. axb3 Rf7 25. Bc1 Qxf2 26. Bb2 Bxb2 27. Kxb2 Qf5 28. Qe2 Qf2 29. Qxe6 Qf6+ 30. Qxf6 Rxf6 {and the peace treaty was soon signed in So,W (2765) -Navara,D (2738) Saint Louis 2019}) 15... Nxe4 16. Qxe4 Nf6 17. Qxb7 {"I thought I will always have compensation" (Firouzja).} Nd5 {For the pawn Firouzja gets a tremendous initiative. Black often strives to the open the queenside anyway, and here he was assisted by his opponent.} ({Another plausible possibility is} 17... Rb8 { Then White cannot take the pawn:} 18. Qxa7 ({Or} 18. Qa6 Qc7) 18... Ra8 19. Qb7 Qa5 20. Qb3 Rfb8 21. Qc4 Ne4 22. Rd3 Rb4 {as Black's attack is decisive.}) 18. Qa6 ({Maybe Duda should have defended a la Kramnik with} 18. dxc5 $5 {(also the best try according to Firouzja)} Nc3+ 19. bxc3 Rb8 20. Qb3 Qa5 21. Ne5 Rxb3+ 22. axb3 Rc8 {when White has enough material for the queen.}) 18... Rb8 ( 18... Qc7 $5 {seems more accurate.}) 19. Bd2 {After this Black firmly takes over the initiative.} (19. dxc5 $1 {is compulsory. He does not need to fear} Nc3+ ({After} 19... Qc7 {White can also sacrifice the exchange:} 20. Rxd5 $5 ({ Or may choose instead} 20. Bd4 $1 Rfc8 21. c6 {which keeps the queenside under control.}) 20... exd5 21. c6 {with compensation for the exchange.}) 20. Kc1 Nxd1 21. Rxd1 Qc7 22. c6 Bf6 23. c3 {with the idea of Rd1-d7. It is far more important to seal the queenside than to think about the material.}) 19... cxd4 (19... Bf6 {Again Firouzja had an interesting choice:} 20. c4 Nb4 21. Qa3 ({Not } 21. Qxa7 Nd3) 21... Qc7 {with strong attacking position.}) 20. Nxd4 Bf6 { Duda temporary blocks the queenside, but the black pieces keep coming closer easily.} 21. Nb3 Qc7 22. Rhe1 Rfc8 23. Rc1 ({If} 23. c3 Rb6 24. Qd3 a5 $1 { would open all the files} 25. Nxa5 Rxb2+ 26. Kxb2 Qxa5 {with a decisive attack. }) ({Perhaps the best chance is} 23. c4 Qxc4 24. Qxc4 Rxc4 25. g3 Nb4 { although Black's initivative continues in the endgame as well.}) 23... Nb6 $1 { A nice maneuver.} 24. Re4 Nc4 25. Na1 ({Black won in an earlier game after} 25. Qc6 Rb4 {Qxg2 Qxa7 Qxf2} 26. a4 Bxb2 27. Rf4 {Qe2 Re1 Qg2 Qxf7+} Kh8 {Rxe6 Nd5 Rg6 Qxd2 0-1 Beliavsky,A (2652)-Gyimesi,Z (2580) Bled 2002}) ({Bf4 Desperately trying to provoke e6-e5 that would block the black bishop.} 25. c3 {would not stop Black from mounting more pressure with} Rb6 26. Qa4 Rc6) 25... Qb6 $1 { A counterintuitive decision, which works perfectly fine for Black. Firouzja does not retreat or slow down, and the endgame attack nets him material.} ({ But not} 25... e5 26. Be3) 26. Qxb6 Rxb6 27. Be3 ({There is no time to defend with} 27. c3 a5 $1 28. Rc2 ({Or else White loses material after} 28. Re2 a4 { Nd4 e5}) 28... a4 {Nc1 Na3+ and wins.}) 27... Rb4 28. f3 {Once again, Duda sank into thought, but there does not seem to be an alternative.} (28. Rf4 a5 29. a3 Rbb8 {leaves Black in charge of the enemy queenside.}) 28... a5 { Everything is in accordance to the plan; a5-a4 is a deadly threat.} ({Avoiding } 28... Bxb2 $2 29. Rxc4) 29. Rxc4 {The only move.} Rcxc4 30. Bd2 Rb5 31. Bxa5 Rxh5 {The white pawns are too far from the promotional squares; therefore, Black should be close to winning.} 32. Rg1 Rb5 {The only slip by Firouzja in this game. He decided to keep both rooks on the board to slow the enemy pawns down.} ({However, the trade of a rook pair} 32... Rch4 $1 33. Bd2 Rh1 {would have led to the win instead.}) 33. Bd2 h5 {Next, both players try to improve their chances on their flanks.} 34. c3 g5 35. Kc2 g4 {Nc1} 36. g3 {b3} { If gxf3 gxf3+ Kf8 Rg2 and White consolidates.} Rc8 37. a4 Rf5 ({Similar is} 37... Rbc5 {Ne2 h4} 38. c4) {Ne2 h4} 38. c4 e5 39. Be3 {An obvious but not the best move.} ({Strong is} 39. Be1 $1 {The bishop is eyeing the enemy passers, while the knight maneuvers to the optimal spots with} Kg7 {Nc3 Be7} 40. Rh1 { with an unclear position.}) {White, however, needs to avoid the immediate Nc3 due to h3!} 39... Bg5 40. Bxg5 Rxg5 41. Rh1 {Rh5 Kc3 It is Duda now who becomes ambitious!} ({This time Nc3 f5 Instead Nxg3 Rg5 Ne4} 41. Rg2 {Kc3 Re2 It is only Black risking in case of Rd8 c5 Kd3 Rb2 Kc3 Re2 Kd3 should lead to a draw.}) 41... f5 42. b4 ({This time the pawn capture Nxg3 is not as appealing as Rg5 Nf1 Rxg2} 42. Rh4 {Rf2 forces the knight to jump to a poor rim square: Nh2}) 42... f4 {The game enters the most beautiful and dramatic phase.} ({The immediate breakthrough is already on the agenda: h3 Rxh3 Rxh3 gxh3} 42... f4 43. b5 e4 {leads to an extremely sharp situation where both pawn phalanxes are too dangerous. This is practically impossible to calculate by a human, while the computer projects the following drawish line: Ng1 Re8} 44. b6 exf3 {Nxf3 Kg7} {There is no time for Re3+ Kb4 Rxf3 b7} 45. c5 {Re3+ Kc4 Rxf3 b7 g2 b8=Q Rg3! when White needs to force perpetual.}) 43. a5 { Too rushy.} ({Duda needed to be patient for one more move. Ng1!! would most likely lead to a draw after, say e4 fxe4 Re5 Kd4 Re7 Nf3 Rd8+} 43. Kc3 { Rxe4 Rxh4 Re3+ Kc2 Rdd3 with a perpetual check coming. Or Re2+}) ({h3!! The decisive breakthrough. gxh3 Black wins in a study-like manner after} 43. Rh3 { Rxh3} gxh3 {thanks to the beautiful Ra8!! which stops the pawns from moving. Then} 44. Kd2 ({Or} 44. c5 Kf7 45. c6 Ke7 {when the pawns are stopped.}) 44... Kf7 {The black king joins the action, and this decides matters after} 45. Ke1 Ke6 {Nc3 Rd8 Nd5 Rg8} 46. Kf1 {g2+ Kg1} e4 $1 47. fxe4 f3 {Nf4+ Ke5 Nd3+ Kxe4 Nf2+ Kd4}) 43... e4 44. fxe4 ({Or Nxf4 Rf5} 44. Rg1 {Rxf4 fxe4 Rxe4 Rxg3+} Kf7 45. c5 Rb8 {and Black should win.}) {g2 Rg1 Rxh3+ Kd4} 44... f3 {The black pawns crash through and win the game.} 45. c5 {Nf4 Rh1 is over too.} Kf7 { Nf4 f2} 0-1 [Event "8th Norway Chess 2020"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2020.10.06"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2863"] [BlackElo "2728"] [Annotator "Shahid"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "2020.10.05"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 Be7 8. Bd3 O-O 9. Nge2 Re8 10. O-O Nbd7 11. f3 b5 12. Bf2 Bb7 13. Ng3 b4 14. Na4 c5 15. Nf5 Bf8 16. Nxc5 Nxc5 17. dxc5 Bxc5 18. Rc1 Qb6 19. Qa4 Bc8 20. Nd4 Bd7 21. Qa6 Re7 22. Rfd1 Ne8 23. Qxb6 (23. Bf1 Nc7 24. Qd3) 23... axb6 (23... Bxb6 $2 24. Ba6 Nc7 25. Bb7 Rb8 26. Bc6) 24. Bb1 Ba4 25. b3 (25. Nf5) 25... Bd7 26. Ne2 Nc7 27. Rd2 Bc6 28. Nd4 Bb7 29. g4 Ne6 30. Nf5 Rc7 31. h4 Rac8 32. Rcd1 Bf8 33. Bg3 Rc3 34. Kf2 Bc5 $2 35. Bd3 (35. Bd6 d4 36. exd4 Rxf3+ (36... Bxd6 37. Nxd6 Rxf3+ 38. Kg1) 37. Kg1 Bxd6 38. Nxd6 Rg3+ 39. Kh2 Rcc3 40. Nxb7 $18) 35... d4 36. e4 Ra8 37. Bc4 Rc2 38. Bd3 Rcxa2 39. Be5 Rxd2+ 40. Rxd2 Ra5 41. Kg3 Ba6 42. Bxa6 Rxa6 43. Nxd4 Bxd4 44. Bxd4 Ra3 45. Rd3 Nxd4 46. Rxd4 Rxb3 47. Rd8+ Kh7 48. h5 Ra3 49. Rd4 Ra4 50. e5 Ra5 51. Rxb4 Rxe5 52. Rxb6 1/2-1/2 [Event "Stavanger"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2020.10.06"] [Round "2"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2863"] [BlackElo "2728"] [Annotator "Shahid"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2020.10.05"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 Be7 8. Qc2 O-O 9. Nf3 Re8 10. Bd3 Ne4 {D36: Queen's Gambit Declined: Exchange Variation: Main line (5 Bg5 c6 6 Qc2).} 11. Bxe7 Qxe7 12. Bxe4 dxe4 13. Nd2 f5 14. O-O-O $5 {An interesting side line.} ({Better is} 14. O-O $11) 14... Nd7 15. g4 {[#]} fxg4 $146 ({Predecessor:} 15... Nf6 16. gxf5 Bxf5 17. f4 Rac8 18. Kb1 c5 19. Nb3 c4 20. Nc1 a6 21. Rhg1 b5 {1-0 (33) Cazzaniga,W (2139)-Cocconcelli,L (2012) Milan 2013}) 16. Ndxe4 Nb6 17. Ng3 Be6 (17... Nd5 18. e4 Nxc3 19. bxc3) 18. Kb1 Rf8 19. e4 Rad8 20. Rhe1 Qf6 21. f4 (21. Nce2) 21... gxf3 {...f2 is the strong threat.} ({Weaker is} 21... Rxd4 22. f5 $11) ({Don't do} 21... Qxf4 22. Ka1 $17 ) 22. Qf2 Nc4 (22... Qh4 23. Ka1 Rf4 24. Rd3 Nc4) 23. Rg1 (23. b3 $17 Nb6 24. Rd3) 23... Qh4 $1 $19 24. b3 Nd6 $1 25. Kb2 Rf7 (25... b5 26. Rge1 (26. Rd3 $2 b4) 26... a5) 26. Rd2 Rdf8 (26... b5) 27. Re1 (27. e5 $17 {was worth a try.} Ne8 28. Nge4 Qxf2 29. Rxf2) 27... Kh8 28. Rd3 Rf4 29. e5 Nf5 (29... Nf7) 30. Nce4 Bd5 31. Rxf3 Nxg3 $2 (31... Rxf3 $19 32. Qxf3 Qxh2+ 33. Re2 (33. Ka1 Qxg3) 33... Qxg3 $1 34. Qxf5 (34. Qxg3 Nxg3 35. Nxg3 Rf3) 34... Rxf5 35. Nxg3 Rf3) 32. hxg3 $11 Rxf3 33. Qxf3 Rxf3 (33... Qh2+ {feels hotter.} 34. Qe2 Qxe2+ 35. Rxe2 Bxe4 36. Rxe4 Kg8) 34. gxh4 Bxe4 35. Rxe4 Kg8 36. Ka3 Kf7 37. Kb4 h5 38. a4 Ke6 39. a5 Rg3 {Hoping for ...Rg4.} 40. a6 (40. Kc4 $11) 40... b6 $15 { Threatens to win with ...Rg4.} 41. Kc4 $2 (41. Rf4 $1 $15) 41... Rg4 $19 42. Kd3 {[#] next Rxg4 is good for White.} Rg3+ $2 ({Black should play} 42... c5 $1 $19 43. dxc5 bxc5) 43. Re3 {The position is equal.} Rg4 44. Rf3 c5 45. dxc5 bxc5 46. Rf8 $1 Kxe5 47. Rf7 {Accuracy: White = 58%, Black = 79%. . Lost on time} 1-0 [Event "Stavanger"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2020.10.06"] [Round "2"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D10"] [WhiteElo "2828"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "Shahid"] [PlyCount "187"] [EventDate "2020.10.05"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5 cxd5 4. Bf4 Nc6 5. e3 Nf6 6. Bb5 Bd7 7. Nc3 a6 8. Bd3 Bg4 9. Nge2 e6 10. O-O {10.f3 gains popularity. Played by David Navara in July 2020. D10: Slav Defence: 3 cxd5 (without early Nf3) and 3 Nc3.