5/27/2019 – Magnus Carlsen won the fifth tournament of the year 2019. But things were not so simple for the World Champion. He struggled quite a bit in this tournament and was losing against Karjakin as well as Ding Liren in rounds 5 and 6. Through sheer fighting spirit and hanging in there, he was able to win the first place with 3½/6. IM Sagar Shah who was present at the venue, brings you all the action.
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Magnus Carlsen and Ding Liren took their seats opposite each other. Their handshake didn't have any warmth or conviction. The entire tournament had boiled down to this final game. The Lindores Abbey Chess Stars tournament in Scotland was supposed to be relaxed, right? So why was the commentary section in the distillery bustling with hundreds of people? Why was Magnus Carlsen trying to get into the zone before the game. Why did Ding Liren have this stoic expression, wielding his silent willpower that has taken him to the top of world chess?
The more you think about it, the more you realize that this is all happening because of Magnus Carlsen. Carlsen winning the tournament these days taken for granted. But when he doesn't win it, no matter which event it is, it becomes big news! That's why things are always exciting when the world champion is in action.
Ding Liren had the unenviable task of beating Magnus to take the first place at the Lindores Abbey Chess Stars 2019
On would assume that Ding was not in the best possible frame of mind for this finale. He was decidedly better against Vishy Anand but things had gone completely downhill after he made one mistake after another.
Ding Liren vs Vishy Anand, round 5
White is surely better in this position
The point to debate here is whether White can win this position or not. There are absolutely no chances for Anand in this position. But for Ding to win this is not easy because he has to create a weakness in the position. The Chinese GM thought that he could do this by pushing his h-pawn down the board. This he did and after a few moves we reach the following position:
White's last move was g4 in this position
The move g4 was already a critical mistake by Ding, because it allowed Anand to play this rook to a4 attack the pawn and then pin the knight with ♜b4. Ding had to make sure that he pressed the emergency brakes here. However, making the switch did not come easily. One mistake led to another and the final cookie crumbled here:
White to play
Here Ding had to play ♖d6 and after ♜xe3 and ♜xb5 the position would be drawn. Ding went for ♖b8 instead and after Anand's simple ♜db3, the game was over. Quite a disappointing loss for Ding, who could have gone into the lead with 3½/5 had he won this position. Instead, he was left on 2½/5.
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1.c4e52.g3Nf63.Bg2c64.Nf3e45.Nd4d56.d3Bc57.Nb3Bb68.cxd5Qxd59.0-0Qf510.Nc3exd311.e4Qh512.Qxh5Nxh513.Rd1Nf614.Na4Na615.Rxd3Be616.Nxb6axb617.a3c518.Nd2Nb419.Rc3Na220.Rxa2Bxa221.b30-0-022.e5Ne823.Bh3+Kc724.Bf1f625.e6Nd626.Rc2Bxb327.Nxb3Rhe828.a4Rxe629.a5c430.Bxc4Nxc431.Rxc4+Rc632.Bf4+Kd733.Rb4bxa534.Nxa5Ra635.Rxb7+Ke836.Nb3What is the objective assessment of
the position? Difficult to say, whether White will be able to win this or not,
but he is definitely under a lot of pressure and Black has to be very careful.Kf837.h4Re838.Nd4Re739.Rb8+Kf740.Nf5Rd741.h5Ding Liren has
slowly improved his position, but it is not so easy to find a weakness where
he can latch onto. At the same time White can endlessly keep manoeuvring
hoping for Anand to commit a tactical blunder. The chances of this happening
are not naught, but I think Ding Liren believed that he could do something
constructive and overpressed.Ra542.Nd6+Ke643.Nb5Kf544.Kg2Kg445.h6g546.Be3Kh547.Rb6Kg648.g4?!What could be more natural to fix the
square on f5 and get ready for Nd6-f5! Well the problem is that for this one
move the g4 pawn is undefended and Anand manages to get his rook in a very
aggressive and active position.48.Kf3Rd349.Nd6+-48...Ra4!49.Kg3Rb4!Suddenly Ding has to start playing carefully. He wants to remove his
knight from b5, but it would mean that he has to allow the exchange of rooks
and he loses the h6 pawn. This was the right thing to do but the Chinese
player wanted to win!50.Kf3Rd3!Once Anand gets counterplay, he is in
his element.51.Rb8Kxh652.Rb6Kg653.Rb8?53.Rd6was the last
chance.Rxe3+54.Kxe3Rxb555.f3=And this will be a draw.53...Rdb3!54.Rg8+Kf755.Rh8Kg7And just like that from a very promising position,
Ding Liren lost the game. Anand fought hard and stayed in the game, but one
has to feel for Ding who might have won the tournament had he won this game!0–1
One cannot help but feel sorry for Ding, especially after you see his reaction after he lost the game
Magnus the kibitzer cannot help but try to find how Ding lost that game!
