The duel: Magnus Carlsen vs Sergey Karjakin

by Johannes Fischer
7/21/2016 – Today, 21st July 2016, 16.00 CEST, Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin will meet in the eighth round of the Bilbao Masters. It is the last game these two will play before their World Championship match in November and it will be their 21st game with classical time-control. The current overall score favors Carlsen: He won 4 games, lost 1, 15 were drawn. All five decisive encounters were examples of brilliant modern chess. Here they are again – with comments by Mihail Marin, Sergey Karjakin and Magnus Carlsen.
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Nine years ago: Sergey Karjakin (left) and Magnus Carlsen (right) in Bilbao 2007

Sergey Karjakin (born 12th January 1990 in Simferopol, Ukraine) and Magnus Carlsen (born 30. November 1990 in Tonsberg, Vestfold, Norway) were both chess prodigies. Sergey Karjakin became grandmaster at the age of 12 years and 7 months and still holds the record for being the youngest grandmaster of all time.

Sergey Karjakin

Magnus Carlsen was a bit slower to gain the grandmaster title. He secured it at the age of 13 years, 4 months and 27 days, which makes him the third youngest grandmaster of all time – the Indian Parimarjan Negi was five days younger when he won the title.

Magnus Carlsen

It was on 18th January 2005, in Group-B of the Corus Tournament in Wijk aan Zee that Carlsen and Karjakin played their first game with classical time-control. After interesting and wild play – particularly from Carlsen who had White – the game was drawn after 40 moves.

A draw was also the result of their next four games, but five years after their first encounter, Carlsen scored a win. This time they played in Group-A of the Corus Tournament in Wijk aan Zee. Carlsen annotated this game for ChessBase – one of 24 games he annotated for the Mega Database. If games and comments would were printed the result would be a reasonably sized book which could hope for very good sales.

Here’s Carlsen’s first win against Karjakin – with comments by the World Champion.

