Bounce-back-ability
Magnus Carlsen, the world champion in classical, rapid and blitz chess, continues to dominate the now habitual online circuit. After winning the three first yearly series organized by the Play Magnus Group, Carlsen started the year with yet another victory at the revamped Champions Chess Tour — now organized in conjunction with chess.com.
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.
The world champion twice defeated Hikaru Nakamura on his way to overall victory in the Airthings Masters, which is a major feat in itself if we consider how strong of an online-blitz player ‘Naka’ has proven to be throughout the years. After beating Alexey Sarana and Arjun Erigaisi on the first two days of the knockout, Carlsen defeated Nakamura in the upper bracket’s final. Once the US star gained the right to play a rematch by winning the lower bracket, Carlsen again beat him in Friday’s Grand Final.
As self-critical as ever, Carlsen later confessed:
Overall, I am a little bit underwhelmed since I didn’t feel like the tournament ever got going. But there will be more excitement to come.
Despite winning all four matches he played throughout the week, the Norwegian only managed to score four wins in individual games. His unflagging consistency was what allowed him to get overall victory, as he only lost once (against Arjun Erigaisi) in the tour’s first event.
Commentator David Howell highlighted this very feature when he noted:
It’s just that consistency: even if he has one bad game, if he plays one bad move, he pulls himself together. It’s just that recovery fact, that bounce-back-ability.
It should be noted that Nakamura is also known for his incredible consistency and, in fact, this tournament was no exception. The famous streamer, like Carlsen, only lost once throughout the event, and played three more games than the world champion (20 to 17). Nakamura, however, only scored two wins, the back-to-back victories he obtained at the start of the knockout against Dommaraju Gukesh.
In addition to the inherent difficulty of facing the likes of Gukesh and Wesley So, Nakamura had to deal with personal issues while playing this tournament. Carlsen acknowledged this fact, as he praised his opponent’s performance:
I know Hikaru’s been fighting through some difficult stuff with is family. [...] But the fact that he gets through the qualifier and all the way to the final is a real testament to his strength of character.
The organizers put together a video montage to summarize the Grand Final:
Carlsen and Nakamura played nine games this week, and only one of them finished decisively. Playing white, the world champion targeted Nakamura’s weak pawn on c4 to gain a lasting advantage in the first game of the Grand Final.
Carlsen vs. Nakamura - Game #1
White has pushed his h-pawn up to the sixth rank à la Alpha Zero, leaving his king uncastled to keep the possibility of lifting his rook along the h-file. And now came the perfect opportunity to make the most of the configuration — 23.Rh4 targets the loose black pawn on the c-file.
There followed 23...0-0 24.Bxc4 Rfc8 25.Bxb3 Qb5+ 26.Qe2 Qxb3 27.Rb4
Carlsen is a pawn up, and his rook has been transferred to an active square on the opposite flank of the board.
The starting point of this video course is 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5. Rogozenco explains the ins and outs of the mainline and sidelines.
The game continued until move 50, but Carlsen never lost the thread while converting his advantage. Two draws followed, including one that saw the players battling it out in a fascinating rook endgame (in which Nakamura had the upper hand), which meant Carlsen only needed a draw with black in game 4 to win the whole thing.
Carlsen played the tournament from Toronto, Canada, where he was a guest of the ChessBrahs. Eric Hansen, the leader of the streaming group, gave the world champion great advice before game 4. Carlsen told the commentators:
Eric told me, now you have to play an Armageddon with 15 minutes!
Indeed, a draw with black was all that Carlsen needed, and he was happy to take it from a winning position once he got the chance.
