[Event "Carlsen Inv Final 4"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2020.05.01"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2835"] [BlackElo "2736"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2020.05.01"] {[%evp 0,83,19,17,17,17,13,24,31,13,11,10,11,2,21,1,9,-23,4,20,23,25,9,0,28,22, 32,35,55,0,41,31,47,36,45,30,34,30,27,17,18,24,35,43,39,35,61,57,62,40,55,6,19, -9,0,-6,0,0,16,12,3,-21,-23,-24,-23,-27,0,0,0,0,0,-21,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0, 0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 h6 7. Re1 O-O 8. h3 a5 9. d4 Bb6 10. Be3 exd4 11. cxd4 d5 12. exd5 Ne7 13. Nc3 Nexd5 14. Qd2 Nxe3 15. Rxe3 c6 16. Rd1 Nd5 17. Nxd5 (17. Bxd5 $142 {is a common exchange in a situation where Black has only one extra bishop, and it's probably good here too.} cxd5 18. Ne5 $14) 17... cxd5 18. Bb3 Bf5 19. Ne5 a4 20. Bc2 Bxc2 21. Qxc2 Bc7 22. Rde1 Bxe5 23. Rxe5 (23. dxe5 $142 $14) 23... Qd6 24. a3 Qc6 25. Qd1 ( 25. Qc5 $142 $14) 25... Rae8 $11 26. R1e3 Rxe5 27. dxe5 Re8 28. Qd2 Rc8 29. Kh2 Qe6 30. Qd3 Rc4 31. Re2 b5 32. b3 Re4 33. Rxe4 dxe4 34. Qxb5 Qxb3 35. Qe8+ Kh7 36. Qd7 e3 37. fxe3 Qxe3 38. Qf5+ Kg8 39. Qc8+ Kh7 40. Qf5+ Kg8 41. Qc8+ Kh7 42. Qf5+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Carlsen Inv Final 4"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2020.05.01"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D10"] [WhiteElo "2736"] [BlackElo "2835"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "131"] [EventDate "2020.05.01"] {[%evp 0,131,19,19,22,22,26,30,27,34,36,26,43,28,14,53,59,35,23,19,22,15,34,28, 31,36,42,41,7,4,-7,0,-1,12,16,16,11,-5,-4,-26,0,0,5,2,4,2,-4,-3,11,-2,5,-11, -12,-8,-3,0,-9,-27,-9,-39,6,-13,0,38,48,12,100,0,60,57,96,69,101,103,109,32,44, 54,56,57,56,61,83,43,42,41,51,43,42,41,36,36,36,36,37,36,36,58,88,28,23,43,43, -134,-103,-127,-152,-58,-165,-150,-143,-178,-184,-184,0,0,-73,-103,0,0,0,0,0,0, 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5 cxd5 4. Bf4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. e3 Bf5 7. Qb3 Na5 8. Qa4+ Bd7 9. Qc2 e6 10. Bd3 Rc8 11. Nf3 Bb4 12. O-O Nh5 ( 12... O-O) (12... Nc4) 13. Be5 (13. Bg5) 13... f6 14. Bg3 (14. Bxh7 $146 { looks like a good surprise weapon, but to players of this caliber and work ethic is may not be a surprise at all. For us mortals, however...} fxe5 15. Qg6+ (15. Nxe5 Ke7 $1 16. Ng6+ (16. Rac1 $5) 16... Kd6 17. Nxh8 Qxh8 $13) 15... Kf8 16. Qxh5 Be8 17. Qh3 Bxc3 18. bxc3 Bg6 19. Qxe6 Bxh7 20. Ng5 (20. Nxe5 $143 Rc7 21. f4 (21. Qh3 Qd6) 21... Nc4 22. Qh3 Qe8 $17) 20... Bg8 (20... Rc7 21. Qg4 Qd7 22. Qg3 $13) 21. Qf5+ Ke8 22. Qg6+ Kf8 23. Qf5+ Ke8 $11) 14... Nxg3 15. hxg3 Nc4 $146 (15... f5 {was played in all the prior games to reach the position after White's 15th move.}) 16. a3 Bxc3 17. bxc3 Nd6 $11 18. a4 (18. Rfc1) (18. Rab1) 18... g6 (18... Kf7 19. Bxh7 $4 f5 20. Ne5+ Kf6 21. Bg6 Nc4 $19) 19. Nd2 (19. Bxg6+ $4 {is terrible here, as White's queen has no help after} hxg6 20. Qxg6+ Kf8 $19) 19... O-O 20. Rfc1 Qe7 (20... e5) 21. Qb3 Rc7 22. Qa3 (22. e4) 22... Rfc8 23. c4 dxc4 24. Rxc4 Bc6 (24... Kf7) (24... Be8) 25. Rc5 b6 26. Rc3 Bb7 27. Rxc7 Qxc7 28. Bf1 Qd7 (28... Kf7 $142 $11) 29. a5 Bd5 (29... b5 $142) 30. axb6 axb6 31. Qb4 $14 {/+/-} b5 32. Ra6 Rd8 (32... Rc6 $142) 33. Qa5 (33. Qc5 $142 $16 {/+-}) 33... Rb8 (33... Rc8 $142) 34. Qb4 Rd8 35. Nb3 {Missing the best move for a second time. Still, White is clearly better.