Newsblog WCC Carlsen-Karjakin, 2016-11-16

by ChessBase
11/16/2016 – Game four: draw (2-2)! Karjakin did it again: he put his head into the lion's mouth and everybody expected the beast to snap. But it didn't happen. Sergey Houdini Karjakin managed to survive another stunt. The miracle of New York City continues. What's happening next? Will the Russian be diving with sharks? Is he going to try some roofing on the Empire State? Is he going to play 1...g5 against Carlsen's 1.e4 in game five on Thursday? Dorian Rogozenco explains The Great Escape...
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World Chess Championship News - 2016-11-16

Game 4 - Notes by Dorian Rogozenco

 
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MoveNResultEloPlayers
1.e41,165,57054%2421---
1.d4946,47455%2434---
1.Nf3281,31256%2441---
1.c4181,93756%2442---
1.g319,68856%2427---
1.b314,23654%2427---
1.f45,88648%2377---
1.Nc33,79651%2384---
1.b41,75348%2380---
1.a31,19754%2403---
1.e31,06848%2408---
1.d394850%2378---
1.g466246%2361---
1.h444653%2374---
1.c342651%2425---
1.h327956%2416---
1.a410860%2468---
1.f39147%2431---
1.Nh38966%2508---
1.Na34262%2482---
Notes by Dorian Rogozenco - Another marathon game in the match, another triumph of defence and another draw... At the beginning of game four it seemed as if Karjakin had not yet recovered from the previous tiring encounter, as some of his decisions right after the opening were doubtful, to say the least. But then, in a very critical situation, where most of the specialists predicted a sure win for Carlsen, the Russian Grandmaster again displayed his fantastic skills in defending inferior positions and succeeded in getting the desired draw after almost 7 hours of play. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 In the second game of the match Karjakin went for 6.d3. 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.h3 A popular Anti-Marshall system, which tends to lead to a complicated strategical battle, with many theoretical subleties. Bb7 9.d3 d6 Here Black can still play in Marshall- style with 9...d5 but Karjakin has a lot of experience with such positions which he plays with both colors. So Carlsen decides to go for a positional game. 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Nxe5 11.Nbd2 f6 12.a3 Kh8 13.Ba2 Nf4 14.Ne4 Ng6 15.Be3 Nd4 16.Bxd4 exd4 17.h4 f5 18.Neg5 Nxh4 19.Ne6 Nxf3+ 20.gxf3 Qd6 21.Nxf8 Rxf8 22.Kf1 Bg5 23.Re6 Qf4 24.Qe2 Bxf3 25.Qe5 Qh4 26.Qg3 Qh1+ 27.Qg1 Qh5 0-1 (27) Topalov,V (2752)-Karjakin,S (2779) Astana 2012 11...Nd4 12.Bd2 c5 13.Nc3 Nxb3 14.axb3 Nb4 15.Ne4 f5 16.Ng3 Qd5 17.Nf3 Qd7 18.Ne5 Qd5 19.Nf3 Qd7 20.Bxb4 cxb4 21.d4 Rac8 22.Qd3 Bd6 23.Ne5 Qc7 24.Nxf5 Bxe5 25.Rxe5 and White went on to win in Karjakin,S (2747)-Onischuk,A (2688) Khanty-Mansiysk 2010. 10.a3 Qd7 Both 10...Na5 11.Ba2 c5 and 10...Nb8 11.Nbd2 Nbd7 were played by Carlsen before. However, Karjakin's answer came instantly. 11.Nbd2 Rfe8
This move might have been a surprise for the contender. He thought for 12 minutes before coming up with a reply and also spent a lot of time on his next moves. In previous games Karjakin had faced 11...Rae8 and 11.. .Nd8. 12.c3 Why did it take Karjakin so long to play this natural move? First of all, despite his huge experience in these type of positions, Karjakin never had this particular one in his practice before. Secondly, the position is quite complicated strategically and it is not easy to figure out whether White needs to play c2-c3 at all. For instance it looks logical to postpone it and start with 12.Nf1. Generally speaking, modern theory considers this type of position as slightly better for White. But again, with a lot of strategic subleties. As Grandmaster Nigel Short put it: "In such positions, with White I always feel I have no advantage, but with Black that I can't equalize". Bf8 13.Nf1 h6 14.N3h2 Preparing the typical action on the kingside, which is met by the standard counterplay in the center. d5 15.Qf3 White now threatens to take on h6 and actually has a simple plan: he wants to play Ng3, Ng4 and so on. Black must react very precisely and Carlsen is up to this task. Na5 16.Ba2 dxe4 Played after ten minutes. Possibly the World Champion wondered whether he had compensation in variations like 16...c5 17.Bxh6 c4 18.Rad1 18.Bg5 allows dxe4 19.dxe4 Nxe4 20.Rxe4 f5 which is very unlear 18...dxe4 19.dxe4 Qc6 but then decided to go for the more solid game continuation. 17.dxe4 Nc4
