[Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.09.25"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D41"] [WhiteElo "2855"] [BlackElo "2756"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "35"] [EventDate "2021.09.25"] {[%evp 0,35,24,23,17,18,18,18,18,-10,51,51,62,13,13,13,75,75,55,27,55,24,14,-8, 0,-34,-11,-3,12,12,25,35,34,97,77,0,152,373] Carlsen got off to a dream start in the tournament, winning his first two games and drawing the third for a quick match win over Duda. This was game one, which itself went as smoothly as one could hope.} 1. d4 (1. e4 c5 2. c3 Nf6 3. e5 Nd5 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nf3 e6 6. cxd4 d6 7. Nc3 Nxc3 8. bxc3 Qc7) 1... Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 { Not a surprise, as the Semi-Tarrasch is a well-established part of Duda's opening repertoire.} 5. Nf3 (5. e4) 5... c5 6. e3 cxd4 (6... Nc6 7. Bd3 Be7 8. O-O O-O {is another important path in the non-e4 Semi-Tarrasch.}) 7. exd4 Nxc3 8. bxc3 Qc7 {This is similar to a position known from the 2.c3 Sicilian - see the note to move 1.} 9. Rb1 $5 (9. Bb2 Ba3 $4 {is too clever by half.} (9... Nd7 {is correct, and approximately equal.}) 10. Qa4+ $1 {1-0 (10) Parligras,M (2595)-Huschenbeth,N (2605) Playchess.com INT 2020}) (9. Bd2 {is the main move. }) 9... Nd7 (9... Qxc3+ {isn't worth it, IMO, despite the result of the one (blitz) game it was tried. Black was in bad shape, notwithstanding his eventual success.} 10. Bd2 Qc7 11. Bd3 $44 {0-1 (34) Salem,A (2682)-Barp,A (2377) Chess.com INT 2020}) 10. Bd3 $5 (10. c4) 10... Qxc3+ 11. Kf1 Be7 $6 ( 11... Bd6) (11... b6) (11... Qc7) 12. h4 $1 O-O {There's no Greek gift here, because Black's queen will cover the h7 square in the ...Kg8 line (with an extra rook coming on the way).} 13. Rh3 $1 (13. Bxh7+ $4 Kxh7 14. Ng5+ Kg8 15. Qh5 $4 Qd3+ 16. Kg1 Qxb1 $19) (13. Rb3 $2 Qc7 14. Bxh7+ $4 Kxh7 15. Ng5+ Kg8 16. Qh5 Qxc1+ 17. Ke2 Qc2+ $19) 13... Nf6 $2 (13... Qc7 $142 14. Bg5 $14 {/+/-} ) 14. Ne5 $18 Qa5 15. Rg3 Kh8 $2 (15... Ne8 $142 {was better. Still, the following overly-long line shows that Black's problems are ultimately incapable of being solved if White plays well:} 16. Bh6 f5 17. Bb5 Bxh4 18. Rh3 gxh6 19. Rxh4 Qc7 20. Bxe8 Rxe8 21. Qh5 Re7 22. Rh3 b6 23. Rg3+ Kf8 24. Qxh6+ Rg7 25. Rc1 Ba6+ 26. Kg1 Qe7 27. d5 exd5 28. Nc6 Qd7 29. Qf6+ Qf7 30. Qd6+ Kg8 31. Ne5 Qb7 32. Rc7 $18) 16. Bg5 h6 17. Bxh6 $1 gxh6 18. Qf3 {Did Black resign too soon? Very well then, what does he do about 19.Qf4 (or 19.Qe3)?} (18. Qf3 Nd5 (18... Qd2 19. Rd1 Qxd3+ 20. Rxd3 Bd7 21. Nxd7 Nxd7 22. Qf4 Kh7 23. d5 $18) (18... Ng8 19. Qxf7 $1 Rxf7 20. Nxf7#) 19. Qxf7 $1 {Not the only win, but fastest and prettiest.} Rxf7 20. Nxf7#) 1-0 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.09.26"] [Round "2.5"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2736"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "98"] [EventDate "2021.09.25"] {[%evp 0,98,24,23,23,6,6,6,13,12,24,21,39,29,34,29,20,30,39,52,49,20,99,57,50, 48,35,19,21,12,11,19,45,-3,14,-16,-19,-29,-40,-41,-44,-28,-27,-33,-32,-32,-30, -37,-37,-29,-24,-24,-25,-20,17,16,20,16,20,21,17,0,4,-5,0,0,0,-4,-7,0,0,0,0,0, 0,-24,-65,-55,-59,-93,-65,-59,0,-16,0,-125,-64,-18,-41,-178,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,-429, -722,-803,-820]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Bxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Rc1 dxc4 9. Bxc4 Nd7 10. Ne4 c5 11. Nxf6+ Qxf6 12. O-O Rd8 13. Bb5 cxd4 14. Qxd4 Qxd4 15. Nxd4 e5 16. Nb3 Nf6 17. Rfd1 Be6 18. Kf1 Rxd1+ 19. Rxd1 Rc8 20. Rc1 Rxc1+ 21. Nxc1 Kf8 22. a3 Ke7 23. Ne2 Ne4 24. Bd3 Nc5 25. Bc2 Bc4 26. Ke1 Bxe2 27. Kxe2 b6 28. b4 Nb7 {It would seem impossible for White to lose such a position, but he does. I recommend that ambitious players figure out for themselves what went wrong.