New in Chess Classic: Carlsen wins preliminaries

by André Schulz
4/27/2021 – World Champion Magnus Carlsen dominated the preliminaries of the New in Chess Classic. He did not lose a single game and on each of the three days of the preliminaries he scored 3.5/5 to finish sole first with 10.5/15. Perhaps his good form was due to his preparation: Carlsen played from the Meltwater office in Oslo and took a bicycle to come to work.
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New in Chess Classic: Day 3

On day 3 of the preliminaries Carlsen won against Alireza Firouzja and Jan-Krzysztof Duda and drew with Wesley So, Praggnanandhaa and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.

Carlsen seems to be in top form, and perhaps it is because he gives his games a formal structure. After all, Carlsen is not playing from home, but from the offices of the tournament's sponsor, the Meltwater company in Oslo. And similar to other office workers, the World Champion took a bike to go to work. But he had either underestimated the time to reach the office or he had calculated it very precisely. At any rate, he arrived only minutes before his game against Alireza Firouzja wasa to start.

But Carlsen was not the only player who remained undefeated. Hikaru Nakamura also achieved this feat but he won only six of his 15 games, two less than Carlsen, and thus ended up in second place, one point behind the winner.

Nakamura's win against Gawain Jones was particularly interesting as Jones is considered to be one of the greatest experts in the Sicilian Dragon and Nakamura was ready to test his knowledge of these positions.

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 0-0 9.0-0-0 d5 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.Bd4 Bxd4 There was a time when 12...e5 13.Bc5 Be6 was considered to be more or less obligatory for Black. 13.Qxd4 Qb6 This line is considered to be very safe for Black. 14.Na4 Qc7 15.c4 The main line is 15.Bc4 Rd8 16.Bb3 Be6 17.Nc5 Nf4 18.Nxe6 Nxe6 19.Qe3 Nf4 20.g3 Nd5 21.Qe2 e6 as in Giri,A (2764)-Cvitan,O (2467) 0-1 (65) chess.com INT 2020 15...Nf4 16.g3 16.Nc5 Ne6 17.Nxe6 Bxe6 18.Bd3 Qa5 1/2-1/2 (67) Tayar,J (2356) -Veech,J (2040) Las Vegas 2010 16...e5 A solid alternative is 16...Ne6 17.Qe3 c5 18.Nc3 Bb7 19.Bd3 Nd4 20.Rhf1 e6= 17.Qd6 Qxd6 18.Rxd6 Ne6 19.Bd3 19.Rxc6? Bb7 19...Rd8 20.Rxd8+ Nxd8 21.Re1 f6 22.f4 White is more comfortable and has the initiative. Nf7 23.Be4 Bd7 Besser ist 23...Be6 24.b3 Rc8 24.Nc5 Be8 25.Bg2 Rd8 26.Kc2 Rd6 27.Bh3 Kg7 28.Kc3 h5 29.Nd3 Now, White wins a pawn. g5 30.fxe5 fxe5 31.Nxe5 g4 32.Nxf7 32.Bg2 was also okay. 32...Bxf7 33.Bg2 Bg6 Threatening 34...Rd3+. 34.Re2 a5 34...c5 35.Bd5 35.Rd2 Rxd2 36.Kxd2 c5 37.Kc3 The endgame is an easy win for White. Black's king is too far away from the queenside. Kf6 38.a3 Ke5 39.b4 axb4+ 40.axb4 cxb4+ 41.Kxb4 Kd4 42.c5 Be8 43.c6 Bxc6 After 43...Ke3 White wins with 44.c7 Bd7 45.Kc5 or 45.Bb7 Kf2 46.Kc5 but not 46.c8Q? Bxc8 47.Bxc8 Kg2 and White will lose his pawns. 45...Bc8 46.Kd6 Kf2 47.Bd5 Kg1 48.Be6 Bb7 49.Kc5 Kxh2 50.Kb6 Kxg3 51.Kxb7 h4 52.c8Q h3 53.Qc3+ and White wins. 44.Bxc6 Ke3 45.Kc3 Kf2 46.Kd4 Kg1 47.Ke3 Kxh2 48.Kf4 Kh3 If Black were to move he would draw with 49...h4. However, after 49.Bd7 White wins and Black resigned. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Nakamura,H2736Jones,G26701–02021B76New In Chess Classic Prelims 202111.1

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov also scored 9.5/15 but had more wins – and more losses – than Nakamura.

The eight best players qualified for the knock-out stage. Apart from Carlsen, Nakamura and Mamedyarov these are Wesley So, Levon Aronian, Teimour Radjabov, Alireza Firouzja, and Le Quang Liem. 

Wesley So played a remarkable and theoretically interesting game against Aryan Tari.