 
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1.e4 e6!? The French Defence. In my younger years I used to consider it at best a second-rate opening, and I once even lost a bet with one of my friends, and as a result had to play 1... e6 in all my games with Black in a Super-GM tournament. Fortunately my friend was greedy, and took money instead. I believe that both 1...c5 and 1...e5! are better choices, but since I desperately wanted to win this game (I was trailing the leaders Kramnik and Shirov by 1 point at this stage) I decided to try something new. 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 The other main move here is 3...Bb4, which is rather more controversial. Some think it gives Black good counterplay, while others regard it as a simple positional mistake to give up the bishop too early. 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 Be7 Other options here are the relatively slow 7... a6, or the more concrete 7...cxd4 followed by ...Qb6 or 7...Qb6 immediately, both of which are rated quite highly by Wesley So and his Rybka (see the previous issue of NiC). 8.Qd2 0-0 9.Be2 a6 10.0-0 b5 11.Kh1!? An interesting, quite unusual move. 11.a3 or 11.Nd1 are the most usual moves here. The text is actually a quite cunning waiting move, as ...b4 and a5-Ba6 (the normal reply to Nd1) can now be met by Na4, while ...Bb7 (one of several possible replies to a3) can be met by Nd1. Then Black will probably have to play ...b4 and a5-Ba6 anyway, but with a tempo less. Therefore I decided to be more flexible, and make a more or less useful waiting move. Qc7 12.a3 Bb7 13.Rad1 Rac8 14.Qe1 A typical manoeuvre. White intends to gradually start an attack on the kingside. Therefore I decided to start counterplay in the centre immediately. cxd4 15.Nxd4 Nxd4 16.Bxd4 Bc5 17.Qh4? While this move might objectively speaking not deserve a question mark, it was definitely a turning point in the game, as after my reply, Karjakin became very uncomfortable with his position. 17.Qf2 or something similar was required, as the queen needs to have more influence in the centre after I play ...f6, which is bound to happen sooner or later. 17...Bxd4 18.Rxd4 f6! 19.Bd3 This one probably doesn't help much either, but since it was part of the plan with Qh4, I will not attach any mark to it. h6 20.exf6 20.Qg4 Qb6! would not help White. 20.f5 fxe5 21.Rg4 Nf6 stops any illusions of a white attack. 20...Rxf6 Now it is clear that something has gone wrong for White. The rook on d4 is exposed, f4 is weak, and he will be facing tactical problems with ...e5 quite soon. The "bad" bishop on b7 is certainly no worse than the white knight, which has dominated it in so many textbook games. 21.f5 21.Rg1 Rcf8 22.Ne2 e5 23.fxe5 Nxe5 would not have been much of a relief; the black pieces are just much more active than their white counterparts here. 21.Qg3 Rcf8 22.Rf3 Nb8! leaves White on brink of disaster. 21...Rcf8 22.Rg1 Nc5! The most energetic. The tempting 22...e5 23.Nxd5 Bxd5 24.Rxd5 Nb6 trapping the rook, gives White very good drawing chances after 25.Qe4 Nxd5 26.Qxd5+ Kh8 27.Re1 . 23.fxe6 Nxe6 24.Rg4?! 24.Nxd5 Bxd5 25.Rxd5 Nf4 26.Rd4 Qc5 forces White to give up the exchange with Rxf4, as 27.c3 Nxd3 28.Rxd3 Qxg1+ 29.Kxg1 Rf1# is mate. That being said, it would probably have been a better try. 24...Nf4 25.Qg3 Qe7! The last key move, after which Black is completely winning. The point is to control e2, leaving the white knight without a good square after ...d4 next. The tactical justification, based on a slightly surprising queen sac, is: 26.Rxf4 After this Black will only have to make a couple of more good moves to win the game, but White was probably lost in any case. 26.h3 d4 27.Re1 27.Ne2 Nxe2 28.Bxe2 Bc8! wins an exchange, while nach 27.Nd1 Bc8 28.Re1 Qf7 29.Rh4 Bb7 30.Rg1 Nxg2! 30...g5 is also very good of course 31.Rxg2 Rf3 32.Qg4 Re8 leaves the uncoordinated white forces defenceless against the threat of ...Re1. 27...Qxe1+! 28.Qxe1 Nxd3 and Black will be material up in every line. 26...Rxf4 27.Ne2 27.Qg6 R8f6 28.Qh7+ Kf7 is obviously not dangerous. 27...Rf1 27...Rh4 with the idea of 28.Qg6 Rxh2+, mating was tempting, but I could not refute the considerably stronger 28.c3. 28.Nd4 Now Black can force a queen exchange, but 28.h3 Rxg1+ 29.Kxg1 Qc5+ 30.Kh2 d4! finally activating the bishop, was hardly much stronger. 28...Rxg1+ 29.Kxg1 Re8 With queens on the board White could perhaps have hoped to resist, but without queens the extra exchange is bound to count, even though the knight on d4 is holding the position together for the moment. 30.h4 Qe1+ 31.Kh2 Qxg3+ 32.Kxg3 Kf7 33.Kf2 Kf6 34.g3 Bc8 35.c3 Bg4 36.Bc2 g5 37.hxg5+ hxg5 38.Bb3 Ke5 39.Bc2 Rf8+ 40.Kg2 Bd7 41.Nf3+ Kf6 42.Bb3 g4 43.Nd4 Ke5 Now the white king is cut off, and the undermining a5+b4 cannot be prevented. 44.Bc2 a5 45.Bd1 Ke4 My best game in Corus 2010! 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Karjakin,S2720Carlsen,M28100–12010C11Corus10

But two years later, in 2012, Karjakin managed to get revenge – again in Wijk aan Zee, but this time in the Tata Steel Tournament.

Here’s the game with comments by Karjakin who over the years also "wrote a book" for ChessBase – he annotated 27 games for the Mega.