} 29. Kd3 Nd6 30. Kc3 f5 31. f4 Kf6 32. g3 g5 33. Bd3 Ke6 34. Bc4+ Kf6 35. Bd3 h5 36. h4 g4 37. Kb3 b5 38. Kc3 Ke6 39. Bb1 Kf6 40. Bd3 a6 41. Kb3 Ke6 42. a4 Kd5 43. axb5 axb5 44. Kc2 Nc4 45. Bxc4+ Kxc4 46. fxe5 Kd5 47. e6 Kxe6 48. Kd2 Ke5 49. Kd3 Kd5 0-1 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.09.26"] [Round "2.6"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B20"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2855"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2021.09.25"] {[%evp 0,71,24,24,54,40,85,3,54,25,29,-18,-7,-14,-10,-18,-16,-61,-18,-44,0,-61, -69,-46,-65,-28,-32,-43,-52,-43,-33,-42,-18,-34,-22,-21,-32,-29,-43,-78,-14, -14,36,52,392,452,452,452,480,458,470,470,470,419,503,431,478,490,527,325,348, 370,373,396,381,414,407,470,411,470,504,475,692,690]} 1. e4 ({If I remember right, I was Black against another master (or near-master) in my teen years, long long ago, in a game that saw the following nutty opening:} 1. a3 g6 2. h4 h5 3. e4 c5 4. d4 cxd4 5. c3 {I don't recall if I accepted the gambit or played ...Nf6. What I do remember is that I was soon two gambited pawns up, then wound up returning the pawns, and eventually won the game after various adventures.}) 1... c5 2. a3 g6 3. h4 {This crazy opening reminds me of one I had in a major scholastic event years ago - see the note to move 1.} Nf6 4. e5 Nh5 $17 {An improved version of his North Sea Defense.} 5. Be2 Nf4 (5... Nc6 $1 ) 6. d4 Nxe2 7. Nxe2 cxd4 8. h5 Bg7 (8... Qa5+ 9. c3 d3 $1 10. Qxd3 Nc6 11. f4 d6 $1) 9. f4 (9. Qxd4 $142) 9... gxh5 10. Nxd4 d6 $19 11. e6 Qa5+ (11... Rf8) ( 11... Qb6) 12. Nc3 Bxe6 13. Rxh5 Qb6 14. Be3 Nc6 15. Rb5 Qc7 (15... Qa6 $142) 16. Nxe6 Bxc3+ 17. bxc3 fxe6 18. Qh5+ Kd7 19. f5 Nd8 (19... Raf8 $142) 20. O-O-O Rf8 21. Rc5 Qxc5 $4 (21... Qb6 {remains unclear.}) 22. fxe6+ Kc6 23. Bxc5 $18 {The rest was easy. Congrats to Mamedyarov for having the guts to play such an opening - and getting away with it!} dxc5 24. Rd7 Kb6 25. Rxe7 Nc6 26. Rf7 Rfe8 27. Qxh7 Rxe6 28. Rxb7+ Ka6 29. Qd3+ Kxb7 30. Qd7+ Kb6 31. Qxe6 Rh8 32. g4 Rh1+ 33. Kb2 Rg1 34. Qf5 Na5 35. g5 Nc4+ 36. Ka2 1-0 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.09.26"] [Round "2.7"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D31"] [WhiteElo "2855"] [BlackElo "2762"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "43"] [EventDate "2021.09.25"] {[%evp 0,43,24,23,23,6,-17,-7,13,-1,3,22,16,-4,21,21,-3,-17,6,-28,-5,-5,58,54, 65,72,92,0,77,99,80,80,135,73,146,89,194,110,128,133,133,143,149,141,141,153]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 a6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bf4 Nf6 6. e3 Bd6 7. Bg5 Be6 8. Bd3 Nbd7 9. f4 h6 10. Bh4 g5 {This has been tried a few times at the IM and GM level, but with awful results. This game seems unlikely to inspire further followers.} 11. fxg5 hxg5 12. Bxg5 c6 (12... Bg3+ $5 13. Kd2) (12... Rxh2 13. Rxh2 Bxh2 14. Nge2 $16 {/+- White has gone 3-0 here; here's the highest-rated predecessor:} Bd6 15. Nf4 c5 16. Nh5 cxd4 17. exd4 Qe7 18. Kf1 O-O-O 19. Nxf6 Rh8 20. Qc2 Kd8 21. Nfe4 f6 22. Nxd6 Qxd6 23. Be3 Qg3 24. Bg1 Rh1 25. Ne2 Qe3 26. Bf5 Nb6 27. b3 Rxg1+ 28. Nxg1 Qxd4 29. Rd1 Bxf5 30. Rxd4 Bxc2 31. Nf3 Kc7 32. Kf2 Kd6 33. Rg4 Nd7 34. Rg7 Bb1 35. a3 Be4 36. Nd4 b6 37. Ke3 a5 38. g3 Ne5 39. Rg8 Kd7 40. Rb8 Kc7 41. Re8 Kd6 42. Rc8 Kd7 43. Rf8 Kc7 44. Kd2 Nd7 45. Re8 Nc5 46. Ke3 Bg6 47. Rg8 Be4 48. Rf8 Nd7 49. Re8 Nc5 50. b4 axb4 51. axb4 Kd7 52. Rg8 Nd3 53. Rg7+ Kc8 54. Nc6 Ne1 55. g4 Nc2+ 56. Kf4 Bg2 57. Rh7 b5 58. Rh2 Ne1 59. Kf5 Nf3 60. Rxg2 Nh4+ 61. Kxf6 Nxg2 62. g5 Kd7 63. g6 Nf4 64. Nd4 Nh5+ 65. Kg5 Ng7 66. Nf5 Ne6+ 67. Kf6 Nc7 68. g7 Ne8+ 69. Ke5 {1-0 (69) Yu,Y (2762) -Fedoseev,V (2707) Danzhou 2018}) 13. Qf3 $18 Be7 14. Nge2 Qb6 15. O-O-O c5 16. Bc2 O-O-O 17. Nf4 Bg4 $2 {Mamedyarov Initiates a tactical sequence that Carlsen has analyzed more accurately than he has.} 18. Nfxd5 $1 Nxd5 19. Nxd5 Bxf3 20. Nxb6+ Nxb6 21. Bxe7 Bxd1 22. Bf5+ $1 {Not the only winning move, but very clearly the best.} (22. Bf5+ $1 Rd7 23. Rxd1 c4 24. Rh1 {and when White finally cashes in he'll have two very healthy extra pawns.