} Bxe2 11. Qxe2 Be7 12. a3 $5 {White is slightly better. Exploring less charted territory.} O-O 13. Na4 {[#]} h6 $146 ({Predecessor:} 13... Qa5 14. Qc2 Rfc8 15. Nc5 Qd8 16. Nxb7 Nxd4 17. exd4 Rxc2 18. Nxd8 Rxb2 19. Nc6 {1-0 (18) Rapport,R (2649) -Bogosavljevic,B (2520) Bar 2015}) 14. Bg3 Nd7 15. h3 Qa5 16. Qd1 Rfc8 17. b4 Qd8 18. Rb1 Ra7 19. Nc5 Ncb8 20. Qe2 a5 21. Rfc1 axb4 22. axb4 Nf6 23. b5 $36 { Black must now prevent b6. White has good play.} b6 $2 (23... Nbd7 $14) 24. Na6 $16 Rxc1+ 25. Rxc1 Nbd7 26. Rc6 Qf8 27. Qc2 {Rc8 is the strong threat.} Ra8 28. Rc7 Bd6 (28... Bd8 $16) 29. Bxd6 $18 Qxd6 30. Qc6 Qf8 (30... Qxc6 $4 31. bxc6 $18) 31. Rxd7 Nxd7 32. Qxd7 Rc8 33. g3 (33. Kf1) 33... Rc3 34. Bf1 Qc8 35. Qxc8+ $1 Rxc8 36. h4 g5 37. Nb4 (37. hxg5 hxg5 38. f3) 37... Kf8 (37... Rc3) 38. Nc6 Ra8 39. Be2 Ra2 40. Kf1 Ra1+ 41. Kg2 Ra2 42. Bd3 Rd2 43. Bf1 f6 44. hxg5 hxg5 45. g4 ({White should try} 45. Kg1 $1 $16) 45... Ke8 (45... Rb2 $11) 46. Kg3 (46. Kg1 $1 $16) 46... Rd1 $1 $11 47. Be2 Rg1+ 48. Kh2 Re1 49. Bd3 Rd1 (49... Rc1 $11 {keeps the balance.}) 50. Nb4 $16 Kd7 51. Kg2 Ra1 52. f4 Ra3 ( 52... gxf4 $16 53. exf4 Ra4) 53. fxg5 $18 fxg5 54. Nc6 Kd6 55. Ne5 Ke7 (55... Ra2+ 56. Kf3 Ra3) 56. Kf3 Ra2 57. e4 $1 Ra1 58. Ke3 Re1+ 59. Be2 Rg1 (59... dxe4 $2 60. Nc4 $18) 60. Kf2 Ra1 61. Nf3 Kf6 62. Ke3 Ra8 63. Bd3 Rg8 64. Bb1 Ke7 65. Ne5 Ra8 (65... Kd6 66. Bc2 Rg7 67. Bd3) 66. Bd3 Rc8 67. Nc6+ Kd6 68. Ne5 Rf8 $2 69. exd5 exd5 70. Bf5 Re8 71. Kd3 {aiming for Nf7+.} Re7 72. Bg6 Ra7 73. Ke3 Ke6 74. Bf5+ Kd6 75. Kd2 Ra2+ 76. Kc3 Ra3+ 77. Kb4 Ra7 78. Bc2 Ke6 79. Nc6 Ra2 (79... Ra8 {keeps fighting.} 80. Bd3 Kd6) 80. Kb3 Ra1 $2 {[#] Now Black is done in.} (80... Ra8 81. Ne5 Ra7 82. Bf5+ Kd6) 81. Kc3 (81. Bf5+ $1 $18 {is the precise move to win.} Kd6 82. Nd8 Rd1 83. Ne6) 81... Rc1 (81... Kd6 $16 {was worth a try.} 82. Bf5 Ra8) 82. Ne5 Rg1 $2 (82... Ke7 83. Nf3 Kf6) 83. Bf5+ Ke7 {[#]} 84. Nd7 $1 Rc1+ 85. Kb3 Rc4 86. Nxb6 {Double Attack} Rxd4 87. Kc3 Rd1 88. Nc8+ Kd8 89. b6 d4+ 90. Kc2 (90. Kb2 $18 Rd2+ 91. Kb3) 90... Re1 91. Nd6 (91. Na7 $142 d3+ 92. Kb2 Re2+ 93. Kb3 Rc2 94. Bxd3 Rh2 95. Nc6+ Kc8 96. Ba6+ Kd7 97. b7) 91... Re3 92. Nf7+ Ke7 93. b7 d3+ 94. Kd1 {Accuracy: White = 76%, Black = 63%.} 1-0 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2020.10.06"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Tari, Aryan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C89"] [WhiteElo "2767"] [BlackElo "2633"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "95"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] 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 {Ever since Frank Marshall unsuccessfully introduced his pet line against Capablanca, in 1918 in New York, it grew stronger and stronger by the time. Nowadays, thanks to the rise of the computers it is considered one of the safest choices by Black. One of the gurus of the line is Levon Aronian himself. } 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 c6 12. Re1 ({Kramnik almost lost his title against Leko due to the following game} 12. d4 Bd6 13. Re1 Qh4 14. g3 Qh3 15. Re4 g5 16. Qf1 Qh5 17. Nd2 Bf5 18. f3 Nf6 19. Re1 Rae8 20. Rxe8 Rxe8 21. a4 Qg6 22. axb5 Bd3 23. Qf2 Re2 24. Qxe2 Bxe2 25. bxa6 Qd3 26. Kf2 Bxf3 27. Nxf3 Ne4+ 28. Ke1 Nxc3 29. bxc3 Qxc3+ 30. Kf2 Qxa1 31. a7 h6 32. h4 g4 {0-1 (32) Kramnik,V (2770)-Leko,P (2741) Brissago 2004}) 12... Bd6 13. g3 Bf5 14. d4 Qf6 {Tari chooses a rare line. According to Megabase, there have been only three games played so far in this variation, all lost by Black.} ({More common is} 14... Qd7 {which was tested by the Armenian GM:} 15. Be3 Rae8 16. Nd2 Bg4 17. Qb1 ({Or} 17. Qc2 Nxe3 18. Rxe3 Rxe3 19. fxe3 c5 {with typical compensation for the pawn in Wunderlich,H (2596)-Manso Gil,A (2574) GER email 2017}) 17... Bf5 18. Qc1 Re6 19. Nf3 Bg4 20. Ng5 Rg6 21. f3 Bxf3 $1 22. Nxf3 Bxg3 23. hxg3 Rxg3+ 24. Kf2 Qh3 {and Black went on to win in Shabalov,A (2608)-Aronian,L (2675) Mallorca 2004}) 15. Be3 Qg6 16. Nd2 Rae8 17. Qf3 Bg4 {N A novelty which immediately embarrases the white queen.} ({In an earlier game Black had compensation after} 17... h5 18. a4 b4 19. Bxd5 cxd5 20. Qxd5 bxc3 21. bxc3 h4 22. Qg2 hxg3 23. fxg3 Rc8 24. c4 Bb4 25. c5 Rfd8 26. Qf2 Bd3 {Fernandez Cardoso,A (2445) -Marrero Lopez,Y (2242) Matanzas 2017}) 18. Qg2 Qh5 19. h4 { Quite an interesting idea! Aronian opens more room for his queen which can now move to h2 if the bishop keeps attacking it. The drawback of the pawn advance is that his kingside is weakened.} ({Safer seems the immediate} 19. a4 Re6 20. axb5 axb5 {But perhaps White disliked} 21. Ra6 Bh3 22. Qf3 Bg4 23. Qh1 Bc7 { when the queen really looks poor in the corner.}) 19... Be2 {Tari wants to create threats at once.} ({A useful move might have been} 19... h6 $5 {first. Black opens air for the king and is ready to attack on the kingside with g7-g5. Play may continue} 20. a4 {Then} Be2 21. axb5 axb5 {looks good for Black as} 22. Nf1 {can be met with} Bf3 ({or} 22... Re7 $5) 23. Bd1 Bxd1 24. Raxd1 f5 { with initiative for the pawn.}) 20. Nf1 Re6 {The most natural development has a hidden drawback.} ({With both the rooks on the first rank White can always meet} 20... Bf3 {with} 21. Bd1 Bxd1 22. Raxd1 {Here} f5 {is not that scary as White can start trading rooks along the e-file with} 23. Bd2) 21. Bd2 Rfe8 ({ It was not too late for} 21... h6 $1 22. a4 Bf3 23. Bd1 Bxd1 24. Raxd1 Rfe8 25. axb5 axb5 26. Qh3 f5 {locking the white queen in the process.}) 22. a4 Bf3 23. Rxe6 $1 {That is the difference.} ({Tari was obviously hoping for} 23. Bd1 Bxd1 24. Raxd1 Rxe1 25. Rxe1 Rxe1 26. Bxe1 Qe2 27. axb5 axb5 28. Bd2 Qd3 29. Qh3 f5 {with a dominant position, which compensates for the pawn.}) 23... Rxe6 24. Qh3 Bg4 25. Qh2 {Now we can appreciate Aronian's h2-h4 idea.} ({Less accurate was} 25. Qh1 Bf3 26. Qh2 Re8) 25... h6 {Finally, Tari went for this useful move, but at the worst possible moment.} ({The rook needed to step out of the pin instead:} 25... Re8 $1 {in order to meet} 26. Ne3 {With} ({Black is also in the game after} 26. axb5 axb5 27. Ra6 Bf8 28. Rxc6 Bf3 29. Ra6 Qf5 {as in order to free his queen White should likely have to part with his g-pawn later. }) 26... Nxe3 27. Bxe3 Qf5) 26. axb5 axb5 27. Ne3 $1 {With the rook pinned this is annoying to say the least.} Bf3 {Now it is really bad for Black.} ({ Pin or no pin, Black needed to capture on e3:} 27... Nxe3 $1 28. Bxe6 Bxe6 29. Bxe3 Bd5 ({Or perhaps even better} 29... Qe2 $1) 30. Re1 Qg4 {would compensate for the significant material deficit thanks to White's weakened light squares.} ) 28. Qh3 {All the white pieces are out and the pawn starts to matter.} Be4 29. Qg4 {The simplest way.} ({Although, a tad more precise was} 29. Ra8+ $1 Kh7 30. Bd1 Qg6 31. h5 Qf6 32. Nxd5 cxd5 ({Or else Black is getting checkmated after} 32... Bxd5 33. Bc2+ Be4 34. Bxe4+ Rxe4 35. Qc8) 33. Bg4 {winning.}) 29... Qxg4 30. Nxg4 f5 ({More resilient was} 30... Re8 31. Ne3 {although White is a solid pawn ahead there.}) 31. Ne5 $1 {Just winning.} Bxe5 32. dxe5 Kf8 ({As} 32... Rxe5 33. Re1 {drops the bishop on the pin.}) 33. f4 Re7 34. Bxd5 $1 {Played practically instantly. Aronian knows his stuff.} cxd5 ({A small trick supports White's play:} 34... Bxd5 35. c4 $1) 35. Be3 {Next Aronian simply consolidates. } Rc7 36. Ra5 Bd3 37. Bd4 Rc6 {Brings the king in.} 38. Kf2 h5 39. Ke3 Bc4 { Removes the bishop from its optimal position.} 40. Ra3 Rg6 41. b3 Bf1 42. Bc5+ Ke8 43. Bb4 Bg2 44. Kd4 Rc6 45. Ra7 g6 46. Re7+ Kd8 47. e6 Rc7 48. Rf7 { And celebrates his birthday with a win!} 1-0 [Event "Altibox Norway Chess"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2020.10.06"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D10"] [WhiteElo "2828"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "chessvibes"] [PlyCount "187"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackTeam "Poland"] [WhiteTeamCountry "USA"] [BlackTeamCountry "POL"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5 cxd5 4. Bf4 Nc6 5. e3 Nf6 6. Bb5 Bd7 7. Nc3 a6 8. Bd3 Bg4 9. Nge2 e6 10. O-O (10. Rc1 Bd6 11. f3 Bh5 12. O-O O-O 13. Na4 Bg6 14. Nc5 Bxc5 15. Rxc5 Qb6 16. Bxg6 hxg6 17. Qd2 e5 18. Bg5 exd4 19. exd4 Qb4 {Navara,D (2719)-Michalik,P (2585) Pardubice 2020}) 10... Bxe2 11. Qxe2 Be7 12. a3 O-O 13. Na4 h6 {N} (13... Qa5 14. Qc2 Rfc8 15. Nc5 Qd8 16. Nxb7 Nxd4 17. exd4 Rxc2 18. Nxd8 Rxb2 19. Nc6 {1-0 Rapport,R (2649)-Bogosavljevic,B (2520) Bar 2015}) 14. Bg3 Nd7 15. h3 Qa5 (15... b5 16. Rac1 Nxd4 (16... Rc8 17. Nc5 Nxc5 18. dxc5 Bf6 19. a4) 17. exd4 bxa4 18. Bxa6 {Caruana}) 16. Qd1 Rfc8 17. b4 Qd8 18. Rb1 Ra7 $6 ({Black should have tried} 18... b5 {but Caruana felt he was still better after} 19. Nc5 {e.g.} Nb6 {(Kramnik)} 20. Qg4 Bxc5 21. dxc5 Nc4 22. Bxc4 bxc4 23. Rfd1) 19. Nc5 Ncb8 20. Qe2 a5 21. Rfc1 axb4 22. axb4 Nf6 23. b5 b6 $6 {"I couldn't believe my eyes when he did it because it looks dead lost." (Caruana)} ({The only move was} 23... Nbd7 {when} 24. Nxd7 Nxd7 25. Rxc8 Qxc8 26. b6 Ra3 27. Bc7 Qa8 {gives Black counterplay. (Caruana).}) 24. Na6 {Now White has a complete grip on the position.