Freestyle Challenge: Caruana beats Aronian in thrilling tiebreaks

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
2/14/2024 – Fabiano Caruana and Magnus Carlsen, the two highest-rated players in the world, will play the final match at the Freestyle G.O.A.T. Chess Challenge. While Carlsen defeated Nodirbek Abdusattorov by a 1½-½ score, Caruana’s match against Levon Aronian went all the way to Armageddon. Caruana twice blundered in winning positions in what was a thrilling confrontation. | Photo: Nils Rohde / ChessBase
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Two “donated” rooks

Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian had won the first games in the semi-finals of the Freestyle G.O.A.T. Chess Challenge, which meant they only needed a draw on Wednesday to reach the tournament’s final.

Carlsen had no trouble holding Nodirbek Abdusattorov to a draw with the black pieces, while Aronian saw his opponent, Fabiano Caruana, bouncing back and taking the match to tiebreaks. A thrilling series of games ended with Caruana advancing to the final by winning the sudden-death decider.

In the second game of the quarter-finals, Aronian had played a spectacular attack to beat Vincent Keymer with white. Only two days later, the Armenian-born grandmaster was on the losing side of a devastating attack — and Caruana got to play the same move that Aronian had played two days ago to prompt Keymer’s resignation: 25.Rd6

Caruana v. Aronian

This tactical blow was not followed by resignation, as only after 25...exd6 did Caruana show the killer idea that justified the previous move — not 26.Rxe6 (which also wins) but 26.Bxb6+

There is no way to escape the overwhelming attack: 26...axb6 27.Qxb6+ Kd7 28.Qd8+ followed, and Aronian resigned the game three moves later.

Caruana had just won on demand, taking the match to rapid and blitz tiebreakers.

Expert analysis by GM Daniel King

The tiebreaks

Caruana was evidently in good form, and went on to get a clear advantage in the first rapid tiebreak encounter. However, already in an endgame position which could have emerged from a normal chess game, the U.S. grandmaster “donated a rook” (Caruana) to Aronian for the first time in the day.

Aronian v. Caruana - Rapid game #1

Black has a strong, extra pawn on the c-file and should have little trouble converting this position into a win. Except that Caruana played 44...Rb8 here, forgetting about the placement of his opponent’s dark-squared bishop.

After 45.Bxb8, Aronian was suddenly winning — straightforward play was enough for White to grab the win, which meant Caruana was again in a must-win situation.

Levon Aronian

Levon Aronian | Photo: Nils Rohde / ChessBase

Not only did Caruana manage to bounce back in style again, but he also won the first 5-minute game that followed. The world number two played the openings sensibly and struck tactically when the positions called for action. Moreover, he also obtained a winning position in the fourth game of the playoffs — and once again “donated” a rook to his colleague and friend!

Caruana v. Aronian - Blitz game #2

White has a clear advantage here, with 39.Rf7 a clear path to continue making progress against a weakened king. Moreover, Caruana only needed a draw to win the match.

However, in deep mutual time trouble, the U.S. star first erred with the imprecise 39.c7, and after 39...Rh8 blundered his rook away with 40.Rb7

The plan is to play Rb7-b8 in the next move, but the knight sitting on c5 can simply grab the rook here! This unfortunate mistake granted Aronian a second lucky win in the tiebreakers and took the rollercoaster match to Armageddon.

Despite the unfortunate setbacks, a resilient Caruana regrouped mentally and won the sudden-death decider with the black pieces, gaining the right to face Carlsen in the final match of the tournament.

Magnus Carlsen

Magnus Carlsen will face Fabiano Caruana in the event’s final | Photo: Nils Rohde / ChessBase

Firouzja and Gukesh to fight for fifth place

Similarly to the semi-finals, one of the matches in the consolation bracket ended after two classical games and the other went to tiebreaks. Alireza Firouzja held Ding Liren to a draw with white on Wednesday to get a 1½-½ victory, while Gukesh D won on demand against Vincent Keymer to take their match to tiebreaks.

Gukesh showed great nerves in the rapid games that followed, first prevailing with the white pieces and then holding a difficult position against a resourceful Keymer.

Firouzja and Gukesh will play for the right to participate in the next edition of the event at the luxurious Weissenhaus Resort, as had been announced by Jan Henric Buettner on Tuesday.