 
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1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 b6 3.Nc3 Bb7 4.d4 e6 5.a3 d5 6.Bg5 Be7 7.e3 0-0 8.Rc1 Magnus chooses the rare moves of the Petrosian line and already here I started to think... h6 Not the most common move, which was evaluated differently! 9.Bxf6 Bxf6 10.cxd5 exd5 11.Bd3 c5 12.0-0 I heard different evaluations of this position. Aronian told me that this is a famous position from the Queen's Gambit with an extra tempo for White, but Magnus said that the position is absolutely harmless for Black... Na6 Preparing Nc7-e6, but later the knight went another way... 13.Ne5 Interesting try, White is preparing f2-f4. I expected more Ne2 and then Ng3 or Nf4. Also possible was Bb1 with an unclear position. cxd4 14.exd4 Bxe5 The interesting alternative 14...Nc5 seemed quite risky to me in view of 15.Nxf7 A quieter move is 15.f4 15...Rxf7 16.dxc5 bxc5 17.Qh5 and for the human the position looks very dangerous with such a weak diagonal b1-h7. 15.dxe5 Nc5 16.Re1! The only one try to fight for an advantage! 16.Nb5 Nxd3 17.Qxd3 Ba6= is fine for Black, for example: 18.f4 Rc8 19.Rce1?! Trying to play for a win. White should make a draw after 19.Rxc8 Qxc8 20.Qxd5 Qc5+ 21.Qxc5 bxc5 22.a4 Bxb5 23.axb5 Rb8= 19...Qd7 20.a4 Rc4! 21.b3 Bxb5 22.axb5 Rb4 16...Re8 The most logical move does not work: 16...d4 17.Ne4 Bxe4 17...Qd5? 18.Bc4! Qxe5 19.Nxc5 Qxc5 20.Bxf7++- 18.Bxe4 d3 19.Rxc5 bxc5 20.Bxa8 Qxa8 21.Qxd3 with an extra pawn for White. 17.f4?! After this move White is not fighting for an advantage any longer! White should have played 17.Bf1 a6 Black should cover the b5-square. 18.Rc2! keeping a minimal advantage. 17...d4 18.Ne4? Almost the decisive mistake! After this move White gets a very bad position... 18.Nb5 Qd5 19.Rc2 Nxd3 20.Qxd3 Ba6 21.a4 Bxb5 22.axb5 Rac8 with a draw. 18...Bxe4 19.Bxe4 d3! Nice move, which because of the inclusion 16...Re8 17.f4 now works! 20.Rc4 I also thought this is the strongest, but the lesser evil was 20.Re3. 20.Bxa8 d2 21.Bc6 Qd4+ 22.Kh1 dxe1Q+ 23.Qxe1 Nd3 24.Qf1 Re6 25.Rc2 Nxf4 20.Re3! Qd4 21.Qf3 Rac8 22.Rd1 d2 23.Kf1 and White is somehow holding.. . 20.Rxc5 Qd4+! Here we can understand the importance of the inclusion 16...Re8 17.f4. 20...Rc8 21.Bf5 Qd5 Also strong was 21...b5, but I wanted my b6-pawn to support the knight on c5. 22.Rc3 Rcd8 23.Qd2 Qd4+ 24.Kh1 24.Kf1 a5 was equally bad for White. 24...a5! Playing against b4. 25.Rb1 It was hard to suggest anything instead... a4 26.Rd1 Rd5 This is a bit too much! Of course Black's position was very good, but why not just win an exchange by playing 26...g6! 27.Bxd3 Ne4 28.Bxe4 Qxd2 29.Rxd2 Rxd2-+ with an easy win! 27.h4 g6 A stronger try was 27...Red8 28.h5 f6-+ and White is defenceless! 28.Bxd3 Red8 29.Qe1 Qxf4 30.e6! Nxe6 30...Nxd3?! 31.Rdxd3 Rxd3 32.e7 with drawing chances. 31.Bc2 White is defending very well! b5 The strongest was 31...Nd4! 32.Bxa4 Nf5 33.Rxd5 Rxd5 34.Qe8+ Kg7 35.Bb3 Qxh4+ and Black wins! But being down on time I decided to play safer... 32.Rxd5 Rxd5 33.Re3 Nd4 34.Bd3 34.Bxg6 does not work: fxg6 35.Re8+ Kg7 36.Re7+ Kf6-+ 34...Kg7 35.Kg1 Qf6 36.Kh2 More stubborn was 36.Qf2 Nf5 36...Qd6!? 37.Bxf5 Rxf5 38.Rf3 Rxf3 39.gxf3 and though the position should be winning, still a lot of work is required. 36...Rh5 Playing in mutual time trouble. It was even stronger to play 36...Rc5! and Black is dominating! 37.Rh3 There was the slightly more stubborn 37.Re4 37...Ne6 Here Black had many ways, but before the time control I chose the most human moves... 37...Qf4+ 38.Qg3 Nf3+! 39.gxf3 Qd2+-+ 38.Rf3 Rxh4+ 39.Kg1 Qd4+ 40.Qf2 Qxf2+ 41.Kxf2 b4 Starting from here Magnus defended very well, but 2 pawns was enough even for me... 42.Re3 Rd4 43.Bb5 Kf6 44.Rf3+ 44.Bxa4 bxa3 45.Rxa3 Rd2+-+ 44...Ke7 45.Rd3 bxa3 46.bxa3 Rf4+ 46...Rxd3 47.Bxd3 Nc5 48.Bb5 f5 49.Ke3 g5 50.Kd4 Kd6 should also be winning, but I wanted to keep the rooks. 47.Ke3 f5 48.Rd7+ Kf6 49.Rd6 Re4+ 50.Kf2 Kg5 51.Be8 51.Bc6 Nc5!-+ 51...Nf4 52.Bb5 Re5 53.Bc4 53.Bxa4 Re2+-+ 53...Nh5 The decisive knight manoeuvre! Black gives up the a4-pawn, but creates a mating threat! 54.Ra6 Nf6 55.Rxa4 Ng4+ 56.Kf1 Kh4! 57.Be2 Kg3 58.Bxg4 fxg4 Because Black's king will go to h2, the endgame is completely hopeless for White! 59.Rb4 h5 60.a4 Kh2 White resigned! 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Carlsen,M2835Karjakin,S27690–12012E12Tata Steel-A 74th9