} Rxc1+ 25. Rxc1 Nbd7 26. Rc6 Qf8 27. Qc2 Ra8 28. Rc7 Bd6 29. Bxd6 Qxd6 30. Qc6 Qf8 31. Rxd7 Nxd7 32. Qxd7 Rc8 33. g3 Rc3 34. Bf1 Qc8 35. Qxc8+ Rxc8 36. h4 g5 37. Nb4 Kf8 38. Nc6 Ra8 39. Be2 Ra2 40. Kf1 Ra1+ 41. Kg2 Ra2 42. Bd3 Rd2 43. Bf1 f6 44. hxg5 hxg5 45. g4 Ke8 46. Kg3 Rd1 47. Be2 Rg1+ 48. Kh2 Re1 49. Bd3 Rd1 50. Nb4 Kd7 51. Kg2 Ra1 52. f4 Ra3 53. fxg5 fxg5 54. Nc6 Kd6 55. Ne5 Ke7 56. Kf3 Ra2 57. e4 {Caruana: "I expected to end the game immediately and then I didn't see a way to do it."} Ra1 58. Ke3 Re1+ 59. Be2 Rg1 60. Kf2 Ra1 61. Nf3 Kf6 62. Ke3 Ra8 63. Bd3 Rg8 64. Bb1 Ke7 65. Ne5 Ra8 66. Bd3 Rc8 67. Nc6+ Kd6 68. Ne5 Rf8 69. exd5 exd5 70. Bf5 Re8 71. Kd3 Re7 72. Bg6 Ra7 73. Ke3 Ke6 74. Bf5+ Kd6 75. Kd2 Ra2+ 76. Kc3 Ra3+ 77. Kb4 Ra7 78. Bc2 Ke6 79. Nc6 Ra2 80. Kb3 Ra1 81. Kc3 Rc1 82. Ne5 Rg1 83. Bf5+ Ke7 84. Nd7 Rc1+ 85. Kb3 Rc4 86. Nxb6 Rxd4 87. Kc3 Rd1 88. Nc8+ Kd8 89. b6 d4+ 90. Kc2 Re1 91. Nd6 Re3 92. Nf7+ Ke7 93. b7 d3+ 94. Kd1 1-0 [Event "Altibox Norway Chess"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2020.10.06"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2863"] [BlackElo "2728"] [Annotator "chessvibes"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Norway"] [BlackTeam "FID"] [WhiteTeamCountry "NOR"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 Be7 8. Bd3 O-O 9. Nge2 Re8 10. O-O Nbd7 (10... Nh5 11. Bxe7 Qxe7 12. Qd2 Nd7 13. Rae1 Nf8 14. Nc1 Nf6 15. f3 Ne6 16. N1e2 b5 17. Ng3 a5 {Carlsen,M (2863)-Kramnik,V (2753) chess24.com INT 2020}) 11. f3 b5 12. Bf2 Bb7 {N} (12... Nb6 13. b3 a5 14. Rc1 Bb7 15. Ng3 b4 16. Nce2 Nbd7 17. h3 c5 18. Nf5 Bf8 19. dxc5 Bxc5 20. Ned4 Ba6 {Rodshtein,M (2685)-Eljanov,P (2655) Netanya 2019}) 13. Ng3 b4 14. Na4 c5 15. Nf5 Bf8 ({Kramnik said he would have played} 15... c4) 16. Nxc5 Nxc5 17. dxc5 Bxc5 18. Rc1 Qb6 19. Qa4 Bc8 20. Nd4 Bd7 21. Qa6 Re7 22. Rfd1 Ne8 23. Qxb6 axb6 {Carlsen's evaluation: "Nothing special but I thought I can press a little bit."} 24. Bb1 Ba4 25. b3 Bd7 26. Ne2 Nc7 27. Rd2 ({Carlsen looked at} 27. Nf4 {but couldn't make it work, e.g.} Be6 28. e4 Bxf2+ 29. Kxf2 dxe4 30. Bxe4 Rxa2+ 31. Kg3 Kf8 32. Rd8+ Re8 33. Rd6 Ra7) 27... Bc6 28. Nd4 Bb7 29. g4 Ne6 30. Nf5 Rc7 31. h4 Rac8 ({Carlsen hadn't missed} 31... Bxe3 {and thought after} 32. Rxc7 Bxf2+ 33. Kxf2 Nxc7 34. Nd6 Ba6 35. Rd4 {"it's not an easy draw."}) 32. Rcd1 {"Now I'm already clearly pushing." (Carlsen)} Bf8 33. Bg3 Rc3 34. Kf2 Bc5 $6 ({Kramnik suggested} 34... g6 35. Nd6 Bxd6 36. Bxd6 d4 37. e4 R8c5 {but White can be the one to sacrifice an exchange:} 38. Rxd4 $1 { (Carlsen)}) ({Also interesting was} 34... g6 35. Nd6 Bxd6 36. Bxd6 d4 37. e4 f5 ) 35. Bd3 $6 {Carlsen misjudged the position and thought he was much better here so there was no reason to look much further.} ({Winning was} 35. Bd6 $1 d4 36. exd4 Rxf3+ 37. Kg1 Bxd6 38. Nxd6 {and Black will lose material but Carlsen said he didn't consider lines where Black can take on f3.}) 35... d4 36. e4 Ra8 37. Bc4 Rc2 $1 {"Incredibly unpleasant." (Carlsen)} 38. Bd3 (38. Bxe6 {loses to } d3+ 39. Ke1 fxe6 {and the knight is trapped.}) 38... Rcxa2 39. Be5 Rxd2+ 40. Rxd2 Ra5 41. Kg3 Ba6 42. Bxa6 Rxa6 43. Nxd4 Bxd4 44. Bxd4 Ra3 45. Rd3 Nxd4 46. Rxd4 Rxb3 47. Rd8+ Kh7 48. h5 Ra3 49. Rd4 Ra4 50. e5 Ra5 51. Rxb4 Rxe5 52. Rxb6 1/2-1/2 [Event "Altibox Norway Chess"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2020.10.06"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D36"] [WhiteElo "2863"] [BlackElo "2728"] [Annotator "chessvibes"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Norway"] [BlackTeam "FID"] [WhiteTeamCountry "NOR"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 Be7 8. Qc2 O-O 9. Nf3 Re8 10. Bd3 Ne4 (10... Nbd7 11. O-O Ne4 12. Bxe7 Qxe7 13. b4 a6 14. a4 Ndf6 15. b5 axb5 16. axb5 Rxa1 17. Rxa1 c5 18. dxc5 Nxc5 {Esipenko,A (2682) -Aleksandrov,A (2608) Cheliabinsk 2020}) 11. Bxe7 Qxe7 12. Bxe4 dxe4 13. Nd2 f5 14. O-O-O Nd7 15. g4 fxg4 {N} (15... Nf6 16. gxf5 Bxf5 17. f4 Rac8 18. Kb1 c5 19. Nb3 c4 20. Nc1 a6 21. Rhg1 b5 22. a3 Rb8 {Cazzaniga,W (2139)-Cocconcelli,L (2012) Milan 2013}) 16. Ndxe4 Nb6 17. Ng3 Be6 18. Kb1 Rf8 19. e4 Rad8 20. Rhe1 Qf6 {Carlsen has been outplayed in the opening and is basically facing a lost position for the next 11 moves.} 21. f4 gxf3 22. Qf2 Nc4 23. Rg1 Qh4 24. b3 Nd6 25. Kb2 Rf7 26. Rd2 Rdf8 27. Re1 Kh8 28. Rd3 Rf4 29. e5 Nf5 30. Nce4 Bd5 31. Rxf3 Nxg3 $2 {With 2 minutes and 16 second on the clock (vs. 1:07 for Carlsen), Firouzja took only 15 seconds on this move.} ({The relatively simple} 31... Rxf3 32. Qxf3 Qxh2+ {followed by 33...Qxg3! would have been crushing.}) ({ A bit harder to see was that} 31... Ne7 32. Rxf4 Rxf4 33. Qe2 Bxe4 34. Nxe4 Nf5 {is also undefenable for White.}) ({And even the flashy} 31... Nd6 $5 {is winning:} 32. Ne2 (32. exd6 Rxf3) 32... Qxf2 33. Rxf2 Rxf2 34. Nxf2 Nb5 35. Nd1 Nc7 {and White will soon lose at least a pawn.}) 32. hxg3 Rxf3 33. Qxf3 Rxf3 $6 ({Black would still be pressing after} 33... Qh2+ 34. Qe2 Qh3) 34. gxh4 Bxe4 35. Rxe4 {This should be a draw.} Kg8 36. Ka3 Kf7 37. Kb4 h5 38. a4 Ke6 39. a5 Rg3 40. a6 b6 {Here Carlsen had 16 seconds left and Firouzja 13, with a one-second increment per move.} 41. Kc4 $2 {Giving his opponent one more chance.} ({The correct way was} 41. Rf4 Rg4 42. Rf8 Rxd4+ 43. Kc3 Rd7 44. Rh8 g6 45. Re8+ Re7 46. Rg8) 41... Rg4 42. Kd3 Rg3+ $6 ({With 12 seconds on the clock Firouzja misses the winning} 42... c5 $1) 43. Re3 Rg4 44. Rf3 $1 { Not giving the opponent a second chance.} c5 45. dxc5 bxc5 46. Rf8 Kxe5 47. Rf7 (47. Rf7 {After was played, Firouzja had five seconds on his clock (the same as Carlsen) and wanted to play} Rd4+ $2 {but didn't place the rook correctly on the square and then also flagged. It would have been a losing move:} ({ It was basically a move order issue:} 47... Rxh4 48. Rxa7 Rd4+ $1 49. Kc3 Rd8 { draws}) 48. Kc3 Rxh4 49. Rxa7 Rf4 (49... Rh1 50. Ra8 {followed by 51.a7 and a rook check}) 50. Ra8 Rf7 51. Kc4 $1 h4 52. Kxc5 h3 53. Rh8 {and wins.}) 1-0 [Event "8th Altibox Norway Chess 2020"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2020.10.07"] [Round "3"] [White "Tari, Aryan"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B69"] [WhiteElo "2633"] [BlackElo "2863"] [Annotator "Shahid"] [PlyCount "90"] [EventDate "2020.10.05"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 Bd7 7. Qd2 a6 8. O-O-O e6 9. f4 Be7 10. Nf3 b5 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Kb1 Qb6 13. f5 O-O-O 14. Bd3 { B69: Sicilian: Richter-Rauzer: 7...a6 8 0-0-0 Bd7 9 f4 Be7 10 Nf3 b5 11 Bxf6.} Kb8 15. Ne2 Bc8 16. Nf4 {White is slightly better.} Ne5 17. Be2 d5 18. exd5 { [#]} exf5 $5 $146 {New and interesting.} ({Predecessor:} 18... Nxf3 19. Bxf3 e5 20. Ne2 Bxf5 21. Ng3 Bg6 22. Qe2 Rc8 23. Be4 Rc4 24. Nf5 Qc5 {1/2-1/2 (38) Solak,D (2586)-Ashwin,J (2471) Albena 2012}) 19. Nd4 Bc5 20. Rhf1 Rhe8 21. a3 Ka8 $2 (21... Bd7) 22. h3 (22. g3) 22... Bd7 23. Nh5 (23. d6 $142 $16 Bxd4 ( 23... Bxd6 24. Nd5) 24. Qxd4 Qxd4 25. Rxd4) 23... Nc4 $1 $15 24. Bxc4 $1 bxc4 25. Qc3 (25. Ka1 $1 $15) 25... Rb8 $17 26. Rf3 $4 {[#] This costs White the game.} (26. Nxf5 $17 {is more resistant.} Bxf5 27. Rxf5) 26... Re1 $1 $19 27. Rxe1 (27. Qxe1 Qxb2#) 27... Bxd4 28. Qb4 Qc7 29. d6 Qc6 30. Qa5 Bxb2 31. Ka2 { [#]} Be5 $1 ({Weaker is} 31... Qxd6 {[#]} 32. Rd1 $1 $14) 32. Rb1 Rxb1 33. Kxb1 Qxd6 {( -> ...Qd1+)} 34. Kc1 Qd4 {Threatens to win with ...Ka7.} 35. Qxa6+ Kb8 36. c3 $2 (36. g3 {nothing else works.}) 36... Qg1+ 37. Kd2 Qxg2+ 38. Ke3 f4+ { Deflection} 39. Nxf4 Bxf4+ 40. Rxf4 Qg3+ 41. Rf3 Qe1+ 42. Kd4 Qe5+ 43. Kxc4 { Black must now prevent Qb6+.} Qe4+ {Double Attack} 44. Kc5 Qxf3 {Double Attack} 45. Kd6 Bc8 {Accuracy: White = 53%, Black = 88%.} 0-1 [Event "Stavanger"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2020.10.07"] [Round "3"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A08"] [WhiteElo "2728"] [BlackElo "2828"] [Annotator "Shahid"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2020.10.05"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. O-O g6 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 {A08: King's Indian Attack.} Bg7 7. Nb3 (7. c4 $5) 7... Nc6 $1 {now scores much better than the old 7...0-0. Played by Viswanathan Anand in July 2020.} 8. Nc3 e6 9. e4 O-O 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Ne4 Ne5 {[#]} 12. h4 $146 ({Predecessor:} 12. Nd4 Qb6 13. c3 { 1/2-1/2 (13) Cvitan, O (2550)-Horvath,J (2535) Nova Gorica 1997}) 12... h6 13. Qe2 Qc7 14. Rd1 a5 15. Nd4 Bd7 16. a4 Rad8 17. Ra3 Nc4 18. Rad3 Ne5 19. Ra3 Rfe8 20. Nc3 Qc4 21. Nxd5 exd5 22. Qd2 Bg4 (22... Qc5 $17 23. Re3 (23. Qf4 $2 g5 24. hxg5 Ng6 25. Nb3 (25. Qd2 Qxd4 26. Qxd4 Bxd4 27. Rxd4 Re1+ $19) 25... Nxf4 26. Nxc5 Ne2+ 27. Kf1 Nxc1 28. Nxd7 Rxd7 29. Ra1 Ne2 $19) 23... Bxa4) 23. f3 $11 Bd7 24. Bf1 Qc5 {next ...Nc6 is good for Black.} 25. Qf2 Nc4 26. Rad3 Re7 27. b3 Ne5 28. R3d2 Rde8 29. Bb2 g5 {The position is equal.} 30. hxg5 hxg5 31. Ba1 Qb6 32. Kg2 Qg6 33. Kg1 Qb6 34. Kg2 Qg6 35. Kg1 Qb6 36. Kg2 {Accuracy: White = 86%, Black = 88%.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Stavanger"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2020.10.08"] [Round "3"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D04"] [WhiteElo "2728"] [BlackElo "2828"] [Annotator "Shahid"] [PlyCount "145"] [EventDate "2020.10.05"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. e3 c5 4. dxc5 e6 5. b4 a5 6. c3 {D04: Colle System.