Carlsen vs Karjakin, Game 11: A fighting draw!

by ChessBase
11/26/2016 – With one game to go the the World Championship match between Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin is tied at 5.5-5.5. After 34 moves game 11 ended in a draw. Karjakin had White but could not exert any pressure on Black. Carlsen impressed with the brilliant idea 19...d5 which gave him the initiative but that was not enough to win the game. Game 12 will follow on Monday. Newsblog - Nov. 26 ...
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World Chess Championship - Newsblog 2016-11-26

Game No 11 - Notes by Wesley So

 
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Notes by Wesley So - After wining Round 10 both players are tied now 5-5 but I have a sneaking suspicion that Magnus is gaining in control. If he achieves two more draws and they end tied, it's clear he won't be unhappy with rapid playoffs. Sergey just hasn't played as much Rapid and Blitz recently ... but then again ... this is the powerful Sergey Karjakin ... so we could be very surprised. Okay two games left to go and this is Number 11. 1.e4 This first move is expected, as Sergey sticks to the type of positions that he knows the best - 1.e4 gives him the best results based on his previous games. At least here he achieves playable and fighting positions, which are not easy to get against a well-prepared Magnus. A good idea I'm sure, as Sergey tried serving with 1.d4 back in Round 7, but was worse as early as move 11. e5 Did you expect something else? Magnus replies with this almost 90% of the time lately, so obviously he feels at home with it. Garry Kasparov once advised that in important games it's best to stick to the opening in which you have the most experience. 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 The Ruy Lopez may be the most classical opening in chess history, with references to it going all the way back to the year 1490. a6 Magnus' preference. 3...Nf6 was Sergey's choice in Rounds 3 and 10. 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 The main line. Black wants to keep the tension. Magnus has already played like this in Rounds 2, 4, and 6 of the match, so I guess this is what I expected him to play today. Naturally he is hoping to outplay White again like he did in Round 4 and in general his results with Black here are very good. (Which is why I was surprised he went for 5...b5 in Round 9.) 5...Nxe4 leads to very forcing variations, where prepration and memory play a huge part. However, the problem is that Black has to play very exact moves, and chances to win are almost non existent. 5...b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 was played in Round 9. But why is there a need for this when 5.. .Be7 is serving him well? 6.d3 Aiming for a closed setup, White hopes for a long game and plenty of manuevering and the reason White aims for the Closed Ruy Lopez these days, is because it has become increasingly difficult to gain anything in the Marshall Attack. 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 c6 is the starting position of the Marshall Attack. Black goes ...Bd6 and ..Qh4 next, gaining compensation for the sacrificed pawn based on the fact that White's queenside pieces are still undeveloped. 6...b5 7.Bb3 d6 I always thought that 7...0-0 is slightly more accurate to keep open options of playing d7-d5 in one move, but still after 8.Nc3 d6 9.a3 it just transposes to the game anyway. 8.a3 Reserving the a2-square for the bishop and controlling the b4-square. 