}) 1-0 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.09.27"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B23"] [WhiteElo "2855"] [BlackElo "2763"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "78"] [EventDate "2021.09.25"] {[%evp 0,78,27,20,47,41,79,48,47,46,55,54,55,42,42,53,42,-3,52,-22,-14,-35,-16, 17,17,-57,-50,-87,-42,-42,0,0,-36,-36,-41,-61,-41,-71,-66,-56,-64,-62,-59,-52, -61,-60,-62,-75,-71,-78,-73,-67,-63,-79,-62,-67,-62,-102,-105,-94,-94,-112, -118,-107,-107,-106,-88,-96,-93,-96,-119,-135,-163,-189,-192,-277,-300,-335, -523,-670,-893]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Qxd7 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. d4 cxd4 7. Nxd4 g6 8. b3 d5 9. e5 Qc7 10. Nce2 Qxe5 11. Bf4 Qh5 12. f3 Bh6 13. g4 Qh3 14. Qd2 Bxf4 15. Nxf4 Qh4+ 16. Kd1 Nc6 17. Ng2 Qh3 18. Nf4 Qh6 19. h4 Qg7 20. c3 O-O 21. g5 Nh5 22. Nxh5 gxh5 23. Re1 e6 24. f4 Rac8 25. Rc1 Rfe8 26. Qd3 Qg6 27. Kd2 Nxd4 28. Qxg6+ hxg6 29. cxd4 Kf8 {White is a pawn down, but he has done a pretty good job of keeping Black's pieces out and locking things up. Here's a puzzle for the reader: Can White draw by swapping off all the rooks, or should he keep at least one rook on the board and try to keep things sealed up?} 30. Rxc8 $2 (30. b4 $15) 30... Rxc8 31. Rc1 $2 Rxc1 32. Kxc1 {Carlsen bet on the draw, or maybe he thought that the alternative would only lead to a lot of suffering without any real chances to save the game. (I don't think that's the case, but that's a possibility.) At any rate, while it might seem like White can draw this, it turns out that Black wins very easily.} f6 33. Kd2 Kf7 34. Ke3 e5 $1 {Thematic, but it needed to be accurately calculated.} 35. fxe5 fxe5 36. dxe5 Ke6 37. Kd4 {A mutual zugzwang is in the offing, and it will come down to the tempo moves on the queenside.} b6 38. b4 b5 $1 39. a3 a6 { And it's White who gets catapulted from the trebuchet, so Carlsen gave up.} 0-1 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.09.27"] [Round "3.5"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D85"] [WhiteElo "2756"] [BlackElo "2762"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2021.09.25"] {[%evp 0,93,27,27,27,5,48,43,61,65,67,29,42,19,25,-1,15,15,32,-55,-3,21,7,-38, -21,-45,-21,-92,-32,-83,-97,-109,-89,-77,-95,-86,-92,-69,-67,-67,-62,-84,-51, -120,-64,-60,-60,-94,-40,-86,53,-168,95,95,73,-2,73,71,71,38,43,85,103,80,155, 72,98,-16,26,-180,196,-26,33,-101,-31,-126,-7,-37,0,128,132,252,297,279,309, 309,317,328,319,374,374,416,446,607,786,965]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Bd2 Nb6 6. e3 Bg7 7. h4 e5 8. dxe5 Nc6 9. h5 Nxe5 10. h6 Bf6 11. Qc2 O-O 12. O-O-O Qe7 13. e4 c6 14. Nh3 Nec4 15. Bxc4 Nxc4 16. Nf4 Rd8 17. f3 b5 18. Kb1 a5 19. Bc1 Bb7 20. Nd3 Bc8 21. Ne2 Be6 22. Nef4 a4 23. g4 Rab8 24. Rhe1 b4 25. e5 Bh8 26. Nxe6 Qxe6 27. f4 b3 28. axb3 axb3 29. Qc3 Nb6 30. f5 Qd5 31. Nc5 Qg2 32. Qxb3 Nd5 33. Qc2 Qxg4 34. f6 Qb4 35. Ne4 Ra8 36. Bd2 Qb5 37. Bc3 Qa6 38. Kc1 {Gotta love that black bishop on h8, right? Amazingly, despite that horrible bishop, and the horrible king, too, Black is okay if he finds the right idea. Black comes up with one plausible idea - but it's not the right one.} Ne3 $2 (38... Qa1+ 39. Qb1 (39. Kd2 $2 Nb4+ 40. Nd6 Nxc2 41. Rxa1 Nxa1 $19) 39... Qa7 $11 {and surprisingly, White cannot make progress.}) 39. Rxd8+ Rxd8 40. Rxe3 $1 Qa1+ 41. Qb1 Rd1+ 42. Kxd1 Qxb1+ {The point of Black's combination. It succeeded, but the success is a failure: Black is completely lost.} 43. Kd2 Qh1 44. Rd3 $1 Qxh6+ 45. Kc2 Bg7 46. Rd8+ $1 Bf8 47. Bb4 1-0 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.09.28"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A15"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2756"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "115"] [EventDate "2021.09.25"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. dxc3 Qxd1+ 7. Kxd1 f6 8. Be3 e5 9. Nd2 Nd7 10. Nb3 a5 11. a4 b6 12. Kc2 Bb7 13. f3 O-O-O 14. Rd1 Bd6 15. Bb5 f5 16. Nd2 Nc5 17. Rhe1 fxe4 18. Bxc5 Bxc5 19. Nxe4 Bxe4+ 20. Rxe4 Rxd1 21. Kxd1 {There can be a tendency to assume that opposite-colored bishop endings are drawn, assuming equal material and no blunders. It's not as easy as that, as we'll see.} Bd6 22. Kc2 Rf8 23. b3 Rf4 24. Re2 {After the trade of rooks, it would have been drawn. White will have to make more progress before he can consider doing that.} g5 {Aiming to either swap some pawns or to blockade the kingside.} 25. Bd3 h5 26. Bg6 h4 27. Be4 Kd7 (27... g4 $4 { would be desirable, but there's a tactical problem thanks to Black's king being on c8.} 28. fxg4 Rxg4 $4 29. Bf5+ $18) 28. g3 Rf7 29. gxh4 gxh4 30. Rg2 $16 {Progress!} Bf8 31. Rg4 Rf4 32. Rg5 Ke6 33. Kd3 Be7 34. Rg7 h3 $2 {Very committal. Perhaps Black hoped that White could only win Black's h-pawn at the cost of his own.