} (35. Qc5 $142) 35... Bxb3 (35... e5 $142) 36. Qxb3 $16 {/+-} Rc8 37. Qb4 (37. Rb6 $142) (37. d5 $142) 37... Nc4 (37... Rc6 $142 38. Bxb5 Rc1+ 39. Bf1 Qb5 40. Qxb5 Nxb5 41. g4 $1 (41. Rxe6 $2 Nc3 42. f3 (42. Rxf6 Ne2+ 43. Kh2 Rxf1 $11) 42... Nd5 43. Kf2 Kf7 44. Ra6 Rc2+ 45. Kg1 (45. Be2 $2 Nc3) (45. Ke1 Rc1+ 46. Ke2 Rc2+ $11) 45... Nxe3 46. Ra3 Nxf1 47. Kxf1 Rd2 $11) 41... Nc3 42. g3 e5 43. Kg2 exd4 44. exd4 Rd1 45. Rxf6 Rxd4 {keeps drawing chances, though it's not so easy after} 46. g5 {.}) 38. Be2 (38. d5 $1 Qxd5 $6 39. Qe7 $18) 38... Kg7 (38... Kf7 $142) 39. Bg4 (39. g4 $142) 39... f5 40. Be2 (40. Bf3) 40... h5 $1 41. Ra1 $6 (41. Bf3) (41. Bd1) 41... Nd6 42. Rb1 Qc7 43. Ra1 Qb6 ( 43... Kh6) 44. Bd3 Kf7 45. Rb1 Rc7 46. Kh2 Rc8 47. Ra1 Kf6 48. f3 Kf7 49. Rb1 Qc7 50. e4 Nc4 (50... fxe4 $142 51. fxe4 h4) 51. Qxb5 $6 {While this seems to hold, barely, it's hard to believe Nakamura intended to allow the following fork.} (51. Kh3) (51. e5) 51... Na3 52. Qb3 Nxb1 53. exf5 $1 gxf5 54. Bxf5 Qd6 55. Bxb1 h4 56. f4 Rg8 (56... hxg3+ 57. Kxg3 Rg8+ 58. Kf3 Rb8 59. Qd1 Qa3+ 60. Bd3 Rb2 61. Ke3 {seems to hold the draw.}) 57. Qb7+ Kf6 58. Qh7 hxg3+ 59. Kh3 Qf8 60. Qh4+ Kf7 61. Qh5+ Ke7 62. Qc5+ Ke8 63. Qb5+ Kf7 64. Qh5+ Ke7 65. Qc5+ Kf7 66. Qh5+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Carlsen Inv Final 4"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2020.05.01"] [Round "1.3"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2835"] [BlackElo "2736"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "82"] [EventDate "2020.05.01"] {[%evp 0,82,19,17,17,13,24,11,13,19,20,9,16,10,26,1,11,8,23,-15,9,10,4,-21,-31, -15,-15,-33,-15,-58,-6,-28,-14,2,0,-19,-22,-15,-3,-17,-36,-21,-21,-22,0,0,0,0, 14,0,0,0,0,-48,-45,-55,-63,-102,-100,-101,-133,-163,-213,-277,-291,-274,-274, -318,-305,-315,-282,-290,-345,-344,-353,-343,-331,-340,-337,-337,-332,-333, -250,-477,-509]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 h6 7. Re1 O-O 8. h3 a5 9. Nbd2 Bb6 10. Bb3 Be6 11. Ba4 Nd7 12. Nf1 f5 13. exf5 Bxf5 14. d4 $146 ({The position had arisen once before, in a game between two future GMs:} 14. Ng3 Bg6 15. Be3 Kh8 16. d4 exd4 17. Nxd4 Nxd4 18. Bxd4 Bxd4 19. cxd4 Nb6 20. Bc2 Qf6 21. Bxg6 Qxg6 22. Qd2 Rf7 23. Re2 a4 24. Rae1 Raf8 25. Re6 Rf6 26. Rxf6 Rxf6 27. Re4 Re6 28. Rg4 Qf7 29. Rf4 Rf6 30. Re4 d5 31. Re2 Re6 32. Rxe6 Qxe6 33. Qf4 Qe7 34. Nf5 Qf7 35. b3 a3 36. g4 Nc8 37. Qe5 Kh7 38. Nxg7 Qxg7 39. Qf5+ Qg6 40. Qd7+ Qg7 41. Qxc8 Qxd4 42. Qxc7+ Kg6 43. Qd6+ Kf7 44. Qxa3 Qd1+ 45. Kg2 d4 46. Qa7 d3 47. Qxb7+ Ke6 48. Qc6+ Ke5 49. Qc5+ Ke6 50. Qc6+ Ke5 51. Qc3+ Kd5 52. Qc4+ Kd6 53. Qf4+ Kc5 54. Qc4+ Kd6 55. Qa6+ Kd5 56. Qc4+ {1/2-1/2 (56) Matlakov,M (2401)-Ponkratov,P (2378) Satka 2005}) 14... exd4 15. cxd4 Nf6 16. Ng3 Bh7 17. Bb3+ Kh8 18. a3 Ne7 19. Be6 c6 20. Bd2 Nfd5 21. a4 Nb4 22. Bxb4 axb4 23. Qb3 Ba5 24. Re3 Ng6 25. Bf5 Bg8 26. Qc2 $2 (26. Be6 $11) 26... Nh4 27. Nxh4 Qxh4 $17 28. Qd3 Bb6 29. Re4 $2 {Caruana either missed Nakamura's response, or the move after it. White's position is precarious: f2 is weak, d4 is weak, and the bishop is loose and lacking a pleasant retreat.