8.a4 is an active alternative here and it leads to a slightly unusual position. I think the main difference is b4 is not controlled and Black may consider gaining space with b4 8...0-0 9.Nc3 Be6 Clever Magnus! He never plays the exact same line twice in a row. Just when Sergey is ready to face 9...Na5 again, as in Round 2, Black chooses a different move. 10.Nd5 10.Bxe6 fxe6 is an interesting possibility. Black has firm control of the center, but at the same time he has permanent doubled-pawns. Now I like the regrouping 11.Ne2 with the idea of preventing any kingside attacks by posting a knight on g3. Not sure if going for quiet positions like this is enough to beat the World Champion though. 10...Nd4 This move is well-known as Black's best here. It was first played by Peter Svidler of Russia back in 2013. I myself remember spending many, many hours of analysis work on this move back in 2014 (how fast time flies) however, not ever really being able to use it. After that, I decided not to waste so much time on lines that have a low chance of appearing in my games. I sometimes think perhaps that's what Magnus does as well. He knows how to be time-efficient. In this regard Anatoly Karpov is a good example, as he is well-known for being the most practical of the World Champions. He didn't really spend hundreds of hours researching the openings, but instead focused on the skill of selecting and absorbing new ideas. Anyway let's go back to the game. 10...Bxd5 is not recommended as in general you shouldn't give up your bishop pair at an early stage of the game. After 11.exd5 Nd4 12.Nxd4 exd4 13.Bd2 White is slightly better. If 10...Na5 White does not retreat his bishop, but instead goes 11.Nxf6+ Bxf6 12.Bxe6 fxe6 when the doubled e-pawns give him a head start. 13.b4 Nc6 14.c3 White is much better. 11.Nxd4 exd4 12.Nxf6+ I was a little surprised to see this move, which is thought to be harmless, appear in this game. In my notes I had 12.Nxe7+ Qxe7 13.Bg5 as the most critical and the only way to trouble Black. For example: Bxb3 13...c5 14.f4 14.cxb3 h6 14...Rac8 15.b4 c5 16.f4 15.Bh4 The pin is highly unpleasant and after Qe6 16.f4 White has chances for an attack on the kingside. c5 16...Nd7 17.f5 Qe5 18.b4 17.b4 Rfe8 17...Rac8 18.Rc1 18.f5!? 18.Rc1 Rac8 19.Re1 c4∞ 18...Qe5 19.Bg3 Qe7 20.bxc5 dxc5 21.e5 Nd5 22.f6 Qe6 23.fxg7 Ne3 24.Qd2 Nxf1 25.Rxf1∞ with a really complicated position. It's very possible though that my notes are outdated. However it seems to me that Black still has to play extremely accurately to equalize. 12...Bxf6 13.Bxe6 fxe6 14.f4 Sergey makes a natural move, while keeping all of his options open. Options such as Qg4, g4-g5, or Rf3-h3. White is basically up a pawn on the kingside right now (3 vs 2), so it is clear he should focus his attention there. But I thought that Black showed the way to equalize after two top level games played in 2013, when everyone was still using the chess engine 'Houdini' and computers and the Internet were significantly slower. In those two games, Black made easy draws. 14.a4 c5 15.Qg4 Qd7 16.axb5 axb5 17.Bd2 c4 18.Bb4 Ra4! The best way to force exchanges. 19.Rxa4 bxa4 20.dxc4 Rc8 21.Qg3 21.Qe2 Qc6= 21...Rxc4 22.Bxd6 Rxc2= and the game ended in a draw soon in Anand-Svidler, Alekhine Memorial 2013. 14.Qg4 Qc8 15.f4 e5 16.f5 c5 Black has a 'pawn diamond' in the center and quick counterplay along the c-file. His king's position is quite shaky but White does not have enough time to exploit this. 17.Bg5 17.Rf3 c4 18.Rh3 Qe8∞ prevents Qh5, and prepares Rc8-c2. 17...Kh8 17...c4 18.Bxf6 Rxf6= might be easier. 18.Rf3 c4 19.Rh3 19.Raf1 might be a possible improvement to allow defence of the 2nd rank later in some cases with R1f2. 19...Bxg5 20.Qxg5 Rf6 21.g4 cxd3 22.cxd3 Qc2 23.Rc1 Qe2! 