An epic comeback
In 2018, Fabiano Caruana was the third player to lose a World Championship match against Magnus Carlsen. Much like Sergey Karjakin in 2016, the American managed to keep the balance in the 12-game stage with a classical time control and then lost the rapid tiebreaker. Now, Caruana will get to face the champ in another 12-game match — the stakes are not as high, but the face-off is nonetheless one to look forward to!
The finalists reached the deciding matchup after scoring victories of opposite nature in the semis. Carlsen increased the four-point lead he had obtained on day one while Caruana surmounted a four-point deficit in a hard-fought match against Wesley So. So said of Caruana:
Today he was the much better player. I mean, the Fabi today and the Fabi yesterday was not comparable — it's like if a different player showed up.
Getting to day two so far behind in fact allowed Caruana to relax, as it was So who had the pressure of winning after having amassed such a big lead. Caruana explained:
I had one thought today, which is that I really have nothing to lose. [...] For me, it doesn't matter if I lose by one point or lose by eight points. I decided to take a break from chess last night and just try to come to the games fresh.
Levon Aronian had a bad couple of days and ended up losing badly to Carlsen. That did not prevent the ever-cheerful Armenian from giving Caruana a piece of advice before the final:
In every position, try to think what kind of move Lev would do, and don't do it!
The 12-game final match kicks off on Saturday. The winner will get US $50,000 and the runner-up US$ 35,000 — not counting the extra money granted for winning individual clutch games!
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 9½:8½ So
So, who came from winning the all-American Clutch Chess tournament, confessed afterwards that having lost two games with white was very disappointing. Things started badly for him (with the white pieces), as he got overconfident in an ending in the first encounter of the day:
Rules of thumb are the key to everything when you are having to set the correct course in a complex endgame. In this final DVD of his series on the endgame, our endgame specialist introduces you to the most important of these rules of thumb.
White went for the immediate 36.Bxe6 allowing Black to capture the b2-pawn with an intermediate check — 36...Qxb2+ 37.Kh3 fxe6 38.Qxe6+. Instead, So could have gone for 36.Qc2 or 36.Qe5, defending the pawn and keeping the tension. After the text, Black's passers on the queenside were too much to handle for White and resignation came on move 52.
Caruana shortened the gap further by winning game 8, but saw his opponent bounce back with a victory in game 9. A 26-move win for Caruana in the last non-clutch game of the match meant So had a two-point advantage going into the final two encounters (worth three points each).
In game 11, Caruana gained an exchange in the early middlegame, but saw his opponent create plenty of counterplay in the ensuing struggle. However, it was So the one who made the last mistake:
74.Rc8 fails tactically to 74...Rxd7 75.Rxh8 Rd2+ 76.Kf3 Kxh8, and Black has a clear advantage with rook and bishop against the pair of knights. Caruana won the game and took the lead for the first time in the match.
So would have reached the final with a win in game 12, but surprisingly agreed to enter a triple repetition before move 30.
|
Total |
G1 |
G2 |
G3 |
G4 |
G5* |
G6* |
G7 |
G8 |
G9 |
G10 |
G11** |
G12** |
Wesley So |
8½ |
1 |
1 |
½ |
½ |
1 |
½ |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
½ |
Fabiano Caruana |
9½ |
0 |
0 |
½ |
½ |
0 |
½ |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
½ |
*Games 5 and 6 are worth two points each
** Games 11 and 12 are worth three points each
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0-0 5.e4 d5 6.e5 Ne4 7.a3 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 c5 9.f3 Qh4+ 10.g3 Nxg3 11.hxg3 Qxh1 12.Qf2 Qh5 13.Bd3 f6 14.exf6 Rxf6 15.g4 Qf7 16.Qh4 g6 17.Bg5 Nd7 18.Kf2 dxc4 19.Bxc4 cxd4 20.cxd4 b5 21.Bxb5 Bb7 22.Qg3 Rf8 23.Bxf6 Nxf6 24.Kg2 h5 25.gxh5 Nxh5 26.Qg4 Nf4+ 27.Kf2 e5 28.Ne2 Bxf3 29.Kxf3 Qb3+ 30.Kf2 Qxb5 31.Ke1 Kg7 32.Ng3 Qb2 0–1
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Caruana,F | 2835 | So,W | 2770 | 0–1 | 2020 | E32 | Clutch Chess Showdown Int | 2.1 |
So,W | 2770 | Caruana,F | 2835 | 1–0 | 2020 | C42 | Clutch Chess Showdown Int | 2.2 |
Caruana,F | 2835 | So,W | 2770 | ½–½ | 2020 | C67 | Clutch Chess Showdown Int | 2.3 |
So,W | 2770 | Caruana,F | 2835 | ½–½ | 2020 | C43 | Clutch Chess Showdown Int | 2.4 |
Caruana,F | 2835 | So,W | 2770 | 0–1 | 2020 | C51 | Clutch Chess Showdown Int | 2.5 |
So,W | 2770 | Caruana,F | 2835 | ½–½ | 2020 | B47 | Clutch Chess Showdown Int | 2.6 |
So,W | 2770 | Caruana,F | 2835 | 0–1 | 2020 | D19 | Clutch Chess Showdown Int | 2.7 |
Caruana,F | 2835 | So,W | 2770 | 1–0 | 2020 | D86 | Clutch Chess Showdown Int | 2.8 |
So,W | 2770 | Caruana,F | 2835 | 1–0 | 2020 | D00 | Clutch Chess Showdown Int | 2.9 |
Caruana,F | 2835 | So,W | 2770 | 1–0 | 2020 | B19 | Clutch Chess Showdown Int | 2.10 |
So,W | 2770 | Caruana,F | 2835 | 0–1 | 2020 | D10 | Clutch Chess Showdown Int | 2.11 |
Caruana,F | 2835 | So,W | 2770 | ½–½ | 2020 | E53 | Clutch Chess Showdown Int | 2.12 |
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Carlsen 12:6 Aronian
For a second day in a row, Aronian lost the first game of the day after having obtained a superior position in the middlegame. Game 7 was not as bad as game 1 in this sense, but it was nevertheless a hard blow to take for the Armenian. He was an exchange and a pawn up against Carlsen's menacing bishop pair by move 30:
There are few names which, like that of Alexei Shirov, can be associated with fantastically imaginative and tactically influenced play. Now the Latvian grandmaster is presenting a DVD on precisely that element of the game of chess. And one that is completely based on his own games.