Maybe it is the rough climate of Wijk aan Zee in winter that makes Carlsen and Karjakin especially belligerent when playing there – at any rate, their third decisive encounter took place in the Tata Steel Tournament 2013. Creative pawn-sacrifices in an opposite-colored bishop ending that most experts had considered to be dead drawn helped Carlsen to an amazing win that made it to the textbooks.

 
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1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 It is not a secret that the opening is not Carlsen's favourite area for duels of principle; he prefers the middlegame and the endgame for that. The Reti Opening is just perfect for such an approach. d5 3.Bg2 c6 4.0-0 Bg4 5.c4 e6 6.d3 Nbd7 7.cxd5 exd5 After ...Nbd7, it seems to make less sense to clear the c6-square with 7...cxd5 , but the move remains playable, of course, see for instance Markowski,T (2564)-Fressinet,L (2627) Gothenburg 2005 CBM 109 [Marin,M] (1/2, 31) 8.Qc2 Usually White does not develop his queen so early, but it may well lead to a transposition. 8.Nc3 Be7 8...Bc5 9.h3 Bh5 10.a3 a5 11.e4 1-0 (40) Marin,M (2530) -Krasenkow,M (2655) Elista 1998 CBM 066 ext [Horn,Pe] 9.h3 Bxf3 10.Bxf3 d4 11.Nb1 1/2 (26) Markowski,T (2560)-Bobras,P (2501) Poznan 2005 CBM 107 [Marin,M] 8...Be7 9.Nc3 Bxf3 Black gives up the bishops pair in order to prevent the planned e2-e4. 9...0-0 10.e4 Nc5 11.Ne5 Bh5 12.exd5 Nxd5 13.Nxd5 cxd5 14.d4 Loginov,V (2499)-Poddubnyi,V (2240) Elista 2001 CBM 083 [Horn,Pe] (1-0, 33) 10.Bxf3 d4 This prolongs the f3-bishops range only partly, since the c6-pawn is solidly defended. It all depends on whether White can carry out the minoritys attack with b4-b5. 11.Ne4 11.Nb1 0-0 12.Nd2 1/2 (73) Markowski,T (2560)-Czarnota,P (2478) Poznan 2005 CBM 107 [Marin,M] 11...0-0 Abstractly speaking, the best approach. Black does not release the tension, letting White do it if he wishes so. Concretely, I am not sure whether 11...Nxe4 12.Bxe4 really improves that much White's position with respect to the game, but in practice White scored well: a5 12...0-0 13.b4 Bxb4 14.Rb1 a5 15.a3 Bc3 16.Bb2 Bxb2 17.Rxb2 Nb6 18.Rfb1 Ra6 19.Rb3 Loginov,V (2524)-Sinkevich,P (2323) St Petersburg 2003 (1-0, 48) 12...Nc5 13.Bg2 0-0 14.b4 Ne6 15.Rb1 Qd7 16.Bd2 Rac8 17.Rfc1 Kh8 18.Qb3 a6 19.Rc2 Ng5 20.a4 Qf5 21.b5± Hausrath,D (2445)-Jacob,G (2250) Germany 2004 (1/2, 60) 13.Bd2 0-0 14.Rab1 14.Rfb1 Qb6 15.Qc4 Ne5 16.Qa4 Nd7 17.Qc4 Ne5 18.Qa4 Nd7 1/2 (18) Loginov,V (2540)-Grischuk,A (2701) Togliatti 2003 14...Qb6 15.Rfc1 Rfe8 16.Qd1 Bb4 17.Bf4 Nc5 18.Bf3 Ne6 19.Bd2 Bxd2 20.Qxd2 Qb4 21.Qxb4 axb4 22.Rc4 Rxa2 23.Rxb4 Re7 24.Bg4 g6 25.Bxe6 Rxe6 26.Kf1± Hausrath,D (2507)-Van Wessel,R (2375) Netherlands 2011 (1-0, 44) 12.Nxf6+ Nxf6N Clearly an improvement over 12...Bxf6 , which allows White start