} ( 29. Rd1 $8) 29... Qf6 $19 30. Rg4 Ra5 31. Bg6 Be6 $1 {Even better than taking on f2.} 32. Ne4 Qxd4 33. Qxd4 Bxd4 {It's just a pawn, but it's not just a pawn. The R@g4 is attacked, b2 is hanging, f2 is loose, Black's bishops are very strong and his 3-1 pawn majority - soon to be a 3-0 majority (I'm not counting a4 and b7, which neutralize each other) - is enough to win the game as well. In a classical game, White would resign here.} 34. Rd1 Bxb2 35. Rg3 Be5 36. Re3 Bd5 37. g3 Rxa4 {Correction: 4-0 majority.} 38. f4 Ra1 39. Red3 Rxd1+ 40. Rxd1 Bc3 41. Nxd6 $4 {Making it a 3-0 majority, but then it's also important to count pieces...} Rf6 {Oops. As long as Black's flag isn't about to fall, it's time for White to resign, and he does.} 0-1 [Event "Carlsen Inv Final 4"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2020.05.01"] [Round "1.4"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A04"] [WhiteElo "2736"] [BlackElo "2835"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "116"] [EventDate "2020.05.01"] {[%evp 0,116,19,9,74,76,64,45,43,37,70,19,24,13,4,8,49,64,54,52,56,38,44,54,59, 64,76,51,46,44,44,12,16,7,7,3,-5,-35,-9,-2,34,8,51,0,32,31,50,31,54,63,56,61, 55,55,51,40,66,32,69,22,42,27,15,18,24,-1,-4,-40,-53,-89,-58,-71,-28,-24,-40, -36,1,0,-8,-31,-31,-34,-30,-40,-113,-115,-113,-100,-106,-41,-66,-62,-89,-58, -58,-83,0,-148,-124,-124,-80,-96,-128,-134,-98,-134,0,-297,-125,-79,0,-151, -196,-381,-411,-410,-448,-615,-676] Caruana needs a win as Black to keep the match going. No problem!} 1. Nf3 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 g6 4. Nc3 Bf5 5. Nh4 Bd7 6. e4 e5 7. Nf3 Nc6 8. d5 Ne7 9. Be2 Bg7 10. Be3 O-O (10... Ng4 {has to be better. }) 11. Nd2 c6 12. O-O Ne8 13. dxc6 $6 {/?} (13. b4) 13... bxc6 14. b4 Be6 15. Nb3 f5 16. f3 Nf6 17. Na5 Qd7 18. Rc1 Rac8 (18... Nh5 $142) 19. Qd2 Rfd8 20. Rfd1 Bf7 21. Bf2 (21. b5 $142) 21... h6 (21... Qc7 $142 {was better, serving as prophylaxis against b4-b5.}) 22. b5 c5 23. Bd3 f4 24. Nd5 Nexd5 25. cxd5 g5 26. Nc6 Re8 27. Kh1 (27. a4) 27... g4 28. Bh4 $2 {Natural, but mistaken.} (28. Be2 $142) 28... Kh8 $2 (28... gxf3 $142 29. gxf3 Qh3 30. Qf2 Bh5 {and the bishop on h4 is much more of a liability than an asset.}) 29. Be2 Bg6 30. Qe1 ( 30. Rc4 $1) 30... Nh7 31. a4 Ng5 32. Qf1 $2 (32. Rc4) (32. a5) 32... Bf6 $13 33. a5 $2 {It's hard to believe Nakamura missed the following tactic; it's likelier that he either overestimated his position following the mini-combination or underestimated his position without it.} (33. Qe1 Rg8 34. Rc4 Bh5 35. Bxg5 Rxg5 36. fxg4 Bxg4 37. Bxg4 Qxg4 (37... Rxg4 38. Qf1 $16 {/+-} ) 38. Qf1 $16 {/+-}) 33... Nxe4 $1 34. Bd3 Bxh4 35. Bxe4 Bxe4 36. fxe4 Rf8 { The pawn matters, not because an ending is coming but because it's one extra attacking unit on the kingside. The position remains unclear, however.} 37. b6 axb6 38. axb6 Qb7 39. Ra1 Ra8 40. Rxa8 Rxa8 41. Qb5 f3 42. g3 Bg5 43. Na5 $2 ( 43. h3) 43... Qf7 $6 (43... Qh7 $1 44. b7 Rb8 45. Qd3 Qf7 $19) 44. b7 Rb8 45. Rf1 Kg7 (45... Qh7 $142) (45... h5 $142) 46. Qa6 $2 (46. h3 $11) 46... Qg6 $1 $19 47. Qd3 h5 48. h4 Bxh4 $1 49. gxh4 Qf6 50. Kg1 Qxh4 (50... Qf4 $1 {is even better.