Magnus Carlsen, on the other hand, in round five had reached an equal middlegame position against Sergey Karjakin. The players could have agreed to a draw by making some banal moves. But Carlsen, as he said in the post-game interview, was in "Kramnik mode". He was ambitious and perhaps it wasn't the most objective, but boy did the spectators have fun!
Carlsen vs Karjakin
With the rook on c5, Carlsen went for e4.
Now it was Sergey's turn for creative play, and he went for ...a4. Things would have ended quite peacefully had Magnus picked up the a4 pawn. However, when you have the will to fight hard, then you often find moves which are not the most obvious. Carlsen took on d5 and let Black push his pawn to a3, then a2 and even a1=♛!
How do assess this position?
It's true that White has only two minor pieces for the queen. However, Black has to be very accurate in case he wants to play for the win. While I was kibitzing the game live at the venue, I didn't even feel that Karjakin had the advantage. At least, Magnus' body language was extremely confident. As you can see from the analysis given below, Karjakin had to find the very accurate manoeuvre with ...♛a5 followed by ...♛b4 and he would have excellent chances to win. But once Magnus was able to get his pawn to c6 and b7, I think it's a fortress.
This is a fortress!
Although engines feel that this is better for Black, I think it is drawn and the further course of the game shows that. It was a great game of fighting chess by Magnus and Sergey.
The final four minutes of this crazy game captured on camera
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1.d4Nf62.Nf3d53.g3g64.Bg2Bg75.0-00-06.c3Nbd77.Bf4c58.Ne5Qb69.Qb3cxd410.Qxb6Nxb611.cxd4Ne412.Rc1Nd613.Nc3Be614.a4a515.h4Rfc816.b3Rc717.Nb5Rxc1+18.Rxc1Nxb519.axb5Rc8We join
the game from this point onwards. It seems like the game would end in a draw.20.Rc5!?Magnus would like to keep the play in the position.Kf821.e4a421...dxe422.Bxe4Rd8gives Black a safe and stable position, but Karjakin
tries for something more dynamic.22.exd5?!From the spectator point of
view, this was a great move. However, objectively this looks bad.22.bxa422...Rxc5?!22...a3!could have been more precise as after23.dxe6a224.Nd7+Ke825.Nxb6a1Q+26.Kh2Rd8Black has excellent winning chances.23.dxc5a323...Nxd5?24.bxa4+-24.dxe6a225.Nd7+Ke825...Nxd726.exd7a1Q+27.Kh2This is already winning for White.Qd127...Qa828.Bc7+-28.Bd6!+-26.Nxb6a1Q+27.Kh2How to assess such a
position? White has just two minor pieces for the queen. But what he has is
this clump of pawns on the queenside.Be527...fxe628.Bxb7Bd429.Nc4Bxc530.Bc6+Kf731.b6Bxf232.b7Bg1+33.Kh3Ba734.Ne5+Kg735.Be3Bb836.Nd7Bc737.Bb6Bd638.Bc5Bc739.Bb6What a crazy computer generated
line!28.Be3fxe629.Bxb7Bd430.Nc4?!30.c6Bxe331.c7Bxf232.c8Q+Kf7This would have given White some practical chances, although truth be
told this is also a drawn position.30...Bxe331.Nxe3Qb231...Qa5!?
was a powerful move because it attacks the queenside pawns. And this c5 pawn
is much more critical than the b3 pawn that Karjakin won in the game.32.Bc6+32.Ba6Qa233.Kg2Qxb334.c6Kd8White has managed to keep his pawn duo
but the bishop is out of play on a6.32...Kd8!33.Nc4Qb4-+White is
unable to hold on to his c5 pawn.32.Kg2Qxb333.b6Qb534.Bf3Kd8!