} axb4 7. cxb4 b6 $1 8. Bb5+ {The position is equal.} Bd7 9. Bxd7+ Qxd7 (9... Nbxd7 {with more complications.} 10. a4 Qc7 11. Bb2 bxc5 12. b5 e5) 10. a4 {[#] } bxc5 $146 ({Predecessor:} 10... Na6 11. Ba3 bxc5 12. b5 Nb4 13. O-O Bd6 14. Bxb4 cxb4 15. Nd4 O-O 16. Nd2 Rfe8 {1-0 (28) Nielsen,K (2097) -Jacobsen,M (2188) Copenhagen 2016}) 11. b5 $36 {White has good play.} Bd6 12. Bb2 O-O 13. Nbd2 c4 14. Qc2 Qc7 15. O-O Nbd7 16. Bc3 Nc5 17. a5 Nfe4 (17... Rfb8 $11) 18. b6 Qb7 19. Bd4 Nxd2 20. Nxd2 Nd3 21. Rfb1 (21. e4 e5 22. Be3 Nb4 23. Qd1 c3 24. Nc4) 21... Ra6 22. Rb5 Rc8 23. Rab1 h6 24. g3 (24. Nf3 $16) (24. e4 Bc5 (24... dxe4 $2 25. Nxc4 Bb8 26. Qb3) 25. Bxc5 Rxc5 26. Rxc5 Nxc5 27. Rb5 Qc6 28. Rxc5 Qxc5 29. b7 Qc7 30. Qb1 Qb8 31. Qb5 $18) 24... Be7 (24... e5 $14 25. Bc3 e4) 25. e4 $16 (25. Nf3) 25... e5 26. Bc3 $2 (26. Be3 $16 {keeps the pressure on.} d4 27. Nxc4) 26... Bc5 (26... dxe4 27. Nxe4 $1 Kh7 (27... Qxe4 28. b7 Rb8 29. Rxe5 $18) 28. Rxe5 $16) (26... d4 $17 27. Ba1 Nb4 $1 28. R5xb4 Bxb4 29. Rxb4 Rxa5 30. Bxd4 exd4 31. Nxc4 Qe7) 27. Rxc5 $11 Nxc5 28. exd5 Qxd5 29. Qf5 Rd8 $2 ({Black should play} 29... Re8 $14) 30. Rb5 $1 $18 f6 {[#]} (30... Qd6 31. Qg4 (31. Qxe5 Qxe5 32. Bxe5 Nb7 $14) (31. Ne4 Nxe4 (31... Qe6 32. Qxe6 Nxe6 33. Rxe5) 32. Qxe4 Qd3 33. Qxe5 f6) 31... Nd3 32. Qxc4 (32. Nxc4 Qf6 $17) 32... Qf6 33. f4) (30... Raa8 31. Bb4) 31. b7 $1 Qd6 32. Qc8 ({Stronger than} 32. Nxc4 Qd1+ 33. Kg2 Nxb7 $1 $17) 32... Nxb7 33. Qxb7 Qc6 34. Qxc6 Rxc6 35. Rb6 (35. Ne4 $18) 35... Rc7 (35... Rcd6 $16) 36. a6 (36. Kg2 $18) 36... Ra8 {[#]} 37. Ne4 $1 Rca7 (37... f5 $16) 38. Nc5 Rc8 39. Rb5 h5 (39... Rac7 $16) 40. h4 Kh7 41. Kg2 Kg6 42. Kf3 Kf5 43. Ke3 Rc6 44. Bb4 c3 (44... Rd6 $16 45. f3 Rc6) 45. Bxc3 Kg6 (45... g5 $142 46. Ba5 gxh4) 46. Bb4 Raxa6 47. Nxa6 Rxa6 {Endgame KRB-KR} 48. Rb7 Ra8 49. Ke4 Rd8 50. Bc5 Ra8 51. Kd5 Ra5 (51... Rc8 {was called for.} 52. Ra7 Rb8) 52. Ra7 Rb5 53. Kc6 Rb2 54. Kd5 Rb5 $1 55. Kc4 Rb8 56. Rc7 Ra8 57. Kd5 Ra2 58. Ke6 Ra6+ 59. Ke7 Kf5 $2 (59... Ra8 60. Ra7 Rh8) 60. Kf7 g5 61. Be3 gxh4 62. gxh4 Kg4 63. Rc4+ Kf3 64. Kg6 e4 65. Kxh5 f5 66. Kg5 Ra5 67. Bf4 {White mates.} Kxf2 68. Rc2+ Kf3 69. Rc3+ Ke2 70. h5 Ra1 71. h6 Rh1 72. Kxf5 Kf2 73. Kxe4 {Accuracy: White = 73%, Black = 52%.} 1-0 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2020.10.07"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Tari, Aryan"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B69"] [WhiteElo "2633"] [BlackElo "2863"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "90"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:00:42"] [BlackClock "0:10:56"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 {The Classical line is a rare choice in the practice of the world champion.} 6. Bg5 Bd7 7. Qd2 a6 8. O-O-O e6 9. f4 ({Carlsen's latest game in the line saw} 9. f3 Nxd4 10. Qxd4 Be7 11. Kb1 b5 12. Bxf6 gxf6 13. Ne2 Rc8 14. Qd2 Qb6 15. Nf4 h5 {and this eventually ended in a draw in Anand,V (2776)-Carlsen,M (2843) Karlsruhe/ Baden-Baden 2018}) 9... Be7 ({Tari was successful after} 9... b5 10. Bxf6 gxf6 11. Kb1 Qb6 12. Nxc6 Bxc6 13. f5 b4 14. Ne2 e5 15. Ng3 h5 16. Bc4 h4 17. Nf1 Qc5 18. Ne3 Bh6 19. Qxd6 Qxd6 20. Rxd6 Bxe4 21. Ng4 Bxf5 22. Nxf6+ Ke7 23. Rb6 {Tari,A (2570)-Rahman,Z (2512) Baku 2016}) 10. Nf3 b5 11. Bxf6 gxf6 {A typical pawn structure arose. Both black flanks have been weakened. However, the four black pawns in the center look like a strong shield in front of their king. Still, they are not ideal and have a soft spot: the e6 one. If White manages to destroy that pawn or force it to move, all the light squares in the center will fall into the first player's hands.} 12. Kb1 Qb6 13. f5 O-O-O {The king is not perfectly safe here either, but Black can at least connect his rooks.} 14. Bd3 ({Instead, Navara chose to put more pressure on the e6 square at once with} 14. g3 Kb8 15. fxe6 fxe6 16. Bh3 Na5 17. Nd4 b4 18. Nce2 e5 19. Bxd7 Rxd7 20. Nf5 Nc4 21. Qd3 {with an advantage for the first player, Navara,D (2734) -Saric,I (2681) Patras 2019}) 14... Kb8 15. Ne2 {A typical maneuver. The knight is transfered to the f4 square.} Bc8 {In the confession box Carlsen said that he had done everything wrong so far, but as long as his bishop pair is on the board, he can hope for the best. This is what his coach Simen Agdestein taught him once.} 16. Nf4 Ne5 17. Be2 {Now Nf3-d4 is a deadly positional threat. Carlsen needs to hurry with the counterplay.} d5 ({Better seemed} 17... Nc4 18. Bxc4 bxc4 19. Ka1 d5 20. exd5 e5 21. Ne2 Bb7 {when the bishops enter the game.}) 18. exd5 exf5 {N A surprising choice. The black kingside pawns are now practically dead, but the bishops gain more scope. These sudden changes in the strategic/dynamic balances is one of the world champion's main weapons.} ({The players probably didn't know about this earlier game:} 18... Nxf3 19. Bxf3 e5 20. Ne2 Bxf5 21. Ng3 Bg6 22. Qe2 Rc8 23. Be4 Rc4 24. Nf5 Qc5 25. Bd3 Bxf5 26. Bxf5 Rd8 27. Bxh7 Rxd5 28. Rxd5 Qxd5 29. Rd1 Rd4 30. Rxd4 Qxd4 {and Black eventually defended in Solak,D (2586)-Ashwin, J (2471) Albena 2012}) 19. Nd4 Bc5 20. Rhf1 Rhe8 21. a3 Ka8 {Sidestepping the possible checks. From a positional perspective, Black's position is hopeless. However, his position keeps a massive amount of hidden dynamical chances which Tari failed to appreciate.} 22. h3 ({Strong was a plan suggested by Kramnik:} 22. b4 $1 Be7 23. Nb3 {followed by Nb3-a5.} ({Or} 23. Qc3 {with White's edge in both cases. What is important here is that Tari would have blunted the enemy bishops.})) 22... Bd7 ({The immediate} 22... Nc4 {does not work due to} 23. Bxc4 bxc4 24. Qc3 {and White is clearly better.}) 23. Nh5 {For a moment White loses control and that is all Carlsen needs.} ({Tari missed a strong chance to claim a big advantage:} 23. d6 $1 {would have opened the d5 spot for his knight instead and that would be excellent for White, for example:} Qxd6 ({ Or} 23... Bxd6 24. Nd5 Qb7 25. Nxf6 {and Black's position collapses.}) 24. Qc3 Qb6 25. Nd5 {when White makes it to the f-pawns.}) 23... Nc4 $1 24. Bxc4 bxc4 { It all starts to make sense for Carlsen now that he managed to open he files and the diagonals for his pieces.} 25. Qc3 {Now things are getting even worse.} ({Stronger was} 25. Ka1 $1 {although there Black can win the enemy queen with} Re4 26. Ne2 Rde8 27. Nc3 Be3 28. Qe1 Bc1 29. Rxc1 Rxe1 30. Rfxe1 Rb8 {and Black is much better.}) 25... Rb8 {The strong threat is Re8-e3!} 26. Rf3 { An obvious defense, which however, has a non-obvious flaw...} ({If} 26. Nxf5 Bxf5 27. Rxf5 Re3 28. Qxf6 Bd6 $1 {with decisive threats.} ({Or even} 28... Bxa3 29. Qxb6 Rxb6 30. d6 Rxb2+ 31. Ka1 Rb8 {when Black is significantly better.})) (26. Rfe1 $2 {drops the knight after} Rxe1 27. Rxe1 Bxd4) 26... Re1 $3 {A stunning move! The white rook is overloaded.} 27. Rxe1 Bxd4 28. Qb4 Qc7 $1 {Discovering the rook with tempo.} 29. d6 ({If} 29. Qd2 Rxb2+ ({Or} 29... Bxb2 {which should also win.}) 30. Kc1 Qb6 31. Kd1 Ba4 {with decisive attack.}) 29... Qc6 30. Qa5 Bxb2 ({The other winning idea was} 30... Rxb2+ $1 31. Kc1 Qxd6 32. c3 Bc5 33. Kxb2 Qd2+ 34. Kb1 Qxe1+ 35. Kb2 Qd2+ 36. Kb1 Bb5 $1 { There is no perpetual and Black quickly takes over:} 37. Qc7 Bd6 38. Qc8+ (38. Qd8+ Kb7) 38... Ka7 39. Qxf5 Qd1+ 40. Kb2 Qb3+ {with a win.}) 31. Ka2 Be5 32. Rb1 Rxb1 33. Kxb1 Qxd6 {With the white king wide open Carlsen is no longer in a rush.} 34. Kc1 Qd4 35. Qxa6+ ({Nothing changes} 35. Ng3 Qa1+ 36. Kd2 c3+ 37. Rxc3 {Now Black needs to find the only win:} Bf4+ $1 ({But not} 37... Bxc3+ 38. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 39. Kxc3 f4 40. Nh5 f3 41. gxf3 Bxh3 42. Kd4 {when White should survive.}) 38. Ke2 Bb5+ 39. Kf2 Qd1 {and Black wins.}) 35... Kb8 36. c3 { That allows a forced win.} ({White cannot survive after} 36. g3 Qa1+ 37. Kd2 c3+) 36... Qg1+ 37. Kd2 Qxg2+ 38. Ke3 f4+ $1 {Winning a piece and the game.} 39. Nxf4 Bxf4+ 40. Rxf4 Qg3+ 41. Rf3 (41. Ke4 Qd3#) 41... Qe1+ 42. Kd4 Qe5+ 43. Kxc4 Qe4+ 44. Kc5 Qxf3 45. Kd6 Bc8 0-1 [Event "Altibox Norway Chess"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2020.10.07"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C48"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2767"] [Annotator "chessvibes"] [PlyCount "122"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Poland"] [BlackTeam "Armenia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "POL"] [BlackTeamCountry "ARM"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Nd4 5. Nxd4 exd4 6. e5 dxc3 7. exf6 Qxf6 8. dxc3 Qe5+ 9. Qe2 Qxe2+ 10. Kxe2 c6 11. Bd3 d5 12. Re1 Bd6 13. Bf4 Ke7 14. Kf3+ Be6 15. c4 dxc4 16. Bxc4 Bxf4 17. Kxf4 Rad8 18. Bxe6 fxe6 19. Re2 Rd4+ 20. Kg3 Rhd8 21. Rae1 R8d6 22. f4 Kf6 23. Kf3 h5 24. Re3 Rd2 25. R1e2 Rd1 26. g3 g6 27. Re5 b6 28. b3 c5 29. c4 {"I thought here he was getting a bit nervous," said Aronian. "There's no way to immediately finish the game."} (29. h3) 29... a5 {"Creating a little unplesantness." (Aronian)} 30. Kf2 (30. a4) 30... R1d3 31. R5e3 Rxe3 32. Rxe3 Rd2+ 33. Re2 Rd1 34. Kf3 a4 35. bxa4 Rc1 36. Re3 ({ The easiest way was} 36. Rb2 Rc3+ 37. Kg2 Rxc4 38. Rxb6 Rxa4 {and now Kramnik suggested the active} 39. Rc6 $5 (39. Rb2 e5) 39... Rxa2+ 40. Kf3 {which is a fairly easy draw.