Karjakin wins with Black! Game 8 with notes by Fabiano Caruana

by ChessBase
11/23/2016 – Karjakin wins with Black! The first decisive game of the match. Carlsen desparately went for a full point, overpressed and lost. After mutual oversights in time-trouble Karjakin reached a favorable endgame which he converted to a win. Karjakin now leads 4.5-3.5 with four games to go. Carlsen was too shocked to attend the press conference. It was a dramatic and crucial game. Fabiano Caruana investigates the scene.
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World Chess Championship News - 2016-11-22

Game No. 8 - Notes by Fabiano Caruana

 
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MoveNResultEloPlayers
1.e41,166,62354%2421---
1.d4947,29855%2434---
1.Nf3281,60256%2441---
1.c4182,10256%2442---
1.g319,70256%2427---
1.b314,26554%2427---
1.f45,89748%2377---
1.Nc33,80151%2384---
1.b41,75648%2380---
1.a31,20654%2404---
1.e31,06848%2408---
1.d395450%2378---
1.g466446%2360---
1.h444653%2374---
1.c343351%2426---
1.h328056%2418---
1.a411060%2466---
1.f39246%2436---
1.Nh38966%2508---
1.Na34262%2482---
Notes by Fabio Caruana - So the eighth game of the match; now we all know how the story goes, but I think many people already had the feeling that this game would go down as a big one, before it happened. After seven draws and several missed chances, Carlsen was eager to make his move in the match. The last time a World Championship happened in New York, in 1995, the match also started with a string of draws. In the eighth game, the champion then, Garry Kasparov, chose a Scotch and was neutralized with accurate opening play in long theoretical lines by his challenger, Vishy Anand. Fast forward 21 years and the current World Champion chose an entirely different opening strategy to try to win. 1.d4 This was definitely not unexpected, and even the move I predicted before the game. Carlsen had had enough of trying to break down Karjakin's e4 e5 and decided to venture into the thick complex of closed systems. It was natural to assume he might try something involving an early Bf4 or Bg5, but instead something unexpected, or at least unexpected to me, happened: Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3!? After this surprise it became clear that we were unlikely to see any big theory or novel ideas in the opening. Magnus often plays slightly unusual but strategically based variations where his opponent has a wide choice of options and where there is a good chance of getting a playable position with chances to outplay the opposing side. e6 4.Bd3 c5 5.b3 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.Bb2 b6 8.dxc5 While the last few moves have all been pretty standard, this strikes me as unusual. The normal tried and tested plan is to post a knight on e5 and continue with moves like f4, Qf3, aiming to gain space and start an attack on the kingside. Carlsen's choice is certainly not bad, however, and leads to play where he can count on a slight, perhaps very slight, edge. 8.Nbd2 Bb7 9.Ne5 is what I would normlly expect, to be followed up by f4 or perhaps Qf3 and then Qh3. This also doesn't guarantee an advantage, but would lead to a totally different type of position than what occured in the game. 8...Bxc5 8...bxc5 9.c4 would play into White's hands, most likely eventually leading to a hanging pawns position after White captures on d5 and black recaptures with the e-pawn. Karjakin's choice is more circumspect. 9.Nbd2 Bb7 Black continues with standard development. Karjakin took his decisions in the opening stage of the game with speed and ease, while Carlsen seemed less sure of his position. 10.Qe2 Nbd7 11.c4 One of the two plausible pawn breaks. The other one, e4, I saw was recommended for White, but it seems completely harmless to me, and would likely end in complete equality in a few moves. 11.e4 dxe4 12.Nxe4 Be7 The position remains very complicated here, but I believe in the inherent soundness of Black's structure and position. 12...Nxe4 13.Bxe4 Bxe4 14.Qxe4 Nf6 is safe and probably enough for equality. 13.Rad1 13.Neg5 looks threatening, but after Nc5 14.Rad1 Nxd3 15.Rxd3 Qc7 White's play appears to go nowhere. 13...Qc7 13...Nxe4 14.Bxe4 Bxe4 15.Qxe4 Qc7 bails out but is also enough for rough equality. 14.Neg5 , and here it looks scary, but Black can bite the bullet and come out ahead: Nc5! 15.Be5 Qc6 16.Bxf6 gxf6! 17.Bxh7+ Kg7 18.Be4 Nxe4 19.Nd4 fxg5 20.Nxc6 Bxc6 11.a3!? is a flexible move, but it also gives Black a lot of flexibility in his piece placement. Even the unusual looking Re8!? , planning ...e5 next, makes sense. 11...dxc4 I think this an example of good judgement. If Karjakin had allowed cxd5, he might have had to deal with a knight coming to e4. It's hard to prove that dxc4 is the correct move, but I suspect the knight is only superficially good-looking on c4 and would rather be more flexibly placed on d2. For example: 11...Qe7 12.cxd5 Nxd5 13.a3 a5 14.Ne4 N5f6 15.Nfd2 , and White can perhaps count on some slight pressure. 