Semifinals, Day 2
Carlsen 3 - 1 Aronian
The second semifinal mini-match between Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian started with two draws, before game 3 turned the tide in Carlsen’s favour. Playing white, Aronian left the opening with a rather harmless position, and he never found a way to create problems for his famed opponent.
So in the fourth game, Aronian desperately needed a win, which is never good at this level — and even more difficult when the opponent is Carlsen. Aronian attacked vehemently from the start, but in the end that only led to Carlsen managing another unchallenged win.
These DVDs are about Understanding Middlegame Strategies. In the first DVD dynamic decisions involving pawns are discussed. The second DVD deals with decision making process concerning practical play.
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Nakamura* 0 - 3 Mamedyarov
*Won the tiebreaker 2-1
In the second semifinal set against Shakriyar Mamedyarov, Hikaru Nakamura was initially unsuccessful after he had managed a clear 3-1 victory the day before. Already in the first game, Naka didn’t find the right defence in a queen endgame that what was actually equal. A clear chance for our endgame expert Karsten Müller to send instructive notes.
Shakh then also won games 2 and 3, so that the fourth game was no longer needed. The Azerbaijani had already made up for his defeat the day before.
Karsten Müller took a closer look on game 3, when an interesting duel of bishop against knight appeared on the board in the endgame.
But there was a tiebreaker to be played still, and Nakamura is known to be one of the strongest blitz players in the world. Nonetheless, the first two games ended in draws. A final Armageddon game would decide the winner. Nakamura had black, so a draw would have been enough for him to enter the final. In that case, Naka would have reached the final without having won a single game on the second day of the semifinals — and he did not want that to happen. The Armageddon game was a clear-cut affair:
Rules of thumb are the key to everything when you are having to set the correct course in a complex endgame. In this final DVD of his series on the endgame, our endgame specialist introduces you to the most important of these rules of thumb.
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