Magnus Carlsen Invitational: Quick wins

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
3/18/2021 – It was a short day at the office for the quarterfinalists of the Magnus Carlsen Invitational, as three out of the four mini-matches lasted three games each, while in the only contest to go to game 4 Anish Giri beat Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in only 20 moves. Giri will face an in-form Wesley So in semis, while Magnus Carlsen will fight for a spot in the finals with Ian Nepomniachtchi. | Photo: Niki Riga

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On to the semifinals

In all three previous events of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour, at least one of the quarterfinal matches went all the way to Armageddon. A very different situation was seen at the Magnus Carlsen Invitational, as none of the matches even reached the blitz tiebreakers, with three of them finishing after 3 games (each mini-match lasts 4 games, unless a winner has been found after 3 games).

Moreover, the finalists of the previous event, Magnus Carlsen and Wesley So, needed only 6 games in total to move on to the semifinals. Carlsen will face Ian Nepomniachtchi, who knocked out Hikaru Nakamura by winning the first two games and drawing the third on Wednesday; while So will play Anish Giri, who got the better of Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.

We can safely say that all four players are clearly deserving of their spots in the semifinals. While Carlsen is the favourite against Nepo, who did not show a stable performance in the prelims, So and Giri have been playing enterprising chess successfully throughout. We are in for a couple of very exciting matches!

Magnus Carlsen Invitational 2021

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So 2½ : ½ Firouzja

To say that So’s victory was convincing would be an understatement. The Filipino-born star demonstrated that he can both squeeze positional edges and find sharp tactical resources if the position calls for it. His win in Wednesday’s second game was particularly impressive:

 
So vs. Firouzja - Game 2
Position after 14...exd5

Firouzja had played his usual Caro-Kann, but found a very well-prepared opponent in So. Here, the American spent 6 minutes before deciding on 15.Bd3 — the idea is that after 15...Bxd3 White has 16.Bxa5 Rxa5 17.Qxd3, attacking the knight on g6. 

The game continued 17...Kf7 18. Nxa5 Qxa5 (18...g4 was better) 19.Qf5 Qd8:

 

White now brought all his pieces to the attack with decisive effect — 20.Rae1 Ngf8 21.Re7+ Bxf7 22.fxe7+ (discovered check) Kxe7 23.Re1+ Kd6:

 

24.Ne5 and the last piece joins the onslaught. There followed 24...Rh7 25.Nxd7 and 25...Qxd7 allowing mate-in-one — 26.Qd6#.


Endgame analysis by GM Karsten Müller

Karsten Müller analysed the endgame that arose in the third game of the day — a knight fork festival!

 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d6 6.0-0 h6 7.Re1 0-0 8.Nbd2 a6 9.a4 Re8 10.Qb3 Be6 11.a5 Rb8 12.Nf1 d5 13.exd5 Bxd5 14.Ng3 Bxc4 15.Qxc4 Qd5 16.Ne4 Qxc4 17.Nxf6+ gxf6 18.dxc4 Kh7 19.b4 Bf8 20.Be3 Rbd8 21.Rad1 f5 22.g3 Bg7 23.Rd5 e4 24.Nh4 Bxc3 25.Rc1 Bf6 26.Nxf5 h5 27.b5 Nb4 28.Rxd8 Rxd8 29.h3 Nd3 30.Rb1 Kg6 31.bxa6 bxa6 32.g4 hxg4 33.hxg4 Ne5 34.Ng3 Bg5 35.Nxe4 Bxe3 36.fxe3 Nxg4 37.Rb3 Rd1+ 38.Kg2 Ra1 39.Kg3 Ne5 40.Rb7 Kf5 41.Nc5 Rxa5 42.Rxc7 Ra3 43.Kf2 a5 44.Ra7 Kg4 45.e4 Kf4 46.Ke2 Ra2+ 47.Kd1 Ke3 48.Kc1 Kd4 "Knight fork festival" - The knight is a very tricky piece: 49.Rxa5! The right order of moves. The direct fork 49.Nb3+? is refuted by Kc3 50.Rxa5 Nd3+ 51.Kb1 51.Kd1 Rb2 52.Ra3 Rxb3-+ 51...Rb2+ 52.Ka1 Kxb3 53.Rb5+ Kxc4 54.Rxb2 Nxb2 55.Kxb2 Kd4-+ 49.Nd7? runs into Nd3+ 50.Kb1 Rb2+ 51.Ka1 Kc3 52.Rxa5 Nb4 53.Ra3+ Kc2 54.Nc5 Rb1# 49.Rc7? Kc3 50.Kb1 Ra3 51.Re7 Nxc4 52.Rd7 Nd2+ 53.Rxd2 Kxd2-+ 49...Nd3+ 49...Rf2 can be met by 50.Nd7 Nd3+ 51.Kb1= 51.Kd1?? runs into the typical mate Ke3 52.Ra2 Rxa2 53.Ne5 Rd2# 50.Kd1 50.Nxd3?? Rxa5 51.Kc2 Kxe4 52.c5 Kd4 53.c6 Ra3 54.Nb4 Kc4 55.c7 Rc3+ 56.Kd2 Kxb4-+ 50...Nf2+ 51.Ke1 Nd3+ 52.Kf1 Rxa5 53.Nb3+ Finally the knight fork comes. Kxc4 54.Nxa5+ Kd4 55.Nb7 f5 55...Kxe4 runs into the next knight fork 56.Nd6+= 56.exf5 Ke5 57.f6 Kxf6 58.Nd6 Nf2 59.Ne4+ Nxe4 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Firouzja,A2759So,W2770½–½2021C54Magnus Carlsen Invitational-KO 20211.2