Carlsen 2½ - 1½ Nakamura
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1.c4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.d4 dxc4 5.e4 b5 6.e5 Nd5 7.Nxb5 Nb6 8.a3 Nc6 9.Be3 Qd7 9...Na5 10.Qc2 a6 11.Nc3 Be7 12.Rd1 Bb7 13.Be2 Qd7 14.h4 Bc6 15.Rh3 Rb8 16.Rg3 Ba4 17.Nxa4 Qxa4 18.Rc1 Nb3 19.Rxg7 Nxc1 20.Qxc1 c3 21.Qxc3 Nd5 22.Qc1 Nxe3 23.fxe3 Kf8 24.Rg4 Qb3 25.Qxc7 Qxb2 10.Nc3 Bb7 11.Qc2 Na5 12.Rd1 Rb8 13.Be2 Be7 14.h4 Bc6 15.h5 Ba4 15...0-0= 16.Nxa4 Qxa4 17.Rc1 Nb3 18.Rb1 18...Qa5+N 18...0-0= 18...Na5 19.Qc1 Nd5 20.Bd2 c5 21.dxc5 0-0 22.0-0 c3 23.bxc3 Nc4 24.Bxc4 Rxb1 25.Qxb1 Qxc4 19.Kf1± c5 20.h6 g6 21.dxc5 Bxc5 21...Nxc5 22.Bxc4 Nxc4 23.Qxc4 0-0 22.Bxc5 Qxc5 23.Rh4 0-0 24.Bxc4 Rfc8 25.Bxb3 Qb5+ 26.Qe2 Qxb3 27.Rb4 Qa2 27...Qd5± 28.Rd1+- a5 29.Rb5 a4 29...Qc4 30.Qxc4 30.Rxa5 Qxe2+ 31.Kxe2 Nd5± 30...Nxc4 31.Rxb8 Rxb8 30.Qe4 Qc4+ 31.Qxc4 Nxc4 32.Rxb8 Rxb8 33.Rd4 Rc8 34.Rd7 Nxb2? 34...g5 35.Nxg5 Nxe5 35.Ng5 Rf8 36.Rd4 Rc8 37.Rf4 Rc1+ 38.Ke2 Rc2+ 39.Ke3! 39.Kf1 Rc1+ 40.Ke2 Rc2+ 41.Ke3 Rc3+ 42.Kd2 Rc7+- 39...Rc3+ 40.Kd2! Rc7 41.Rb4 Nc4+ 42.Ke2 Rc8 43.Rxa4 Nxe5 44.Ra7 Ng4 44...Rb8 45.a4 Rf8 45.Nxf7 45.Rxf7 Nxh6 46.Rxh7 Nf5± 45...Rb8 46.f3 Rb2+ 47.Kd3 Nf2+ 48.Kd4 48.Kc4 Rc2+ 49.Kb3 48...Rd2+ 49.Ke3 49.Ke5 Rb2 50.Ng5 Kf8 51.Nxh7+ Ke8 52.Nf6+ Kd8 53.h7 Nd3+ 54.Kd4 49...Ra2 50.Ng5 Nd1+ 1–0 - Start an analysis engine:
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Carlsen,M | 2852 | Nakamura,H | 2768 | 1–0 | 2023 | | Airthings Masters Div 1 2023 | 4.1 |
Nakamura,H | 2768 | Carlsen,M | 2852 | ½–½ | 2023 | | Airthings Masters Div 1 2023 | 4.2 |
Carlsen,M | 2852 | Nakamura,H | 2768 | ½–½ | 2023 | | Airthings Masters Div 1 2023 | 4.3 |
Nakamura,H | 2768 | Carlsen,M | 2852 | ½–½ | 2023 | | Airthings Masters Div 1 2023 | 4.4 |
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All games - Division I
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
- Create an account to access the games cloud.
Division II
Fabiano Caruana was the deserving winner of Division II. After failing to join the main group in a very competitive Play-In stage, the Italo-American star had an impressive run in Division II. Caruana won four matches in a row by 2½-½ scores (two wins and a draw per match) before facing Yu Yangyi in the Grand Final.
The Ruy Lopez is one of the oldest openings which continues to enjoy high popularity from club level to the absolute world top. In this video series, American super GM Fabiano Caruana, talking to IM Oliver Reeh, presents a complete repertoire for White.
Caruana had already beaten Yu in the final of the winners’ bracket, and suffered his first loss of the knockout when the Chinese grandmaster bounced back from his loss in game 1 to even the score in the Grand Final. Caruana won the very next game, though, and secured overall victory by drawing with black in the fourth encounter of the match.
The former World Championship challenger grabbed 50 Tour points and a first prize of $10,000 for his efforts.

All games - Division II
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
- Create an account to access the games cloud.
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