Bilbao, Rd. 4: Another impressive win by Carlsen

by Klaus Besenthal
7/16/2016 – With each round of the "Masters" in Bilbao World Champion Magnus Carlsen seems to get better. After his first round loss against Hikaru Nakamura he won three games in a row - in round four he defeated Wesley So in just 26 moves after a seemingly innocuous opening. It was the only decisive game of the round. Hikaru Nakamura drew against Anish Giri and Wei Yi drew against Sergey Karjakin. Carlsen now leads with 9.0/12.

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Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin explain their game
to Spanish chess journalist Leontxo Garcia and the public.

Fully focused: Magnus Carlsen - here during his third round game against Sergey Karjakin

Carlsen's concentration yielded results. He defeated Wesley So in just 26 moves and always seemed to be one step ahead of his opponent.

 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Qe2 Qe7 7.Nbd2
Carlsen once again opted for a seemingly modest opening. 7...Bg4 8.h3 Bh5 9.a3 Nd7 10.b4 Bd6 11.Nc4 f6 12.Ne3 a5 13.Nf5 Qf8 14.bxa5 Rxa5 15.0-0 Qf7 16.a4 Nc5 17.Qe1! White moves the queen out of the pin. b6 The a-pawn is taboo: 17...Rxa4? 18.Rxa4 Nxa4 19.Qa5 and White threatens 20.Qa8+ and attacks the knight. Black loses material because Nb6 fails to 20.Nxd6+ cxd6 21.Qxb6 18.Nd2! An intereresting pawn sacrifice. Rxa4 19.Nc4
White is a pawn down but his pieces are very active - and Black's king is still in den center. All of a sudden Black has to be very careful. 19...Bf8?! 19...Be7 20.Be3 Kd7 would have been better but of course White has enough compensation for the pawn. 20.Be3 Kd7?!
Now Black gets into serious trouble. The engines propose the inhuman 20...Rg8 Black defends the pawn on g7, puts the rook on a square where it is protected and hopes to untangle his pieces. 21.Qc3 Nxe4 Black cracks under the pressure. Black's best defense was 21...Rxc4 22.dxc4 Nxe4 23.Qd3+ Nd6 and White is an exchange up and clearly better but Black can still hope. 22.Nxb6+ cxb6 23.dxe4 Now Black's king is too exposed and White quickly wins. Qc4 24.Qd2+ Kc7 25.g4 Bg6 26.Rfd1 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Carlsen,M2855So,W27701–02016C659th Masters Final 20164

Results of round 4

Board Title Name ELO Res. Title Name ELO
1 GM Magnus Carlsen 2851 3-0 GM Wesley So 2775
2 GM Hikaru Nakamura 2787 1 - 1 GM Anish Giri 2790
3 GM Wei Yi 2694 1 - 1 GM Sergey Karjakin 2779

Games of rounds 1 to 4

 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 0-0 6.0-0 d6 7.h3 Ne7 8.d4 Bb6 9.Bd3 Ng6 10.Re1 Re8 11.Nbd2 c6 12.Nf1 d5 13.Bg5 dxe4 14.Rxe4 h6 15.Bxf6 Qxf6 16.Re3 Bf5 17.Bxf5 Qxf5 18.Ng3 Qd7 19.Nxe5 Nxe5 20.Rxe5 Rxe5 21.dxe5 Qe7 22.Qh5 g6 23.Qe2 Qg5 24.Kf1 Kf8 25.Re1 Re8 26.Qd3 Rxe5 27.Qd6+ Re7 28.Ne4 Qf5 29.Re2 Bc7 30.Qd4 Qe5 31.Qxa7 Qh2 32.Ng3 Bxg3 33.Rxe7 Qh1+ 34.Ke2 Kxe7 35.Qe3+ Kf6 36.Qxg3 Qb1 37.Qf4+ Kg7 38.Qd4+ Kg8 39.Qb4 Qxa2 40.Qxb7 Qc4+ 41.Ke3 Qc5+ 42.Kf3 Qd5+ 43.Kg3 Qg5+ 44.Kh2 Qf4+ 45.Kg1 Qc1+ 46.Kh2 Qf4+ ½–½
  • 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.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Karjakin,S2773So,W2770½–½2016C659th Masters Final 20161
Carlsen,M2855Nakamura,H27870–12016B209th Masters Final 20161
Giri,A2785Wei Yi2696½–½2016C509th Masters Final 20161
So,W2770Nakamura,H2787½–½2016E329th Masters Final 20162
Wei Yi2696Carlsen,M28550–12016B069th Masters Final 20162
Karjakin,S2773Giri,A2785½–½2016C509th Masters Final 20162
Giri,A2785So,W2770½–½2016C509th Masters Final 20163
Carlsen,M2855Karjakin,S27731–02016B509th Masters Final 20163
Nakamura,H2787Wei Yi2696½–½2016D419th Masters Final 20163
Wei Yi2696Karjakin,S2773½–½2016E009th Masters Final 20164
Carlsen,M2855So,W27701–02016C659th Masters Final 20164
Nakamura,H2787Giri,A2785½–½2016D459th Masters Final 20164

Standings after four rounds

In Bilbao the three-point rule applies.

Schedule

Round Day Time
Opening ceremony 12.July 16:00
1. round 13.July 16:00
2. round 14.July 16:00
3. round 15.July 16:00
4. round 16.July 16:00
5. round 17.July 16:00
Free day 18.July  
6. round 19.July 16:00
7. round 20.July 16:00
8. round 21.July 16:00
9. round 22.July 16:00
10. round 23.July 15:00
Closing ceremony... 23.July Around 20:00
(at the end of the games)

Photos: Tournament page...

Klaus Besenthal is computer scientist, has followed and still follows the chess scene avidly since 1972 and since then has also regularly played in tournaments.

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