}) 51. Qd2 Kg6 $1 52. Nc4 Qf6 53. Na5 Qh4 (53... g3 $1) 54. Nc4 Qf6 55. Ne3 {It's possible that Nakamura wanted to avoid a repetition, but much, much, much more likely that he didn't want to give Caruana a second chance to play .. .g3.} Qf4 $1 56. Qf2 Qxe4 57. Re1 Rxb7 {Five pawns for the knight - and what pawns!} 58. Ng2 Qd4 0-1 [Event "Carlsen Inv Final 4"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2020.05.01"] [Round "1.5"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2835"] [BlackElo "2736"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "102"] [EventDate "2020.05.01"] {[%evp 0,102,19,17,17,17,11,20,20,17,17,16,17,10,26,-30,6,8,23,-15,5,-5,21,0,4, 17,10,10,16,-1,31,8,6,1,20,4,39,7,3,-37,-15,-23,-23,-81,-59,-80,-59,-108,-110, -112,-95,-146,-124,-88,-64,-73,-91,-71,-80,-118,-56,-40,-39,-106,-77,-131,-49, -118,-34,-34,-35,-42,-42,-88,-83,-96,-79,-85,-69,-76,-48,-53,-25,-78,-50,-91, -1,-43,37,-98,-38,-96,-43,-8,46,-538,-593,-591,-591,-574,-580,-580,-595,-571, -597]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 h6 7. Re1 O-O 8. h3 a5 9. Nbd2 Bb6 {A Nakamura specialty. In the online database there are 18 games from this position, and the last 14 are his. And this doesn't even include his previous Black game with Caruana, which he won, or the last game of his match with MVL two days earlier - which he also won. His results in the 14 earlier games weren't as titanic, but an aggregated -1 against Dominguez, Nepomniachtchi, and So isn't too bad at all.} 10. Nf1 (10. Bb5 {was Nepo's repeated choice against Nakamura, while}) (10. Bb3 {was played by Dominguez, MVL, and Caruana in game 3.}) 10... Ne7 ({In all his games with So he played} 10... Be6 {.}) 11. Ng3 Be6 $146 ({Only one predecessor now, and it's a ratings mismatch:} 11... Ng6 12. d4 exd4 13. cxd4 d5 14. exd5 Nxd5 15. Ne5 Nxe5 16. dxe5 Nb4 17. Qb3 Qe7 18. Re4 Be6 19. Nh5 Kh8 20. Qg3 Rg8 21. Bxe6 Qxe6 22. Rg4 Nc2 23. Rb1 Nd4 24. Re4 Qf5 25. Qh4 Rae8 26. Be3 Rxe5 27. Ng3 Qg6 28. Rxe5 Qxb1+ 29. Kh2 Ne6 30. Bxh6 Qh7 31. Rh5 g6 32. Bg7+ Rxg7 33. Rxh7+ Rxh7 34. Qf6+ Kg8 35. Ne2 Bc5 36. f4 Bd6 37. g4 Rg7 38. Kg2 g5 39. f5 Nf4+ 40. Nxf4 Bxf4 41. Qd8+ Kh7 42. Qe7 b6 43. f6 Rg6 44. Qxf7+ Kh6 45. Qf8+ Kh7 46. Qe7+ Kh6 47. f7 { 1-0 (47) Antipov,M (2567)-Sysolyatin,E (2271) Sochi 2019}) 12. Bxe6 (12. Bb3 { is a decent alternative.}) 12... fxe6 13. d4 exd4 14. cxd4 Ng6 (14... Qe8) 15. Be3 (15. a4) 15... a4 16. Qc2 Qe8 17. a3 (17. Rac1) 17... d5 18. e5 $6 (18. Bd2 $142) 18... Nd7 19. Nd2 $2 Ba5 (19... Ndxe5 $143 20. dxe5 d4 21. Bxh6 $1 d3 22. Qxd3 Bxf2+ 23. Kh2 Rd8 24. Qc2 Bxe1 25. Rxe1 gxh6 26. Nh5 $44) 20. Rec1 c5 $1 21. dxc5 Ngxe5 $17 (21... Ndxe5 $142 $17 {/-+ White is already in big trouble.} ) 22. Rf1 Nc6 23. b4 axb3 24. Nxb3 Bc7 25. Nd4 Be5 {Not terrible, but there were better moves.} (25... Bxg3 26. fxg3 Rxf1+ 27. Rxf1 (27. Kxf1 Na5 28. Kg1 Nc4 $19) 27... Rxa3 $19) (25... Nce5) 26. Nge2 Ra5 (26... Na5 $142) 27. Nxc6 bxc6 28. Ra2 $6 (28. Rab1) 28... Qe7 $6 {Nakamura is focused on White's queenside pawn weaknesses, but this gives Caruana time to coordinate his pieces and achieve counterplay.