Karjakin plays carefully.34...Qxc535.b7Qb536.Nc2Qb637.Nd4Qa7
This knight and bishop duo can be quite potent here. White can even win this
and Black has to be careful.35.b7Kc736.c6Although engines feel that
this is better for Black, during the game being inside the tournament hall, I
felt like it was Magnus who was playing for a win. Objectively this should be
drawn because I don't think Black has anyway to just make progress with his
queen.Qb437.g4Qd438.Nf1h539.gxh5gxh540.Ng3e541.Ne4Qc442.Ng5Kb843.Be4Qe244.Bf5e445.Nxe4Qc446.Ng3Qxc6+47.Be4Qf648.Nxh5Qxh449.Ng3It was a thrilling game with both players showing skills at a very
high level. Of course mistakes did happen, but when you have around 10-20
seconds on the clock, the quality of play that was shown by Magnus and Sergey
was not at all bad.½–½
Sergey Karjakin finished third with 3.0/6 | Photo: Jeroen van den Belt
The big final clash: Ding vs Carlsen
There was just 20 minutes break between the two rounds.
While Ding was recovering from his loss to Anand, Magnus went for a nice little walk with his father
Ding Liren seemed to be in a completely different frame of mind. He was out for the kill. His opening play looked uninspired at first, but very quickly you could understand that looks can be deceiving.
Ding Liren vs Carlsen
Ding Liren's last move was e4
This move e4 came as a surprise to Magnus. He took with ...♞xe4 but Liren had the next surprise prepared ♘h4! Suddenly it was clear that Carlsen had been outplayed.
Let's take stock of what we have here. White is a pawn up and logically this should be winning, right? I mean if you see such a game given in any book, then the player with the white pieces has most often won showing good technique. The problem here is that you have Magnus Carlsen, one of the finest endgame players of our time, sitting with the black pieces. Hence, Ding has to be careful, but at the same time he shouldn't be so overcautious that he is not able to take some calculated risks. Add to this the pressure of winning the tournament and I think it became a bit too much for the world no.3 to handle.
I would call this the critical position of the game. Here Ding spent nearly six minutes of his time to figure out a way to win. If you look at it, White has some important decisions to make. He cannot win by keeping the status quo. That's because the king would like to enter the kingside, but the rook on e2 guards it firmly. If you want the king to enter, then you need your rook to take an active part, but that would mean the sacrifice of the f2 pawn. Also, the b4 pawn isn't going to queen anytime soon. Its main purpose would be to distract Black so that White can enter the kingside. You can check the analysis given below. I have not been able to find a win, nor were the players able to in post-game conference. But I wouldn't be surprised if a win does exist.
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1.d4d52.c4e63.Nf3a6!?This move has started becoming quite popular recently.4.Bg5
Ding Liren goes for a fresh position that is not deeply analyzed.Be75.Bxe7Qxe7Exchanging pieces might not be the right strategy when you are playing
in a must-win situation but here Ding feels that his bishop on f1 will have
more scope as compared to the bishop on c8.6.Nbd2Nf67.g30-08.Bg2b69.cxd5Just when the bishop is about to be developed on b7 and Black is ready
to take dxc4, White takes on d5 and fixes the structure.exd510.0-0Bb711.Rc1a512.Re1c5At this point it seemed as if Black has very comfortable
play. His knight will go to d7 and his rooks will come to central files. White
doesn't seem to have any edge. But Ding Liren found a fine idea.13.dxc5bxc514.e4!This powerful move must have been underestimated by Magnus.Nxe4
Here the commentators were only considering taking on e4 as an option, but
Ding comes up with some very surprising.14...dxe415.Ng5already seems
quite better for White.15.Nh4!You need to make moves like these if you
want to beat Magnus. f3 is a big threat now.Qf616.Nxe4dxe417.Rxc5
White has recovered the pawn and now both e4 and a5 are weak.Na617...Qxb218.a4with the threat of Rb5.Qf619.Bxe4±Even though the material is
even, White is just better.18.Rxa5Qxb219.Bxe4Bxe420.Rxe4Rad820...Nb421.Rxa8Rxa822.Qe1!With b4 hanging and a mate on e8.21.Rd5Rxd522.Qxd5White is now a clean pawn up, but Black gets his knight back in the