24.Rc7 Qe1+ 25.Kg2 Qe2+ 26.Kg1 Qe1+ 27.Kg2 Qe2+ 28.Kg1 ½-½ Leko -Caruana, Dortmund 2013. 14...c5 Preparing queenside counterplay later with c5-c4. 14...e5 is an alternative, but perhaps Magnus didn't want to close the center right away. After 15.f5 c5 16.Rf3 c4 17.Rh3 looks quite scary for Black, and if Qe8 18.g4!? with some attacking chances. 14...Qd7 15.Qg4 c5 just transposes to the game. 15.Qg4 15.Rf3 c4 16.Rh3 can simply be met by Rf7 to meet Or 16...Qd7 17.Qh5 with g6 15...Qd7 15...Qc8!? like in Leko-Caruana was a good option. Later after the opening of the c-file, a quick Qc2 is in the agenda. After 16.Bd2 16.f5 exf5 17.exf5 Be5 18.Qf3 Ra7∞ 16...e5 17.f5 c4 Black has sufficient counterplay. 16.f5 Releasing the tension and allowing trades. I feel that Sergey no longer believes that White has much going on and decides to loosen up the position. After all, in the event of an endgame Black still has his doubled d-pawns to worry about (though it's hard for White to make use of his better pawn structure). If White wants to keep fighting chances then perhaps he should go for 16.Bd2 or 16.Rf3. So here I can recommend for White 16.Bd2 c4 And now 17.b3 17.Rf3 c3! 18.bxc3 dxc3 19.Be3 d5 20.e5 Be7 21.Rh3 Rf7 17...Rac8 18.h3 cxb3 19.cxb3 Rc2 20.Bb4 Be7 21.a4 with a small advantage. 16.Rf3 c4 Or 16.b3 c4 and the overall position of the picture does not change. 16...Rae8 Already, Black has more than one way to equality. 16...exf5 Is just fine, to clarify the situation right away. 17.exf5 17.Rxf5 Rf7 18.Bd2 g6= 17...Rae8 17...Rf7 18.Bd2 Re8 18...c4 19.Rae1 Be5 20.Rf2 c4= 18.Bd2 And now g6 to eliminate White's spearhead. 19.h3 19.Bh6 Bg7 20.Bxg7 Rxf5 21.Rxf5 gxf5 22.Qg3 Qxg7= 19...Be5 20.fxg6 Qxg4 21.gxh7+ Kxh7 22.hxg4 Bg3! And with control over the open file, Black should be able to play ...Re2 in the near future. Control of the 2nd rank should give him enough compensation for the pawn. Even 16...e5 although it's no longer necessary to go for a complicated middlegame. 17.Bd2 c4 18.h3 Protecting the queen on g4 so he can take on f5 later with the rook. It also puts a pawn on a light-square to ensure that in case they go into some deep endgame, Black cannot capture this h-pawn with his bishop. 18.fxe6 Qxe6 19.Qxe6+ Rxe6 20.Bb4 Rd8 followed by posting a bishop on e5, hence guarding his doubled-pawns. The endgame is level. 18.b3 exf5 19.exf5 Be5 19...cxb3 20.cxb3 Re5= 20.Rf2 cxb3 21.cxb3 Rc8= in general, Black's play is quite easy and he has many options to choose from in each move. 18...c3!? The most unbalanced continuation. Black disrupts the coordination of White's queenside before he has the time to consolidate with b3 and a4. Many paths lead to equality. A normal continuation would be 18...Be5 19.fxe6 Rxf1+ 20.Rxf1 Qxe6= 18...exf5 19.Rxf5 and now Black just has to avoid g6? 20.Rxf6 when the White queen is protected. 18...e5∞ also gives an unclear position, but as I said, there is no more point to keeping the center closed, when Black has easier alternatives. 19.bxc3 d5!? Perhaps trying to confuse White, but as usual, Sergey keeps his nerve. 19...dxc3 20.Be3 d5 21.Bc5 Rf7= 20.Bg5 What follows now is another series of exchanges, where each side takes away material from the board consecutively. The most obvious continuation is 20.fxe6 but after Qxe6 21.Qxe6+ Rxe6 22.exd5 Re2 White has some tricky problems to solve. 23.Rf2 Rxf2 24.Kxf2 Bg5+ 24...dxc3 25.Be1 Rd8= is perhaps just equal too. 25.Ke2 Bxd2 26.Kxd2 Rf2+ 27.Ke1 Rxc2 White's position looks scary, but according to the calculator, White holds the balance with: 28.c4! 28.cxd4? Rxg2 29.Kf1 Rh2 30.d6 Kf7-+ looks like a typical Carlsen grind. 28.d6 Kf7 and the difference in the activity of the kings will be crucial. 