} (28... Bb8 $19 {followed by ...e5 and ...e4 gives Black an overwhelming positional advantage, one likely to transmute into a powerful kingside attack.}) 29. Rc1 Rfa8 30. a4 Bf6 31. Ra3 e5 32. Ng3 Qe6 33. Qg6 d4 $2 (33... Nf8 $19 {followed by ...e4 kept control.}) 34. Bd2 Rxa4 35. Rxa4 Rxa4 36. Ne4 (36. Nf5 {is a good, probably better alternative.}) ({ But don't fall for} 36. Bxh6 $4 {, when} Nf8 {wins the bishop while leaving White without any attack.} 37. Qc2 {is a mere pinprick, relieved after} Ra2 $19 ) 36... Nf8 37. Qg3 Kh7 38. Rb1 {Now all of White's pieces are very well placed, and Black has to go over to defense.} Ra7 39. Qd3 Kg8 40. Rb8 Be7 41. Qf3 Qf7 42. Qg3 Qe6 43. Re8 Kh7 $2 44. Rb8 $2 (44. Qf3 $1 {suddenly gives White a winning advantage.} Qg6 (44... Ng6 $2 45. Ng5+ $1 {is the fundamental problem. Taking with the bishop loses the queen, and taking with the pawn allows mate in one.} Bxg5 (45... hxg5 46. Qh5#) 46. Rxe6 Bxd2 47. Qf5 $18) ( 44... Kg8 $2 45. Qxf8+ $1) 45. Rxe7 Rxe7 46. Qxf8 Re8 47. Qf3 $18) 44... Nd7 45. Qd3 (45. Re8) 45... Qg6 (45... g6 $142) 46. Rc8 Nf8 47. Rxc6 $4 {Having fought so well in the last game and this one, Caruana has a blackout. He must have thought that Black's last move only covered the queen or blocked the back rank, and somehow failed to notice that it also covers the h7 square.} (47. f3 $16) 47... Qxc6 {After a moment's confusion, wondering what he could have missed or how Caruana could have blundered in this way, Nakamura of course took the rook and did a fist pump, while Caruana understandably looked despondent and deflated. Chess can be cruel.} 48. Ng5+ ({Or, similarly,} 48. Nf6+ Kh8 {and there's no mate on h7 thanks to the knight on f8.}) 48... Kh8 49. Nf7+ (49. Qh7+ $4 Nxh7) 49... Kg8 50. Nxe5 Qd5 51. Bf4 Bxc5 0-1 [Event "Carlsen Inv Final 4"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2020.05.01"] [Round "1.6"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A04"] [WhiteElo "2736"] [BlackElo "2835"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "137"] [EventDate "2020.05.01"] {[%evp 0,137,19,9,75,59,50,31,50,3,8,16,11,-2,21,21,-2,6,7,17,23,29,27,14,31, 36,61,47,102,23,27,16,67,-15,0,2,7,-5,-2,-3,-5,-33,-31,-38,-47,-47,-14,-82,-61, -33,-53,-49,-18,-16,11,-43,-56,-63,93,15,15,17,17,-12,39,-17,-10,-8,-8,-6,-19, -4,-1,-21,-32,-25,-23,-22,-22,-11,-20,-20,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0, 0,0,102,145,167,176,195,195,203,207,215,223,226,226,239,271,283,3,269,283,283, 158,283,283,307,357,357,432,424,424,814,651,793,836,887,370,895,850,1040,1097] } 1. Nf3 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. e3 g6 4. b3 Bg7 5. Bb2 O-O 6. Be2 Nbd7 7. O-O b6 8. c4 Bb7 9. Qc2 e6 10. Nc3 Qe7 11. e4 e5 12. dxe5 dxe5 13. Nd5 Nxd5 14. cxd5 Rac8 15. Bb5 Nb8 16. Bc6 Nxc6 17. dxc6 Ba6 18. Rfd1 Rcd8 19. a4 Rfe8 20. Rxd8 Rxd8 21. Rd1 Rd6 22. Rd2 f6 23. h4 Bh6 24. Rd5 Rxd5 25. exd5 Qd6 26. Qe4 Bc8 27. h5 Bf5 28. Qc4 Bf8 29. Nh4 Qc5 30. Nxf5 gxf5 31. Kf1 Kg7 32. Bc1 Qxc4+ 33. bxc4 f4 34. g3 Kh6 35. gxf4 Kxh5 36. Kg2 Kg4 37. fxe5 fxe5 38. f3+ Kf5 39. Bd2 a5 40. Be3 Bd6 41. Kh3 $11 e4 $2 42. f4 $2 $11 (42. Kg2 $18) 42... Kg6 43. Kg4 h5+ 44. Kg3 Kf5 45. Kh3 {Of course the game is a draw, but as Caruana must play for a win at all costs he must play on.