}) 36... Rxc4 37. Ra3 {"This seems wrong. It gives me too much activity for my king." (Aronian)} Kf5 38. a5 ({White could still change his mind and go for Kramnik's method} 38. Rb3 Rxa4 39. Rxb6 Rxa2 (39... Ra3+ 40. Rb3) 40. Rc6) 38... bxa5 39. Rxa5 Rc3+ 40. Ke2 h4 41. gxh4 Kxf4 42. Kd2 Rh3 43. Rxc5 Rxh2+ 44. Ke1 {Even if it's still a draw, why voluntarily go to the back rank?} ({There was nothing wrong with} 44. Kd3 {e.g.} Rxh4 (44... Rxa2 45. Rc8) (44... e5 45. Rc4+ Kf5 (45... Kf3 46. Re4) 46. a4) 45. Rc4+ Kg3 46. Rxh4 Kxh4 47. a4 g5 48. a5 g4 49. a6 g3 50. a7 g2 51. a8=Q g1=Q 52. Qh8+ Kg3 53. Qg8+ Kf2 54. Qxg1+ Kxg1 55. Ke4) 44... e5 45. Rc4+ e4 46. Rc6 $1 {The only move.} Kf3 47. Rf6+ Ke3 48. Kf1 $2 {Choosing the wrong side, perhaps thinking Black would be taking on a2.} ({Correct was} 48. Kd1 Rxa2 (48... Rh1+ 49. Kc2 Rxh4 50. Rxg6 Rh2+ 51. Kb3 Kd2 52. a4 {and White just sacs his rook for the e-pawn}) 49. Rxg6 Rh2 {and now the only move} 50. Re6 $1 Rxh4 51. Re8 {with a theoretical draw.}) 48... Rh1+ $1 49. Kg2 Rxh4 $1 50. Rxg6 Ke2 {Now it's over.} 51. Kg3 $1 {The best try.} ({Here} 51. a4 {didn't do it for White because of} Rh5 $1) 51... Rh7 $2 ({Polgar and Kramnik were mixing up things when they suggested} 51... Rh1 {as winning but there} 52. Rb6 $1 {holds.}) ({The only winning move was the prophylactic} 51... Rh5 $1 {which will prevent the white pawn from reaching a5:} 52. a4 e3 {and White has no useful move.}) 52. Rb6 $2 ( {Missing the draw after} 52. a4 $1 e3 (52... Ra7 53. Rb6 $1) 53. a5 Rh5 54. a6 Ra5 55. Re6 {and with the pawn already on a6 Black cannot win this.}) 52... e3 53. Rb2+ Kd1 54. Rb1+ Kc2 55. Ra1 Rf7 56. a4 e2 57. Kg2 Rf5 58. Ra2+ Kd3 59. Ra1 Ke3 60. Ra3+ Ke4 61. Ra1 Rd5 0-1 [Event "Altibox Norway Chess"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2020.10.07"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A08"] [WhiteElo "2728"] [BlackElo "2828"] [Annotator "chessvibes"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "FID"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [BlackTeamCountry "USA"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. O-O g6 5. d4 (5. b3 Bg7 6. Bb2 O-O 7. e3 b6 8. d4 cxd4 9. exd4 Bb7 10. Ne5 Nbd7 11. Nd2 Rc8 12. c4 e6 13. Re1 Re8 {Vachier Lagrave,M (2778)-Oparin,G (2652) chess24.com 2020}) 5... cxd4 6. Nxd4 Bg7 7. Nb3 Nc6 8. Nc3 e6 9. e4 O-O ({Caruana probably didn't like} 9... d4 10. e5 dxc3 11. Bxc6+ bxc6 12. Qxd8+ Kxd8 13. Bg5 {but maybe it's not so bad after} h6 14. exf6 hxg5 15. fxg7 Rg8) 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Ne4 ({Kramnik suggested} 11. Nxd5 exd5 12. c3 (12. Bxd5 Nb4 13. Be4 Bh3 {with compensation}) 12... d4 13. cxd4 Nxd4 14. Be3 {with a slight plus for White.}) 11... Ne5 12. h4 {N Afterward Firouzja didn't like this move. "Everywhere it was a weakness."} (12. Nd4 Qb6 13. c3 {½-½ Cvitan,O (2550)-Horvath,J (2535) Nova Gorica 1997}) 12... h6 13. Qe2 Qc7 14. Rd1 a5 15. Nd4 Bd7 16. a4 Rad8 17. Ra3 Nc4 18. Rad3 Ne5 19. Ra3 Rfe8 20. Nc3 Qc4 {"A very good move." (Firouzja)} 21. Nxd5 exd5 22. Qd2 Bg4 $6 {Afterward Caruana told Firouzja this was a mistake and the computer agrees.} ( {Very good for Black was} 22... Qc5 $1 {and the threat of 23...Nc4 is hard to meet.}) 23. f3 Bd7 ({Firouzja said he was lucky} 23... Nxf3+ {doesn't work:} 24. Nxf3 Re2 25. Qd3 Qc5+ (25... Rde8 {is actually playable for Black}) 26. Be3 Qxc2) 24. Bf1 Qc5 25. Qf2 Nc4 26. Rad3 Re7 27. b3 Ne5 28. R3d2 Rde8 29. Bb2 g5 30. hxg5 hxg5 31. Ba1 Qb6 32. Kg2 Qg6 33. Kg1 Qb6 34. Kg2 Qg6 35. Kg1 Qb6 36. Kg2 1/2-1/2 [Event "Altibox Norway Chess"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2020.10.07"] [Round "6.3"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D04"] [WhiteElo "2728"] [BlackElo "2828"] [Annotator "chessvibes"] [PlyCount "145"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "FID"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [BlackTeamCountry "USA"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. e3 c5 4. dxc5 e6 5. b4 a5 6. c3 axb4 7. cxb4 b6 8. Bb5+ Bd7 9. Bxd7+ Qxd7 $6 {A somewhat strange choice as the knight belongs on d7 in this type of position, according to Kramnik.} (9... Nbxd7 10. a4 bxc5 11. b5 Bd6 12. Bb2 O-O 13. O-O Bc7 14. Nbd2 c4 15. Nd4 Ne5 16. Bc3 Nfd7 17. f4 Nd3 { Kramnik,V (2753)-Gelfand,B (2676) chess24.com 2020}) 10. a4 bxc5 {N} (10... Na6 11. Ba3 bxc5 12. b5 Nb4 13. O-O Bd6 14. Bxb4 cxb4 15. Nd4 O-O {Nielsen,K (2097) -Jacobsen,M (2188) Copenhagen 2016}) 11. b5 Bd6 12. Bb2 O-O 13. Nbd2 c4 14. Qc2 Qc7 15. O-O Nbd7 16. Bc3 Nc5 17. a5 Nfe4 18. b6 Qb7 19. Bd4 Nxd2 20. Nxd2 Nd3 21. Rfb1 Ra6 22. Rb5 Rc8 23. Rab1 h6 24. g3 Be7 25. e4 e5 26. Bc3 $6 ({After} 26. Ba1 {White looks better.}) 26... Bc5 $6 {"I think he forgot about 27.Rxc5. After that it's just collapsing."} ({Firouzja admitted he didn't have a good response to} 26... d4 {and was planning} 27. Ba1 Nb4 28. R5xb4 Bxb4 29. Rxb4 Rxa5 30. Bxd4 exd4 31. Nxc4 {"but I'm worse of course."}) 27. Rxc5 $1 Nxc5 28. exd5 Qxd5 {Here, Carlsen said: "I would bet on Firouzja. Fabiano is gonna tricked... he's gonna get tricked to the moon here." And look what happens...} 29. Qf5 $1 Rd8 $2 ({As Carlsen suggested, Black should have played} 29... Re8 { and after e.g.} 30. Qg4 Nb7 $1 31. Nxc4 Qd3 32. Rc1 h5 $1 33. Qh4 Qe2 {it's not easy for White to win this.}) 30. Rb5 $1 {Caruana got tricked.} f6 (30... Qc6 31. Qxe5 {was the "trick."}) 31. b7 Qd6 32. Qc8 {Now Black has to give up his knight.} Nxb7 33. Qxb7 Qc6 34. Qxc6 Rxc6 35. Rb6 Rc7 36. a6 Ra8 37. Ne4 Rca7 38. Nc5 Rc8 39. Rb5 h5 40. h4 Kh7 41. Kg2 Kg6 42. Kf3 Kf5 43. Ke3 Rc6 44. Bb4 c3 45. Bxc3 Kg6 46. Bb4 Raxa6 47. Nxa6 Rxa6 {Here Caruana had 13 seconds left against 31 for Firouzja with a one-second increment.} 48. Rb7 Ra8 49. Ke4 Rd8 50. Bc5 Ra8 51. Kd5 Ra5 52. Ra7 Rb5 53. Kc6 Rb2 54. Kd5 Rb5 55. Kc4 Rb8 56. Rc7 Ra8 57. Kd5 Ra2 58. Ke6 Ra6+ 59. Ke7 Kf5 60. Kf7 g5 61. Be3 gxh4 62. gxh4 Kg4 63. Rc4+ Kf3 64. Kg6 e4 65. Kxh5 f5 66. Kg5 Ra5 67. Bf4 Kxf2 68. Rc2+ Kf3 69. Rc3+ Ke2 70. h5 Ra1 71. h6 Rh1 72. Kxf5 Kf2 73. Kxe4 1-0 [Event "8th Altibox Norway Chess 2020"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2020.10.08"] [Round "4"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E32"] [WhiteElo "2863"] [BlackElo "2828"] [Annotator "Shahid"] [PlyCount "101"] [EventDate "2020.10.05"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 d5 7. Bg5 dxc4 { E36: Nimzo-Indian: Classical: 4...d5 5 a3.} 8. Qxc4 b6 9. Rd1 Ba6 {The position is equal.} 10. Qa4 h6 11. Bh4 Qd7 12. Qc2 Qc6 13. Qxc6 Nxc6 14. Bxf6 gxf6 15. e3 Bxf1 16. Kxf1 Na5 17. Nf3 {[#]} Nc4 $146 ({Predecessor:} 17... Rac8 18. Ke2 c5 19. dxc5 bxc5 20. Rd7 Nc4 21. Rc1 Nxb2 22. Rc2 Na4 23. Rxa7 Ra8 24. Rxa8 Rxa8 {1/2-1/2 (37) Wang,H (2763)-Radjabov,T (2765) chess.com INT 2020}) 18. Rb1 c5 19. Ke2 Rfc8 20. Rhc1 Nd6 21. dxc5 bxc5 22. Rc2 Kf8 23. Nd2 c4 24. Rbc1 Rab8 25. Kf3 c3 (25... Rc5 26. b4 Rc6 27. Ne4 Nxe4 28. Kxe4 Rbc8) 26. bxc3 Rc5 27. c4 f5 28. Ke2 Ke7 29. Kd3 Kd7 30. Rc3 Rc6 $2 ({Black should play} 30... Ke7 $14) 31. c5 $16 Ne8 32. Nf3 Ra6 33. Ne5+ Ke7 34. Ke2 (34. Kc2) 34... Nf6 35. R1c2 Nd5 36. Rd3 Rc8 37. Rb3 Rc7 38. Rc4 Ra5 39. Nd3 e5 $2 (39... Kf6 $16 40. g4 fxg4) 40. Nxe5 $18 Raxc5 41. Rxc5 Rxc5 {Endgame KRN-KRN} 42. Rb7+ Ke6 43. Nxf7 Ra5 44. Nd8+ Kd6 45. Rb3 {[#] Nb7+ is the strong threat.} Ra6 46. Nf7+ Kc5 47. Ne5 h5 48. Kd2 h4 49. Nd3+ Kc4 $2 {[#]} (49... Kc6 50. Ke2 Ra4 51. Ne5+ Kc5) 50. Kc2 Rd6 51. Nf4 {Accuracy: White = 90%, Black = 71%.} 1-0 [Event "Stavanger"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2020.10.09"] [Round "4"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B19"] [WhiteElo "2767"] [BlackElo "2728"] [Annotator "Shahid"] [PlyCount "92"] [EventDate "2020.10.05"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. Bd3 Bxd3 9. Qxd3 e6 10. Bf4 Ngf6 11. O-O-O Be7 12. Nf1 $5 $146 {An interesting novelty.} ({Predecessor:} 12. Kb1 O-O 13. Ng5 Qa5 14. Bd2 Qd5 15. c4 Ne5 16. Qc2 Nxc4 17. Bc1 Rfe8 18. f4 Nd6 19. Nf3 {1/2-1/2 (43) Polgar,J (2722)-Vallejo Pons,F (2662) Benidorm 2003}) 12... Qa5 13. Kb1 Rd8 {The position is equal.} 14. Bc1 Nc5 15. Qe2 Na4 (15... Nce4 $11) 16. c4 $1 $14 O-O 17. Qc2 c5 18. Bd2 $6 (18. d5 $11) (18. g4 cxd4 (18... Nxg4 19. d5) 19. g5) 18... Qa6 $15 19. b3 Nb6 (19... cxd4 $17 20. bxa4 Rc8) (19... b5 20. bxa4 bxc4) 20. Bc3 $11 cxd4 21. Nxd4 Nbd7 22. Ne3 Nc5 (22... Ne5 $11) 23. g4 $1 $16 Nfe4 24. Bb2 $1 Nd6 {[#]} ( 24... Qb6 $16 25. g5 h5) 25. g5 $1 h5 (25... hxg5 26. hxg5) 26. Qe2 Nce4 (26... g6 $142 27. Qc2 Kh7) 27. Rhg1 (27. Qxh5) 27... Qa5 28. Rd3 (28. Qxh5 Nd2+ 29. Ka1 N6e4 30. Rxd2 Qxd2 31. Nef5 $18) 28... Nc5 {[#]} (28... g6 {was necessary.} 29. a3 Qa6) 29. Rd2 $2 (29. Qxh5 Nxd3 30. Nc6 bxc6 31. Bxg7 f5 (31... Kxg7 32. Qh6+ Kg8 33. g6 $18) 32. Bf6 $18) 29... Nce4 $2 (29... Nde4 30. Rc2 Rd7) 30. Rc2 $1 $18 Rfe8 31. Qxh5 (31. g6 $18 fxg6 32. Nxe6 {Double Attack}) 31... Nd2+ $16 32. Kc1 N6e4 $2 {[#]} (32... g6 $16 33. Qe2 N6e4) 33. c5 $4 (33. Ndf5 $1 $18 exf5 34. g6 Nxb3+ 35. axb3) 33... g6 $2 (33... Qxa2 $19 34. Rxd2 {Remove Defender} Nxd2) 34. Qh8+ $1 $11 {Decoy} Kxh8 35. Nc6+ $1 {Double Attack} Kg8 36. Nxa5 Nf3 37. Rd1 Nxc5 38. Rxd8 Rxd8 {[#]} 39. Bf6 $2 (39. Nxb7 $1 $16 Nd3+ (39... Nxb7 40. Rc7) 40. Kb1) 39... Bxf6 $17 40. gxf6 b6 {aiming for ...Nd3+.