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Bf4 Bf5 4.e3 e6 5.c4 The alternative is 5.Bd3 5...Bxb1 6.Qxb1 Bb4+ 7.Kd1 7.Nd2? Ne4-+ 7...Bd6 7...Ne4 8.Qc2 8.Bg5 A well-known position that has already occurred in more than 20 games. h6 Another option is 8...Nbd7 9.Bxf6 Qxf6 10.cxd5 exd5 11.e4 Be7 12.Bb5+ Kf8 So also played this position with Black. 12...c6 13.e5 Qf4 14.Bd3 1-0 (75) Carlsen,M (2834)-So,W (2792) Wijk aan Zee 2018 CBM 183 [Krasenkow,M] 13.exd5 g6 14.Qe4 Bd6 15.Ne5 The knight on e5 is strong and dominates Black's position. Kg7 16.f4 a6 17.Bd3 Rd8 18.Rf1 Nd7 19.Kc2 Qe7 20.Qf3 Nf6 21.Bc4?! More precise was 21.Rae1 and White is clearly better. 21...Qe8? 21...b5! 22.Bb3 a5 23.a3 a4 24.Ba2 b4 with counterplay. 22.Rae1 Qa4+ 23.Kb1 Perhaps Black had hoped for 23.Bb3? Qxd4 when everything is alright again. 23...Rf8 23...Bxe5 24.fxe5 does not help Black. 24.Qd3 Qa5 25.g4 Nxd5 Black managed to regain the pawn but his position is lost. 26.f5 g5 27.f6+ Kh8 28.Qh3 Nxf6 29.Qxh6+ Nh7 30.Bd3 f5 31.Ng6+ with mate to follow soon. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
So,W2770Tari,A26391–02021D02New In Chess Classic Prelims 202111.5

The young Indian Grandmaster Praggnanandhaa who had qualified for the New in Chess Classic by winning the Polgar Challenge scored 7.0/15 and finished on shared tenth place.He lost 5 of his 15 games, but also won four, and in round 12 was close to winning against Carlsen.

On the last day of the preliminaries there were a number of short draws which David Howell criticised in the Chess24 live broadcast: "It's disappointing! It really tests our patience now. It's a bit disrespectful to our spectators."

But of course, a lot of games were fought to the bitter end and led to a number of interesting endgames, which Karsten Müller liked to analyse.