} Kf6 46. Kg3 Kg6 47. Kh4 Be7+ 48. Kh3 Bd6 49. Kg3 Kf5 50. Kh3 h4 $2 51. Kxh4 $18 Bxf4 52. Bxf4 Kxf4 53. d6 e3 54. dxc7 e2 55. c8=Q e1=Q+ 56. Kh5 {Although Black gets to start checking, White is winning thanks to the c6-pawn. In any case, even if Black has a perpetual, it wouldn't change anything as far as the match is concerned.} Qe5+ 57. Kg6 Qe4+ 58. Kg7 Qd4+ 59. Kg6 Qd3+ 60. Kg7 Qc3+ 61. Kg6 Qxc4 62. Qf5+ Ke3 63. Qe5+ Kd2 64. c7 Qc6+ 65. Kf7 Qc4+ 66. Ke7 Qh4+ 67. Kd7 Qg4+ 68. Qe6 Qg7+ 69. Kc6 (69. Kc6 Qc3+ 70. Kb7 Qf3+ 71. Ka7 {brings the check to an end.}) 1-0 [Event "Carlsen Inv Final 4"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2020.05.02"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2863"] [BlackElo "2791"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "95"] [EventDate "2020.05.01"] {[%evp 0,95,19,19,14,27,27,27,24,34,34,15,16,4,11,15,21,2,2,-35,-25,-55,-37, -71,-19,-135,-75,-71,-59,-84,-88,-176,-126,-115,-24,-15,-39,-8,9,-19,1,-12,-7, -19,11,0,17,17,17,15,-5,0,0,0,0,0,0,-5,-8,0,28,30,27,29,45,45,36,38,34,39,41, 36,41,26,36,37,26,20,20,33,27,27,27,26,26,26,26,-181,-184,-184,-184,-185,-185, -185,-185,-185,-185,-185]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Bf4 e6 4. Nbd2 Bd6 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 O-O 7. Bd3 b6 8. Qe2 Bb7 9. Bxf6 Bxf6 10. h4 Nd7 11. Ng5 h6 12. f4 c5 13. c3 Be7 14. g4 Nf6 15. a3 Rc8 16. Qg2 Bd6 17. Ngf3 cxd4 18. cxd4 Ne4 19. g5 h5 20. Ne5 Nxd2 21. Qxd2 g6 {Black had an edge earlier and White had his turn, but now it's a position where the locked kingside makes a draw likely, though not yet a guarantee.} 22. Kf2 Kg7 23. Rac1 Qe7 24. Qe2 Rc7 25. Rxc7 Qxc7 26. Rd1 Rc8 27. Rd2 Qc1 28. Qd1 Qxd1 29. Rxd1 Bxe5 30. fxe5 {Here the draw is practically guaranteed.} Kf8 31. Ke2 Ke7 32. Kd2 Rc7 33. b4 a6 34. a4 Rc8 35. Rf1 Rd8 36. Rf6 Rg8 {The sac on g6 is unlikely to succeed, but Ding is practical: why allow it in the first place?} 37. a5 b5 38. Rf1 Rc8 39. Rc1 Rxc1 40. Kxc1 {Now it's completely dead. Carlsen finishes the game with a little joke.} Bc6 41. Kd2 Kd7 42. Ke2 Ke7 43. Bxg6 $1 {Come to think of it, it's not just a joke. He might have hoped to catch Ding premoving, in which case this would have won.} fxg6 $1 {It is impossible for Black to win, unless White plays e3-e4, so the piece sac was both a good joke and a good try.} 44. Kd2 Bd7 45. Ke1 Bc6 46. Kd2 Bd7 47. Ke1 Bc6 48. Kd2 1/2-1/2 [Event "Carlsen Inv Final 4"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2020.05.02"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2791"] [BlackElo "2863"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2020.05.01"] {[%evp 0,65,19,17,28,17,28,20,20,16,16,17,12,11,27,1,15,8,20,0,32,20,34,27,21, 21,16,20,15,-3,4,-15,6,23,58,-1,15,15,5,-6,-3,-12,2,-9,2,6,3,3,20,18,7,0,0,-32, -4,22,20,-44,-50,-44,-33,-72,-55,-68,282,303,29995,29996]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 h6 7. Re1 O-O 8. h3 Re8 9. Nbd2 a6 10. a4 Be6 11. Bxe6 Rxe6 12. b4 Ba7 13. Qc2 Qd7 14. Nf1 d5 15. Be3 Bxe3 16. Nxe3 Ne7 $146 17. a5 Ng6 18. g3 Rd8 19. Kg2 Qc6 20. Nf5 Ne7 21. Nxe7+ Rxe7 22. c4 dxe4 23. dxe4 Qe8 24. Rad1 c5 25. bxc5 Rc8 26. Nh4 Rxc5 27. Nf5 Rd7 28. Rxd7 Qxd7 29. Rd1 Qc7 30. Rd6 Rxc4 31. Qd3 {Up to here, it has been a well and evenly played game by both sides. But now Carlsen loses the game in one move.