12.Nxc4 Qe7 13.a3 a5 Obviously the only move, as White shouldn't be allowed to win the bishop pair with b4. Now Magnus had to come up with a plan, but I don't think he successfully dealt with his task. His next few moves suggest he wasn't sure how to approach the position, and instead he mixed up inconsistent plans and ended up only putting himself in risk. 14.Nd4 14.e4 is of course a very direct way of playing it, aiming to attack with e5 and Ne4, but after Rfd8 15.e5 Nd5 16.g3 Nf8 the Black king looks very safe with a knight on f8. 14...Rfd8 I like this move, and the plan associated with it - to maneuver the knight from the awkward d7-square to the comfy g6-square, where it also disturbs White with schemes of attacking his bare king. 15.Rfd1 Rac8 15...Nf8 immediately would run into 16.Ne5 , and that is understandably not what Black is looking for. 16.Rac1 This strikes me as a lazy move, after which Black obtains a completely comfortable position. The rook might look well-placed on c1, but it does nothing to bother Black and loosens the defense of the a3-pawn. In general this decision demonstrates to me that Carlsen is far from his best in this match so far. 16.Nb5 Nf8 17.b4 axb4 18.axb4 Bxb4 19.Nxb6 grants White a very temporary initiative, which will be neutralized after a couple of accurate moves. 16.Nc2!? feels like the right move to me, even if not objectively, then at least practically; it makes it difficult for Black to complete his plan of ...Nf8-g6, and anything which cuts into the opponent's plan must be seriously considered. I'm surprised Magnus didn't choose to play this way. e5 16...Nf8? 17.b4 axb4 18.axb4 would hand White a serious initiative. 17.e4 , and because of the constant threat of b4 White can perhaps count on a slight pull here. 16...Nf8 17.Qe1 This idea, to bring the bishop to f1, is I think an admission things have not gone according to plan. White regroups in order to defend an underprotected king, but clearly he cannot hope for an advantage in this way, Ng6 18.Bf1 Ng4! An excellent move, and already White seems slightly on the back foot. 19.Nb5?! And this careless move allows Black to develop a strong initiative. However, even after 19.h3 N4e5 20.Nxe5 Nxe5 I would already slightly prefer to play Black. The bishop on b7 is mighty and unopposed, the knight on e5 is itching to jump places and a3 is under attack. 19...Bc6? Just strange - a completely useless move, putting the bishop on a bad square. It's like Karjakin, who has played excellently thus far, can't believe he has outplayed Magnus and is already just better. 19...Qg5! is crying out to be played. Just attack! Let White worry about how to hold his shaky kingside together. He would probably have to settle for the sad 20.h3 20.Nbd6 Bxd6 21.Nxd6 is met by many strong moves, for example N4e5 , and ...Nf3 is difficult to prevent. 20...N4e5 21.Nxe5 Nxe5 22.Bxe5 22.Kh1? Nd3! 23.Rxd3 Rxd3 24.b4 axb4 25.axb4 Rb3! 26.bxc5 Rxb5 wins an exchange and most likely the game as well. 22...Qxe5 It might not be so awful for White, but he is definitely worse and will have to defend for a long time. 20.a4 Bd5 Correcting his mistake on the previous move is a good idea. Black still has a decent position, but no longer a better one. 20...Qg5 just doesn't work now because of 21.h3 N4e5 22.Nxe5 Nxe5 23.Bxe5 Qxe5 24.Na7 , and we can see why the bishop is horribly misplaced on c6. 21.Bd4 Logical. Trading dark-square bishops leaves b6 unprotected. Bxc4 21...Bxd4 22.Rxd4 22.Nxd4 Qc7 and h2 is awkward to defend. 22...N6e5 might have been an even more accurate way of equalizing, because 23.Nxb6?? Rxc1 24.Qxc1 Qh4 is basically mate and game over. 22.Rxc4 Bxd4 23.Rdxd4 In the press conference Judit mentioned 23.exd4!? as an option. Anti-positional as it looks, I started to appreciate the benefits of the move - taking control of the e5-square - and even thought it might offer White an edge. However, after Nf6 24.g3 Qd7 25.Bg2 Ne7 Black is way too solid to be worse. 23...Rxc4 24.bxc4?! This move reminds me of Magnus' play in the fifth game of the match. The position is equal, but he refuses to accept the fact and starts playing risky, anti-positional moves to try to keep the game going. Why does he need to play this way? The match is equal and there's no need to overpress for a win. In this game his stubborn refusal to accept a draw finally backfired. 24.Rxc4 might not offer much, or nothing at all, but White doesn't risk losing and can perhaps press on for a little bit. I can't imagine Magnus opting out of this, and instead going for a strategically risky position, if he was in his usual frame of mind. 24...Nf6 24...N4e5 was my suggeston during the game, with the idea of playing ...Nc6 and trading rooks. Black should also be fine here, but Karjakin's way also worked out and led to far, far more interesting play. 25.Qd2 25.c5? is "almost" a trick: bxc5 26.Rxd8+ Qxd8 , and the a5-pawn is protected. 25...Rb8 25...Rd7? 26.c5! would be very bad for Black, so he had to surrender the d-file, but White has a hard time making use of his control of the d-file. 26.g3 Ne5 The knight is heading for c5 via d7. The a4-pawn is a serious weakness and White will have to compensate for that with piece activity. 