 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d6 6.0-0 h6 7.Re1 0-0 8.Nbd2 a6 9.a4 Re8 10.Qb3 Be6 11.a5 Rb8 12.Nf1 d5 13.exd5 Bxd5 14.Ng3 Bxc4 15.Qxc4 Qd5 16.Ne4 Qxc4 17.Nxf6+ gxf6 18.dxc4 Kh7 19.b4 Bf8 20.Be3 Rbd8 21.Rad1 f5 22.g3 Bg7 23.Rd5 e4 24.Nh4 Bxc3 25.Rc1 Bf6 26.Nxf5 h5 27.b5 Nb4 28.Rxd8 Rxd8 29.h3 Nd3 30.Rb1 Kg6 31.bxa6 bxa6 32.g4 hxg4 33.hxg4 Ne5 34.Ng3 Bg5 35.Nxe4 Bxe3 36.fxe3 Nxg4 37.Rb3 Rd1+ 38.Kg2 Ra1 39.Kg3 Ne5 40.Rb7 Kf5 41.Nc5 Rxa5 42.Rxc7 Ra3 43.Kf2 a5 44.Ra7 Kg4 45.e4 Kf4 46.Ke2 Ra2+ 47.Kd1 Ke3 48.Kc1 Kd4 49.Rxa5 Nd3+ 50.Kd1 Nf2+ 51.Ke1 Nd3+ 52.Kf1 Rxa5 53.Nb3+ Kxc4 54.Nxa5+ Kd4 55.Nb7 f5 56.exf5 Ke5 57.f6 Kxf6 58.Nd6 Nf2 59.Ne4+ Nxe4 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Firouzja,A2759So,W2770½–½2021C50Magnus Carlsen Inv KO2.1
So,W2770Firouzja,A27591–02021B12Magnus Carlsen Inv KO2.2
Firouzja,A2759So,W27700–12021A45Magnus Carlsen Inv KO2.3

Nepomniachtchi 2½ : ½ Nakamura

Nepomniachtchi also obtained a fine attacking win with white in the first game of the day against Nakamura:

 
Nepomniachtchi vs. Nakamura - Game 1
Position after 22.Rh5

White threatens to play Qe4 next, so Nakamura decided to solve the issue by giving up a pawn at once with 22...g6 23.Rxh6 Kg7. But White’s attack has not been fully neutralized, as Nepo pushed his h-pawn with 24.h4 Bf5 25.h5.

 

The game continued 25...Rc8 26.Bd2 Bxd3 27.Qxd3 and although the queens left the board after 27...Qf5 28.Qxf5 gxf5 29.Rd6 White’s attack is still very much alive:

 

Black cannot defend the d4-pawn, which allows White to activate his a1-rook via e1-e3. Nepo combined his rooks with the h-pawn and the dark-squared bishop on the long diagonal to up the pressure and eventually get a 39-move win.


Endgame analysis by GM Karsten Müller

The endgame specialist looks at a game from the first set of the match.