} 35. Kc4 Rh4 36. b4 $1 {Both prophylaxis (against ...Bc5, followed e.g. by ...Be3-f4xh2) and creating some fresh problems for Black on the queenside.} c6 $6 {The decisive error, but his position was already very unpleasant.} 37. Rg6+ $18 Kd7 38. Kb3 $1 {Threatening to take on c6.} (38. Rxc6 $4 Rxe4+ $19) 38... Bd6 39. Bf5+ Kc7 40. Rg7+ Kb8 41. Be4 Rh6 42. Kc4 Kc8 43. bxa5 bxa5 44. Bxc6 {Finally cashing in.} e4 45. Bxe4 Bxh2 46. Rh7 {Forced, and strong. Again, White is able to use a neat tactical point to pick up Black's h-pawn.} Rxh7 47. Bxh7 Kc7 (47... Be5 48. Bf5+ {Check!}) 48. Bf5 Be5 49. Bxh3 Kd6 50. Kd3 Bg3 51. Ke4 Kc5 52. Bf1 Be1 53. c4 Kb4 54. f4 Kc5 (54... Kxa4 55. c5 Bf2 56. c6 Bb6 57. f5 Bd8 58. f6 $18) 55. Ke5 Bg3 56. Be2 Kb4 57. Ke4 Bf2 ( 57... Kxa4 58. c5 $18 Bh4 59. c6 Bd8 60. f5 Kb4 61. f6 $18) 58. Kd5 $1 { The only winning move.} (58. Kd5 $1 Bc5 59. f5 Be7 60. Ke6 Bd8 61. f6 Bxf6 62. Kxf6 {and now, as always,} Kxa4 {is met by} 63. c5 $18 {, with the bishop preventing Black's king from getting in the square of the pawn with (or in this case, simply winning the pawn) with ...Kc5.}) (58. f5 $2 Kxa4 59. Kd5 Kb4 60. f6 Bc5 $11) 1-0 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.09.29"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2855"] [BlackElo "2736"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "129"] [EventDate "2021.09.25"] {[%evp 0,129,27,12,32,19,19,15,12,12,13,17,21,16,15,11,10,16,10,4,2,10,21,-17, -3,0,0,-13,-6,-19,-22,-26,-24,-37,60,79,94,5,7,11,90,107,107,50,52,44,56,9,83, 95,109,111,85,80,85,75,78,63,111,111,118,114,149,138,138,138,155,118,103,124, 124,123,134,92,94,95,121,125,153,132,147,155,158,158,158,109,130,132,152,139, 148,118,147,144,144,137,137,60,67,30,45,38,67,68,82,85,97,103,124,100,104,108, 112,167,104,104,103,100,100,100,116,129,199,173,173,173,527,527,527,537,537, 537]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. O-O Bd6 7. Nbd2 Be6 8. b3 O-O 9. Bb2 Nd7 10. d4 f6 11. dxe5 fxe5 12. Qe2 Qe7 13. a4 Rf7 14. h3 Raf8 15. Rad1 h6 16. Nh2 c5 17. Nc4 Rf6 18. Qd3 Qf7 19. f3 h5 20. Nxd6 cxd6 21. Qe3 Qe7 22. Qg5 Re8 23. Rf2 Bf7 24. Nf1 Nf8 25. Qd2 Ng6 26. Ne3 Nh4 27. Kh2 Kh7 28. Rdf1 Ng6 29. Nf5 Qf8 30. f4 Nxf4 31. Rxf4 exf4 32. Bxf6 gxf6 33. Qxd6 Qxd6 34. Nxd6 Re7 35. Rxf4 Kg6 36. Kg3 Be6 37. Rf3 b6 38. Kf4 h4 39. g4 hxg3 40. Rxg3+ Kh7 41. h4 Rd7 42. e5 fxe5+ 43. Kxe5 Bg8 44. Nf5 Kh8 45. c4 Rd1 46. Ne7 Bh7 47. Nd5 Rh1 48. Nf6 $1 {Nicely assessed.} Rxh4 49. Nxh7 Kxh7 50. Kd6 { Black's king is too far away. Nakamura does his best to resist, and almost miraculously comes within a tempo of saving the game.} Rh6+ 51. Kc7 Rf6 52. Kb7 Rf7+ 53. Ka6 Rc7 54. Rd3 Kg6 55. Rd8 Re7 56. Rb8 Kf5 57. Rb7 Re3 58. Kxa7 Rxb3 59. a5 (59. Rxb6 Rb4 {is presumably what Carlsen wanted to avoid. White is still winning after} 60. a5 {, but this isn't simpler than the game.}) 59... Rb4 60. a6 Ke5 61. Rxb6 Rxc4 62. Kb7 Ra4 63. a7 Rxa7+ (63... c4 64. Ra6) 64. Kxa7 c4 65. Rc6 (65. Rc6 Kd4 66. Kb6 c3 67. Kb5 Kd3 68. Kb4 c2 69. Kb3 { Just in time.}) 1-0 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.09.29"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2855"] [BlackElo "2736"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "120"] [EventDate "2021.09.25"] {[%evp 0,120,19,12,12,12,32,15,19,14,13,23,12,24,17,8,5,2,12,11,34,31,33,-2,2, 9,19,6,16,17,91,75,64,57,57,66,62,46,46,41,56,40,35,41,75,70,70,75,73,77,80,76, 95,67,94,83,82,69,73,84,86,87,93,78,79,94,109,147,147,146,111,104,92,98,92,75, 92,41,34,55,47,41,34,54,52,62,99,97,119,69,86,81,134,183,204,112,191,212,242, 260,260,279,279,285,300,303,296,280,296,296,296,305,301,308,310,310,310,310, 429,633,926,982,28989] No analysis, but I commend this game to you as a terrific technical performance by the world champion. It's not quite perfect, but especially for a game played with a 15'+10" time control it's outstanding. } 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. O-O Bd6 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bh4 Qe7 9. Nbd2 Bg4 10. h3 Bh5 11. d4 O-O-O 12. Re1 Qe6 13. c4 Bxf3 14. Nxf3 Qxc4 15. dxe5 Bxe5 16. Nxe5 Qb5 17. Nxc6 Qxc6 18. Qb3 Rd7 19. Rac1 Qe6 20. Qxe6 fxe6 21. Bg3 b6 