Speed Chess: Vachier-Lagrave beats Carlsen, reaches final

by Klaus Besenthal
12/12/2020 – Hikaru Nakamura qualified to the final of the Speed Chess Championship on Wednesday with a narrow victory over Wesley So. On Friday, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave became the other finalist. The Frenchman defeated none other than world champion Magnus Carlsen with a 13:11 score after playing 24 blitz and bullet games (which were played with three different time controls). The final will be played today (Saturday) at 18:00 CET, Noon ET. | Image: chess.com
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Speed Chess Championship 2020

Each duel in the Speed Chess Championship consists of 90 minutes of 5+1 blitz games, 60 minutes of 3+1 blitz games and 30 minutes of 1+1 bullet games.

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave emerged from the 5+1 blitz section with a +1 lead. This was the game that allowed him to go into the remaining sections up on the scoreboard:

 
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1.e4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.d3 Qc7 4.Nc3 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5 7.Be2 Nd7 8.0-0 Ngf6 9.Be3 e6 10.Qd2 Nd5 11.Rae1 Nxe3 12.Qxe3 Be7 13.d4 0-0-0 14.c3 Kb8 15.b4 Nf6 16.Ne5 Bg6 17.Nc5 Nd5 18.Qf3 Bd6 19.Bc4 Bxe5 20.Rxe5 Nb6 21.Bb3 Nd7 22.Re2 Nxc5 23.bxc5 Rhe8 24.Rfe1 Re7 25.Bc2 Bxc2 26.Rxc2 e5 27.Rce2 Rde8 28.Qe4
After some minor fluctuations in the evaluation, complete equality was restored at this point. 28...g6 Not really a mistake, but there was a move that would have had greater benefit for Black. With 28...a6! Black could here improve his possibilities in resolving the tension in the centre. For example: 29.dxe5 Oder 29.Qxh7 exd4 30.Rxe7 Rxe7 31.Rxe7 Qxe7 32.cxd4 Qe1+ 33.Kh2 Qxf2 34.Qxg7 Ka7= 29...Rxe5 30.Qxe5 Rxe5 31.Rxe5 Qa5 32.Re7 Qxa2= 29.dxe5 Rd8 Here 29...Rxe5? does not work: 30.Qxe5 Rxe5 31.Rxe5 a6 32.Re7 Qa5 33.Rb1+- In fact, the black position fell apart a short time later, because White succeeds in playing e5-e6, thus 29...Re6! 30.Qh4 h5 31.e6! Rxe6 Black could also immediately go for the useful 31...a6 32.Rxe6 fxe6 33.Qf6! a6?! This probably comes a bit late. With 33...Qa5! the important g6 pawn could have been indirectly covered: 34.Qxg6?! Better is 34.Rxe6± White has the advantage, but is far from winning. 34...Qxc3 35.Qxe6 Qxc5= 34.Qxg6! Rd5 35.Qxe6 Rxc5 36.Qf6 Ra5 After this move the game should be lost for Black. Better was 36...Qa5! White also gets an attack against the black king here, but it is less effective than in the game: 37.Qd6+ Ka7 38.Re8 Qxc3 39.Qb8+ Kb6 40.Re7 Ka5 41.Rxb7± White still has to work to win the game. 37.Qd4 c5 38.Qd5 c4 Here 38...h4! would have caused more problems for White. 39.Qd4 Qc5 40.Re8+ Kc7 MVL can easily calculate the rest. Absolutely essential was 40...Ka7 41.Qf4+- 41.Qd8+ Kc6 42.Re6+ Kb5 43.Qd7+ 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Vachier Lagrave,M3080Carlsen,M31451–02020chess.com Speed 20201.6

In the 3+1 blitz section, seven games favoured the player who had the white pieces, which were followed by a single draw — in which Carlsen had white! Vachier-Lagrave was thus able to extend his lead.

Eight games were also played in the bullet-chess final section. Magnus Carlsen almost mounted a comeback in the end, but he could not overcome the two-point deficit. Vachier-Lagrave had knocked out the world champion.

Magnus Carlsen is not invincible, after all!

All games

 
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Replay and check the LiveBook here
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.

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Klaus Besenthal is computer scientist, has followed and still follows the chess scene avidly since 1972 and since then has also regularly played in tournaments.

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