} (31. Qb2 {might have been a shade better.}) 31... Kh7 $4 (31... Nxe4 {should have been played, when} 32. Rd8+ Kh7 33. Ne3 Rb4 34. f3 Qxa5 35. fxe4 Qa2+ 36. Kf3 Rb2 {is objectively equal but might cause White some consternation.}) 32. Rxf6 $1 gxf6 33. Qe3 {And that's that--it's mate in two. This is not the first time Carlsen has missed a relatively simple mate even in this tournament - remember game 2 of his match with Firouzja.} 1-0 [Event "Carlsen Inv Final 4"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2020.05.02"] [Round "1.3"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2863"] [BlackElo "2791"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2020.05.01"] {[%evp 0,65,19,30,28,27,26,34,22,24,45,37,54,44,36,-25,-16,-38,-34,-74,-41,-70, -30,-57,-66,-95,-72,-76,-42,-16,-33,-43,-89,-99,-104,-108,-105,-57,-56,-103, -95,-73,-59,-45,-49,-28,-39,-85,-67,-14,0,0,36,61,86,87,76,110,125,125,135,152, 154,89,29993,29994,29997,29998]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Bf4 e6 4. Nbd2 c5 5. e3 Qb6 6. Rb1 Bd6 7. c3 cxd4 8. cxd4 $2 (8. Bxd6 dxe3 9. Qa4+ Bd7 10. Qa3 exd2+ 11. Nxd2 $11) (8. Qa4+ Bd7 9. Qxd4 $11) 8... Bxf4 9. exf4 Nc6 $17 10. Nb3 a5 11. a3 a4 12. Nc1 Bd7 13. Na2 Ne4 14. Nc3 Qc7 15. g3 Nxc3 16. bxc3 Na5 17. Rc1 Nb3 18. Rc2 Qd6 19. Bd3 Qxa3 20. O-O f6 $2 {It was better to allow White's knight into e5 than to create a slew of light squared weaknesses.} (20... Qd6 21. Ne5 O-O) 21. Re1 O-O 22. Qb1 $44 Qd6 23. Rce2 $6 (23. Ra2) 23... h6 $6 ( 23... f5 $1) 24. f5 exf5 $2 25. Nh4 {Now Black is in serious trouble.} Rae8 26. Nxf5 Bxf5 27. Rxe8 $18 Nd2 28. Rxf8+ Kxf8 29. Qxb7 Nf3+ 30. Kh1 Nxe1 31. Bxf5 $2 {Offering Ding a lifeline...} (31. Qa8+ $1 Ke7 32. Bxf5 $18) 31... Nf3 $2 { ...but he doesn't spot it. In fact, the exchange of errors makes things worse, as he's mated by force after} (31... Qe7 $1 $11) 32. Bg6 $1 {. Light squared problems, thanks to ...f6 and ...h6.} Ng5 33. Qc8+ (33. Qc8+ Ke7 34. Qe8#) 1-0 [Event "Carlsen Inv Final 4"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2020.05.02"] [Round "1.4"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D45"] [WhiteElo "2791"] [BlackElo "2863"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "90"] [EventDate "2020.05.01"] {[%evp 0,90,19,24,24,22,26,30,30,28,31,42,32,12,24,17,40,13,15,15,17,0,0,0,0,8, 20,11,40,45,53,48,52,21,33,22,25,-8,-12,-12,-5,-22,-29,-37,-32,-37,-42,-43,-36, -50,-37,-39,-36,-133,-30,-39,-11,-109,-109,-47,-43,-40,-40,-24,-79,-48,-40,-63, 0,0,0,0,-7,-14,-7,-103,-73,-49,-39,-9,11,40,40,-82,-63,-11,-29,-33,0,-242,-78, -407,-372]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Be2 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. b3 b6 9. Bb2 Bb7 10. a4 a5 11. Bd3 Rc8 12. Qe2 c5 13. Nb5 Bb8 14. Ne5 Qe7 15. f4 $16 {Once again, Ding has a great position coming out of the opening.