 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.Nc3 Ke8 10.h3 h5 11.Bf4 Be7 12.Rad1 Nh4 13.Nxh4 Bxh4 14.Ne2 Be7 15.Nd4 g5 16.Bh2 Rh6 17.Rfe1 Bd8 18.f4 gxf4 19.Bxf4 Rg6 20.e6 Bxe6 21.Nxe6 Rxe6 22.Rxe6+ fxe6 23.Kf2 Bf6 24.b3 Rc8 25.g4 hxg4 26.hxg4 Ke7 27.Rh1 Rh8 28.Rxh8 Bxh8 29.Bxc7 Bf6 30.Kf3 Kf7 31.Ke4 a6 32.Be5 Be7 33.Kd4 Kg6 34.Bc7 Kf6 35.Bg3 Ba3 36.Bh4+ Kf7 37.Ke5 Bb4 38.c4 a5 39.g5 Bc3+ 40.Kd6 e5 41.Kc7 e4 42.Kxb7 e3 43.Kxc6 Kg6 44.Kd5 Kh5 45.Bg3 Kxg5 46.Ke4 e2 47.c5 Kf6 48.Kd5 Ke7 49.Kc6 Bb4 50.Bh4+ Ke8 "The sharpest endgame weapon" - Zugzwang is a typical endgame phenomenon: 51.Kd6? 51.a4! Now Black must make a concession. e1Q 51...Kf7 52.Kb6 Kg6 53.c6 Kh5 54.Bf2 Be7 55.c7 Bh4 56.Bxh4 Kxh4 57.c8Q e1Q 58.Qc4+ Kh3 59.Ka6 Qd2 60.Qe6+ Kg2 61.Qg4+ Kf1 62.Qf5+ Kg2 63.Qxa5 Qd6+ 64.Qb6+- 51...Ba3 52.Kb6 Kd7 53.c6+ Kc8 54.Kxa5 Kc7 55.Kb5 Be7 56.Be1+- 52.Bxe1 Bxe1 53.Kc7! Now the c-pawn can not be stopped. Bg3+ 54.Kc8 Ke7 55.c6 Kd6 56.Kb7 Kc5 57.c7 Bxc7 58.Kxc7 Kb4 59.Kb6 Kxb3 60.Kxa5 Kc4 61.Kb6+- 51.Kb6? Kd7 52.c6+ Kc8= 51...Ba3? Waiting does not work. Black's king should be activated with 51...Kf7 52.a4 Kg6 53.Kc6 Kh5 54.Bf2 Kg4 55.Kb6 Kf3 56.Bh4 Kg4= 52.Kc6 Bb4 53.Kd6? 53.a4+- 53...Ba3? 53...Kf7= 54.Kc6 Bb4 54...Bb4 55.a4 e1Q 56.Bxe1 Bxe1 57.Kc7 Bg3+ 58.Kc8 Ke7 59.c6 Kd6 60.Kb7 Kc5 61.c7 Bxc7 62.Kxc7 Kb4 63.Kb6 Kxb3 64.Kxa5 Kc4 65.Kb6+- ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Nepomniachtchi,I2778Nakamura,H2829½–½2021C67Magnus Carlsen Invitational | Knockout4.2

 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.0-0 h6 7.Re1 0-0 8.Nbd2 a5 9.Nf1 Be6 10.Bb5 Ne7 11.d4 exd4 12.cxd4 Bb6 13.Ng3 d5 14.e5 Ne4 15.Bd3 Nf5 16.Nxe4 dxe4 17.Rxe4 c5 18.Qe2 cxd4 19.Rf4 Qd7 20.Nh4 Nxh4 21.Rxh4 Bd8 22.Rh5 g6 23.Rxh6 Kg7 24.h4 Bf5 25.h5 Rc8 26.Bd2 Bxd3 27.Qxd3 Qf5 28.Qxf5 gxf5 29.Rd6 Re8 30.Re1 Rc2 31.Rxd4 Rxb2 32.Rd7 Kg8 33.h6 Rc2 34.Re3 f4 35.Red3 Bg5 36.Rh3 Rxa2 37.e6 fxe6 38.Bc3 e5 39.Rg7+ 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Nepomniachtchi,I2789Nakamura,H27361–02021C53Magnus Carlsen Inv KO2.1
Nakamura,H2736Nepomniachtchi,I27890–12021B47Magnus Carlsen Inv KO2.2
Nepomniachtchi,I2789Nakamura,H2736½–½2021C70Magnus Carlsen Inv KO2.3

Giri 3 : 1 Vachier-Lagrave

After drawing twice with black and winning game 2 with white, Giri only needed a draw in game 4 to secure a spot in the semifinals. Vachier-Lagrave played carelessly in a must-win situation and was defeated in 20 moves:

 
Giri vs. Vachier-Lagrave - Game 4
Position after 16...Qe7

White made use of the initiative with 17.Ra4 Rfb8 18.Rxb4 Bf8 19.Rb6:

 

19...Ng4 and MVL resigned after 20.Bc4. Black is stuck and White threatens to play 21.Be4 next (20...Ng6 fails to 21.Bg5).

