[Event "World Rapid 2019"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2019.12.26"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Utegaliyev, Azamat"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B01"] [WhiteElo "2872"] [BlackElo "2502"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "2019.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] 1. e4 d5 {A funny and daring choice against Carlsen, who has on a few occasions chosen this opening as well.} 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qd6 4. d4 c6 (4... Nf6 {is more usual, but here it amounts to a mere transposition of moves.}) 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. Ne5 Nbd7 7. Nc4 Qc7 8. a4 ({The immediate} 8. Qf3 {is more common, but Carlsen decides to follow in Caruana's footsteps...against Carlsen himself. } Nb6 9. Bf4 Qd7 {is the main move here, aiming to send the queen to g4.}) 8... a5 {This looks dubious, weakening the b6 square. Of course, this is the move Carlsen hoped to provoke, as the ...Qd7 resource we saw in the last note will be unavailable to Black.} (8... Nd5 9. Bd3 g6 10. Qf3 N7f6 11. Nxd5 Nxd5 12. O-O Bg7 13. c3 O-O 14. Qg3 Qxg3 15. hxg3 Rd8 16. Be2 Be6 17. a5 c5 18. dxc5 Bxc3 19. a6 bxa6 20. Na5 Bxa5 21. Rxa5 Nb4 22. Bf4 Nc6 23. Ra3 a5 24. Bb5 Nd4 25. Ba6 Bc8 26. Bc4 Be6 27. Ba6 Bc8 28. Bc4 Be6 {1/2-1/2 (28) Caruana,F (2808) -Carlsen,M (2857) Baku 2016}) 9. Qf3 Nb6 10. Bf4 Qd8 {A sad necessity.} 11. Be5 $1 Nbd5 12. Nxd5 Nxd5 13. c3 Nf6 {Black is trying to find a way to develop his kingside without losing material, but he cannot spend so many tempi moving the same piece and hope to survive with his king in the center.} 14. Bd3 Be6 15. O-O Bxc4 16. Bxc4 e6 17. Qg3 {Prevening ...Bd6 by direct means, and preventing ...Be7 by indirect means. This further creates the plan of f4-f5, breaking open the e- and f-files for his rooks to clobber the Black king.} g6 18. f4 {Logical and a good move in its own right, but a missed opportunity.} (18. d5 {would have increased the game's shine. The move presents a model refutation of Black's play: Black's king is in the center, and White gleefully smashes through at what would appear to be Black's strongest point. It's obviously impossible to take with the queen and the knight, and if Black doesn't take White will open lines and win material to boot. So let's see what happens if Black takes the "gift" with a pawn:} exd5 (18... cxd5 19. Bb5+ Ke7 20. Bc7 {costs Black a member of the royal family. White threatens to take the queen with check, so a counterattacking move like 20...Ne4 would be pointless, and if Black saves the queen he is mated:} Qc8 21. Qd6#) 19. Rfe1 Kd7 {Everything else loses material by obvious means, but now White only needs to spot} 20. Qh3+ {, and it's obvious that he's winning a ton of material all the same.}) 18... Bg7 (18... Be7 {was more resilient, though unlikely to save the game in the long run.}) 19. f5 {Of course.} exf5 (19... O-O 20. fxe6 fxe6 21. Bxe6+ Kh8 {is Black's best practical chance, perhaps, but down a pawn with a shaky king and facing White's powerhouse bishops it's not much of a chance.}) 20. Bc7 {Opening the e-file with tempo.} (20. Rxf5 {is less good, provided Black ignores the offer.} O-O) 20... Qc8 {This gives Black an inferior version of the following line.} (20... Ne4 21. Rae1 Qd7 22. Rxe4+ fxe4 23. Rxf7 Qxf7 24. Bxf7+ Kxf7 25. Qf4+ Kg8 (25... Bf6 {would be desirable, keeping the rooks connected, were it not for the weakness of the bishop itself.} 26. Be5) 26. Qxe4 {Materially things aren't so bad for Black, but because his king and rooks are so poorly placed he'll lose a slew of pawns before he can get coordinated.}) 21. Qd6 Ne4 22. Rae1 Qd7 23. Rxe4+ fxe4 24. Bxf7+ Qxf7 25. Rxf7 Kxf7 {Now 26.Qf4+ would transpose to the 20...Ne4 line, but with the queen starting on d6 instead of g3 something much better is available.} 26. Qd7+ (26. Qd7+ Kf6 (26... Kg8 27. Qe6+ Kf8 28. Bd6#) (26... Kf8 27. Bd6+ Kg8 28. Qe6#) 27. Be5+ Kg5 {and now any sane move wins, but the fastest mate starts with} 28. Qe7+ {. A very nice game by Carlsen, though alas, not quite a classic due to his missed opportunity on move 18.}) 1-0