Aronian vs. Carlsen - Game 7
The sequence 30.h4 Bf6 31.Rad1 (31.Raf1 was playable) Bh5 32.a5 Bh5 gave back the exchange. Aronian still had a strong position, but he began to lose the thread when a rook and knight versus rook and bishop endgame appeared on the board. Carlsen was ruthless in conversion once he got the upper hand and forced his opponent to resign on move 50.
A second win in a row for the world champion meant Aronian needed to score wins right away if he wanted to bounce back, but that cannot be an easy task against an in-form Carlsen. The Norwegian kept his cool and drew the remaining four games to get his pass to the final.
|
Total |
G1 |
G2 |
G3 |
G4 |
G5* |
G6* |
G7 |
G8 |
G9 |
G10 |
G11** |
G12** |
Magnus Carlsen |
12 |
1 |
1 |
½ |
½ |
1 |
½ |
1 |
1 |
½ |
½ |
½ |
½ |
Levon Aronian |
6 |
0 |
0 |
½ |
½ |
0 |
½ |
0 |
0 |
½ |
½ |
½ |
½ |
*Games 5 and 6 are worth two points each
** Games 11 and 12 are worth three points each
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 e6 4.0-0 Be7 5.d3 0-0 6.Nbd2 a5 7.c4 a4 8.Ne5 Nbd7 9.Ndf3 c5 10.Bf4 d4 11.Nxd7 Nxd7 12.e4 b5 13.b3 Qb6 14.Rb1 axb3 15.axb3 Bb7 16.h4 Bc6 17.h5 Ra2 18.Bh3 Rfa8 19.Ne5 Nxe5 20.Bxe5 Bd7 21.h6 g6 22.Qf3 Qd8 23.Bg7 b4 24.e5 Bf8 25.Bxf8 Kxf8 26.Bg2 R8a6 27.Qf4 Bc6 28.Bxc6 Rxc6 29.Rfe1 Rca6 30.Re4 Rc2 31.Qf3 Raa2 32.Rf1 Rcb2 33.Rf4 Qc7 34.Rg4 Qxe5 35.Re4 Qh5 36.Qf6 Qxh6 37.Rxe6 1–0
- 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.
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Carlsen,M | 2863 | Aronian,L | 2773 | 1–0 | 2020 | A07 | Clutch Chess Showdown Int | 2.1 |
Aronian,L | 2773 | Carlsen,M | 2863 | 0–1 | 2020 | B03 | Clutch Chess Showdown Int | 2.2 |
Carlsen,M | 2863 | Aronian,L | 2773 | ½–½ | 2020 | A22 | Clutch Chess Showdown Int | 2.3 |
Aronian,L | 2773 | Carlsen,M | 2863 | ½–½ | 2020 | B30 | Clutch Chess Showdown Int | 2.4 |
Carlsen,M | 2863 | Aronian,L | 2773 | 1–0 | 2020 | A22 | Clutch Chess Showdown Int | 2.5 |
Aronian,L | 2773 | Carlsen,M | 2863 | ½–½ | 2020 | B30 | Clutch Chess Showdown Int | 2.6 |
Aronian,L | 2773 | Carlsen,M | 2863 | 0–1 | 2020 | B00 | Clutch Chess Showdown Int | 2.7 |
Carlsen,M | 2863 | Aronian,L | 2773 | 1–0 | 2020 | A22 | Clutch Chess Showdown Int | 2.8 |
Aronian,L | 2773 | Carlsen,M | 2863 | ½–½ | 2020 | B30 | Clutch Chess Showdown Int | 2.9 |
Carlsen,M | 2863 | Aronian,L | 2773 | ½–½ | 2020 | A07 | Clutch Chess Showdown Int | 2.10 |
Aronian,L | 2773 | Carlsen,M | 2863 | ½–½ | 2020 | B30 | Clutch Chess Showdown Int | 2.11 |
Carlsen,M | 2863 | Aronian,L | 2773 | ½–½ | 2020 | C67 | Clutch Chess Showdown Int | 2.12 |
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