Meltwater Finals: Carlsen beats So in hard-fought match

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
11/15/2022 – The Meltwater Tour Finals kicked off on Monday, with four out of eight participants playing on-site in San Francisco. The all-important clash between Magnus Carlsen and Wesley So saw the former getting a 2½-1½ victory in a match not exempt of blunders. Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Anish Giri also won in the event’s first round.

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“We can do better”

Day one of the Meltwater Champions Tour Finals saw one of the most anticipated matchups of the tournament (and the whole series), as Magnus Carlsen faced Wesley So in the first round of the 7-day event. After winning the mini-match by a 2½-1½ score, Carlsen confessed to have played below his usual level, noting:

To be honest, the match today was pretty weak by our standards. We can do better.

Mistakes were made by both sides, with Carlsen holding a tough, inferior position in game 2 before getting the one win of the match in game 3. In the fourth encounter, the classical world champion blundered in the middlegame, but managed to hold the draw in the ensuing position with queen (for So) against rook and bishop.

Throughout the match, So played more riskily than usual. In game 3, he weakened his kingside irreparably — and transferring the queen to a8 on move 30 was a decisive mistake.

 
Carlsen vs. So - Game #3

30...Qa8 allowed the forcing 31.Nf7+ Kg8 32.Nxd6 cxd6 33.Nc7 Ra3 34.Qc1, and the white queen is ready to infiltrate.

 

Black’s queen and rook are under attack, and after 34...Qa5 35.Qg5+ there is no defence. So resigned four moves later.

 
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1.e4 0 e5 0 2.Nf3 2 Nc6 4 3.Bb5 0 Nf6 3 4.0-0 1       Nxe4 1 5.Re1 1 Nd6 1 6.Nxe5 1 Be7 0 7.Bf1 2 Nxe5 1 8.Rxe5 0 0-0 0 9.d4 0 Bf6 3 10.Re1 1 Re8 2 C67: Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defence: 4 0-0 Nxe4. 11.Bf4 6 Rxe1 0 12.Qxe1 0 Ne8 1 13.c3 2 d5 7 14.Nd2 1       14.Bd3 c6 15.Nd2 g6 16.Nf3 Ng7 17.Qe2 Bf5 18.Bxf5 Nxf5 19.Re1 Ng7 20.Be5 Bxe5 21.Nxe5 Qd6 22.Qf3 f6 23.Nd3 ½-½ (29) Carlsen,M (2847)-So,W (2770) chess24.com INT 2021 14...c6 40 15.a4 5 a5 4 16.Bd3 11 g6 41
17.Nf3N 14 Predecessor: 17.Nf1 Ng7 18.Ng3 h5 19.h3 h4 20.Nf1 Bf5 21.Bxf5 Nxf5 22.Ne3 Bg5 23.Bxg5 Qxg5 24.Nxf5 gxf5 1-0 (67) Zarubitski,V (2412)-Dobrovoljc,V (2344) Bad Blankenburg 2018 17...Nd6 33 18.Qe3 1:28 Bg4 2:30 19.Re1 2:48 Qf8 3:16 20.h3 3:06 Bd7 2:06 20...Bxf3!? 21.Qxf3 Re8 22.Rxe8 Nxe8 21.g4 3:32 Re8 52 22.Ne5 7 Be6 51 23.Qg3 52 next Nxg6! is good for White. g5 2:38 24.Bc1 1:28 Bd8 10 25.Nf3 2:10 f6 14 26.h4 0 h6 43 27.hxg5 1 hxg5 4 28.Qh2 14
28...Ne4 15 29.Nd2 3 Much worse is 29.Bxe4 dxe4 30.Nd2 Bxg4 31.Rxe4 Rxe4 32.Nxe4 Qe7 29...f5 30 29...Re7!= remains equal. 30.gxf5± 37 Bxf5 6 And now ...Nxd2 would win. 31.Nxe4 3 Bxe4 40 32.Bxe4 5 Rxe4 0 33.Rxe4 9 dxe4 0       Endgame KQB-KQB 34.Qh3 44 Kg7 31 35.Kg2 36 35.Qd7+± Kg6 36.Qe6+ 36.Qxb7 Qf5= 36...Qf6 37.Qxe4+ Qf5 38.f3 38.Qe8+ Kg7 35...Qf7!= 16 The position is equal. 36.Qg4 9 Qd5 8 37.Be3 3 Kg6 18 38.Qg3 1:26 b5 26 39.axb5 8 cxb5 0 40.Qb8 20 a4 28 41.Kf1 0 Qc4+ 41 42.Ke1 6 Bf6 41 43.Qe8+ 6 Kf5 7 44.Qd7+ 8 Kg6 1 45.Qe8+ 41 Kf5 1 46.Qd7+ 20 Kg6 1 47.Qe8+ 0 Weighted Error Value: White=0.07 (flawless) /Black=0.06 (flawless) ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Carlsen,M2859So,W2760½–½2022Meltwater CCT Finals 20221.1
So,W2760Carlsen,M2859½–½2022Meltwater CCT Finals 20221.2
Carlsen,M2859So,W27601–02022Meltwater CCT Finals 20221.3
So,W2760Carlsen,M2859½–½2022Meltwater CCT Finals 20221.4
 