 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.0-0 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 a5 7.Re1 0-0 8.Nbd2 Be6 9.Bb5 Qb8 10.Nf1 Qa7 11.Be3 Bxe3 12.Nxe3 Ne7 13.a4 h6 14.Bc4 Bxc4 15.Nxc4 Ng6 16.g3 Rfe8 17.Qb3 Qc5 18.Rad1 b6 19.d4 Qc6 20.d5 Qd7 21.Nfd2 Qh3 22.Ne3 Ng4 23.Nxg4 Qxg4 24.Qc4 Re7 25.Qe2 Qh3 26.Nc4 f5 27.exf5 Qxf5 28.Qe4 Rf7 29.Qxf5 Rxf5 30.Na3 Raf8 31.Rd2 e4 32.Rxe4 Ne5 33.Kg2 Nf3 34.Rd1 Rh5 35.h4 g5 36.Nc4 gxh4 37.g4 Rg5 38.Rd3 Ne1+ 39.Rxe1 Rxg4+ 40.Kh3 Rxc4 41.Rg1+ Kh7 42.Re3 Rf7 43.Rg4 Rxg4 44.Kxg4 Rxf2 45.Re7+ Kg6 46.Rxc7 Rxb2 47.Re7 Rf2 48.c4 h5+ 49.Kh3 Rf4 50.Re6+ Kf5 51.Rxd6 Rxc4 52.Rxb6 Rxa4 53.Rb5 Ke5 54.d6+ Kxd6 55.Rf5 Ra1 56.Kh2 Kc6 The Vancura defense This is a very important theoretical draw, which also works against 3 pawns. Usually it is given in the endgame books without the h-pawns, but they do not change the drawing mechanism: 57.Re5? This fatally shortens the checking distance. White's king must remain on g2 and h2 and the rook on the f-file or b-file to preserve the Vancura set up: 57.Kg2 h3+ 58.Kh2! However not 58.Kxh3? a4 59.Rf4 a3 60.Rf3 a2 61.Ra3 Rh1+-+ 58...a4 59.Rf4 Kd5 60.Rb4 a3 61.Rb3 Kc4 61...a2 62.Ra3 Kc4 63.Ra8= 62.Rf3 Kb4 63.Rf4+ Kb3 64.Rf3+ Ka2 65.Rf2+= Black's king finds no shelter and his rook can not break free. This is the point of the Vancura draw. 57...a4 58.Re4 Kb5 59.Re5+ Kc4 60.Re4+ Kb3 61.Re3+ Kc2 62.Re4 62.Re2+ Kd3-+ is the reason, why the checking distance is now too short. 62...a3 63.Re2+ Kd3 64.Rf2 Ke3 65.Rc2 Rd1 The rook is finally free and it is over. 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Karjakin,S2757Tari,A26390–12021C54New In Chess Classic Prelims 202113.6
 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.e5 Nd5 8.Ne4 Qc7 9.f4 Qb6 10.c4 Bb4+ 11.Ke2 f5 12.Nf2 Ba6 13.Kf3 Ne7 14.Be3 Bc5 15.Bxc5 Qxc5 16.Qd6 Qb6 17.b3 c5 18.Rd1 Bb7+ 19.Ke3 Kf7 20.Qxb6 axb6 21.Rxd7 Bc6 22.Rd2 Ra3 23.Nd3 Rd8 24.Rg1 Be4 25.Nc1 Rxd2 26.Kxd2 Nc6 27.Kc3 Ra8 28.g3 Nb4 29.a4 Rd8 30.Be2 Bc2 31.Bh5+ Ke7 32.Bf3 Rd7 33.h4 Rd8 34.Rf1 Rd7 35.Rf2 Bd1 36.Bg2 g6 37.Rd2 Rxd2 38.Kxd2 Bc2 39.h5 Kf7 40.Bf3 gxh5 41.Bxh5+ Ke7 42.Bf3 h6 43.Kc3 Kd7 44.Kb2 Kc7 Breaking Black's bind Karjakin converts his extra pawn by first breaking the bind and then using his a-pawn as battering ram: 45.Na2 This breaks Black's bind. Nxa2 After 45...Nd3+ 46.Kxc2 Ne1+ 47.Kd1 Nxf3 White's king will invade on the kingside sooner or later combined with the a-pawn battering ram, e.g. 48.Nc3 Nh2 48...Nd4 49.Nb5+ Nxb5 50.cxb5 Kd7 51.Ke2 Ke7 52.Kf3 Kd7 53.Kg2 Ke7 54.Kh3 Kf7 55.a5+- 49.Ke2 Ng4 50.Kf3 Kc6 51.Kg2 Kd7 52.Kh3 Kd8 53.Kh4 Nh2 54.a5 bxa5 55.Na4 Nf3+ 56.Kh5 Nd4 57.Nxc5+- 46.Kxa2 Bd3 47.Ka3 Bf1 48.Bh5 Bd3 49.a5! This battering ram decides. b5 After 49...bxa5 the defense is overloaded accoring to the principle of two weaknesses with 50.Ka4 Kb6 51.Bf7+- 50.cxb5 Bxb5 51.b4 cxb4+ 51...c4 52.Kb2 Ba6 53.Kc3 Bb5 54.Be2+- 52.Kxb4 Ba6 53.Kc5 Bc8 54.Be2 Bb7 55.Bc4 Bc8 56.a6 Fittingly the rook's pawn makes the last move of the game. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Karjakin,S2757Vidit,S27261–02021B45New In Chess Classic Prelims 202111.7

Final standings

  
  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6  
1. Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2847 * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 10.5 2868
2. Nakamura, Hikaru g USA 2736 ½ * 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 9.5 2822
3. Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar g AZE 2770 ½ 0 * 0 ½ ½ 1 0 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 ½ 1 9.5 2819
4. So, Wesley g USA 2770 ½ ½ 1 * ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 9.0 2796
5. Aronian, Levon g ARM 2781 ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ 0 1 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 9.0 2796
6. Radjabov, Teimour g AZE 2765 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 8.5 2775
7. Firouzja, Alireza g FID 2759 0 ½ 0 1 1 ½ * ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 1 1 8.5 2775
8. Le, Quang Liem g VIE 2709 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ * ½ 1 0 1 ½ ½ 1 1 8.5 2778
9. Dominguez Perez, Leinier g USA 2758 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ * 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 8.0 2746
10. Praggnanandhaa, R g IND 2608 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 1 ½ 0 0 * 1 ½ 0 1 ½ 1 7.0 2714
11. Duda, Jan-Krzysztof g POL 2729 0 ½ 0 1 0 ½ 1 1 ½ 0 * 0 0 ½ 1 1 7.0 2706
12. Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi g IND 2726 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 * ½ 0 1 1 7.0 2706
13. Tari, Aryan g NOR 2639 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 1 ½ 0 1 1 ½ * 1 ½ 1 7.0 2712
14. Karjakin, Sergey g RUS 2757 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 0 * 1 1 6.5 2675
15. Jones, Gawain C B g ENG 2670 0 0 ½ 1 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 * ½ 3.0 2491
16. Christiansen, Johan-Sebastian g NOR 2618 ½ 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ * 1.5 2368

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The interesting pairings of the quarterfinals promise another day of exciting chess:

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André Schulz started working for ChessBase in 1991 and is an editor of ChessBase News.

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