18.Bxh6 A curious moment. After a long think Karjakin makes the most principled move, but soon ends up in a very unpleasant position. Taking on h6 is not a mistake yet, but White must have missed something, as his next move is clearly not the best way to continue. 18.Ng4 maintains equality. 18...Qc6! Very precise play by Carlsen. Black had several sharp alternatives, but the World Champion rightly rejected them. 18...Nxb2 19.Bg5 Nh7 20.Bh4 c5 21.Re2 Nc4 22.Bxc4 bxc4 23.Rd2 and White has an advantage. 18...Nxe4 19.Rxe4 Bxe4 loses due to 19...f5? 20.Rxc4 Bxf3 21.Rxc7+ 20.Qxe4 gxh6 21.Ng4 Bg7 22.Nfe3 with good positional compensation for White. 19.Bxc4?! This doubtful move was played after 16 minutes of thinking! Maybe Karjakin already disliked his position so much, that he decided to go for a clearly worse endgame, hoping to hold it. Amazingly, this worked out in the end... There was still nothing wrong with White's position after 19.Bc1 For example: Nxe4 20.Ne3 Ned6 21.Qxc6 Bxc6 22.Nhg4 which is about equal. 19...bxc4 19...Qxc4 20.Nd2! and White keeps his extra pawn 20.Be3 Nxe4 21.Ng3 Nd6 Both 21...Nxg3 and 21...Qg6 were good alternatives as well. In all cases Black has the advantage. 22.Rad1 Rab8 23.Bc1 f6 24.Qxc6 Bxc6 25.Ng4 Rb5 26.f3
Thanks to his bishop's pair and the pressure on b2 Black has a clear advantage. Basically there are two ways to treat the position: to slowplay it with a move like 26...Kf7, improving the pieces step by step, or take immediate action - which is what Carlsen did in the game. 26...f5 Black uses the fact that the knight cannot go to e3, but slowplay might have been more unpleasant for Karjakin, who was already feeling some time pressure. 27.Nf2 27.Ne3? f4 27...Be7 Perhaps 27...Kf7 was more accurate, as now 28.f4 would be a mistake due to exf4 29.Ne2 Rbe5 28.f4! As usual, in a difficult situation Karjakin starts to defend extremely well. White needs to simplify the position, as otherwise he will soon run out of air. Bh4 Another attractive option was 28...exf4 29.Ne2 Ne4 29...g5 30.Nd4 Rb6 31.Nxc6 Rxc6 32.Rd5 followed by h4 gives White sufficient counterplay. 30.Nxe4 Bxe4 31.Nxf4 Rbb8 In both cases Black is better and it is not easy to decide which position leaves Black with more winning chances. 29.fxe5 Bxg3 29...Rbxe5 is not convincing: 30.Rxe5 Rxe5 31.Bf4 Rb5 32.Rd2 and White has good chances to escape. 30.exd6 Rxe1+ 31.Rxe1 cxd6 32.Rd1 Kf7 After the principled 32...Re5 33.Nh1! 33.Kf1 Re6 with ideas like Rg6 33...f4 33...Bh4 leads nowhere: 34.Rxd6 Re1+ 35.Kh2 but maybe 33...Ba4 34.Rf1 Bh4 35.Bf4 Rd5 is the best 34.Nxg3 fxg3 35.Kf1 Be4 Black has a clear advantage. However, the question remains the same: is it enough for a win? 33.Rd4 Re5 34.Kf1 Rd5 35.Rxd5 Bxd5 36.Bg5 Kg6 37.h4 A very committal decision in time trouble, as the pawn on h4 will fall soon. In return White gets the possibility to activate the knight via h3. Kh5 38.Nh3 Bf7 39.Be7 Bxh4 40.Bxd6 Bd8
The time-trouble is over and we can reach some conclusions: White succeeded to avoid the worst and simplified the position. However, even if Black failed to increase his advantage, he still has reasonable winning chances, as the bishop pair together with the chance to create a passed pawn on the kingside are strong arguments in Black's favour. 41.Ke2 g5 42.Nf2 Kg6 43.g4 Another committal decision by Karjakin, which again worked out well. Bb6 44.Be5 a5 45.Nd1 f4? The decisive mistake, as it considerably limits Black's winning ideas. Carlsen gets a nice passed pawn, but closes the kingside and it will turn out that White can defend his queenside weakness successfully. After 45...Be6 Black must be winning. The World Champion tries hard to win for another 50 moves, but his efforts are in vain and Karjakin again achieves a very important draw. 46.Bd4 Bc7 47.Nf2 Be6 48.Kf3 Bd5+ 49.Ke2 Bg2 50.Kd2 Kf7 51.Kc2 Bd5 52.Kd2 Bd8 53.Kc2 Ke6 54.Kd2 Kd7 55.Kc2 Kc6 56.Kd2 Kb5 57.Kc1 Ka4 58.Kc2 Bf7 59.Kc1 Bg6 60.Kd2 Kb3 61.Kc1 Bd3 62.Nh3 Ka2 63.Bc5 Be2 64.Nf2 Bf3 65.Kc2 Bc6 66.Bd4 Bd7 67.Bc5 Bc7 68.Bd4 Be6 69.Bc5 f3 70.Be3 Bd7 71.Kc1 Bc8 72.Kc2 Bd7 73.Kc1 Bf4 74.Bxf4 gxf4 75.Kc2 Be6 76.Kc1 Bc8 77.Kc2 Be6 78.Kc1 Kb3 79.Kb1 Ka4 80.Kc2 Kb5 81.Kd2 Kc6 82.Ke1 Kd5 83.Kf1 Ke5 84.Kg1 Kf6 85.Ne4+ Kg6 86.Kf2 Bxg4 87.Nd2 Be6 88.Kxf3 Kf5 89.a4 Bd5+ 90.Kf2 Kg4 91.Nf1 Kg5 92.Nd2 Kf5 93.Ke2 Kg4 94.Kf2 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Karjakin,S2769Carlsen,M2857½–½2016C88AGON FWCM 20164