Mamedyarov 2½ - 1½ Praggnanandhaa

In another close match, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, playing from Baku, defeated young Indian star Praggnanandhaa. The Azerbaijani won games 1 and 4, while Pragg scored with white in the third encounter.

The deciding moment in game 4 came when the youngster failed to foresee a tactical trick that gained Shakh a couple of pawns.

 
Mamedyarov vs. Praggnanandhaa - Game #4

25...g4 did nothing to prevent 26.Bc4, attacking both e6 and f5, since Black’s backward pawn is pinned to the king. 

There followed 26...Kf7 27.Rxf5 Kg6 28.Rf4, and two black pawns are hanging.

 

Shakh did not take long to convert his advantage into the deciding win of the match.

 
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1.e4 0 e5 0 2.Nf3 2 Nc6 2 3.Bc4 1 Nf6 4 4.d3 2 d5 8 5.exd5 3 Nxd5 0 6.0-0 0 Nb6 4 7.Bb3 1:58 Hoping for Ng5. C24: Bishop's Opening: 2...Nf6. 7.Bb5!? 7...Bg4 7 8.Nbd2 1:05       Qe7 3:44 9.h3 1:21 The position is equal. Bh5 4
10.Ne4N 1 Predecessor: 10.Re1 0-0-0 11.a4 a5 12.Qe2 f6 13.Qe3 Qc5 14.Qxc5 Bxc5 15.Ne4 Bb4 16.Rf1 Bxf3 17.gxf3 0-1 (27) Zvereva, M (1937)-Kujawski,A (2239) Chess.com INT 2020 10...0-0-0 1:29 11.Ng3 5 Bg6 3 12.Re1 5 f6 13 13.a4 1:42 a5 7 14.Bd2 0 Kb8 8 15.Qe2 20 h5 0       16.d4 1:11 16.Ne4 16...h4 26 16...Nxd4 17.Nxd4 Rxd4 18.Bxa5= 16...exd4 17.Qd1 Qc5 18.Ne4 Bxe4 19.Rxe4 17.Ne4 34 exd4 0 17...Nxd4 18.Nxd4 Rxd4 19.f3= 18.Bf4 1:04 Qxe4 1:44 19.Qxe4 9 Bxe4 0 20.Rxe4 0 g5 2 21.Bd2 13 Bc5 0 22.Re6 38 Rhf8 9 23.Rae1 26 Bb4 8 24.c3 59 dxc3 10 25.bxc3 1 Bc5 19 26.R1e2 2 Prevents Ne5. Nd7 35 27.Bd5 1:29 27.Bc2 27...Nde5 44 28.Nxe5 15 28.Bxc6 is a better defense. Nxc6 29.Kf1 28...Nxe5-+ 0 28...Rxd5 29.Nxc6+ bxc6 30.c4 29.c4 0 29.Be4 might work better. 29...c6 12 30.Bxa5 14 cxd5 25 30...b6 31.Bxb6 Bxb6 32.Bxc6 Rd1+ 33.Kh2 Bd4 31.Bxd8 3 Rxd8 0 32.cxd5 17 Rxd5 30 33.Rxf6? 3 33.Kf1 33...g4? 26 33...Rd1+ 34.Kh2 g4! 35.hxg4 Nxg4+ 36.Kh3 Nxf6 37.Kxh4 Bxf2+!       38.Kg5 Bd4 34.Kf1 22 Bb4! 7 35.Kg1? 0 35.Re1 Bxe1 36.Kxe1 35...g3? 46 35...Rd1+! 36.Kh2 Bc5! 37.hxg4 Nxg4+ 38.Kh3 Nxf6 39.Kxh4 Bxf2+!       40.Kg5 Bd4 36.fxg3 31 hxg3 0 ( -> ...Rd1+) 37.Rc2 33 Ba5 24 37...Rd1+-+ 38.Rf1 Rd4 38.Rc1 34 Rd4 1:21 39.Kf1 56 Rxa4 0 Black is more active. 40.Rf5 11 40.Rf8+ Ka7 41.Rg8 40...Re4! 43 41.Rg5 17
41...Re3 1:00 And not 41...Bd2 42.Rg8+ Ka7 43.Ra1+ Kb6 44.Rxg3 42.h4 2
42.Rg8+ Ka7 43.Re8 42...Nc4! 0 And now ...Bc3 would win. 43.h5 4 Much worse is 43.Rg8+ Ka7 44.Ra1 Re4 43.Rxg3 was called for. Rxg3 44.Rxc4 43...Nd2+ 6 44.Kg1 2 Bb6 2 45.Rg8+? 4 45.Kh1-+ Bd4 46.h6 45...Ka7? 3 45...Re8+ mates 46.Kh1 Rxg8 47.Rc3 Bf2 48.Ra3 Rg5 49.Rxg3 Bxg3 50.h6 Re5 51.h7 Re1# 46.Ra1+? 11 46.Kh1-+ Ra3 47.h6 46...Ra3+! 1 Weighted Error Value: White=0.74/Black=0.51 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Praggnanandhaa R2678Mamedyarov,S27410–12022Meltwater CCT Finals 20221.1
Mamedyarov,S2741Praggnanandhaa R2678½–½2022Meltwater CCT Finals 20221.2
Praggnanandhaa R2678Mamedyarov,S27411–02022Meltwater CCT Finals 20221.3
Mamedyarov,S2741Praggnanandhaa R26781–02022Meltwater CCT Finals 20221.4
 