27.Bg2 h6 28.f4 Ned7 29.Na7 Qa3 If it weren't for the weakness of e3, Black would actually be in serious trouble. But that was the cost for White of playing f4 to get the knight to c6. 30.Nc6 Rf8 31.h3?! Again, Magnus refuses to accept a safe position and keeps pushing his luck, even though it is obviously very risky to play this way, especially with approaching time trouble. 31.Rxd7 Nxd7 32.Qxd7 Qxe3+ 33.Kf1 Qc1+ 34.Kf2 , and most likely the position will end in a draw due to White's exposed king, but he risks absolutely nothing and perhaps can hope for some initiative in mutual time trouble. 31...Nc5 32.Kh2 Nxa4 The next few moves could easily be criticized, but the position is massively complex and very difficult to understand and play, especially in time trouble. 32...g6!? could be considered and might even transpose to the game after 33.Rd8 Nxa4 33.Rd8 33.e4 makes a lot of sense to me. The knight on f6 is going to have to move to a very awkward square after the upcoming e5. Nc5 34.e5 Nh5 The machine suggests the astonishing 34...Nfe4!? , which would never happen in a real, human game. 35.Qf2 This position is irrational and very difficult to assess. Black has the extra passed a-pawn and a dominant c5-knight and active queen. The knight on h5 is trapped on the edge of the board, but it also serves a purpose in creating counterplay against White's king. What would have happened in a game from this position is impossible to predict - the game could have gone either side's way. 33...g6 34.Qd4 Kg7 35.c5? Objectively a losing move, but I find it difficult to criticize the players for making mistakes in such a complex position, with so many options and limited time. White's situation was already difficult and this move practically worked out for Magnus. 35.Rd7 keeping the rooks on the board, was probably the best option for White. 35...Rxd8 35...bxc5?? 36.Qd6 Rxd8 37.Nxd8 with the unstoppable threat of Qe7 and Qxf7, was Carlsen's ingenious point. 36.Nxd8 Nxc5 37.Qd6 Qd3? Obviously Karjakin didn't miss White's next move, but in time trouble he probably didn't anticipate White's 41st. 37...Qa4! was the way to go, as many pointed out. It's natural Karjakin didn't want to give up b6 so easily, but after 38.Qxb6 Ncd7 the main point is the passed a-pawn. That will be enough for victory. 38.Nxe6+ fxe6 39.Qe7+ Kg8 40.Qxf6 a4 This pawn is a monster, but White creates quick counterplay against Black's king: 41.e4 At this point I started to believe Magnus might win! Black's king quickly becomes very vulnerable. Qd7! But this important defensive move made me realize Karjakin wasn't risking much. 41...a3 42.Qxg6+ Kf8 43.f5 would only be risky for Black, because his king is just so weak, and the threats of fxe6 and f6 are extremely dangerous. 42.Qxg6+ Qg7 43.Qe8+ Qf8 44.Qc6 44.Qg6+ doesn't necessarily lead to a draw, because Black can try Kh8 , and White still has to prove he is okay, which might not be so simple over the board. 44...Qd8 45.f5 White absoluely has to create counterplay, as otherwise the a-pawn will decide the game. I think special attention should be given to the beautiful knight on c5, which holds together Black's entire position: e6 and a4, as well as controlling the crucial e4 square in many lines. a3 46.fxe6 Kg7 46...Kh7 would force White to find a tough sequence of moves to draw: 47.e5! a2 48.Be4+! Nxe4 49.Qxe4+ Kg7 49...Kh8 50.e7 Qxe7 51.Qa8+ Kg7 52.Qxa2 is drawn. 50.Qb7+ Kg8 51.Qf7+ Kh8 52.Qf4 , and next Qxh6 leads to perpetual check. 47.e7 Qxe7 48.Qxb6 Nd3 49.Qa5? I think this is practically the decisive mistake from Magnus. As Alejandro Ramirez and I discussed during the game, 49.e5! should give White a relatively easy draw. The pawn is worthless - more important is for White to free the bishop on g2 from its cage. Nxe5 49...a2 50.Qd4! Nxe5 51.Bd5 wins the pawn. 50.Bd5 , and with the bishop actively controlling a2 I can't see how Black can ever win this position. 49...Qc5 50.Qa6 Ne5 This position looks horribly difficult for White to defend. It might even be objectively lost, but I don't think it matters over the board if there is a miracle draw somewhere. Practically, White's defensive task is impossible and I wasn't surprised to see the game end soon. 51.Qe6 h5 Now it's mathematically dead lost, and Carlsen's next just sped up his inevitable demise. 52.h4 a2 A huge win for Karjakin, to pull ahead in the match with Black and so close to the finish line. Carlsen's unimpressive play throughout the match might give added confidence to Karjakin, but as we've seen time and again, Carlsen has the unique ability to pull himelf together and bring tournaments and matches back in the eleventh hour, even when the odds are stacked against him. Perhaps this painful loss and the rest day before the ninth game will be enough of a wake-up for Carlsen to get his play together for the last four games. 52...a2 53.Qxa2 Ng4+ 54.Kh3 Qg1 55.Qb2+ Kg6! and the checks run out. White is mated or loses the queen after 56.Bf3 Nf2+ 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Carlsen,M2853Karjakin,S27720–12016E14WCh 20168