20.c4!? is fine, since the pawn on c3 was lost anyway. White now gets some stability in the center and after dxc4 20...dxe4 21.Bb4 21.Bb4 Rf7 22.fxe6 Qxe6 23.Qxe6 Rxe6 24.Rf5= the ending is just equal. Though not 20.exd5 exf5 21.Qf3 dxc3 22.Be3 when White is slightly worse, as now it is he who has the doubled-pawns. Re5 20...Bxg5 20...dxc3 21.Bxf6 Rxf6 22.exd5 exd5 23.a4= 21.Qxg5 dxe4 22.fxe6 Rxf1+ 23.Rxf1 Qxe6 24.cxd4 e3!? Perhaps trying to put psychological stress on the opponent. There is always pressure when you have to make a draw from a defensive point of view. Now instead of making natural moves, White has to remain alert that the passed e-pawn does not become unstoppable. Instead of 24...e3, Black has at least three ways to make a relatively easy draw. 24...exd3 25.cxd3 Qe3+ 25...h6 26.Qc5 Qe3+ 27.Kh2 Qxd3= is another way. 26.Qxe3 Rxe3 27.Rd1 Re2! And because of the control of the 2nd rank and counterplay on the a3-pawn, Black makes a draw by straightforward moves. 28.Rc1 28.d5 Kf7 29.Rc1 Ra2= 28...Ra2 29.Rc3 Kf7= Or 24...Qd6 25.Qc5 25.Qe3 Qxa3 25...Rd8 26.Qxd6 Rxd6 27.dxe4 Rxd4 28.e5 Re4 29.Rf5 Re3= as they say, all rook endings are drawn. 25.Re1 25.Qg4 Qe7 26.Qf3= 25.d5?! is an example of how things can go wrong for White. Qb6 26.Re1 e2+ 27.Kh1 Qf2 28.Qd2 Re3 29.d6 Kf7 and there is some problems with the White king immobile in the corner. 25...h6 25...e2 26.Qd2 g6 27.Qf4 27.d5= 27...Qe7 28.Qd2= 26.Qh5 e2 27.Qf3 a5!? Pushing the a-pawn one step closer to promotion, just in case a pawn race happens down the line. Is Magnus still trying to win? Surely he's hoping for Sergey to make a small mistake or better, a major blunder, but really that doesn't happen often. Also, Black's problem is that his king lacks a fortress, meaning it is going to be hard to escape from queen checks later on. Almost all moves lead to a draw now. 27...Qd6 28.Rxe2 Qxd4+ 29.Kh1 Rxe2 30.Qxe2 Qa1+ 31.Kh2 Qxa3= 28.c3 28.d5 Qe5 28...Qe7 29.d6 Qxd6 30.Rxe2= 29.d6= 28...Qa2 Protecting the e2-pawn while at the same time threatening to take the guy on a3, or play Qd2, attacking the rook on e1. 29.Qc6! But Black's queen escapade has left his rook and king a little vulnerable too. Re6 29...Re7 30.Qc8+ Kh7 31.Qf5+ Hoping for perpetual check. g6 32.Qf8= There is no way for Black to make progress, as he cannot attack and defend at the same time. 30.Qc8+ Now is not the time to grab pawns: 30.Qxb5? Qd2 31.Qb1 Qxc3 32.d5 Qd4+ 33.Kh2 Qxd5 and White's greed has got him nothing but trouble. 30...Kh7 31.c4 Qd2 32.Qxe6 Qxe1+ 33.Kh2 Qf2 34.Qe4+ Draw. A quiet but well-played game by two experienced players. Today they decided to go for the Closed Ruy Lopez with 6. d3. Sergey played the same moves as in Round 2, but Magnus decided to deviate with 9...Be6 just in case his opponent prepared something viscious against his pet line with 9...Na5. What followed after 9...Be6 was a series of liquidations, with each player trading three minor pieces each, though Black had to accept doubled d-pawns. Moves 14-16 were critical to see if White can prove an advantage, but in the end Sergey decided to release the tension with 16.f5. What followed was a series of exchanges and with even Magnus trying to spice up the game a bit with 18...c3!? and 19...d5!? Sergey held fast, exchanged a few more pieces, and in the end the game never really left the boundaries of equality. Tomorrow is the last Round and let's see if Magnus' sister's prediction that he will win his last two White games comes true. Maybe this game is just the deep breath before the explosion. ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Karjakin,S2772Carlsen,M2853½–½2016C77AGON FWCM 201611