Giri 3½ - 1½ Le

According to the rules of the ‘major’ tournaments in the series — like this one — if there is a tie in the 4-game rapid match, a blitz tiebreaker follows. However, winning the match outright grants 3 points to the winner and 0 points to the loser, while in case of the contest going to the blitz tiebreaker, the winner gets 2 points and the loser grabs 1 point.

In round 1 of the Finals, the one player who got 2 points was Anish Giri, who defeated Le Quang Liem in tiebreaks after drawing all four of the rapid encounters.

Giri shared an iconic picture from San Francisco — the splendid Golden Bridge.

The Dutchman will face Pragg in Tuesday’s second round, while Le will have the tough task of playing So right after his loss against the world champion.

 
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1.d4 0 Nf6 0 2.c4 3 e6 0 3.Nf3 1 d5 1 4.g3 2 Be7 1 5.Bg2 1 0-0 1 6.0-0 0 dxc4 0 7.Qc2 1 a6 2 8.a4 2 Bd7 1 9.Qxc4 4 Bc6 0 10.Bg5 1 Nbd7 11 11.Nc3 11 h6 14 The position is equal. 12.Bxf6 4 E05: Open Catalan: 5 Nf3 Be7. Nxf6 0 13.a5 12 Bd6 8 14.Rfd1 23
14...Bd5N 3:01 Predecessor: 14...Qe7 15.Nd2 Bxg2 16.Kxg2 b5 17.Qc6 e5 18.Nde4 exd4 19.Rxd4 Be5 20.Rd3 Qe8 21.Nxf6+ Bxf6 ½-½ (44) Ding,L (2791)-Nakamura,H (2736) chess24.com INT 2020 15.Qd3 12
Threatens to win with e4. 15...Bxf3 9 16.Bxf3 2:43 c6 4 17.Qc2 38 Qe7 1:02 18.e3 37 Rad8 0 19.Na4 45       e5 0 20.dxe5 9 Bxe5 17 21.Qb3 2:12 g6 2:10 22.Rac1 26 Kg7 2:21 23.Rxd8 42 Rxd8 2 24.Nc5 1 Rb8 0 25.Nd3 1:27 Bd6 1:32 26.Rc4 1:22 h5 23 27.Qc3 54 Kg8 7 28.Kg2 38 Re8 52 29.Qb3 1:15 Qe6 0 30.Rc3 19 Qxb3 28 31.Rxb3 0 Rb8 25 32.Kf1 1:51 Kf8 4 33.Ke2 8 Nd7 14 34.Bg2 23 Ne5 0 35.f4 8 Nxd3 23 36.Rxd3= 38       Endgame KRB-KRB Ke7 1:00 37.Rd4 21 Rd8 52 38.e4 1:05 Bc7 30 39.Rb4 31 Rd2+ 1:20 40.Kf3 4 Rd3+ 29 41.Ke2 2 Rd2+ 0 42.Kf3 1 Rd3+ 29 43.Ke2 1 Rd2+ 0 A balanced but interesting game. Weighted Error Value: White=0.02 (flawless) /Black=0.01 (flawless) ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Le,Q2728Giri,A2764½–½2022Meltwater CCT Finals 20221.1
Giri,A2764Le,Q2728½–½2022Meltwater CCT Finals 20221.2
Le,Q2728Giri,A2764½–½2022Meltwater CCT Finals 20221.3
Giri,A2764Le,Q2728½–½2022Meltwater CCT Finals 20221.4
Giri,A2764Le,Q27281–02022Meltwater CCT Finals 20221.5
Le,Q2728Giri,A2764½–½2022Meltwater CCT Finals 20221.6
 

Duda 2½ - ½ Arjun

Two wins with white and a draw with black allowed Jan-Krzysztof Duda to beat Arjun Erigaisi in the shortest match of the day.

