AI Cup: Carlsen beats Nakamura

Online rivalry

After the online tournament, there comes another online tournament. The Speed Chess Championship just ended, with Magnus Carlsen winning the final against Hikaru Nakamura, and already the two top speed players are sitting opposite each other again — not in real life, but virtually on the screens.

Attack like a Super Grandmaster

In this Fritztrainer: “Attack like a Super GM” with Gukesh we touch upon all aspects of his play, with special emphasis on how you can become a better attacking player.

The sixth tournament of the Champions Chess Tour has started, the AI Cup, and one of the quarterfinal pairings in Division I was Magnus Carlsen against Hikaru Nakamura. The tournament is again trendily played as a double knockout tournament. Whoever loses a match has a second chance in the lower bracket. If you lose a match there, too, you are out for good.

Sometimes Nakamura manages to defeat his greatest rival, but Carlsen wins more often than not. In the quarterfinals of the AI Cup, the US grandmaster stood no chance.

The matches are designed for a maximum of four games. In the event of a draw, a game of bidding Armageddon follows, with 15 minutes for the player who bids the higher amount of time. Whoever bids less time may choose the colour and plays with less time on their clock. White has to win, a draw is enough for Black.

But that did not happen in the match between Carlsen and Nakamura. In the first game, Carlsen had the initiative with white and put Nakamura under pressure. Objectively, the game was balanced for a long time, but Nakamura always had to be on his guard. In the endgame, the pressure became too much.

Carlsen, Magnus2839

1–0

Nakamura, Hikaru2780

AI Cup Div-1 2023 Online25.09.2023[Schulz,A]

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 b6 3.g3 Bb7 4.Bg2 e6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Nc3 0-0 7.Re1 d5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.e4 Nxc3 10.bxc3 c5 11.d4 cxd4 12.cxd4 Nc6 13.Bb2 Na5 14.Rc1 Rc8 15.Qd3 Qd7

15...Qd6 16.d5 Rxc1 17.Bxc1 exd5 18.exd5 Bxd5 19.Ng5 Bxg5 20.Bxg5 Qb4 21.Bd2 Bc4 22.Bxb4 Bxd3 23.Bxf8 Kxf8 24.Bd5 Bc4 25.Bxc4 Nxc4 26.Kg2 f6 27.Kf3 Kf7 28.Ke4 h5 29.Kd5 Ne5 30.Rc1 Ng4 31.f4 Kg6 32.h4 Kf5 33.Rc7 g5 34.fxg5 fxg5 35.hxg5 Ne3+ 36.Kd4 Nd1 37.Rc2 1-0 Kengis,E (2570)-Meijers,V (2463) Warsaw AIG Life rapid 2002 (4) 16.d5 Carlsen seizes the initiative. Rxc1 17.Rxc1 exd5 18.Ne5 With this intermediate move the d5-pawn is covered. Qa4 Attackin the a2-pawn. 18...Qd6 19.exd5 Bf6 20.Re1 Re8 21.Ba3 with an advantage for White. 19.exd5 Qxa2 20.Qc3 Covers the b2-bishop with a tempo, threatening g7. Bf6 21.Ra1 Qb3 The only retreating square for the black queen. 22.Qxb3 Nxb3 23.Rxa7 Nc5 At the end of the forced sequence both sides have a passed pawn, but the white one is a threat and the black one looks rather weak. Objectively, the chances are equal. 24.f4 Ra8 25.Rxa8+ Bxa8 26.Kf2 Kf8 27.Ke3 Ke8 28.Ba3 The black queenside is destabilised. Be7 29.Nc4 b5 30.Ne5 Bb7 31.Nc6 Bxc6 31...Bd6 was the alternative. After 32.Bb4 Black must be careful: Kd7?! 33.Bh3+ Kc7?? 34.Ba5# 32.dxc6 Na6 White wants to keep the bishop pair. 32...Ne6!? 33.Bb2 f6 34.Ke4 Bd6 35.h4 Ke7 36.h5 g6 37.h6 Ke6 37...Nb4= 38.Bf1 Nc7 39.g4 f5+ 40.Kf3

The white bishop pair is strong. Black can hold the endgame (computer), but has to defend very precisely, which Black does not manage here. 40...Bf8? 40...Nd5= 40...fxg4+ 41.Kxg4 Nd5= 41.Bd3 Bd6 After 41...Bxh6 there is 42.Be5 fxg4+ 43.Kxg4 Na8 44.Bxb5 Bf8 45.Bc4+ Ke7 46.Kg5 Nb6 47.Bg8 with a winning position. 42.gxf5+ gxf5 43.Bb1 Bf8 44.Be5 Bd6 44...Na8 45.Ba2+ Ke7 46.Bg7+- 45.Bxd6 Kxd6 46.Bxf5 1–0

A draw in the second game followed, and Carlsen decided the match in his favour by grabbing a second win with white.

Two of the eight quarterfinalists are actually playing two tournaments at the same time. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Ian Nepomniachtchi are physically in Amsterdam playing the Levitov Chess Week event.

Master Class Vol.8 - Magnus Carlsen 2nd Edition

Let our authors show you how Carlsen tailored his openings to be able to outplay his opponents strategically in the middlegame or to obtain an enduring advantage into the endgame.

Ian Nepomniachtchi defeated Anish Giri smoothly 2½-½. With two wins at the beginning, he laid the foundation for success. Mamedyarov had to work a bit harded against Denis Lazavik. After four draws, he won the Armageddon game with White.

In the fourth match, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave prevailed against Alireza Firouzja. After two draws, MVL won games 3 and 4.

Tournament bracket - Division I

Matches were also played in two other divisions. In Division II, Vincent Keymer won against Aram Hakobyan. Hans Niemann, who is still playing the World Junior Championship in Mexico, lost narrowly to Jan-Krzysztof Duda.

All games

Division I

Division II

Replay all the games from Division III at Live.ChessBase.com

Brackets

Division I

Division II

Division III

Links

• Official site
• Revamped Champions Chess Tour to kick off in February
• All ChessBase reports on the Airthings Masters 2023
• All ChessBase reports on the Chessable Masters 2023
• All ChessBase reports on the ChessKid Cup 2023
• All ChessBase reports on the Aimchess Rapid 2023
• All ChessBase reports on the Julius Baer Generation Cup 2023