22. Rc6 Re8 23. Be5 Kb7 24. Rec1 Ree7 25. f3 Ne8 26. h4 h5 27. Kh2 g6 28. Kg3 Rd2 29. R6c2 Rxc2 30. Rxc2 Rf7 31. b4 a6 32. a4 Rf8 33. b5 axb5 34. axb5 Kc8 35. Ra2 Kd7 36. Ra8 Rf7 37. Ra1 Rf8 38. Kf2 Nd6 39. Bxd6 Kxd6 40. Rd1+ Ke7 41. Ke3 Ra8 42. Rc1 Kd7 43. Kf4 Ra2 44. g4 Ra3 45. Rf1 Ke7 46. Kg5 Kf7 47. Kh6 Rc3 48. g5 Rd3 49. Rc1 Rd7 50. Rc6 Re7 51. f4 Rd7 52. f5 gxf5 53. exf5 exf5 54. Rf6+ Kg8 55. Rxf5 Rd6+ 56. Kxh5 c6 57. bxc6 Rxc6 58. g6 Rc8 59. Kg5 Rb8 60. h5 b5 1-0 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.09.29"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Artemiev, Vladislav"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2699"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "2021.09.25"] {[%evp 0,51,27,12,60,70,70,70,73,40,78,33,61,51,44,53,70,22,31,26,29,11,0,-7, 16,-2,22,21,36,19,24,37,42,0,36,-55,-31,-54,-101,-101,-120,-129,-91,-133,-109, -108,-141,-127,-151,-192,486,432,29999,-30000]} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. g4 Bd7 5. c4 e6 6. Nc3 c5 7. Nf3 Nc6 8. Bg2 cxd4 9. Nxd4 dxc4 10. Nxc6 Bxc6 11. Bxc6+ bxc6 12. Qa4 Rc8 13. Qxa7 Bb4 14. O-O Ne7 15. Bg5 Ra8 16. Qe3 Qb8 17. Ne4 Nd5 18. Qd4 O-O 19. Rfc1 c5 20. Qxc4 Qxe5 21. a3 Qxb2 22. Nxc5 Bxc5 23. Qxc5 h6 24. Bh4 Ra4 $4 {Going directly for the kingside attack. There will be a quick mate, alright, but maybe not the one Artemiev had in mind.} (24... Rac8 25. Qxc8 Rxc8 26. Rxc8+ Kh7 {is clearly winning for Black, thanks in good part to the weakness of White's kingside. (Black will play ...Qe2 and ...Nf4, for instance.)}) 25. Qxf8+ $1 Kxf8 26. Rc8# 1-0 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.10.01"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C19"] [WhiteElo "2782"] [BlackElo "2756"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "36"] [EventDate "2021.09.25"] {[%evp 0,36,27,34,44,23,28,31,36,23,19,18,14,14,14,28,11,51,56,69,70,79,81,97, 59,55,97,46,52,52,73,-49,10,4,25,-59,-50,-29999,-30000]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. Qg4 Qc7 8. Qxg7 Rg8 9. Qxh7 cxd4 10. Ne2 Nbc6 11. f4 dxc3 12. Qd3 d4 13. Nxd4 Nxd4 14. Qxd4 Bd7 15. Qd6 $6 (15. Rg1 {is the main move in this very deeply analyzed position.}) 15... Qa5 16. Qb4 Qd5 17. a4 $2 Nf5 $6 (17... Rc8 $19) (17... Rxg2 18. Bxg2 Qxg2 19. Rf1 Qxc2 $19) 18. Ba3 $4 {Er...} (18. Qxc3 $17) (18. Ra3 $17) 18... Qd2# 0-1 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.10.01"] [Round "6.4"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2778"] [BlackElo "2763"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "50"] [EventDate "2021.09.25"] {[%evp 0,50,27,23,14,17,34,9,9,4,10,10,12,-8,22,-23,-5,-2,-13,-15,16,19,16,12, 19,13,25,38,54,39,71,62,60,53,53,34,64,32,41,-21,45,34,0,0,0,-226,-226,-243, -250,-483,-483,-998,-380]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 Be7 8. Bg3 d6 9. a4 Nh7 {The ever-aggressive Radjabov starts shuffling his pieces to build up on the kingside. While he has a (deserved) reputation for making a lot of draws, he was a super-hero of the King's Indian for years, and has won countless games, with both colors, playing for massive kingside buildups. Here's another one for the collection.} 10. Nc3 Ng5 11. Nd2 Ne6 12. Nd5 Bg5 13. Nf3 Ne7 14. h4 Bf4 15. Bxf4 exf4 16. Nxe7+ Qxe7 17. d4 (17. Re1 g5 18. e5) 17... g5 18. Nh2 $6 {Natural, trying to cover up the kingside and to prevent ...g4, but it's a step in the wrong direction.} (18. e5 $142 $1 $14) 18... gxh4 $1 $15 {Black's structure would be gruesome in an ending, but here it's fine: the g-file is open and Black has the possible pawn levers ... f3 and especially ...h3.} 19. Re1 Kh8 20. e5 Qg5 21. Nf3 $6 (21. Ra3 $142) 21... Qg4 22. exd6 $2 (22. Kh2 {had to be played, vacating the g-file and clearing g1 for the rook.}) 22... h3 $19 23. Bf1 hxg2 24. Be2 Ng5 25. d5 (25. Nxg5 Qh4 $1 26. Kxg2 Qxg5+ 27. Kh2 Rg8 {and mate will soon follow.