Arjun regretted leaving his king in the centre in game 3.

 
Duda vs. Arjun - Game #3

After the forcing sequence 24.Rc1 Qa8 25.Rxc8+ Qxc8 there came 26.Nd6, attacking the queen while using the pin along the dark-squared diagonal.

 

Black understandably resigned.

 
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1.c4 0 c6 0 2.Nf3 5 d5 2 3.g3 1 g6 22 4.Qa4 0 d4 45 5.b4 8 Bg7 1 6.Bb2 5 A11: English Opening: 1...c6. e5 9 And now ...e4 would win. 7.d3 18 Ne7 7 8.Bg2 2 The position is equal. 0-0 2 9.0-0 0 Be6 22 10.Nbd2 12
10...Nd7N 0 Predecessor: 10...h6 11.b5 c5 12.Qc2 Nd7 13.e3 f5 14.exd4 exd4 15.Rfe1 Bf7 16.h4 Nc8 0-1 (47) Mamedyarov,S (2782)-Aronian,L (2782) chess24.com INT 2021 11.Qc2 47 a5 17 12.a3 58 h6 12 13.Nb3 1:12 a4 1:33 14.Nbxd4 38 exd4 2 15.Nxd4 0 Nf5 1:35 15...Nc5!? 16.Nxc6 Nxc6 17.Bxg7 Kxg7 18.bxc5 Nd4 16.Nxf5 1:08 16.Nxe6 fxe6 17.d4 16...gxf5 1:41 17.Bxg7 2:25 Kxg7 0 18.Rfd1 2 Qf6 24 19.e3 1:09 Ne5 53 20.Qe2 0 20.f4 Ng4 21.Qe2 20...Rad8!-+ 1:27 aiming for ...Rxd3! 21.Rac1 2 b5! 11 22.cxb5 2:41 22.f4 Nxd3!       23.Rxd3 Bxc4 24.Rxc4 bxc4-+ 22...cxb5 0 23.Rc5 1 Nxd3 2:26 24.Rxd3= 0 Bc4 1 25.Bd5! 47 25.Rxc4 bxc4 26.Rxd8 Rxd8 27.Qxc4 Qa1+ 28.Bf1 Qxa3-+ 25...Bxd3 0 26.Qxd3 0 Rd6 33 26...Rc8!? 27.Kg2 1:05 Qb2 12 28.Qxf5 1:15 Qd3 is the strong threat. Rf6 1:14
29.Qg4+ 1 Much weaker is 29.Qc2 Qxa3 30.Rxb5 Qa1= 29...Rg6? 3
29...Kh8± 30.Bf3 30.Kh3 Rxf2 31.Qd4+ Qxd4-+ 30...Rd8 30.Qe4!+- 28 Rf6 2:37 31.Rc2 3 The board is on fire. Qb1 12 31...Qa1 32.Qd3 Rd8 32.Qg4+ 38 Kh8 2 33.Qd4 30 Active counter play! Qxc2 5 34.Qxf6+ 3       Endgame KQR-KQB Kg8 1:15 35.e4 12 Strongly threatening Qg6+. Qc1 13 36.h4 8       Qxa3 9 36...h5+- 37.e5 Qc7 38.Qg6+ Kh8 39.Qh6+ Kg8 40.Qg5+ Kh8 37.Qg6+ 2 White mates. Kh8 1 38.Qxh6+ 1 Kg8 1 39.Qg6+ 14 Kh8 0 40.Qf6+ 1 Kg8 32 41.h5 4 Quite a comeback for White. Weighted Error Value: White=0.11 (very precise) / Black=0.53 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Duda,J2731Erigaisi Arjun27181–02022Meltwater CCT Finals 20221.1
Erigaisi Arjun2718Duda,J2731½–½2022Meltwater CCT Finals 20221.2
Duda,J2731Erigaisi Arjun27181–02022Meltwater CCT Finals 20221.3
 

Meltwater Champions Chess Tour Finals 2022

Meltwater Champions Chess Tour Finals 2022

Master Class Vol.8 - Magnus Carlsen 2nd Edition

Let our authors show you how Carlsen tailored his openings to be able to outplay his opponents strategically in the middlegame or to obtain an enduring advantage into the endgame.

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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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