Who do you think will win the match? And will there be a tie-break?

Who will win the World Championship Match 2016?
Magnus Carlsen, after 12 games170
47%
Magnus Carlsen, after tie-break134
37%
Sergey Karjakin, after tie-break34
9%
Sergey Karjakin, after 12 games22
6%

12.15 Mumbai / 7.45 Hamburg / 1.47 New York: Peter Svidler has experienced this variation in depth in his own games. ChessBase India reports on the eleventh game with key positions and analysis by 12-year-old prodigy Nihal Sarin: A Tale of Two Pawn Structures.

23.24 / 17.24: Draw - after 34 moves game 11 ended in a draw by perpetual check. With one game to go the score is 5.5-5.5.

23.20 / 17.20: Is there a way for Black to avoid the draw by perpetual?

Position after 31.c4

23.16 / 17.16: Carlsen has a passed pawn on e2, but the exposed position of his king makes perpetual check the most likely result.

23.00 / 17.00: The engines evaluate the position on the board as equal but a pawn down Carlsen is pushing - he might, however, overpress.

22.51 / 16.51: Carlsen has a passed pawn on e2, but White is a pawn up. Judit Polgar predicts that the game will end in a perpetual check - and possibly soon.

Position after 27.Qf3

22.30 / 16.30: Carlsen avoids a drawish line and instead creates a passed pawn to keep tension in the game. However, the engines evaluate the position as completely equal.

Position after 24...e3

21.56 / 15.56: After thinking for more than 27 minutes Karjakin goes for 20.Bg5, after which the position could quickly simplify to a drawish ending.

 

21.47 / 15.38: With 19...d5!? Carlsen suddenly sets the pace of the game.

21.38 / 15.38: Karjakin after 19...d5.

21.29 / 15.29: Things get exciting. Due to Carlsen's 19...d5!?

Position after 19...d5

"A brilliant idea and I think it's also a very good idea. Moves like these are the reason why Carlsen is World Champion." Judit Polgar

21.20 / 15.20: The computers did not like 18.h3, but Jonathan Rowson did...

... but Anish Giri did not.

 

Position after 18.h3

21.00 / 15.00: Not enough excitement?

20.45 / 14.45: Judit Polgar: "I have a feeling, Sergey will not be pushing too hard today."

20.39 / 14.39: After 16.f5 by Karjakin Carlsen ponders the possibe pawn structures that might arise.

20.30 / 14.30: Jonathan Rowson likes White's position - intuitively.

20.20 / 14.20: With 14...c5 Carlsen enters new territory - this position has not been seen yet in practice.

Karjakin quickly replied with 15.Qg4 and for the first time in the game Carlsen started thinking.

20.10 / 14.10: After ten moves a position is reached that has already been played in dozens of grandmaster games.

20.07 / 14.07: "This game can become extremely solid. Both sides do not seem to want to take too many risks." Judit Polgar

20.01 / 14.01: It's a Ruy Lopez again and with 6.d3 Karjakin chooses a solid approach.

19.58 / 13. 58: Sergey Karjakin was first at the board.

19.42 / 13.42: Game 11 will begin in a few minutes. Karjakin plays with White. Will he again open with 1.e4? And will Carlsen again go for a Ruy Lopez, sacrificing a pawn to get pressure?

19.27 / 13.27: The twelve participants of the FIDE Women Grand Prix in Khanty-Mansiysik give the World Champion better chances:

The World Champion has eight supporters...

... but the four Russians Alexandra Kosteniuk, Valentina Gunina, Olga Girya
and Natalija Pogonina support the challenger Sergey Karjakin.

13.00 / 07.00: And that's what the players say - or not say about the possibility of a tie-break.

12.30 / 06.30: Indeed: "Never mind football’s Champions League, the Test match cricket or the Formula 1 - the most exciting sporting event on the planet right now is the World Chess Championship match in New York." Says the Independent.

Zuschauer in New York - Foto: Getty/Agon

12.00 Hamburg / 06.00 New York: Who will better cope with the pressure? Magnus Carlsen or Sergey Karjakin? Carlsen likes to play basketball and here is what basketball legend Michael Jordan has to say about playing under pressure: “I never looked at the consequences of missing a big shot… when you think about the consequences you always think of a negative result. ... Just play, have fun, enjoy the game.”

Michael Jordan (Photo: Steve Lipofsky, Wikipedia)

World Chess Championship - News 2016-11-25

17.45 / 11.56 am: Our reporter Maxim Dlugy followed game ten live. Grandmasters were electrified after 20.Nd2 and before 20...d5.