} 41. Nc6 Rd7 42. Rc4 Kh7 43. Kb2 (43. Ng4 $17) 43... Nd2 $2 ({Black should try} 43... Nd3+ $19 44. Ka1 Kh6) 44. Rd4 $11 Rxd4 45. Nxd4 Nde4 46. Ng4 {[#]} ({ Better is} 46. Nc6 $1 $11) 46... Nd3+ $1 {Both players deserved the win here. Accuracy: White = 55%, Black = 48%.} 0-1 [Event "Stavanger"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2020.10.08"] [Round "4"] [White "Tari, Aryan"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B23"] [WhiteElo "2633"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "Shahid"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2020.10.05"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 g6 3. f4 Bg7 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Bb5 Nd4 6. O-O Nxb5 7. Nxb5 d6 8. d3 a6 9. Nc3 b5 {B23: Closed Sicilian: Lines without g3.} 10. Qe1 Bb7 {10...b4 is not played anymore.} 11. f5 Nf6 12. Qh4 Qd7 13. Bh6 Bxh6 14. Qxh6 {[#]} O-O-O $146 ({Predecessor:} 14... gxf5 15. Ng5 Rg8 16. Rxf5 Rg6 17. Qh3 O-O-O 18. Nxh7 Rdg8 19. Nxf6 Rxg2+ 20. Qxg2 Rxg2+ 21. Kxg2 Qxf5 {0-1 (42) McConnell,S (1895) -Antonio,V (2397) chess.com INT 2020}) 15. Ng5 Ng4 16. Qh3 $36 {White is more active.} Ne5 17. Nd5 Kb8 (17... Bxd5 $5 18. exd5 h6 $11) 18. fxg6 Qxh3 19. gxh3 e6 (19... Bxd5 $5 20. exd5 Rdg8 21. Nxf7 Rxg6+ 22. Kh1 Nxf7 23. Rxf7 e6 $14) 20. Nf6 ({Reject} 20. Nxf7 Nxf7 21. g7 exd5 $15) (20. gxf7 exd5 21. Ne6 Rdf8 $1 $15) 20... hxg6 21. Ng4 {Threatens to win with Nxe5.} Nxg4 (21... Rh5 $14 22. Nxf7 Nxf7 23. Rxf7 Rxh3) 22. hxg4 $16 Rh4 23. Nxf7 Rxg4+ 24. Kh1 Rd7 25. Rf6 c4 {[#]} 26. Raf1 $1 Rh4 {[#]} (26... Bc8 $16 {was worth a try.}) 27. Rxe6 (27. Kg2 $1 $18 Rh5 28. Kg3) 27... d5 $14 28. Nd6 cxd3 29. cxd3 dxe4 30. dxe4 g5 31. Nxb7 Kxb7 32. b4 Rhh7 33. Rff6 Rd2 34. Rb6+ {Accuracy: White = 70%, Black = 68%.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Stavanger"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2020.10.09"] [Round "4"] [White "Tari, Aryan"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B51"] [WhiteElo "2633"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "Shahid"] [PlyCount "129"] [EventDate "2020.10.05"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. O-O a6 5. Bd3 g6 6. Re1 {B51: Sicilian: Moscow Variation (3 Bb5+) without 3...Bd7.} Bg7 7. c3 Ne5 8. Nxe5 {White has an edge.} dxe5 {[#]} 9. Bc4 $146 ({Predecessor:} 9. Bc2 e6 10. a4 b6 11. d3 Ne7 12. Na3 Nc6 13. Nc4 Bb7 14. Be3 Rb8 15. Qe2 {1-0 (37) Hernandez Sanchez,J (2263)-Vargas Arteaga,A (2364) Cartagena 2019}) 9... Nf6 10. a4 b6 11. d3 O-O 12. h3 e6 13. Nd2 Bb7 14. Nf3 Qc7 15. Be3 Rfd8 16. Qc1 Ne8 17. Bh6 Bh8 18. Qg5 Bc6 19. Qh4 b5 20. axb5 axb5 21. Rxa8 Rxa8 22. Bb3 Bf6 23. Bg5 Bg7 24. Bh6 Bf6 25. Qg3 b4 $6 (25... Bb7) 26. cxb4 Qb8 27. Bd2 cxb4 28. h4 Ng7 29. Ng5 Qd6 30. Qf3 Nh5 31. g3 Bb5 32. Rc1 (32. g4 {is interesting.} Bxg5 33. Bxg5 Nf4 34. Rd1 h6 35. Bf6) 32... Qxd3 33. Qxd3 Bxd3 34. Bxb4 h6 35. Nxf7 (35. Rc3 $11) 35... Kxf7 $17 36. Rc7+ Kg8 (36... Ke8 $19 37. Bxe6 Bxe4 38. Bf7+ Kd8) 37. Bxe6+ $11 Kh8 38. Bd5 Rb8 39. Bc3 Rb6 40. b4 g5 41. hxg5 hxg5 42. Kg2 g4 43. Bd2 (43. f3 $11) 43... Be2 $17 44. Rf7 (44. Bc4 $17 Bf3+ 45. Kf1) 44... Ra6 {[#] aiming for ...Ra1.} 45. Bc3 Ra3 46. Rc7 Ng7 (46... Bf3+ $19 47. Kh2 Bg7) 47. Rc6 (47. Rc5 $17) 47... Nh5 $2 (47... Ne8 $19 48. Kh2 Kg7) 48. Bf7 $14 Bf3+ 49. Kf1 Kg7 50. Bxh5 Rb3 {[#]} 51. Ke1 $1 Bxe4 (51... Rb1+ $16 52. Kd2 Rd1+ 53. Kc2 Rf1) 52. Rc7+ $18 Kh6 (52... Kf8 {was worth a try.} 53. Bxg4 Be7 54. Bxe5 Bxb4+ 55. Ke2 Bd3+ 56. Kf3 Ra3) 53. Bxg4 Bg5 (53... Ra3 {is a better defense.} 54. Rc5 Kg6 55. Bxe5 Be7) 54. Bxe5 Rb1+ (54... Rxb4 $142 55. f3 Kg6 56. Rg7+ Kh6) 55. Ke2 Rxb4 56. f4 Bd8 57. Rc8 Bb6 58. f5 $2 (58. Rh8+ Kg6 59. Bh5+ Kf5 60. Re8) 58... Kg5 $2 (58... Bd4 $18) 59. Rg8+ Kh6 60. Rg6+ (60. Bf6 $142 Rb2+ 61. Bxb2 Bd5 62. Rg6+ {Double Attack} Kh7 63. Rxb6 Kg8 64. Bf6 Ba2 65. Bh5) 60... Kh7 61. Rd6 {And now Rd7+ would win.} Bc5 (61... Bb1 $142 62. Rd7+ Kg8) 62. Rd7+ Kg8 63. f6 Ra4 64. Be6+ Kh8 65. f7+ {Accuracy: White = 72%, Black = 59%.} 1-0 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2020.10.08"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E36"] [WhiteElo "2863"] [BlackElo "2828"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "101"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 {A principled line in the Nimzo-Indian defense which has been tested at world championship matches.} O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 d5 7. Bg5 dxc4 8. Qxc4 b6 9. Rd1 Ba6 10. Qa4 h6 11. Bh4 Qd7 {Black's lead in development is translated into a seemingly equal endgame.} ({No doubt both players studied in-depth the following sharp blitz game:} 11... Bb7 12. Nf3 Nbd7 13. Ne5 Qe8 14. Nxd7 Qxd7 15. Qxd7 Nxd7 16. f3 f5 17. e3 Bd5 18. b4 c5 19. dxc5 bxc5 20. Bb5 Ne5 21. Bg3 a6 22. Be2 Nd7 23. e4 fxe4 24. fxe4 Bc6 25. Rd6 Ba4 26. Bc4 Kh8 27. Bxe6 Nf6 28. bxc5 Nxe4 29. Bd5 Nxg3 30. hxg3 Rac8 { which White eventually won, Mamedyarov,S (2764)-Alekseenko,K (2696) chess.com 2020}) 12. Qc2 Qc6 13. Qxc6 Nxc6 14. Bxf6 gxf6 15. e3 Bxf1 16. Kxf1 Na5 17. Nf3 Nc4 {N} ({In an earlier game Black was holding after} 17... Rac8 18. Ke2 c5 19. dxc5 bxc5 20. Rd7 Nc4 21. Rc1 Nxb2 22. Rc2 Na4 23. Rxa7 Ra8 24. Rxa8 Rxa8 25. Nd2 Nb6 26. Rb2 Ra6 {Wang,H (2763)-Radjabov,T (2765) chess.com 2020}) 18. Rb1 { Carlsen thought that the arising position is unpleasant for Caruana and played the most obvious, logical moves.} ({Kramnik and Polgar suggested instead the curious idea} 18. Ke2 Nxb2 19. Rb1 {The knight is locked and White can regain the pawn after} Na4 ({However} 19... Nc4 $1 20. Rhc1 Nd6 21. Rxc7 Rfc8 22. Rd7 ({Not} 22. Rbc1 Rxc7 23. Rxc7 Nb5 {which wins a pawn for Black.}) 22... Rd8 { holds for Black.}) 20. Rhc1 a6 21. Rxc7 b5 22. Nd2 {"Might be unpleasant for Black" (Kramnik) "This is unpleasant for sure." (Carlsen)}) (18. Rc1 Nxb2 19. Rc6 b5 20. Nd2 {(Carlsen)}) 18... c5 19. Ke2 Rfc8 20. Rhc1 Nd6 {After this Caruana's position becomes really unpleasant.} ({Carlsen was expecting instead } 20... cxd4 21. Nxd4 {but thought that it is still unpleasant for Caruana as there is good chance that the rooks are traded and in the pure knight endgame it will be still difficult for Black to draw. If we prolong the line a bit though:} Kf8 22. Rc2 Nd6 23. Rbc1 Rxc2+ 24. Rxc2 Ke7 $1 25. Rc7+ Kd8 {we see that with just one rook on the board White can do little damage to the opponent's position.}) 21. dxc5 bxc5 22. Rc2 {The many weaknesses leave Black in a passive position. It is evident that Carlsen will be the first one to start the captures and most likely win a pawn in a hypothetical rook endgame.} Kf8 23. Nd2 c4 24. Rbc1 Rab8 25. Kf3 c3 ({After} 25... Rd8 $5 {The world champion intended} 26. Nxc4 Nxc4 27. Rxc4 Rxb2 28. Rc8 Ke7 (28... Ke8 {leads to the same.}) 29. Rxd8 Kxd8 {And then} 30. Rc4 {"Going for the h6 pawn." (Carlsen) Still, this might have been Black's best chance as rook endgames often provide good drawing chances for the defender.} ({Or} 30. Rc5 {Kramnik.}) ) ({At the post-mortem Polgar and Kramnik discussed the following line with the world champion:} 25... f5 26. Nxc4 Rxc4 27. Rxc4 Nxc4 28. Rxc4 Rxb2 29. Rc7 a5 30. Ra7 Ra2 31. Rxa5 {Carlsen then thought about pushing the pawn all the way to the seventh rank:} Kg7 32. Ra8 Kf6 33. a4 Kg7 34. a5 Kf6 35. a6 Kg7 36. a7 Kf6 {Then White's plan was to bring the king to h5:} 37. Kg3 Kg7 ({If} 37... Ra4 {(Kramnik) then went} 38. f4 $1 Ra2 39. Kh4 Kg7 40. h3 Kh7 41. g4 fxg4 42. hxg4 f5 ({Not} 42... Kg7 43. e4 {followed by e4-e5 and f4-f5-f6 with a win.}) 43. gxf5 exf5 {Then at some point White will go for the f-pawn. If he can do this, he will be winning.}) 38. Kh4 {followed by h2-h3 and g2-g4. Later White can further expand with the advance of the e- and the f-pawns.}) ({On the other hand, activity is not possible as after} 25... Rc5 26. b4 {White defends his weakness then.}) 26. bxc3 Rc5 {Now White quickly consolidates.} ({The last chance was} 26... Nc4 {(Carlsen said he was "shocked" Caruana didn't go for this.)} 27. Nxc4 Rxc4 {although there too} 28. Rd1 Ke7 29. Rd4 Rbc8 30. Rxc4 Rxc4 31. Rb2 Ra4 32. Rb3 {(Carlsen) is problematic for Black.}) 27. c4 f5 28. Ke2 {The king is transferred for the defense.} Ke7 29. Kd3 Kd7 30. Rc3 Rc6 ({ The most resilient was:} 30... Ke7 31. Rb3 {although there too White should convert his extra pawn.}) 31. c5 Ne8 32. Nf3 Ra6 ({Or} 32... f6 33. Nd4 { with a decisive edge.}) 33. Ne5+ Ke7 34. Ke2 Nf6 35. R1c2 Nd5 36. Rd3 Rc8 37. Rb3 Rc7 38. Rc4 Ra5 39. Nd3 {White consolidated and the win is only a question of time. a3-a4 and Rb3-b5 are on the agenda, therefore Caruana tries the desperate...