Robert Ris’ Fast and Furious: A miniature between two top players

by Robert Ris
3/3/2022 – This week Robert Ris takes a look at a miniature played at the highest level: at the Airthings Masters Online Rapid Tournament World Champion Magnus Carlsen defeated Jan-Krzysztof Duda with a swift attack and won a short and instructive game. | "Fast and Furious" is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.
By playing the London System, with 1.d4 followed by 2.Nf3 and 3.Bf4, White can avoid a theoretical discussion and instead use natural ability plus a knowledge of plans. The weight of the struggle tends to shift towards the middlegame, but White can also pull off devastatingly quick wins should Black be unaware of the dangers.

It doesn't happen too often: a miniature at the highest level. In just 20 moves Magnus Carlsen crushed his opponent Jan-Krzysztof Duda with a simple attack on the kingside.

How did this happen to a player rated 2750+ and how could Black have defended more stubbornly? Relevant questions for understanding the positions with a fianchettoed bishop guarding the king. 

Exercise: White to play!

 
Magnus Carlsen - Jan-Krzystof Duda
White to play

You can move the pieces on the live diagram!

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Robert is an International Master who mostly spends his time training and coaching talented youngsters. On the PlayChess server The Fast and the Furious is a popular show where he explains sharp opening lines for a wider audience. He is also a well-known ChessBase author who produced numerous DVDs and regularly contributes to ChessBase Magazine as well. Since 2015 he is the organizer of the Dutch Rapid Championships in his home town Amstelveen. He has started a YouTube channel with chess analysis as well.

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