his queenside attack without loss of time: 13.b4 Nb6 14.Rb1 Qd7 15.b5 Rac8 15...cxb5 16.Qc5± 16.bxc6 bxc6 17.Bd2 Rfe8 18.Rfc1 g6 19.a4 Nd5 20.Qc4± Loginov,V (2507)-Tunik,G (2451) Togliatti 2001 (1-0, 43) 13.Bd2 The already familiar 13.b4 maybe worth a try here, too, but Carlsens approach (at least in this game) is by far longer ranged than that. 13...a5 14.a3 Nd5! From this square, the knight inhibits the thematic b2-b4, because of the possible occupation of the c3-square (sustained by ...Bf6, of course). Still, Black is not 100% stable since the d4-pawn cannot be defended along the d-file. 14...a4 is premature and would play into White's hands: 15.b3 axb3 16.Qxb3 Ra7 17.a4 15.Rab1 Qd7 16.Rfc1 16.b4 axb4 17.axb4 Bf6 16...Rfe8 It is far from easy to evaluate this position. It takes a lot of optimism to claim an advantage with White, but on the other hand did Black achieve full equality? White's structure is more flexible, his bishops are a potential danger and it would be only he who could carry out certain pawn breaks, such as b2-b4 or e2-e4. Black has to limit himself to parrying the small threats and in doing so he should also avoid losing coordination. Karjakin will deal with this task for a long time, but not long enough! So, for practical point of view, I would risk to asses the position as a +/=. 17.Qc4 Nc7 18.h4 a4 19.Bb4 An interesting plan. White needs the b4- and c5-squares for his major pieces, in order to start attacking the a4- and d4- pawns. 19.b4 remains unappealing: Nb5 20.Ra1 Bf6 19...Nb5 20.Kg2 h6 21.Bc5 g6 22.Qb4 Bf6 Stepping out of the tension in the hope that White's pieces will become vulnerable. 22...Bxc5 23.Rxc5 offers White some initiative, but it is difficult to say how persistent. From practical point of view, Black's position would be slightly unpleasant though. h5 24.Rbc1 Kg7 25.R1c4 Qe7 25...Red8 26.Rxc6 bxc6 27.Bxc6 25...Re6 26.Rxb5 cxb5 27.Rxd4 26.Rxb5 cxb5 27.Rxd4 Qxb4 28.Rxb4 23.Qd2 Kg7 24.Rc4 Ra6 25.Qd1 b6 Quite a committal, but not necessarily bad move. It is not easy to find a constructive plan for White in case of neutral black play, though: 25...Rea8 26.Rbc1 h5 27.Rb4 Kh7 27...b6? 28.Bf8+!± 28.Qc2 Kg8 28...b6? 29.Bxb6! Rxb6 30.Bxc6 Rxc6 31.Qxc6 Qxc6+ 32.Rxc6± 29.Qc4 Kh7 30.Rc2 Kg7 26.Bb4 c5 27.Bd2 Nc7! Heading for d5, in oder to keep dreaming of the c3-square. 27...Nd6 offers White some play: 28.Rcc1 Qe6 29.b4 c4 29...axb3 30.Qxb3 Qxb3 31.Rxb3 30.dxc4 Nxc4 31.b5 Ra7 32.Rb4 28.Rcc1 Nd5 29.Qh1!? An original way to cast some doubt over the advance of Black's queenside pawns. The d5-knight has lost some of his stability. Be7 30.Kg1 Rd8 31.Rc2 Qe6 32.Qg2 Ra7 33.Re1 Rad7 34.Kh2 Rc8 35.Qh3 Qxh3+ As a consequence of Black's space advantage, his queen enjoyed higher mobility and the possibility of keeping both wings under control. These are reasons to keep the queen, but how to achieve that? 35...Qd6? 