} e5 40. Nxe5 Raxc5 41. Rxc5 Rxc5 42. Rb7+ Ke6 43. Nxf7 {...but that does not promise Black enough as Carlsen quickly consolidates again:} Ra5 44. Nd8+ Kd6 45. Rb3 Ra6 46. Nf7+ Kc5 47. Ne5 h5 48. Kd2 h4 49. Nd3+ Kc4 50. Kc2 Rd6 51. Nf4 1-0 [Event "Altibox Norway Chess"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2020.10.08"] [Round "4.2"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B19"] [WhiteElo "2767"] [BlackElo "2728"] [Annotator "chessvibes"] [PlyCount "112"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Armenia"] [BlackTeam "FID"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ARM"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. Bd3 Bxd3 9. Qxd3 e6 10. Bf4 Ngf6 11. O-O-O Be7 12. Nf1 {N} (12. Kb1 O-O 13. Ng5 Qa5 14. Bd2 Qd5 {Polgar,J (2722)-Vallejo Pons,F (2662) Benidorm 2003}) 12... Qa5 ({ Deviating from the standard game:} 12... Ng4 13. Qe2 Qa5 14. Kb1 Qb5 15. Rd3 Nb6 16. N3d2 Nf6 17. Ne3 Nfd5 18. Nxd5 Nxd5 19. Qe4 Nxf4 20. Qxf4 Qd5 21. Nf3 O-O 22. Ne5 f6 23. Ng4 Bd6 24. Qc1 Rad8 25. Qd1 Bc7 26. Re1 Bb6 27. f3 Qf5 28. Re4 Rfe8 29. Qe2 Kh8 30. a3 Qd5 31. Ne3 {½-½ Aronian,L (2767)-Firouzja,A (2728) Stavanger 2020}) 13. Kb1 Rd8 14. Bc1 Nc5 15. Qe2 Na4 16. c4 O-O 17. Qc2 c5 18. Bd2 Qa6 19. b3 Nb6 ({The computer wants to sac the piece:} 19... b5 $5 20. bxa4 bxc4 {with, apparently, more than enough compensation.}) ({Kramnik's suggestion} 19... cxd4 {was interesting as well:} 20. bxa4 d3 21. Qb3 Ne4 22. Be3 Bf6) 20. Bc3 cxd4 21. Nxd4 Nbd7 22. Ne3 Nc5 23. g4 {Now White's attack is in full swing.} Nfe4 24. Bb2 Nd6 25. g5 h5 26. Qe2 Nce4 27. Rhg1 (27. Qxh5 { was actually possible and just winning. Firouzja said he would have played} Qa5 {when} (27... Nxf2 {is met by} 28. Nxe6 $1 {with decisive threats, e. g.} Nxd1 29. g6) 28. Nxe6 $1 fxe6 29. Rd5 $1 exd5 30. g6 {is a lovely end to the game.}) 27... Qa5 28. Rd3 ({Also here} 28. Qxh5 {was fine, e.g.} Nd2+ 29. Kc2) 28... Nc5 29. Rd2 $6 ({White had a beautiful win with} 29. Ndf5 $1 Nxf5 (29... exf5 30. Nd5 Rfe8 31. Qxh5 {is crushing}) 30. Nxf5 exf5 31. Qe5 f6 (31... Ne6 32. Qxa5) 32. Qxe7 Rde8 {and now the main point:} 33. gxf6 $1 Rxe7 34. fxe7 Ne6 35. exf8=Q+ Kxf8 36. Re3 {and White's bishop and rooks are much stronger than the queen and the knight. This is just over.}) 29... Nce4 $6 ({Better was} 29... Nde4) 30. Rc2 Rfe8 31. Qxh5 (31. g6 {should win as well.}) 31... Nd2+ 32. Kc1 { It should be noted that both players had less than a minute on the clock here with no increment just yet.} N6e4 33. c5 $2 ({Again the winning idea was} 33. Ndf5 $1 exf5 {and then} 34. g6 $1 {and with both the a1-h8 and the g-file opened up, White is crashing through.}) 33... g6 $2 ({Both players completely forgot about} 33... Qxa2 {to simply threaten mate on b1. Aronian would probably have stopped the clock.}) 34. Qh8+ $1 {A lovely move, but it's only good for a draw.} Kxh8 35. Nc6+ Kg8 (35... Kh7) 36. Nxa5 Nf3 37. Rd1 Nxc5 $6 { Black should have traded on d1 first.} 38. Rxd8 Rxd8 39. Bf6 $2 ({Both players missed the idea} 39. Nxb7 $1 Nxb7 40. Rc7 {and White is winning again.}) 39... Bxf6 40. gxf6 b6 {Here the players started to get a one-second increment with both only having 16 seconds on the clock.} (40... Ne1 $1) 41. Nc6 Rd7 42. Rc4 Kh7 43. Kb2 Nd2 44. Rd4 Rxd4 45. Nxd4 Nde4 46. Ng4 Nd3+ 47. Kc2 Ndxf2 48. Nxf2 Nxf2 49. Nc6 Ne4 50. Nxa7 Nxf6 51. a4 Nd5 52. Nc6 f6 53. b4 g5 54. hxg5 fxg5 55. Kd3 g4 56. a5 Nxb4+ (56... Nxb4+ {Aronian resigned in a drawn position as he needed a win in this armageddon.} 57. Nxb4 bxa5 58. Nc6 g3 59. Ke2 a4 60. Kf3 {was actually draw.}) 0-1 [Event "Altibox Norway Chess"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2020.10.08"] [Round "4.3"] [White "Tari, Aryan"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B51"] [WhiteElo "2633"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "chessvibes"] [PlyCount "129"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Norway"] [BlackTeam "Poland"] [WhiteTeamCountry "NOR"] [BlackTeamCountry "POL"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. O-O a6 5. Bd3 g6 6. Re1 Bg7 7. c3 Ne5 8. Nxe5 dxe5 9. Bc4 {N} (9. Bc2 e6 10. a4 b6 11. d3 Ne7 12. Na3 Nc6 13. Nc4 Bb7 14. Be3 Rb8 15. Qe2 O-O 16. Rab1 Qc7 {Hernandez Sanchez,J (2263)-Vargas Arteaga,A (2364) Cartagena 2019}) 9... Nf6 10. a4 b6 11. d3 O-O 12. h3 e6 13. Nd2 Bb7 14. Nf3 Qc7 15. Be3 Rfd8 16. Qc1 Ne8 17. Bh6 Bh8 18. Qg5 Bc6 19. Qh4 b5 20. axb5 axb5 21. Rxa8 Rxa8 22. Bb3 Bf6 23. Bg5 Bg7 24. Bh6 Bf6 25. Qg3 b4 26. cxb4 Qb8 27. Bd2 cxb4 28. h4 Ng7 29. Ng5 Qd6 30. Qf3 Nh5 31. g3 Bb5 32. Rc1 Qxd3 33. Qxd3 Bxd3 34. Bxb4 h6 35. Nxf7 Kxf7 36. Rc7+ Kg8 37. Bxe6+ Kh8 38. Bd5 Rb8 39. Bc3 Rb6 40. b4 g5 41. hxg5 hxg5 42. Kg2 g4 43. Bd2 Be2 44. Rf7 Ra6 45. Bc3 Ra3 46. Rc7 Ng7 47. Rc6 Nh5 $2 ({Winning was} 47... Bf3+ 48. Kh2 Ne8 $1 49. Rc8 Kh7 {and the constant threat of a possible mate on h1 is unplayable for White, e.g. } 50. b5 Kg6 51. b6 Nd6 52. b7 Nxb7 53. Bxb7 Rb3) 48. Bf7 Bf3+ 49. Kf1 Kg7 50. Bxh5 Rb3 51. Ke1 Bxe4 $2 ({Playing for mate with} 51... Bg5 {fails to} 52. Rg6+ ) ({The last chance was} 51... Rb1+ 52. Kd2 Rf1 {and Black might still hold.}) 52. Rc7+ Kh6 53. Bxg4 Bg5 54. Bxe5 Rb1+ 55. Ke2 Rxb4 56. f4 Bd8 57. Rc8 Bb6 58. f5 Kg5 59. Rg8+ Kh6 60. Rg6+ Kh7 61. Rd6 Bc5 62. Rd7+ Kg8 63. f6 Ra4 64. Be6+ Kh8 65. f7+ 1-0 [Event "8th Altibox Norway Chess 2020"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2020.10.10"] [Round "5"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B15"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2863"] [Annotator "Shahid"] [PlyCount "125"] [EventDate "2020.10.05"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] [TimeControl "40/7200:0"] 1. e4 {[%emt 0:00:03]} c6 {[%emt 0:00:53]} 2. d4 {[%emt 0:00:16]} d5 {[%emt 0: 00:13]} 3. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:18]} dxe4 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 4. Nxe4 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 5. Nxf6+ {[%emt 0:00:06]} exf6 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 6. c3 { [%emt 0:00:10]} Bd6 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 7. Bd3 {[%emt 0:00:07]} O-O {[%emt 0:00: 09]} 8. Qc2 {[%emt 0:00:23]} Re8+ {[%emt 0:00:20]} 9. Ne2 {[%emt 0:00:07]} h5 { [%emt 0:00:07]} 10. Be3 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Nd7 {[%emt 0:00:49]} 11. O-O-O {145} b5 {324} 12. d5 {1133} c5 {95} 13. Bxb5 {84} Rb8 {145} 14. c4 {395} a6 {117} 15. Ba4 {343} Re7 {506} 16. Ng3 {785} Ne5 {203} 17. Ne4 {195} (17. Bd2 h4 18. Ne4 f5 (18... Bf5 $2 19. Nxf6+) 19. Nxd6 Qxd6 20. Rhe1) 17... Reb7 {2026} 18. b3 {1147} Rb4 {103} 19. Bd2 {1444} Rxa4 {73} 20. bxa4 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Bf5 {135 } 21. Rde1 {102} h4 $2 {1742} (21... Ng4 22. f4 Nf2 23. Rhf1 Nxe4 24. Rxe4 Bxe4 25. Qxe4 Qd7) 22. h3 {88} Ng6 {115} 23. Re3 {87} Nf4 {115} 24. g4 {176} Bg6 { [%emt 0:00:21]} 25. Kd1 {104} f5 {309} (25... Qd7 26. f3 f5 27. Nxd6 fxg4 28. Ne4 gxf3) 26. Nxd6 {158} Qxd6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 27. gxf5 {[%emt 0:00:13]} Bh5+ { [%emt 0:00:08]} 28. f3 {[%emt 0:00:14]} Qf6 {91} 29. Bc3 {150} Qg5 {[%emt 0:00: 09]} 30. Qe4 $6 {[%emt 0:00:08]} (30. Rhe1) 30... Qg2 {63} 31. Rhe1 {[%emt 0: 00:54]} Qxa2 {[%emt 0:00:52]} 32. Qc2 {[%emt 0:00:18]} Qxc4 {90} 33. Re8+ { [%emt 0:00:26]} Kh7 {[%emt 0:00:58]} 34. Rxb8 {[%emt 0:00:18]} Qxd5+ {[%emt 0: 00:08]} 35. Qd2 {[%emt 0:00:51]} Bxf3+ {[%emt 0:00:39]} 36. Kc1 {[%emt 0:00:18] } Qxf5 {[%emt 0:00:20]} 37. Re3 {131} Ne2+ {210} 38. Kb2 {[%emt 0:00:38]} (38. Rxe2 $142 Bxe2 39. Qd8) 38... Nxc3 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 39. Qxc3 {[%emt 0:00:30]} Qf4 {[%emt 0:00:22]} 40. Qd3+ {[%emt 0:00:15]} f5 {[%emt 0:00:11]} 41. Rf8 { 7267} (41. Qd8 Qxe3 42. Qg8+ Kg6 43. Rb6+ $18) 41... Qb4+ {7205} 42. Kc1 { [%emt 0:00:31]} Be4 {[%emt 0:00:18]} 43. Qb3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Qd4 {[%emt 0:00: 00]} 44. Qc3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Qd6 {[%emt 0:00:25]} 45. Rf7 {[%emt 0:00:09]} Qg6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 46. Rd7 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Qg1+ {[%emt 0:00:15]} 47. Kb2 { [%emt 0:00:01]} c4 {[%emt 0:00:23]} 48. Rxe4 {[%emt 0:00:12]} fxe4 {[%emt 0:00: 07]} 49. Rd4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Qf2+ {[%emt 0:00:08]} 50. Qd2 {[%emt 0:00:00]} c3+ {[%emt 0:00:34]} 51. Kxc3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Qg3+ {[%emt 0:00:00]} 52. Kb2 { [%emt 0:00:00]} Qxh3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 53. Rxe4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Qg3 {[%emt 0: 00:00]} 54. Qd4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Qg2+ {[%emt 0:00:15]} 55. Kc3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Qf3+ {[%emt 0:00:00]} 56. Kb4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Qf8+ {[%emt 0:00:28]} 57. Ka5 { [%emt 0:00:00]} Qf5+ {[%emt 0:00:29]} 58. Kxa6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} g5 {[%emt 0:00: 00]} 59. a5 {[%emt 0:00:00]} h3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 60. Re7+ {[%emt 0:00:00]} Kg6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 61. Qg7+ {[%emt 0:00:00]} Kh5 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 62. Qh7+ { [%emt 0:00:00]} Kg4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 63. Re4+ {[%emt 0:00:00]} 1-0 [Event "Stavanger"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2020.10.10"] [Round "5"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E20"] [WhiteElo "2828"] [BlackElo "2767"] [Annotator "Shahid"] [PlyCount "104"] [EventDate "2020.10.05"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] [TimeControl "40/7200:0"] 1. d4 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 2. c4 {[%emt 0:00:06]} e6 {[%emt 0: 00:14]} 3. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Bb4 {[%emt 0:00:11]} 4. f3 {[%emt 0:00:07]} c5 {124} 5. d5 {98} b5 {300} 6. e4 {[%emt 0:00:47]} d6 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 7. Bd2 { [%emt 0:00:07]} Bxc3 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 8. Bxc3 {[%emt 0:00:04]} b4 {[%emt 0:00: 04]} 9. Bd2 {[%emt 0:00:06]} O-O {[%emt 0:00:28]} 10. Ne2 {[%emt 0:00:20]} Nh5 {274} 11. Be3 {73} f5 {786} 12. dxe6 {932} Bxe6 {112} 13. exf5 {[%emt 0:00:13]} Rxf5 {294} 14. Qd2 {211} Nd7 {635} 15. O-O-O {205} (15. g4 $2 Ne5 $19) (15. Qxd6 Re5 16. Kf2 Qh4+ 17. g3 Qf6) 15... Qa5 {210} 16. Kb1 {1082} Bxc4 {[%emt 0: 00:49]} 17. Nc1 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Bf7 {[%emt 0:00:59]} 18. Qxd6 {250} Nhf6 {79} 19. Qc6 {324} Re8 {356} 20. Bf2 {72} Nb8 {680} 21. Qb5 {573} c4 {195} 22. Qxa5 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Rxa5 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 23. Rd4 {93} Rc8 {300} 24. b3 $6 {1259} (24. Be1) 24... Nc6 {306} 25. Rxc4 {[%emt 0:00:13]} Bxc4 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 26. Bxc4+ {[%emt 0:00:37]} Kh8 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 27. Rd1 {151} Re5 {313} 28. Rd6 { 253} Ne8 {77} 29. Rd2 {127} Nc7 {244} 30. Ne2 $2 {277} (30. Nd3 Ra5 31. Nc5) 30... Nb5 {263} 31. Kb2 {[%emt 0:00:59]} (31. Bxb5 Rxb5) 31... Na3 {71} 32. Ba6 {190} Rd8 {[%emt 0:00:51]} 33. Rxd8+ {[%emt 0:00:10]} Nxd8 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 34. Kc1 {164} Ne6 {146} 35. Bd3 {107} Nc5 {153} 36. Kd2 {96} Nxd3 {[%emt 0:00:19]} 37. Kxd3 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Rd5+ {60} 38. Nd4 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Rd7 {[%emt 0:00: 55]} 39. g4 {[%emt 0:00:54]} a5 {61} 40. Bg3 {[%emt 0:00:52]} Kg8 {102} 41. Be5 {7205} g5 {7225} 42. Ke4 {81} Nb1 {108} 43. Kf5 {[%emt 0:00:38]} Nc3 {[%emt 0: 00:00]} 44. Nc6 {[%emt 0:00:36]} Rd3 {168} 45. Ke6 {[%emt 0:00:26]} Nxa2 { [%emt 0:00:43]} 46. Nxa5 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Rxf3 {[%emt 0:00:29]} 47. Bd6 { [%emt 0:00:50]} Rd3 {[%emt 0:00:58]} 48. Nc6 {[%emt 0:00:12]} Re3+ {82} 49. Kf6 {[%emt 0:00:31]} Rxb3 {62} 50. Nd4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Rh3 {[%emt 0:00:39]} 51. Nf5 {[%emt 0:00:00]} b3 {[%emt 0:00:25]} 52. Ba3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Rxh2 { [%emt 0:00:23]} 0-1 [Event "Stavanger"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2020.10.10"] [Round "9.1"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B15"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2863"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "125"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] 1. e4 c6 {"I did not expect the Caro-Kann at all." (Duda)} 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ exf6 {Twenty years back this line was considered dubious for Black as the assumption was White will be structurally way better. The simplest plan is to trade everything and achieve won pawn endgame. Moreover, unlike the similar pawn construction as in the Ruy Lopez Exchange, Black lacks the bishop pair to compensate for the ruined pawn structure. However, recent GM practice proved that Black has serious arguments too, mainly the chance to play on both flanks.} 6. c3 Bd6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. Qc2 Re8+ 9. Ne2 ({Maybe Carlsen wanted to pay tribute to the commentators of the day by following in their footsteps:} 9. Be3 h6 10. Nf3 Bf4 11. Qe2 c5 12. dxc5 Qc7 13. O-O-O Bxe3+ 14. fxe3 Qxc5 15. Nd4 Nc6 16. Nxc6 bxc6 17. Bc4 Be6 18. Bxe6 Rxe6 19. Rd3 Rae8 { Svidler,P (2723)-Kramnik,V (2753) chess24.com 2020}) 9... h5 10. Be3 Nd7 11. O-O-O b5 {"I totally forgot about this idea." (Duda) "I knew such an idea exists, but did not bother analyzing it seriously."} 12. d5 {"The first stupid thing I did was that I spent 20 minutes on calculating this move (and the recapture) and then Magnus played c6-c5 at once." (Duda)} ({Instead, the former world champion suggested super-aggressive kingside play with} 12. g4 $5 {(Kramnik)} hxg4 13. h3 g3 14. Rhg1 {with the brilliant point} (14. Rdg1 $5) 14... Rxe3 ({Perhaps Black needs to defend patiently with} 14... gxf2 15. Bxf2 Nb6) 15. fxe3 Qc7 16. Nxg3 $1 Bxg3 17. Qg2 {(Kramnik)}) 12... c5 13. Bxb5 Rb8 14. c4 a6 ({White expected instead the positional sacrifice} 14... Rxe3 { (Also recommended by Kramnik and Svidler.)} 15. fxe3 Ne5 16. h3 {"It is very difficult to play as White." (Duda) The computer disagrees and likes the material better (no major surprise here) but it is evident that Black can mount pressure easily and enjoy his initiative thanks to his safer king.}) 15. Ba4 Re7 {N Only this is a novelty. The rook is getting ready to join the queenside assault.} ({The earlier game went} 15... Re5 16. Nc3 Nb6 17. Bb3 Bf5 18. Qd2 a5 19. a3 Nxd5 20. Nxd5 Rxb3 21. Nc3 Rb6 22. Nb5 {with unclear play, Ivic,V (2487)-Hansen,T (2423) Porto Carras 2018}) 16. Ng3 Ne5 (16... Nb6 17. Bc6 g6 18. Ne4 Rxe4 19. Qxe4 Bf5 {(Duda)}) 17. Ne4 {Now that the knight got centralized White was happy.} ({However, the prophylactic} 17. Bd2 {intending to meet} Reb7 {with} 18. Bc3 {would have been better for White instead.}) 17... Reb7 $1 {After this, Duda thought that Carlsen can "play whatever he wants and will always have positional compensation."} 18. b3 ({Duda spent time calculating} 18. Qc3 {but did not like the consequences of} Rb4 (18... Rxb2 19. Bb3 $1) 19. b3 Nxc4 $1 {(Svidler)}) ({Instead} 18. Nxd6 Rxb2 {"is pretty bad for White." (Duda)}) 18... Rb4 {A surpise for Duda.} ({The Polish GM expected} 18... Bf5 {and did not know what to do:} 19. f3 {can be met with} ({Another idea that the Polish GM considered was the positional queen sacrifice} 19. Rhe1 Ng4 20. Nxd6 Bxc2 21. Nxb7 Rxb7 22. Kxc2 {but there too Black seems better.}) ( {The commentators had a better idea instead:} 19. Bd2 $1 {(Kramnik, Svidler)} Ng4 20. f3 ({However here everyone missed the excellent} 20. Rhf1 $1 Nxh2 21. Rh1 $1 {maneuver when White is winning after} Ng4 22. Rxh5) 20... Nf2 21. Nxf2 Bxc2 22. Kxc2 {"I do not know if White is any worse." (Kramnik)}) 19... Bxe4 20. Qxe4 Re7 $1 {with a strong initiative.}) 19. Bd2 Rxa4 $1 {Another nice positional exchange sacrifice. The white king is exposed.} 20. bxa4 Bf5 21. Rde1 {"I thought I am in a very good shape here, I was kind of very optimistic. " (Duda)} h4 {And indeed, now White is better.} ({Perhaps Carlsen thought that he has too little in the line:} 21... Ng4 22. f3 ({Here} 22. Rhf1 {is met strongly with} Be5 $1) 22... Bxe4 23. Rxe4 Nf2 24. Rhe1 Nxe4 25. Qxe4 {with equality after both} Qd7 ({or} 25... Bxh2 {but that was the way to play it.})) 22. h3 Ng6 23. Re3 {White has consolidated and even though the g2 pawn can be attacked he can finally breathe freely. The game is approaching the time-trouble phase.} Nf4 24. g4 ({If White wanted to play safe he could have chosen} 24. g3 Nxh3 25. Rxh3 ({Here} 25. Rf3 $1 {wins for White, with the idea} Bg4 26. Nxd6 Qxd6 27. Rb3) 25... Bxh3 26. Nxd6 Qxd6 27. gxh4 {with equality. (Kramnik, Svidler)}) 24... Bg6 25. Kd1 $3 {"A very nice move." (Kramnik) "A clever way to deal with the knight jumps." (Svidler)} f5 {A natural aggression, but then the black king is getting weak too.} ({Best was} 25... Qd7 $5 { (Duda) in order to avoid the rook trade with} 26. Rb3 Re8 27. Re1 Nxh3 $1 { (Svidler)}) 26. Nxd6 Qxd6 27. gxf5 Bh5+ 28. f3 Qf6 29. Bc3 (29. Qe4 $5 Qa1+ 30. Bc1 Rb1 31. Kd2 $1 {was there too.}) 29... Qg5 30. Qe4 {"A very stupid move." (Duda)} (30. Rhe1 $1 {would have been more natural, but the text move does not spoil that much.}) 30... Qg2 ({The commentators and Duda suggested instead the improving moves} 30... f6 $1) ({or} 30... Kh7 $1 {when Carlsen's game would be even easier in time trouble.}) 31. Rhe1 ({The Polish GM wanted to checkmate his mighty opponent à la Carlsen with} 31. Qxf4 Qxh1+ ({And while checking the lines he saw he blundered something else...} 31... Rb1#) 32. Kd2 Rb1 33. Re8+ Kh7 34. Qh6+ Kxh6 35. Rh8+ {but then realized that the king can escape with}) 31... Qxa2 {An obvious move, and a blunder.} ({"It is never too late to make a good positional move," said Kramnik, suggesting} 31... f6 $5 {although then} 32. d6 {should be much better for White.}) 32. Qc2 Qxc4 33. Re8+ Kh7 ({ Apparently, the world champion missed from afar:} 33... Rxe8 34. Rxe8+ Kh7 35. Rh8+ $1 Kxh8 36. Bxg7+ {and the queen drops.}) 34. Rxb8 Qxd5+ 35. Qd2 Bxf3+ 36. Kc1 Qxf5 ({Or a study-like mate in case of} 36... Nd3+ 37. Kb1 Qxf5 38. Rh8+ $1 Kxh8 39. Qh6+ Qh7 40. Re8#) 37. Re3 {There are still many checks and threats against the white king, but the two rooks are too much to handle.} Ne2+ 38. Kb2 Nxc3 39. Qxc3 Qf4 40. Qd3+ f5 41. Rf8 Qb4+ 42. Kc1 Be4 43. Qb3 (43. Rxe4 $1 fxe4 44. Qd8 {would do as well.}) 43... Qd4 44. Qc3 Qd6 45. Rf7 Qg6 46. Rd7 Qg1+ 47. Kb2 c4 48. Rxe4 $1 {No more threats. Duda converts the extra rook.} fxe4 49. Rd4 Qf2+ 50. Qd2 c3+ 51. Kxc3 Qg3+ 52. Kb2 Qxh3 53. Rxe4 Qg3 54. Qd4 Qg2+ 55. Kc3 Qf3+ 56. Kb4 Qf8+ 57. Ka5 Qf5+ 58. Kxa6 g5 59. a5 h3 60. Re7+ Kg6 61. Qg7+ Kh5 62. Qh7+ Kg4 63. Re4+ 1-0