}) 25... Qh5 ({Black has WAY too many attackers for White to survive. Here's a possible finish:} 25... Qh5 26. Nh2 Nh3+ 27. Kxg2 Rg8+ 28. Ng4 Bxg4 29. Bxg4 Rxg4+ 30. Kf3 Nxf2 31. Kxf2 Qh2+ 32. Kf3 Qg2#) 0-1 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.10.01"] [Round "6.5"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B30"] [WhiteElo "2777"] [BlackElo "2855"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "106"] [EventDate "2021.09.25"] {[%evp 0,106,27,22,52,48,35,37,55,40,58,24,24,25,30,-93,-94,-99,109,92,90,63, 75,60,41,46,30,24,27,29,18,-13,-10,-25,117,110,141,86,86,66,19,108,108,100,101, 101,56,-71,-71,-96,-105,-144,-113,-185,-144,-251,-134,-165,-181,-181,-181,-181, -170,-209,-206,-241,-222,-301,-144,-159,-160,-209,-184,-197,-239,-235,-241, -249,-225,-284,-265,-298,-318,-509,-492,-655,-711,-703,-711,-717,-505,-777, -342,-391,-415,-404,-441,-521,-523,-534,-541,-685,-737,-876,-1042,-1054,-1076, -1076,-1073]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 e6 4. O-O Nge7 5. d4 {This has become very popular lately.} cxd4 6. Nxd4 Qb6 7. Be3 $5 (7. Nxc6 {has been almost automatic, played a bunch of times by Caruana, among other elite players.}) 7... Nxd4 8. a4 Nxb5 $5 $146 {Objectively bad, but proving it in blitz is difficult.} (8... e5 9. c3 a6 10. cxd4 axb5 11. d5 Qf6 12. Nc3 Ng6 13. Nxb5 Bd6 14. Qd2 h6 15. Bb6 O-O 16. a5 Nf4 17. g3 Nh3+ 18. Kg2 Ng5 19. f3 Be7 20. h4 Nh7 21. d6 Bd8 22. Bxd8 Rxd8 23. Nc7 Rb8 24. Qb4 b5 25. a6 Bxa6 26. Rxa6 Kh8 27. f4 exf4 28. Rxf4 Qg6 29. Qb3 Nf6 30. Qf3 h5 31. Rf5 Ng4 32. Rg5 Qh7 33. b4 f6 34. Rd5 Rf8 35. Kg1 Ne5 36. Qe2 Qh6 37. Ra5 g5 38. Qe3 Nc4 39. hxg5 Nxe3 40. gxh6 Nxd5 41. Nxd5 Kh7 42. Ra7 Kxh6 43. Kf2 Rbd8 44. Kf3 Kg6 45. Rb7 Kf7 46. Nf4 Rg8 47. Nxh5 Ke6 48. Rxb5 Rg5 49. Nf4+ Kxd6 50. Rb6+ Ke5 51. g4 Ra8 52. Ke3 Ra3+ 53. Nd3+ Rxd3+ 54. Kxd3 Rxg4 55. Rb5+ Kd6 56. Rd5+ Kc6 57. Rf5 Rg6 58. Kc4 Rh6 59. Rf2 Kc7 60. Kc5 Rh4 61. Kd5 Rh5+ 62. Rf5 Rh6 63. b5 Rg6 64. Kc5 Rg4 65. Kd4 Rg6 66. Rf4 Rg5 67. Rf5 Rg6 68. Kd5 Rh6 69. Kc5 Rh4 {1/2-1/2 (69) Campora,D (2521)-Khatanbaatar,B (2507) Istanbul 2000}) 9. Bxb6 axb6 10. Nd2 $2 (10. axb5 $2 Rxa1 {is the basic tactical point that justifies Black's 8th move. Whatever problems it has, they're not based on a simple loss of material.}) (10. Qd3 $1 Na7 11. Nd2 Ng6 12. Nc4 Bc5 13. Nd6+ Ke7 14. Rfd1 $18 {was the right way to go. Too much of Black's army remains stuck in the box.} Ne5 {can be met by 15.Qd2, but the entertaining} 15. Qg3 {is also possible:} Bxd6 16. Qg5+ f6 17. Qxg7+ Nf7 18. Rxd6 Kxd6 {Otherwise there's no point to 14...Ne5.} 19. Qxf7 Kc7 20. b4 $18 {and Black is completely lost, despite his small material advantage.}) 10... Nd6 11. e5 $6 (11. Qe2) 11... Ndf5 12. Ne4 (12. Nc4 $142) 12... Nc6 13. g4 Nh4 14. f4 h5 $1 15. h3 hxg4 16. hxg4 d5 $5 (16... Ra5) (16... Bc5+) (16... g5 $5) 17. exd6 Ra5 (17... f5 $142) 18. c4 $1 f5 19. b4 $1 Nxb4 20. d7+ Bxd7 21. Nd6+ Bxd6 (21... Ke7 22. Nxb7 Bc6 $1 23. Qd8+ Kf7 24. Qc7+ Kg8 25. Nxa5 bxa5 26. Qe5 Bd5 $1 27. Qb8 {is a crazy line that results in a weird position - one which the engine gives, of course, triple zeros.}) 22. Qxd6 Nc6 23. Rad1 $2 (23. Qc7) 23... Bc8 $19 {After this, Black manages to coordinate his pieces, and then all White can do is wait for the axe to fall. In general, the assessment of positions where a queen is taking on a collection of smaller pieces, it comes down to whether there are loose pawns and pieces for the queen to simultaneously attack. If everything is nailed down, then unless king safety is a significant issue, the little guys will have the better of things, often enough to win.} 24. g5 Ng6 25. Rf2 Kf7 26. Qc7+ Nce7 27. Rd8 Rxd8 28. Qxd8 Rxa4 29. Qc7 e5 30. fxe5 Be6 31. Qxb7 Rxc4 32. Qxb6 Nxe5 33. Re2 Rc6 34. Qe3 N5g6 35. Kh2 Bc4 36. Rb2 Re6 37. Qf3 Re4 38. Rb7 Be6 39. Kg1 Rg4+ 40. Kh2 Rxg5 41. Rb6 Bd5 42. Qe3 Rg2+ 43. Kh3 Rg4 44. Kh2 f4 45. Qd4 Rg5 46. Rd6 f3 47. Rd7 Rf5 48. Qg4 Be6 49. Rd1 Ne5 50. Qh4 f2 51. Kg2 Bd5+ 52. Kf1 Bc4+ 53. Kg2 f1=Q+ 0-1 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.10.01"] [Round "6.6"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D30"] [WhiteElo "2736"] [BlackElo "2762"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2021.09.25"] {[%evp 0,65,27,27,27,-16,3,-15,-11,2,23,-66,-48,-27,24,15,22,35,26,27,21,20,41, 21,25,41,26,16,50,81,104,92,102,111,108,112,117,118,123,33,21,44,12,16,13,32, 32,28,36,0,0,0,17,62,76,76,61,73,154,172,139,143,144,153,179,188,738,745]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Bg5 h6 5. Bh4 dxc4 6. e3 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. exd4 Be7 9. O-O O-O 10. Nc3 b6 $6 (10... Nc6 {is standard, and in case of} 11. Re1 { , then the liquidating} Nh5 {is a standard, good idea.