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Qd3 Be6 10.Bd2 Re8 11.Nd5 Nxd5 12.exd5 Bc8 13.a4 a5 14.f4 Nd7 15.Qe3 exf4 16.Qxf4 Ne5 17.Bb5 Rf8 18.Rae1 Bf6 19.Nd4 Ng4 20.Ne6 fxe6 21.Qxg4 e5 22.Qg3 Bd7 23.Qb3 Qb6+ 24.Be3 Qc7 25.Bd3 Rae8 26.Bb6 Qc8 27.Qa3 Qb8 28.Be4 Bd8 29.Be3 Bh4 30.g3 Be7 31.Qd3 h6 32.Qd2 b5 33.Bxh6 bxa4 34.Bg5 Bh3 35.Rxf8+ Rxf8 36.Bxe7 Qa7+ 37.Kh1 Qxe7 38.Bg2 Bxg2+ 39.Kxg2 Qb7 40.Qxa5 Ra8 41.Qc3 Rc8 42.Qd3 Qxb2 43.Re2 Qb7 44.c4 Ra8 45.Qa3 Qb6 46.Rf2 Qc7 47.Rc2 Qb6 48.Rf2 Qc7 49.Rc2 Qb6 50.Rf2 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Vachier-Lagrave,M2758Giri,A2776½–½2021B92Magnus Carlsen Inv KO2.1
Giri,A2776Vachier-Lagrave,M27581–02021B67Magnus Carlsen Inv KO2.2
Vachier-Lagrave,M2758Giri,A2776½–½2021B92Magnus Carlsen Inv KO2.3
Giri,A2776Vachier-Lagrave,M27581–02021B06Magnus Carlsen Inv KO2.4

Carlsen 2 : 1 Aronian

After getting a clear victory in the first mini-match, Carlsen kicked off day 2 of the quarterfinals with a win. A draw in the second game meant the world champion only needed a draw to move on to the semis. Aronian had a considerable advantage in game 3, but could not convert it into a win. Carlsen later assessed his performance:

It wasn’t very good. Today in general I felt like I played a lot worse than I did the other days. But fortunately I got the job done. [...] I need to sort of pull myself together tomorrow because I need to play a bit better than I did today. 

The semifinals kick off Thursday at 16:00 GMT (17:00 CET, 11:00 ET, 21:30 IST).

 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Bc5 6.c3 0-0 7.d4 Ba7 8.Bg5 exd4 9.e5 h6 10.Bh4 g5 11.Bxc6 dxc6 12.Nxg5 dxc3 13.Qxd8 Rxd8 14.Nxc3 Nd5 15.Nge4 Nxc3 16.bxc3 Rd3 17.Rad1 Rxd1 18.Rxd1 Be6 19.a3 f5 20.exf6 Re8 21.h3 Bb3 22.f7+ Kxf7 23.Rd7+ Kg6 24.Nd2 Re1+ 25.Kh2 Be6 26.Rd8 Re2 27.Nf3 Bxf2 28.Bxf2 Rxf2 29.Kg3 Rc2 30.Rd3 Bd5 31.Kf4 Kf6 32.g4 Rf2 33.h4 b5 34.Kg3 Rxf3+ 35.Rxf3+ Bxf3 36.Kxf3 c5 37.Ke4 c6 38.Kf4 a5 39.Ke4 a4 40.Kd3 Ke5 41.Ke3 b4 42.Kd2 b3 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Aronian,L2781Carlsen,M28470–12021C78Magnus Carlsen Inv KO2.1
Carlsen,M2847Aronian,L2781½–½2021C47Magnus Carlsen Inv KO2.2
Aronian,L2781Carlsen,M2847½–½2021C67Magnus Carlsen Inv KO2.3

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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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