 

18.27 / 12.27 pm: Daniel King also did a short video analysis (see a longer one here). Have a look:

16.11 / 10.11: The match between Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin is an event in New York. Which is shown by an interview of Norwegian chess journalist Kaja Marie Snare with young New Yorkers.

15.47 / 9.47 am: Hear the players respond to the questions: The press conference snippets

15.29 / 9.29 am: Here are some impressions from yesterday's game:

11.52 / 5.52 am: Our special service for you: Simon Williams's video analysis from playchess.com about game 5. Click here to watch.

9.25 / 3.25 am: Remarkably enough, the 26-year-old challenger didn‘t crack under pressure and didn’t show the lack of match experience Kasparov displayed vs. Karpov in the beginning of their first match, which was later aborted.

After Karjakin's 15.Qf3, the World Champion looked nervous, examining the area around his knight on f6 all the time and took his time before making sure he can reply …15.Na5. After 16.Ba2 de4 17.de4 Nc4 Karjakin went for 18.Bx6 instead of the safe 18.Ng4, but Carlsen showed Scandinavian sang-froid and countered with …18.Qc6. Maybe Karjakin underestimated this reply? The path to equilibrium narrowed down considerably, Carlsen’s pieces were ready to strike in no time like his favorite soccer team Real Madrid in the era of Carlo Ancelotti (compare to the fourth goal of the 4-0 vs. Bayern). 
After 18...Qc6, the online engine displayed a remarkably laconic '0.00' – you’re in a plane 30.000 ft above the ground and suddenly the air pressure drops. With a soft voice like the one of HAL 9000 the comp gives an eval of 0.00 – everything is under control, no need to worry. 
The audience wondered if Karjakin is going to retreat the bishop (19.Bc1), but to the surprise of most spectators the Russian put his head deeper into the lion’s mouth and played 19.Bxc4. So you decide to trade the bishop and now the air pressure in the airplane cabin drops even faster. The door disappears into the clouds - no 0.00 anymore, says HAL 9000. 'I’m sorry having to report a new evaluation, Dave. It’s not my fault.' Karjakin managed to hold the draw, and we’ll soon be publishing our commentary to show how he did it. So stay tuned.

8.17 Hamburg time / 2.18 New York City time: Sergey Karjakin is officially Sergey Houdini Karjakin now. 

Everyone was expecting the World Champion to finish the challenger off sooner or later. Bishop pair, better coordination, initiative, half open b-file, we all witnessed that. No one does it better. These are the grounds where the lion find's his zebras usually. Karjakin put his head into the lion's mouth, and we expected the beast to snap. Didn't happen. Coming up next: Karjakin puts his hand into the mouth of a crocodile, holding a big, juicy steak in his palm. 

Karjakin's performance in the last two games is remarkable. He doesn't lose his spirit in situations other top players might find unbearable. It's like Mission Impossible II, like The Great Escape, like I did it again. What's next? Is Karjakin going to swim with sharks? Will he be roofing the Shanghai Tower? 

Tippi Hedren and her lion called Neil

>> Check out more pictures of Tippi Hedren with her pet lion here. <<

Sitting in front of a lion for hours is obviously not a challenge anymore for the Russian. If he needs a thrill, he might as well play 1...g5 after Carlsen's next 1.e4. 

Any more ideas for showing courage? Because it's a short distance match, any mistake might be fatal. In our prediction poll Mikhail Golubev stated that heavyweight fights like this one tend to be boring, because both players want to play it safe. Obviously, Karjakin has his own definition of safety. Reminds us of Ali vs. Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire 1974. Taking super-hard punches by Foreman continuosly, waiting for Foreman to be exhausted.  

+ + +

2.10 / 20.10: Carlsen tries hard to keep winning chances but he might even try too hard.

01.30 / 19.30: Judit Polgar: "I have the feeling that if there is a win in the position, Magnus will find it. But I myself don't see it."

 

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