game.Nb423.Qb3Qxb324.axb3Let's take stock of what we have here. White
is a pawn up and logically this should be winning, right? I mean if you see
such a game given in any book, then the player with the white pieces has most
often won showing good technique. The problem here is that you have Magnus
Carlsen, one of the finest endgame players of our time, sitting with the black
pieces. Hence, Ding has to be careful, but at the same time he shouldn't be
overcautious that he is not able to take some calculated risks. Add to this
the pressure of winning the tournament and I think it became a bit too much
for the world no.3 to handle.Rb825.Nf3Kf826.Kf1Nd527.Nd2g628.Rd4Nb429.Ke2So far so good. White has brought his king in.Ke730.Re4+Kd731.Ke3Rb532.Kd4?!Ding Liren is not averse about going into a rook
endgame. Is this a smart decision? According to Magnus it would have been
better to keep the knights on the board because in rook endgames the drawing
chances increase hugely. But Ding had his reasons to be positive. He has an
active rook, an active king, a healthy extra pawn and nearly 10 more minutes
on the clock.Rd5+33.Kc3Rd3+34.Kxb4Rxd235.Rf4f536.Kc5Kc737.b4Kb738.h4h539.Rf3Rc2+40.Kd5Re2I would call this the critical
position of the game. Here Ding spent nearly 5-6 minutes of his time to figure
out a way to win. If you look at it, White has some important decisions to
make. He cannot win by keeping the status quo. That's because the king would
like to enter the kingside, but the rook on e2 guards it firmly. If you want
the king to enter, then you need your rook to take an active part, but that
would mean the sacrifice of the f2 pawn. Also the b4 pawn isn't going to queen
anytime soon. It's main purpose would be to distract Black so that White can
enter the kingside.41.Kc541.Rd3is the critical line.Rxf242.Ke5
The king can now come to f6 and take the pawn on g6
or he can come to g5 via f6. Either way, this is quite dangerous for Black.Kc7!42...Kb6?This doesn't work because of43.Rd6+Kb544.Rxg6
And Black is just lost because both his pawns on f5 and h5 will fall.Kxb445.Rg5Rf346.Rxh5Rxg347.Rg5Rh347...Rg448.Rxg4+fxg449.Kf4+-48.h5This is just winning because afterKc549.Kxf5Kd650.Kg6+-The White
rook is in perfect position to shelter the king.43.Kf643.b5Kb644.Rd6+Kxb545.Rxg6Rf346.Rg5Kc647.Rxh5Rxg348.Rg5Rg4!48...Rh349.h5Kd750.Kxf5Ke7=Black king is too quick.43...f444.Kxg6Rg2!45.Kxh5Rxg346.Rd4f347.Rf4Kd6This will end in a draw as Black pieces are
much better coordinated.41.Re3Rxf242.Ke5Kb643.Kf6f4!This is
what Vishy was mentioning. He doesn't want to keep the rook on e3 because
f5-f4 comes with a tempo.44.gxf444.Re6+Kb545.Re5+Kc646.Kxg6fxg3=44...Rxf4+45.Kxg6Rxh4=41...Rc2+42.Kd4Re243.Kd5Ding Liren
is trying for some kind of triangulation. He has brought same position with
white to move. He sees the the rook cannot move from e2 and the king may have
to compromise his position from b7. Either move to b6 and allow some check
down the 6th rank or go to the last rank. Either way, this is an interesting
try, but Magnus continues as if nothing has happened!Kb644.Rf444.Re3Rxf245.Re6+Kb546.Ke5!?46.Rxg6f4The fact that the king is on d5 and
not e5 allows Black to liquidate.46...Re2+47.Kd6Rc248.Ke7Rc7+49.Kf849.Kf6Rc3!49...Rc4!It's true that in all of these lines Black is
holding on by the skin of his teeth, but it is also true that a win doesn't
exist for White in these lines. A deeper inspection has to be made to come to
clear conclusion.44...Kb545.Kd6Kb646.f3Kb547.Kd547.g4?!hxg448.fxg4Re4!=This was Magnus' evil plan47...Rg248.Ke5Rxg349.Kf6Ka450.Kg7Kb551.Kh6Ka452.Rd4Kb553.Rd6Kxb454.Rxg6Rxf3
Black is now out of danger.55.Kxh5Kc556.Rf6Kd557.Kg6Ke558.h5Rg3+59.Kf7f460.h6Rh361.Kg7f362.Rf8Rg3+63.Kh8Ke464.h7Ke365.Rxf3+Kxf3An excellent defensive effort by the World Champion who won the 1st
edition of the Lindores Abbey Chess Stars by his sheer fighting spirit.½–½
Ding's father watched the entire final encounter patiently while Henrik tried to distract himself from the stress and tension by talking to Jonathon Grant | Photo: Kallia Kleisarchaki
By surviving difficult moments in both rounds five and six, Magnus won the tournament. Ding Liren was so close to victory, but it was not to be!