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1.e4 1:34 The position is equal. b5 5:18 2.b4 3:02 Nf6 2:35 3.d3 2:41 e5 10:06 4.Nh3 41 d5 7:03 4...d6= 5.exd5 3:23 Nxd5 3:34 6.Qxe5 3:01 Qxe5 40 7.Bxe5 35 0-0 1:05 8.Bf3 2:25 Re8 1:35 9.Bd4 5:49 Be7 6:35 10.Bxd5 12:06 Bxd5 39 11.Nf4 36 Bc6 3:34 12.Bc5 10:05 Bg5 2:45 13.Nce2 2:43 Nb6 5:05 14.h4 8:57 Bxf4 1:31 15.Nxf4 30 Ra8 37 16.Rh3 1:41 Nd5 1:55 17.Nxd5 4:04 Bxd5 33 18.a3 2:00 a5 1:06 19.bxa5 50 Rxa5 33 20.Re3 57 Rc8 4:04 21.h5 4:54 h6 53 22.f3 2:51 c6 55 23.Kf2 41 Ra4 3:33 24.g4 3:01       f5 45 25.c4 1:37 Bf7 2:04 Better is 25...bxc4 26.Re7 26.gxf5 cxd3 27.Bb4 c5= 26...Ra5 26.gxf5± 4:59 bxc4? 41
26...Bxh5± is a better defense. 27.f6 27.cxb5 Ra5+- 27...Re8 28.fxg7 28.cxb5 Rxe3 29.Kxe3 cxb5+- 28...Kxg7 29.cxb5 cxb5 30.Rxb5 Bg6 27.f6 1:08 cxd3? 5:36 27...c3 was worth a try. 28.Rg1 c2 28.Rg1+- 1:32 28.Rxd3 Ra5 29.Rc1 Bxh5 30.fxg7 Kxg7 31.Rd7+ Kf6 28...d2 35 29.Rxg7+ 1:23 29.fxg7 Rd8 30.Rd1 Rc4= 29...Kh8 33 30.Rd3 47 30.Rxf7? d1Q 30...d1R 31.Ree7 Rd2+ 32.Ke3 31.Ree7 Qc2+ 32.Ke1 Rh4 32...Qxc5 33.Rh7+ Kg8 34.Reg7+ Kf8 35.Rh8# 32...Qc1+? 33.Ke2-+ 33.Rh7+ Qxh7 34.Rxh7+ Kxh7-+ 30...Bd5 1:02 31.Bd4 4:48 Bxf3 1:39 32.Rxd2 2:08 32.Kxf3? too greedy. Rxa3 33.Rxa3 33.Bc3 Rxc3 34.Rxc3 d1Q+ 35.Ke4 Qd5+ 36.Kf4 Qd4+ 37.Kf5 Qd5+ 38.Kg4 Qd4+ 39.Kh3 Qxc3+ 40.Rg3 Qxf6 41.Rg6 Qf4 42.Rg4 Qf1+ 43.Kh2 Re8 44.Rg2 Rf8 45.Rg4 Rf2+ 46.Kg3 Rg2+ 47.Kh4 Qh1# 33...d1Q+ 33...d1R 34.Raa7 Rf1+ 35.Bf2 34.Ke4 Rd8-+ 34...Qxh5 35.Raa7 32...Bxh5 48 33.Be5 1:44
Threatening mate with Rdd7. 33...Rg4 53 34.Re7 4:49 White threatens f7+ and mate. Kg8 2:34 35.Rdd7 31 Rh7 would now be deadly. Rf8? 7:41 35...Re8+- 36.Rg7+ Rxg7 37.Rxg7+ Kh8 36.Rg7+ 37 White mates. Kh8 34 37.Rxg4 42 Bxg4 33 KRB-KRB 38.Rg7 33 Be6 2:34 39.f7 31 Bxf7 37 40.Rxf7+ 0 Kg8 0 41.Rxf8+ 41 Kxf8 9 KB-KPP 42.a4 4       Ke7 7 43.a5 4 Kd7 3 44.a6 5 Kc8 2 45.Ke3 6 Weighted Error Value: White=0.19 (very precise) /Black=0.37. Loses game: --- Black=2 Mistake: --- Black=4 Inaccurate: White=1 Black=2 OK: White=14 Black=10 Best: White=4 --- 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Abdusattorov,N2727Ding,L27801–02024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20241.1
Carlsen,M2830Firouzja,A27591–02024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20241.2
Ding,L2780Abdusattorov,N2727½–½2024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20241.2
Keymer,V2743Aronian,L2725½–½2024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20241.2
Aronian,L2725Keymer,V27431–02024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20241.2
Gukesh D2725Caruana,F2804½–½2024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20241.2
Caruana,F2804Gukesh D27251–02024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20241.3
Firouzja,A2759Carlsen,M28300–12024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20241.3
Carlsen,M2830Firouzja,A27591–02024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20241.4
Firouzja,A2759Carlsen,M28301–02024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20241.4
Carlsen,M2830Abdusattorov,N27271–02024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20242.1
Ding,L2780Firouzja,A27590–12024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20242.1
Aronian,L2725Caruana,F28041–02024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20242.1
Gukesh D2725Keymer,V27430–12024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20242.1
Caruana,F2804Aronian,L27251–02024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20242.2
Firouzja,A2759Ding,L2780½–½2024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20242.2
Keymer,V2743Gukesh D27250–12024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20242.2
Abdusattorov,N2727Carlsen,M2830½–½2024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20242.2
Aronian,L2725Caruana,F28041–02024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20242.3
Gukesh D2725Keymer,V27431–02024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20242.3
Caruana,F2804Aronian,L27251–02024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20242.4
Keymer,V2743Gukesh D2725½–½2024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20242.4
Aronian,L2725Caruana,F28040–12024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20242.5
Caruana,F2804Aronian,L27250–12024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20242.6
Aronian,L2725Caruana,F28040–12024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20242.7
Caruana,F2804Carlsen,M2830½–½2024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20243.1
Firouzja,A2759Gukesh D27251–02024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20243.1
Keymer,V2743Ding,L27801–02024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20243.1
Abdusattorov,N2727Aronian,L2725½–½2024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20243.1
Carlsen,M2830Caruana,F28041–02024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20243.2
Ding,L2780Keymer,V27430–12024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20243.2
Aronian,L2725Abdusattorov,N27271–02024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20243.2
Gukesh D2725Firouzja,A2759½–½2024Freestyle GOAT Challenge KO 20243.2

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.

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Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.
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