} dxc4 16. bxc4 (16. Nxc4 $142) 16... Ne4 17. Rad1 Rcd8 18. Ba3 Nxe5 19. fxe5 f5 $11 {But it's gone now--the position is equal.} 20. Rb1 Qg5 21. Rb2 $2 Rf7 ({Now it's Carlsen's turn to let a chance go by.} 21... f4 $17 {/-+ undermines White's creaky center while activating still more of Black's aggressively placed pieces.}) 22. Qe1 Rfd7 23. Re2 $6 h6 (23... h5 $19) 24. Bb2 (24. Bc2 $142) 24... Bc6 (24... h5 $1) 25. Bc2 $1 Kh8 26. Rf3 Qg6 27. Rh3 $6 Qg5 $6 (27... Ng5 $142 28. Rg3 Qh5) 28. Rf3 Nc3 $6 {Tempting, but now White's pieces find their energy.} 29. d5 $1 {Forced, and strong.} Nxe2+ 30. Qxe2 Bb7 $2 (30... Qe7) 31. Rg3 Qh4 32. d6 $2 $11 {Tempting, aiming to kill the b8-bishop and Black's rooks while consolidating his center, but he needed to create more mess, not less.} (32. e4 $1 f4 $8 33. Rg6 Rf7 34. Nd6 Bxd6 35. exd6 Rxd6 36. e5 {White may be down the exchange and a pawn, but look at the board! White's pieces are so spectacularly placed that Black needs to cough up a rook to stay alive.} Rxd5 37. cxd5 Bxd5 38. Rg4 $1 f3 $1 39. gxf3 Bxf3 40. Rxh4 Bxe2 41. Kg2 $16 {gives White the better chances, provided he can find something sensible to do with his dark-squared bishop. If he can, he's probably winning, and winning easily.}) 32... Be4 33. Bd1 Bc6 34. Rh3 Qg5 35. Rg3 Qh4 36. Rh3 Qg5 {Ding could repeat moves and head for a playoff, but he goes for more. And not without justification, either. While he goes on to lose the game, both players make mistakes in the crazy complications that ensue, and as we'll see Ding had chances to win the game.} 37. Nc3 $6 Rf8 (37... Bxd6 $1 38. exd6 Rxd6 39. Rg3 $8 Qh4 {White *might* still be okay here, but it's Black who has the better chances.}) 38. Qf2 $6 ({It wasn't too late for} 38. Rg3 Qh4 39. Rh3 {and a playoff.}) 38... Qd8 {This may look bizarre at first sight, but it's quite interesting. (Though not best.)} (38... f4 $142) 39. Ne2 (39. Qg3 $142 Kh7 $8 40. Be2 Bxd6 41. exd6 Rf6 42. Nb5 Rg6 43. Qe5 Rxg2+ 44. Kf1 Rg5 45. Rg3 $16 { The position is a mess and the material, like everything else on the board, is imbalanced. But the bottom line is that White is better, thanks to the great pawn on d6 and the monster a1-h8 diagonal.}) 39... Kh7 (39... Bxd6 $1 40. exd6 Rxd6 41. Bb3 Kh7 $11) 40. Nf4 $16 Bxd6 {Absolutely forced now, or Black will be overrun without a shred of counterplay.} 41. Nxe6 $4 {This is in fact a blunder, but it's hard to resist such a move in time trouble.} (41. exd6 Rxd6 42. Be2 $16) 41... Qe8 $2 {This lets White off the hook, but even so the exchange of errors favored Black, who went from much worse to equal.} (41... Bxe5 $1 {completely turns the tables.} 42. Be2 (42. Nxd8 $2 Rxd1+ 43. Qf1 Rxf1+ 44. Kxf1 Bxg2+ 45. Kxg2 Bxb2 $19) (42. Nxf8+ $2 Qxf8 43. Bh5 Qf6 $19) 42... Rd1+ $1 43. Bxd1 Qxd1+ 44. Qf1 Qxf1+ 45. Kxf1 Re8 46. Bxe5 Rxe6 47. Bc7 Bxa4 $19) 42. Nxf8+ Bxf8 43. Qxf5+ g6 44. Qf1 $4 (44. Qb1 $8 Rd2 45. Bf3 Bxf3 46. Rxf3 Qxa4 47. Qe4 $1 $11) 44... Bg7 $2 (44... Rd2 {is an immediate "game over". }) 45. Bc2 $2 (45. Rg3 {is White's best try, and it will even let him off the hook if Black doesn't play} Be4 $1 {. If he does play it, White is in trouble, but at least it's not an immediate loss.}) 45... Rd2 0-1