Magnus Carlsen Invitational: First set drawn in the finals

by Klaus Besenthal
3/21/2021 – In the first set of the Magnus Carlsen Invitational finals on Saturday all the games played between Anish Giri and Ian Nepomniachtchi ended in draws. In the first game, Giri missed a chance to win, while the remaining three games were evenly matched. In the match for third place, Wesley So had no chance against Magnus Carlsen: the World Champion won the first set 3:1. | Photo: FIDE
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All square 

Giri could have won the first game of the day. Endgame specialist Karsten Müller analysed the game and demonstrated that sometimes the king is safer in the middle of the board instead of behind the pawns that once protected it.

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c3 d5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.d4 Nf6 6.Na3 Nc6 7.Be3 cxd4 8.Nb5 Qd8 9.Nbxd4 Nxd4 10.Bxd4 Be7 11.Bd3 0-0 12.Qc2 h6 13.0-0-0 Qa5 14.Kb1 b5 15.Be4 Rb8 16.Ne5 Bb7 17.Bxb7 Rxb7 18.Rd3 Rc8 19.Rg3 b4 20.Nxf7 bxc3 21.Nxh6+ Kf8 22.Rxc3 Rxc3 23.Bxc3 Qd5 24.Bxf6 Bxf6 25.Qc8+ Bd8 26.Ng4 Rc7 27.Qb8 Kf7 28.Ne3 Qd3+ 29.Ka1 Qd6 30.Qb3 Bf6 31.Rb1 a5 32.a4 Qd7 33.Ka2 Rb7 34.Qc2 Kg8 35.b3 Rc7 36.Nc4 Rc5 37.Rd1 Qc6 38.f3 Kh8 39.h3 Rd5 40.Rxd5 exd5 41.Ne3 Qe6 42.Ng4 Bd4 43.Qd3 Bc5 "The king should be activated" - The duel queen and knight against queen and bishop has middlegame and endgame elements. In the next case, White's king should be activated like in an endgame: 44.f4? Giri rushes. His king should be improved first: 44.Kb2 Qe1 45.Qxd5 45.Kc2!?+- 45...Qe2+ 46.Kc3 Bb4+ 47.Kd4 Qb2+ 48.Ke3 Qxg2 49.Ne5 Qg1+ 50.Kf4 Qh2+ 51.Ke4 Qc2+ 52.Qd3 Qf2 53.Kd5+- White's king is surprisingly safer in the open field than on the queenside. 44...Qe1! This active blow gives Black enough compensation. 45.Qxd5 45.Qb1 Qd2+ 46.Qb2 Qxf4= 45.g3 Qg1 46.Kb2 Ba3+ 47.Kc3 Bb4+ 48.Kc2 Qg2+ 49.Kd1 Qh1+ 50.Kc2 Qg2+= 45...Qc3! 45...Qe2+? 46.Kb1 Qe1+ 47.Kc2 Qe2+ 48.Kc3 Bb4+ 49.Kd4 Qd2+ 50.Ke5 Qe2+ 51.Kf5 Kh7 52.Qe4 g6+ 53.Ke5 Bc3+ 54.Kd5 Qa6 55.Qe7+ Bg7 56.Qf7+- 46.Qh5+ 46.Qd1?? runs into Bd4-+ 46...Kg8 47.Qe8+ Kh7 48.Qe4+ Kh8 49.Qa8+ Kh7 50.Qe4+ Kh8 51.Qa8+ Kh7 52.Qe4+ ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Giri,A2776Nepomniachtchi,I2789½–½2021C10Magnus Carlsen Invitational-KO 20213.2

After this exciting start, game 2 was completely balanced. In the end Nepo was a pawn up, but that was not enough to win. The slight advantages Giri had in the third game were certainly not promising. In the end, it was a draw by repetition.

Finally, in the fourth game of the day, Giri had an extra pawn at times in the endgame, but the position was not such that he could have made anything of it. The logical consequence was another draw.

Giri joined the ChessBase India webcast after the 4-game match and shared his thoughts on the decisions he made and the variations he analysed. Don’t miss this instructive session that gives you a peek into the mind of how a world-class player thinks!