The participants along with the two men who made this event possible. Anton Buslov (left) and Drew Mckenzie Smith (right)
Magnus was given a full barrel of whisky as the winner. The whisky has not yet matured at the distillery as it has recently begun. Hence, Lindores Abbey Distillery will preserve Magnus' barrel, which contains approximately 150 litres of whiskey. Once it is matured, the distillery owners will contact Magnus as to what he would like to do with it. Usually whisky takes around three years to mature. The remaining three players receive a quarter barrel as a prize.
An exclusive ChessBase interview with Magnus Carlsen after he won the event
Hoping for ...e5. D37: Queen's Gambit Declined: 5 Bf410...Rd811.Nd2d412.Nb3Qb613.Na4Bb4+14.axb4Qxb4+15.Nd2e516.Bg5Qa517.Qb3Nb418.Bxf6gxf61-0 (52) Karjakin,S (2753)-Anand,V (2779) Shamkir 201911.Nd2e512.Bg5Black must now prevent Nb3.Nd4! White has an edge.13.Qb1And now Bxf6 would win.13.exd4exd4+14.Be214.Ne2?Ng4-+14...dxc313...Bf514.Bd3Bxd3!15.Qxd3Ne4!Avoid the trap15...e4?16.Qb1+-16.Ndxe4Of course not16.exd4exd417.0-0dxc316.Ncxe4feels hotter.dxe417.Qxe4Qb618.b4Bf819.Qd316...dxe417.Qd2Ne6!
Black is fighting back18.Nxe4NPredecessor:18.Bh418...Qa619.0-0Qxc420.Qd5Qxd521.Rxd5Bf822.Bf6Rac823.Bxe5Nc724.Bxc7!Rxc725.Nd2Rc226.Rb1Re627.Kf1Rb628.b4a529.Nf3axb430.axb4Be731.b5g632.g4h633.Kg2Bf634.Kg3Re635.h3Re736.Ne1Ra237.Nd3Kg738.Kf3Bh439.Rb2Ra140.Rc2Rb141.Rc1Rb342.Rc8Re643.Ke2Ra344.Nc5White should play44.Rc2±44...Ra2+=45.Kd3Re746.Rd7Rxd7+47.Nxd7aiming for f4.Bxf2 Endgame KRB-KRN48.Rc7Ra3+49.Kc4Rxe350.Rxb7Rxh350...Bg1=51.Ne5Kf652.Kd5Kg553.Rxf7Be354.Rg7Kf4?54...Kh4±55.Rxg6+-Kg356.b6Rh1Now ...Rb1 and Black clings on.57.b7Rb158.Rg7Bf4intending ...Rb5+.59.Nc4Rd1+59...Bb860.Kc6Rc160.Kc5Rc1?60...Kh461.Rf7Rb161.Rf7
Strongly threatening Rxf4!61...Rb162.Kc6Bb863.Rf8Rb463...Bf4+-64.Rf6Rb364.Rxb8White mates.Rxc4+65.Kb5Rc166.Rg8Accuracy: White = 78%, Black = 39%.66.Rh8Rb1+67.Ka6Kxg468.Rxh6Ra1+69.Kb6Rb1+70.Kc7Rc1+71.Rc61–0
Sagar ShahSagar is an International Master from India with two GM norms. He loves to cover chess tournaments, as that helps him understand and improve at the game he loves so much. He is the co-founder and CEO of ChessBase India, the biggest chess news portal in the country. His YouTube channel has over a million subscribers, and to date close to a billion views. ChessBase India is the sole distributor of ChessBase products in India and seven adjoining countries, where the software is available at a 60% discount. compared to International prices.
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