20.30 Hamburg / 14.30 New York: How many games  do you play a day to practise?.

20.24 Hamburg / 14.24 New York: Here you can see the press conference after game 6.

15.38 / 9.38 am: Norwegian Grandmaster and author Jonathan Tisdall published a noteworthy piece after game eight in mattogpatt.no - food for thought.

13.34 / 7.34 am: Accoring to the Spanish Sports newspaper Marca, Carlsen is threatened to be fined with 60.000 US-Dollars for not attending the press conference after the first decisive game. 

13.09 / 7.09 am: Daniel King did a round up show on playchess.com. Click here to watch it for free.

10.42 / 4.42 am: After the game Judit Polgar, official commentator for the match, offered an explanation why Carlsen risked so much in the game: "Magnus was really determined to have a decisive game today. ... He gave Sergey a lot of opportunities in this game. ... Magnus was so determined to win the game, even when it was hard to understand why he went on. He wanted to have a decisive game. The tension was so high for both players."

She then added: "But Magnus can punch back. But it is going to be extremely difficult. For both players."

10.02 / 4.02 am: The following short clip shows how Carlsen leaves the press conference.

9.19 Hamburg/ 3.19 New York: Daniel King published his analysis game 8. At 10 am /Hamburg time) you can follow his summary on playchess.com (We'll publish the video here as well).

10.15 Mumbai/ 5.45 Hamburg/ 23.45 New York: IM Sagar Shah analyzes the reason why Magnus Carlsen lost game eight. His conclusion was a clear lack of objectivity on the part of the World Champion. Full analysis and key positions explained on the ChessBase India newspage.

