Generation Cup Finals: Carlsen gets clear first-set win

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
9/25/2022 – Magnus Carlsen only needed three games to win the first set of the final match against Arjun Erigaisi at the Julius Baer Generation Cup. The world champion now only needs 2 out of 4 points in Sunday’s second set to get a remarkable victory in one of his best showings at an online tournament ever.
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A clear win

Although Magnus Carlsen obtained a 2½-½ win in the first set against a very competent opponent, the world champion was not all that satisfied with his performance. He noted afterwards that he was lucky at different points of the 4-game confrontation and, in fact, felt that he survived some “pretty bad moments”.

Meanwhile, 19-year-old Arjun Erigaisi, who outperformed experienced elite grandmasters and fellow rising stars to reach the final, shared his psychological strategy to face this challenge:

I’ve been telling myself not to think too much about the fact that I’m playing against Magnus, and just try to play it as if it’s any other opponent.

Arjun now needs to win the second set to even the score and the match to tiebreakers.

Carlsen kicked off with the white pieces and achieved a 40-move victory after successfully taking control of the open g-file by sacrificing a bishop on g6. The highlight of the day was the second game, though, which Carlsen won with black in 29 moves.

 
Erigaisi Arjun27250–1Carlsen, Magnus2861
Julius Baer Generation Cup KO 2022
Online24.09.2022[Besenthal,Klaus-Günther]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d6 6.0-0 a5 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4 Bd7
Carlsen plays an uncommon move, but of course not a bad one. Here, in a number of other games 8...g5 was played. 9.Re1 Ba7 10.Nbd2 g5 11.Bg3 Ne7 12.d4 Ng6 13.dxe5 dxe5
14.Nf1? This move, on the other hand, which initially looks perfectly playable, turns out to be surprisingly bad. 14.Nxe5 Nxe5 15.Bxe5 Bxf2+ 16.Kxf2 Ng4+ 17.Kg1 Nxe5 18.Nf3 Nxc4 19.Qd4 0-0 20.Qxc4 would have been equal. 14...Qe7! Now e5 is covered without White being able to increase the pressure on this pawn again (as would have been the case if he had played Bf1 instead of Nf1 - then Nc4 would have been a possibility). The consequence of this is that the g3-bishop is now out of play. Moreover, the h6-h5 option could become dangerous for White. 15.Ne3 0-0-0 The immediate 15...h5? 16.Nxg5 h4 17.Bxf7+ does not work, however. 16.Qc1 Rhe8?! Probably this is not the best move, because it devalues the option of h6-h5. The consolidating 16...Kb8 followed by Bxe3, taking the e3-knight off the board, leave white pieces in bad shape. There could have followed Ng4 and h6-h5. 17.b4? That's no good now. With 17.Nf5! White was able to use his most active piece. 17...a4? And here 17...Nxe4! 18.Nd5 Qd6 19.Rxe4 Bc6 is strong. The d5-knight cannot be covered - a crazy, highly tactical position in which even the world champion prefers to resort to simple solutions. 18.Nf5 Qf8 19.Qc2 Nf4 20.Rad1
White has found his way out of trouble. 20...Bxf5 21.Qxa4 Rxd1 22.Rxd1 Kb8 23.exf5 e4 24.Nd4 e3 25.fxe3 Rxe3 26.Bf2 Qe7
A poisoned exchange sacrifice on offer. 27.Bxe3?? Which white takes! 27.Nc2 Ng4 28.Qd7= 27...Qxe3+ 28.Kf1 N4d5! Strongly played: Black first blocks the file of the d1-rook before he starts his mating attack. After 28...Ng4?? 29.Nc6+ iit is White who mates! 29.Bxd5 Ng4 f2 and h2 can no longer be defended simultaneously. 0–1

In game 3, Carlsen also got winning chances, but did not manage to make the most of them. A draw was enough to secure set victory, nonetheless.

 
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MoveNResultEloPlayers
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1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.0-0 Nf6 5.d4 0-0 6.c3 a5 7.Bf4 c6 8.Qc1 Bg4 9.Nbd2 Nbd7 10.h3 Bxf3 11.Nxf3 Re8 12.c4 Qb6 13.Rd1 Ne4 14.Be3 Qa6 15.Ne5 Ndf6 16.Qc2 Nd6 17.c5 Nb5 18.f4 a4 19.g4 a3 20.b3 Rad8 21.Rac1 Nd7 22.Bf2 e6 23.Bh4 f6 24.Nf3 Nf8 25.e3 Qa5 26.Bf1 Nc7 27.g5 Nd7 28.gxf6 Bxf6 29.Bxf6 Nxf6 30.Bd3 Re7 31.Kh2 Rf8 32.Rg1 Nce8 33.Rg2 Ng7 34.Rcg1 Qc7 35.Bxg6 hxg6 36.Qxg6 Ne4 37.Ng5 Nxg5 38.Rxg5 Rf5 39.R5g4 Ref7 40.Qxe6 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Carlsen,M2861Erigaisi,A27251–02022A07Julius Baer GenCup KO1
Erigaisi,A2725Carlsen,M28610–12022C50Julius Baer GenCup KO2
Carlsen,M2861Erigaisi,A2725½–½2022B22Julius Baer GenCup KO3

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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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