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c3 d5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.d4 Nf6 6.Na3 Nc6 7.Be3 cxd4 8.Nb5 Qd8 9.Nbxd4 Nxd4 10.Bxd4 Be7 11.Bd3 0-0 12.Qc2 h6 13.0-0-0 Qa5 14.Kb1 b5 15.Be4 Rb8 16.Ne5 Bb7 17.Bxb7 Rxb7 18.Rd3 Rc8 19.Rg3 b4 20.Nxf7 bxc3 21.Nxh6+ Kf8 22.Rxc3 Rxc3 23.Bxc3 Qd5 24.Bxf6 Bxf6 25.Qc8+ Bd8 26.Ng4 Rc7 27.Qb8 Kf7 28.Ne3 Qd3+ 29.Ka1 Qd6 30.Qb3 Bf6 31.Rb1 a5 32.a4 Qd7 33.Ka2 Rb7 34.Qc2 Kg8 35.b3 Rc7 36.Nc4 Rc5 37.Rd1 Qc6 38.f3 Kh8 39.h3 Rd5 40.Rxd5 exd5 41.Ne3 Qe6 42.Ng4 Bd4 43.Qd3 Bc5 44.f4 Qe1 45.Qxd5 Qc3 46.Qh5+ Kg8 47.Qe8+ Kh7 48.Qe4+ Kh8 49.Qa8+ Kh7 50.Qe4+ Kh8 51.Qa8+ Kh7 52.Qe4+ ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Giri,A2776Nepomniachtchi,I2789½–½2021B40Magnus Carlsen Inv KO1.1
Nepomniachtchi,I2789Giri,A2776½–½2021B97Magnus Carlsen Inv KO1.2
Giri,A2776Nepomniachtchi,I2789½–½2021B48Magnus Carlsen Inv KO1.3
Nepomniachtchi,I2789Giri,A2776½–½2021B97Magnus Carlsen Inv KO1.4

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Carlsen beats So

In the very first game, Wesley So came under heavy fire in a way that was completely uncharacteristic for him:

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.a4

 
Carlsen vs. So - Game #1

This funny-looking move was already played once by Carlsen in 2012. In the end, the question is whether the move will later be useful, superfluous or even harmful.

4...Bb4 5.Bd3 d6 6.0-0 0-0 7.Nd5 Bc5 8.c3 

 

Now b4 is a threat, so Black must also move his a-pawn.

8...a5 9.Bc2 Nxd5 10.exd5 Ne7 11.Ng5 h6 12.d4 Bb6 13.Nh7 Re8 

 

14.Nf6+ [The incorruptible engines think 14.Bxh6 is better here.]

14...gxf6 15.Qh5 But the world champion’s approach is also strong.

15...e4 16.Re1 

 

16...f5? The losing move: Black loses control of g5. [Better was 16...c5!]

17.Bxh6 Nxd5 18.Bg5 f6 19.Bb3 c6 20.Re3 Kf8 21.Qg6 f4 22.Bh6+ Ke7 23.Qh7+

 

White will mate with Rxe4 in the next move. 1-0

The next game was more typical for encounters between these two players: the balance was not seriously disturbed at any point, pieces were gradually exchanged, and a bishop endgame finally ended in a draw.

Game 3 proceeded similarly to game 2, except that this time the two bishops remaining on the board at the end were on squares of the same colour. The result was another draw.

In the fourth game, Wesley So made it very easy for the World Champion:

 
So vs. Carlsen - Game #4
Position after 15...Rad8

16.Rd1?! [This was the right time to take the black knight off the board. 16.Nxf6+! Bxf6 17.Ne4=]

16...Nd5 Now the black pieces seem well coordinated and nicely centralized, while the grouping of the white pieces doesn’t seem to work all that well. Black is undoubtedly exerting pressure in a subtle way.

 

17.d4?! This move does nothing positive. [17.Bb3 was not wrong here.]

17...Bg6! [The immediate 17...exd4?! would have been responded by 18.Nc5.]

18.dxe5 Nxe5 

 

The knight duo is rather unstable.

19.Qg3 Nc4 20.h4? White loses a tempo. [After 20.Nf3! White’s position would have remained defensible.]

 

20...Qc6! The queen cannot be expelled from this strong square because White has failed to place his knight on f3 in time.

21.Rd4? 

 

A final mistake, after which Carlsen can simply calculate a concrete way to score the win.

21...Nxb4 22.Rxd8 Nxc2 23.Rxf8+ Bxf8

 

Now not only the a1-rook hangs, but also the e4-knight.

24.Rb1 Bxe4 25.Nxe4 Qxe4

 

White has a material disadvantage and is in a bad position. Playing on was pointless — especially against Carlsen! 0-1

 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.a4 Bb4 5.Bd3 d6 6.0-0 0-0 7.Nd5 Bc5 8.c3 a5 9.Bc2 Nxd5 10.exd5 Ne7 11.Ng5 h6 12.d4 Bb6 13.Nh7 Re8 14.Nf6+ gxf6 15.Qh5 e4 16.Re1 f5 17.Bxh6 Nxd5 18.Bg5 f6 19.Bb3 c6 20.Re3 Kf8 21.Qg6 f4 22.Bh6+ Ke7 23.Qh7+ 1–0
  • Start an analysis engine:
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  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Carlsen,M2847So,W27701–02021C46Magnus Carlsen Inv KO1.1
So,W2770Carlsen,M2847½–½2021C88Magnus Carlsen Inv KO1.2
Carlsen,M2847So,W2770½–½2021C46Magnus Carlsen Inv KO1.3
So,W2770Carlsen,M28470–12021C53Magnus Carlsen Inv KO1.4

Magnus Carlsen Invitational 2021

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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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