The one winning move
Magnus Carlsen is known for being a slow starter and for improving his form as tournaments develop. In Zagreb, the Norwegian won twice and lost twice in the first two days of action, as he stood two points behind the co-leaders entering the last three rounds of rapid. On Friday, though, he got himself in position to fight for tournament victory in the blitz.
Carlsen beat Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Constantin Lupulescu in rounds 8 and 9 to become the only player standing a point behind co-leaders Fabiano Caruana and Ian Nepomniachtchi.
His round-8 victory over Duda was surely impressive, as he found a stunning move in the following position — crucially, all other moves lose for White here!
Black is attacking the rook on c1, while in case of 20.Rc8+ Kd7 21.Rxh8, he counts with 21...Qe1+ 22.Kg2 Qxf2 23.Kh3 Qf1+ 24.Kg4 Qf5#.
But White is winning. And Carlsen, after thinking for a bit under two minutes, found the stunning reply that leaves him with a clearly superior position — he was double-checking his previous calculations surely, as he would not have entered this line otherwise.
There followed 20.Bg5, defending the rook on c1 from a square under attack from two sides! After 20...Nxg5, White can safely play 21.Rc8+ Ke7 22.Rxh8, gaining the exchange.
Mastering these tactical motifs is essential to deepen your understanding of the game and become a better player. After all, you neither want to overlook the given chances by your opponent, nor blunder yourself!More precise manoeuvres were required for White to win the game, but Carlsen did not falter. Ten moves later, Duda resigned.
Many spectators at the playing hall in Zagreb | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Lupulescu 0 - 1 Carlsen
Analysis by GM Karsten Müller
Another incredible tactical idea appeared in Carlsen’s next game, except that it was his opponent, Lupulescu, who had the chance to impress — and the Romanian, in fact, failed to find the move that would have saved the draw in a rook v knight endgame. Carlsen thus scored his second consecutive victory.
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 Na6 6.Be3 e5 7.dxe5 dxe5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.0-0-0+ Ke8 10.c5 c6 11.Bxa6 bxa6 12.Rd6 Bd7 13.h3 Ke7 14.Nf3 Ne8 15.Rhd1 Nxd6 16.cxd6+ Ke8 17.Na4 f6 18.Nd2 Kf7 19.Nc5 Be6 20.Nxe6 Kxe6 21.Nb3 Rhb8 22.Nc5+ Kf7 23.Nxa6 Rd8 24.Nc7 Rac8 25.Bxa7 Bf8 26.Bc5 Rd7 27.b4 Rcd8 28.a4 Bxd6 29.Bxd6 Rxd6 30.Rxd6 Rxd6 31.a5 Rd7 32.Na6 Ke7 33.Kc2 Rd4 34.f3 Kd6 35.Kc3 Rd1 36.Nc5 Rc1+ 37.Kb3? 37.Kb2 37...Rc4 37...Rg1?? 38.a6 Rxg2+ 39.Kb3 Rg1 40.a7 Ra1 41.Na4+- 38.Kb3= 37...Kc7 37...Rg1 38.Ne6+ Kb7 39.Nf8 Rg1 40.Nxh7 f5 40...Rxg2 41.Nxf6 Rg3-+ 41.g4 Rg3! 42.Ng5 fxe4! 43.Nxe4 Rxf3+ 44.Kc4 Rxh3 45.Nc5+ Kc7 46.a6 Rh1 46...Rh1 47.a7 Ra1-+ 0–1 
In this Fritztrainer: “Attack like a Super GM” with Gukesh we touch upon all aspects of his play, with special emphasis on how you can become a better attacking player.
Gukesh defeated Vishy Anand in their first-ever official confrontation | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Final standings - Rapid (win = 2 pts; draw = 1 pt)
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