Sergey Karjakin is happy

1:34 / 7:34 pm: Carlsen attended the press conference for about a minute, but then got up and stormed off.

1:09 / 7:09 pm: Carlsen resigns!

1:02 / 7:02 pm: After 51...h5 Judit Polgar makes a prediction: Sergey Karjakin will win the game!

0:49 / 6.49 pm: 

Carlsen is making a very unhappy impression now - he has to defend an unpleasant ending

0:45 / 6.45 pm:  Karjakin is now a pawn down, but his strong knight and the passer on a3 give him more than enough compensation. 

0:19 / 6.19 pm: 

NOW: Double Mistake in urgency: - On the border of hazardous

0:09 / 6.09 pm: Stefan Löffler already thinks about the impact of this time trouble blunders on the upcoming games.

 

0:05 / 6.05 pm:

 

00.02 / 6.02 pm: To catch up: Carlsen took plenty of risk (35.c5) and seemingly blundered in time trouble - however Karjakin did not find the best defence, still emerges with a pawn up but has a very weak king. What a game we are having?!

23.56 / 5.56 pm:

Carlsen realizes that he has misplayed it

23.48 / 5.48 pm: Ian Nepomniachtchi already advices Carlsen to seek for some perpetual - has the world champion overpushed his luck?

23.40 / 5.40 pm:

Both players are down six minutes, the tension increases as Carlsen takes further risks.

23.18 / 5.18 pm: However, his colleague Daniel King sees it optimistically.

23.04 / 5.04 pm: British Grandmaster Conquest makes a reference to Magnus' opening choice in this game:

Johannes Hermann Zukertort was a 19th century chess player who competed in the 1st official World Championship Match in 1886. He lost it to Wilhelm Steinitz.

23.04 / 5.04 pm: According to world class player Ian Nepomniachtchi the position became very drawish.

22.55 / 4.55 pm: As Polgar and Caruana, Radjabov is not impressed with Karjakin's play in this middlegame.

22.42 / 4.42 pm: Caruana on Sergeys 21...Bxc4: "once you give up the bishop, there is no attack" - Magnus' king is out of danger now and white has a slight advantage.

22.33 / 4.33 pm: Both players only have a bit over 30 minutes for the next 20 moves - time trouble could become an issue.

22.32 / 4.32 pm: 

Current World Nr. 2 Fabiano Caruana joins the commentary team. He is not very impressed by Karjakin's maneuver Bc6 and Bd5.

22.14 / 4.14 pm: 

Sergey is probably trying to get through the variation jungle starting with 20...Qg5

21.55 / 3.55 pm: Magnus does not look very happy. Sergey has more time on the clock and quite promising attacking chances on the kingside. 

21.51 / 3.51 pm: Jonathan Rowson is less impressed by Carlsen's maneuvers:

21.28 / 3.28 pm: Judit's sister Susan ist also puzzled:

21.28 / 3.28 pm: Polgar is surprised by Magnus' choice of putting the Queen to e1: "...but it can be a genius move, it's like Magnus played it"

Carlsen playing 17.Qe1!?

21.02 / 3.02 pm: 

20.42 / 2.42 pm: Btw, today's 1st move was carried out by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.

"Sergey, is d4 ok for you as well?" (Foto: Max Avdeev)

20.30 / 2.30 pm: Dutch Grandmaster Erwin l'Ami believes Sergey considers to exchange the strong bishop on d3.

20.21 / 2.21 pm: Team Carlsen continues to try sidelines - this time Zukertort!

20.21 / 2.21 pm: 

Both players seem to be highly concentrated from the beginning.

20.20 / 2.20 pm: As the opening is less forcing than the Spanish mainlines we had so far, both players take their time to figure out the best move orders. Only seven moves played so far.

20.03 / 2.03 pm: Carlsen chooses 1.d4 today, but does not opt for the Trompovsky again, instead he continues rather slow with 2.Nf3 and 3.e3 - a clear sign that he will try to avoid theory and "play a long game" (Polgar).

19.57 Hamburg / 1.57 pm New York:

Magnus Carlsen arrives early at the board

19.53 Hamburg / 1.53 pm New York: Some minutes to go! Magnus Carlsen with the white pieces will try to put as much pressure as possible on his opponent, Judit Polgar expects a long battle.

World Chess Championship 2016 Newsblogs:

21.28 / 3.28 pm:

 

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