Question: Magnus, can you describe the tension and the relief, right now?

Question: What's the strategy for the two last games. Laconic answer by Sergey Karjakin

16.56 Hamburg / 10.56 am New York: Yannick Pelletier did a round up show on game 10 on playchess.com. Watch it here.

13.30 / 7.30: Press conference of game 10: Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin aswer questions from the journalists.

13.09 / 7.09: Press conference of game 10: Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin share their thoughts about the game.

12.13 / 6.13: Daniel King shows in his video analysis the dramtic moments of game 10.

13.14 / 7.14 am: Spanish novelist Fernando Arrabal joins the scene. Using a metaphor by Garry Kasparov, the vegetarian times are obviously over. Arrabal, who is living in Paris, commentates: "Magnus Carlsen is not eating flesh. He gorges himself on flesh."

 

World Chess Championship 2016 Newsblogs:

Reports about chess: tournaments, championships, portraits, interviews, World Championships, product launches and more.

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Raymond Labelle Raymond Labelle 11/28/2016 03:35
@airo

Thank you for the feedback and the good words airo. Thanks also to Griffe d'ours for the feedback. Nice team work.
airo airo 11/27/2016 08:18
@Raymond Labelle

Your latest version seems spot on! I like the "living flesh" bit!
Raymond Labelle Raymond Labelle 11/27/2016 05:06
@Griffedours

"When we say of someone that he does not eat meat, it means he is a vegetarian.
And when we say of someone he devours the flesh, it means he is someone like Gollum in the lord of the ring.
Is it about the same in English?" Griffe d'ours.

It is true that to say that someone does not eat meat generally implies that the person is a vegetarian, but I would say that the context is here different. The same can be said about English I would say.

That being said, it is not forbidden to improve the original text to convey even better the intent of the author and remove any possible remaining ambiguity, which leads to what follows.

@airo

Your suggestion is quite good - it addresses the possible ambiguity raised by Griffe d'ours by the addition of "simply" for the reasons you very well explained. However, I did like the meat/flesh opposition found in the original text, and it is also intended by the author – after all, we are translating. I thus propose:

"Magnus does not simply eat meat; he devours living flesh."
Petrarlsen Petrarlsen 11/27/2016 02:14
@ scoobeedo : I globally quite agree with your last comment. But not when you say : "Chess (...) is not a work". For a player of Carlsen's (or Karjakin's) level, it is also a "work". And there aren't many jobs where you can have so much at stake in one moment than - sometimes - in a World Championship game in chess : money, obviously, but also invitations for future tournaments, the "automatic" participation at the next World Championship match, sponsors... A victory in one game of a World Championship match can change your whole life at this level. I don't think at all that it is really possible to say, in such circumstances : "don't take this too seriously, it is only a game" ; no, in my opinion, chess is not "only a game" for players of this level...
airo airo 11/27/2016 10:50
@Raymond Labelle / @Griffedours

I'm neither a French nor an English native speaker, however I would translate it as "Magnus does not simply eat meat, he devours it!". Granted, "la chair" is not translated in my rendering but the point the original French text makes is that Magnus does not content himself with eating meat, he positively destroys it! "Simply" is necessary to convey the semantic strength of the juxtaposition between "ne mange pas" and "dévore", in my opinion.
scoobeedo scoobeedo 11/27/2016 10:07
The comment from Nostalgiac1972 is very good.

But the problem is somewhere else.
And Carlsen said it in a short comment:
"It is very long time ago that I did not win in 10 games at least 1 game."

Carlsen is in a psychological very difficult situation. Karjakin did destroy the confidence of Carlsen. That is very clever. He just said "Show me what you got.".

And Carlsen lost with every following game more of his superior confidence.

The result was just what was to expect. That he lost this game. It was not Karjakin who won it, Carlsen lost it.

The break day after it was the rescue for Carlsen, because his team could stabilize a knocked on Carlsen.

The game which Carlsen won showed that his team calibrated him.

But Carlsens Psycho Suit is still very fragile.

And Karjakin just play the little innocent school boy.

It is not anymore about chess, it is much more ...

- - -

The picture of the hand shake before the game 11 says a lot. Carlsen do not like to be there.