}) 11. Qe2 (11. Ne5 Bb7 12. Re1 Nc6 13. Ba6 $1 {is a nice trick worth knowing. Sometimes it wins, but here Black has one (and only one) way to avoid the loss.} Qc8 $8 {Still, White is clearly better:} 14. Qf3 Na5 15. Bxb7 Qxb7 16. Qxb7 Nxb7 17. Nc6 $16) 11... Bb7 (11... Nc6) 12. Rad1 Nbd7 $6 (12... Nc6 13. Bxe6 $5 fxe6 14. Qxe6+ Rf7 15. d5 Nxd5 16. Rxd5 Qc8 17. Qxc8+ Rxc8 $14 {White is a pawn up, but Black's light-squared bishop and slightly better coordination gives him good drawing chances.}) 13. Rfe1 Rc8 $4 14. d5 $1 $18 {White is winning. There is no chance that Mamedyarov didn't see this standard idea coming; he must have miscalculated somewhere. Still, it's salutary for us to see that even a super-GM can underestimate the d4-d5 idea.} exd5 15. Qxe7 Qxe7 (15... Rxc4 16. Bxf6 gxf6 {allows Black to escape without losing a piece, but after} (16... Nxf6 $2 17. Qxb7) 17. Qe3 $18 {is position is a collection of ruins.}) 16. Rxe7 dxc4 (16... Rxc4 $2 17. Bxf6 $18) 17. Bxf6 Bxf3 {Maybe Mamedyarov was counting on this move to save the day, but} 18. Rdxd7 {wins.} Bc6 {The only try, but now White has more than one way to maintain a winning advantage.} 19. Bh4 $2 { This isn't one of them, though White is better here, too - two minor pieces are almost always better than a rook and a pawn.} ({Here are three superior options, in order of increasing strength:} 19. Rxa7 gxf6 20. h4 $18) (19. Bxg7 Kxg7 20. Rxa7 $18) (19. Rc7 gxf6 20. Rxf7 $1 $18) 19... Bxd7 20. Rxd7 g5 21. Bg3 $16 Rfd8 (21... Rcd8 $142 22. Rxa7 Rfe8) 22. Rxa7 Rd2 23. h4 (23. Bc7 Rxb2 24. g4) 23... Rxb2 24. h5 $5 (24. Nd5) 24... Rd2 $2 (24... Re8 $1) 25. f3 $2 ( 25. Be5 $1 $18) 25... Rd3 $6 (25... Re8 $1 $11) 26. Be5 $1 $16 Re8 $2 (26... f5 $8) 27. Bf6 $18 Kf8 28. Ne4 c3 29. Rc7 g4 30. Kf2 gxf3 31. gxf3 Ra8 32. Nxc3 Rd6 $2 33. Be7+ 1-0 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.10.01"] [Round "6.7"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D42"] [WhiteElo "2736"] [BlackElo "2762"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "2021.09.25"] {[%evp 0,103,20,12,32,15,18,-20,65,44,44,39,23,17,8,15,27,23,14,-11,-3,-3,0, -18,12,-4,-20,-10,17,41,18,-11,30,3,1,7,16,30,11,30,-9,26,26,0,27,44,31,28,25, 22,33,35,34,2,0,-11,-11,0,9,-42,-48,-64,-62,-83,-93,-87,-93,-89,-100,-103,-98, -120,-115,-131,-128,-127,-132,-124,-116,-116,-98,-72,-99,-104,-108,-119,-113, -97,-98,-115,-95,-83,-82,-59,0,48,191,208,437,655,767,259,529,671,671,710]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. e3 Nf6 3. c4 c5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. d4 e6 7. Bd3 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Qe2 b6 10. Nxd5 exd5 11. dxc5 bxc5 12. Rd1 Be6 13. b3 Bf6 14. Bb2 Nb4 15. Ne1 Qe7 16. Rac1 Rac8 17. Bb1 Bxb2 18. Qxb2 g6 19. a3 Nc6 20. Nd3 c4 21. Nf4 cxb3 22. Qxb3 Na5 23. Qb4 Qxb4 24. axb4 Nc6 25. b5 Nb4 26. Ne2 Rxc1 27. Rxc1 Rc8 28. Rxc8+ Bxc8 29. Nc3 Kf8 30. Kf1 Ke7 31. Ke1 Kd6 32. Kd2 Kc5 33. h4 h5 34. f3 Bd7 35. Ne2 Bxb5 36. Nf4 Bd7 37. Kc3 a5 38. Ne2 Bb5 39. Nd4 Bc4 40. g4 a4 41. gxh5 gxh5 42. Bh7 a3 43. Bg8 a2 44. Kb2 Nd3+ 45. Ka1 {Black only needs to draw this, the Armageddon game, to win the match - but nothing's wrong with winning. The pawn on a2 is nice, though it can be a distraction to Black, who can go nuts trying to find some way to exploit it. The knight on d4 covers b3 and c2, however, so Black's knight can't win the game by promoting his a-pawn. Instead, he needs to take care of the kingside.} Ne1 $2 (45... Ne5 $1 {protects f7, and indirectly h5 (if White's bishop can't go to f7, he'll have a very hard time eliminating Black's h-pawn). Moreover, he's ready to play ...Ng6xh4, when it will be almost impossible for White to win even if Black does many things wrong afterwards.} 46. f4 Ng4 $1 {Taking on e3 undermines White's knight and brings Black's a-pawn back into play.} 47. Nc2 ( 47. Bxf7 $2 Nxe3 48. Ne6+ Kb4 49. Bg6 Kc3 $19 {wins quickly, intending ... d4-d3 followed by ...Nc2#.}) 47... Bb3 48. Nd4 Kc4 49. Kb2 Nh6 $1 50. Bh7 (50. Nxb3 Nxg8 51. Kxa2 Kd3 $19) 50... Bd1 51. Kxa2 Ng4 52. Kb2 (52. Nf5 Nf6 $19) 52... Nxe3 $19) 46. Bxf7 $11 Kb4 $6 {Still distracted by the a-pawn.} (46... Ng2 47. Nf5 Bd3 {assures Black of an easy draw.}) 47. Bxh5 Kc3 $4 (47... Ng2 { still draws.}) 48. Bg6 $18 {Now it's over. The a-pawn is not going anywhere, period, end of story...but White's h-pawn is.} Kd2 49. h5 Bd3 {Here and on the next move, White has more than one way to win. Nakamura's approach is amusing, because it lets Black come within a tempo of finally promoting his a-pawn.} 50. e4 (50. Bxd3) 50... Kc3 51. h6 (51. exd5) 51... Kxd4 52. h7 {If only Black's bishop were on c4 or b1, then ...Nc2+ followed by ...a1Q+ would win. IF. Unfortunately for him, he only gets one move, and h8Q comes with check.} (52. h7 Bb1 53. h8=Q+ Ke3 54. exd5 $18) 1-0 [Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.10.02"] [Round "7.3"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2855"] [BlackElo "2763"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "148"] [EventDate "2021.09.25"] {[%evp 0,148,26,25,15,17,13,8,29,12,24,11,23,20,40,25,16,23,31,9,17,7,7,27,21, 21,23,7,10,-28,5,6,9,7,22,-34,2,-2,9,5,-7,7,2,2,15,-13,-6,-7,1,-13,-7,-5,-4,6, 90,-35,-38,-93,-90,-43,-23,-55,-41,-38,-38,-38,-34,-19,0,0,17,-38,0,-21,-36, -91,-95,-101,-42,-45,-43,-45,-41,-125,-141,-130,-141,-167,-197,-201,-200,-207, -210,-209,-210,-210,-205,-209,-208,-207,-203,-238,-247,-235,-260,-260,-258, -259,-270,-279,-265,-270,-285,-294,-296,-304,-372,-379,-381,-381,-378,-422, -403,-400,-385,-428,-439,-441,-439,-439,-439,-439,-439,-439,-439,-439,-439, -439,-439,-439,-439,-439,-485,-485,-485,-504,-982,-992,-992,-1011,-1011]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. O-O Nd7 7. c3 h6 8. d4 Bd6 9. Nbd2 O-O 10. Nc4 exd4 11. Nxd6 cxd6 12. Nxd4 Nf6 13. f3 Re8 14. c4 Qb6 15. Re1 d5 16. cxd5 Nxd5 17. Kh1 Ne7 18. Nb3 Qc7 19. Be3 b6 20. Nd4 c5 21. Nb5 Qc6 22. a4 a6 23. Nc3 Be6 24. Qe2 f5 25. Qf2 Rac8 26. h3 Ng6 27. Qf1 f4 28. Bd2 Rcd8 29. Nd5 Bxd5 30. exd5 Qxd5 31. Rxe8+ Rxe8 32. Bc3 Nh4 33. Rd1 Qg5 34. Rd7 Nf5 35. Qc4+ Kh7 36. Qf7 Re7 37. Qxf5+ $6 {Maybe Carlsen thought the pressure against g7 would give him an easier draw than he'd have after 37.Rxe7? If so, his assessment was incorrect.} (37. Rxe7 Nxe7 {was equal, and would have led to a third straight draw.}) 37... Qxf5 38. Rxe7 Qg5 39. Ra7 (39. Rxg7+ $2 Qxg7 40. Bxg7 Kxg7 41. Kg1 b5 42. axb5 axb5 43. Kf2 c4 44. Ke2 b4 {is an easy win for Black. White can't win Black's queenside pawns, while Black's king can reap a harvest on the kingside.}) 39... b5 $1 $17 ({Maybe Carlsen expected} 39... a5 $4 {when making his 37th move. Now the liquidation wins for White.} 40. Rxg7+ Qxg7 41. Bxg7 Kxg7 42. g4 $1 fxg3 43. Kg2 Kf6 44. Kxg3 Ke5 45. f4+ Kf5 46. Kf3 c4 47. Ke3 h5 48. h4 $18 {and wins.}) 40. axb5 (40. Rxa6 $2 b4 41. Bd2 Qe5 42. b3 Qd4 {wins the bishop.}) 40... axb5 41. Ra5 c4 42. Ra7 Kg8 43. Rb7 $2 (43. Ra8+ $1 Kf7 44. Ra7+ {forces Black to give up the g-pawn or hide the king back on h7.}) 43... g6 $19 {Now Black is winning, and Radjabov shows good technique to cash in.} 44. Kh2 Kf8 45. Kh1 Ke8 46. Bb4 Qf6 47. Bc3 Qf5 48. Kh2 g5 49. Rb6 h5 50. Rh6 (50. Rf6 $142) 50... g4 51. hxg4 hxg4 52. fxg4 Qxg4 53. Rh3 {Trying to set up a fortress. Carlsen has famously said that he does not believe in fortresses, and what follows confirms his skepticism.} Kd7 54. Rf3 Ke6 55. Kg1 Qf5 56. Kf1 Kd5 57. Kg1 Kc5 58. Kh2 b4 59. Bh8 Kd5 60. Rh3 Ke4 61. Rf3 Qh7+ 62. Rh3 Qc7 63. Kg1 Qb6+ 64. Kh2 Qb8 65. Kg1 c3 66. Bxc3 bxc3 67. bxc3 {So how does Black win? If you haven't seen the game, this would make an excellent exercise for the reader. Let's say White will just shuttle the rook back and forth from h3 to f3. How does Black make progress?} Qb6+ 68. Kh2 Qf2 69. Rf3 Qe3 $1 {This is the key idea. White can't take the queen, as ...fxe3 will result in a new queen. Therefore, White's rook is cut off from the c-pawn, which Black will collect, and then he'll finish the job on the kingside.} 70. Rh3 Kd3 71. Rf3 Kxc3 72. Kh3 (72. Kh1 Kd2 73. Kh2 Ke2 74. Rh3 Kf2 75. Rf3+ (75. Kh1 Qe1+ 76. Kh2 Qg1#) (75. Rxe3 fxe3 $19) 75... Qxf3 76. gxf3 Kxf3 $19) 72... Kd4 73. Kh4 Ke4 74. Kg4 Qe2 (74... Qxf3+ 75. gxf3+ Ke3 {is perhaps more thematic (it's the way Black would have converted the advantage if White's king had stayed in vicinity of g1), but a win's a win.}) 0-1