A tip for him:

Magnus, go to play basketball, 3-4 hours before the next game!
And then go under a cold shower, and enter the cage with a smile!

And then think by yourself, Lets have fun.

Chess is still a great game and not a work, Magnus!!!

Your biggest weapon was always your smile. It was a protection for you. Come on Magnus, lets Rock-n-Roll ...
imdvb_8793 imdvb_8793 11/27/2016 09:23
"It would be great, and it would be a sensation, if both players write together a book about this match and analyze the games from both sides in the same book. This book would write history ..."

Like they used to in the old days - yeah, that'd be awesome!... Even just one of them writing a book would be great. :)
Aighearach Aighearach 11/27/2016 09:01
@Griffedours: Yes, in English it is exactly the same.

@geraldsky: Some are speculating that Magnus is saving c4 or Nf3 for game 12. It is hard to keep repeating similar openings in a match.
scoobeedo scoobeedo 11/27/2016 05:04
Magnus is for sure surprised about the power of Sergej.

Sergej is perfect prepared.

That Magnus won this game was ok because the match was a even match.

- - -

I think that Magnus and Sergej like each other, but the current situation block them for a while to smile to each other.

It would be great, and it would be a sensation, if both players write together a book about this match and analyze the games from both sides in the same book. This book would write history ...

Chessbase would for sure very helpful to get this project done!
geraldsky geraldsky 11/27/2016 04:25
Sicilian Defense would be played if one of them is behind in score.But the score still even...so Ruy Lopez or even Italian is expected for the last game.
Griffedours Griffedours 11/27/2016 02:47
From a french reader about Fernando's quote.
When we say of someome he does not eat meat, it means he is a vegetarian.
And when we say of someone he devours the flesh, it means he is someone like gollum in the lord of the ring.
Is is about the same in english?
vincero vincero 11/27/2016 01:45
magnus has shown himself to be still immature.....no way to to underestimate the stress of this but much more impressed with the character of sergey.
jsaldea12 jsaldea12 11/27/2016 01:25
We are seeing an epic battle in chess. Both players are giving their best.
Hawkman Hawkman 11/27/2016 12:27
12 games is a joke for a WC. Kasparov vs Karpov, 1990 was 24 games.
kyi kyi 11/27/2016 12:05
The world champion is unmarried. I believe 12 girl chess players at Grand Prix want to mate with him.
KevinC KevinC 11/26/2016 06:27
The pressure is all back on Karjakin's shoulders. That last game was pretty bad on his part, and finally showed some nerves or fatigue...I'm not sure which.
A7fecd1676b88 A7fecd1676b88 11/26/2016 05:56
Obviously the match is not long enough to determine who the best player is.
Short matches introduce too much luck. Chess is supposed to be a game of skill.
Raymond Labelle Raymond Labelle 11/26/2016 03:14
My proposed translation (from French) of Fernando Arrabal's sentence quoted above:

"Magnus Carlsen does not eat meat; he devours the flesh".

Original text: Magnus Carlsen ne mange pas de viande; il dévore la chair.

"Viande" in this context is better rendered by "meat". Also, in the first part of the French sentence, "de viande" is indefinite whereas in "la chair", "la" is a definite article, which I do put in my proposed translation.

F. Arrabal may have wanted to convey the message that MC is not just consuming some meat, like anyone else, but THE flesh. Also, meat is dead flesh - the author may have wanted to convey the message that MC eats living flesh, while alive, rather than dead meat - to make him look even more ferocious. Of course, this is an image applied to chess: the author may think that, otherwise, Magnus is a nice guy...

Also, "dévorer" is really perfectly rendered by "to devour", defined as follows in the Merriam-Webster dictionary:

1 : to eat up greedily or ravenously

2 : to use up or destroy as if by eating <we are devouring the world's resources>

3 : to prey upon <devoured by guilt>

4 : to enjoy avidly <devours books>.

Only meaning 1 is here relevant - but even the other meanings correspond also perfectly to the use of the verb in French.

"(,,,) gorges himself with flesh" may render the same idea - but "to devour" is an exact synonymous of "dévorer". Maybe "to devour" is not that used and thus, known, in English, which is why "(...) gorges himself with flesh" was preferred.
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