36.h5 g5? 37.Bg4+- 35...f5 looks entirely playable, though. White could try to keep weakening the light suqares from Black's camp with 36.h5 g5 37.g4 Qd6+ 38.Kg2 f4 , but how to make progress here? 36.Kxh3 h5 37.Rb1 Somehow, Black's queenside looks more vulnerable in the absence of the queen. Ra8 38.Kg2 Ra6 39.b3 axb3 40.Rxb3 Bf6 41.Rc4 Rd6 There does not seem to be any counterindication for 41...Nc3 , sicnce after 42.e3 Nd5! it is not easy to make further progress. 43.e4? 43.exd4 Bxd4 activates the bishop. 43...Nc3! and the c4-rook is in danger. 42.Kf1 Kf8 43.a4 Nc3?! But now, the occupation of this square allows White take over the initiative. It does not lose the game, though, this will happen much, much later. 43...Ke7?! 44.a5! bxa5 45.Rb7+ Ke6 45...Kf8 46.Rxc5± 46.Rxc5 a4 47.Bg2 It is better to put the king into safety with 43...Kg7 waiting for White to display his intentions. For instance 44.a5?! bxa5! 45.Rxc5 a4 and there is no interemdiate check anymore. 44.Bf4 Re6 45.e3 Nxa4 45...Kg7 46.exd4 cxd4 47.Bc6 46.Bd5! Re7 46...Re8 47.Bc6+- 47.Bd6 b5 48.Bxe7+ Bxe7 49.Rxb5 Nb6 50.e4 Nxc4 51.Rb8+ Kg7 52.Bxc4 Ra7 This ending is very unpleasant for Black, but possibly not more than that. 53.f4 53.Rc8 Rb7 54.f3 Rb2 55.Rc7 Kf8 56.Kg1 Re2 57.g4 hxg4 58.fxg4 Re3 59.Kg2 Re2+= 53...Bd6 54.Re8 Rb7 55.Ra8 Be7 56.Kg2 Rb1 57.e5 Re1 58.Kf2 Rb1 59.Re8 59.e6 f5 59.Kf3 Rf1+ 60.Ke4 Rg1 59...Bf8 60.Rc8 Be7 61.Ra8 Rb2+ 62.Kf3 Rb1 63.Bd5 Re1 64.Kf2 Rd1 65.Re8 Bf8 66.Bc4 Rb1 67.g4!? The only chance. Carlsen might have broken the kingside with his king on f2 in order to tempt his opponent to make use of the h1-square. Had he put his king on g2 first, Black would have been forced to play the correct move, ...g6xh5. hxg4 68.h5 Rh1?+- 68...gxh5 69.f5 h4 70.f6+ Kg6 71.Rxf8 Kf5!= 71...g3+ 72.Kf3 Kf5 73.Rh8 72.Rh8 72.Rxf7? g3+ 73.Kf3 Rb2-+ 72...Rb2+ 73.Kg1 Rb1+ 69.hxg6 fxg6 70.Re6 70.e6 Bd6 70...Kh6 71.Bd5 Rh2+ 71...Ra1 72.Be4 72.Kg3 Rh3+ 73.Kxg4 Rxd3 74.f5 Re3 75.Rxg6+ Kh7 76.Bg8+ Kh8 77.Kf4 Rc3 78.f6 d3 79.Ke3 c4 80.Be6 Kh7 81.Bf5 Rc2 82.Rg2+ Kh6 83.Rxc2 dxc2 84.Bxc2 Kg5 85.Kd4 Ba3 86.Kxc4 Bb2 87.Kd5 Kf4 88.f7 Ba3 89.e6 Kg5 90.Kc6 Kf6 91.Kd7 Kg7 92.e7 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Carlsen,M2861Karjakin,S27801–02013A11Tata Steel-A 75th8

Four months later, at the 1st Norway Chess Tournament 2013, Carlsen beat his rival again. However, despite this loss Karjakin won the 1st Norway Chess Tournament with 6.0/9, half-a-point ahead of Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura. Karjakin also won the blitz tournament in Norway. Here he scored 6.5/9 and this time he was half-a-point ahead of Carlsen and Vishy Anand.

 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 Nb8 10.d4 Nbd7 For a player like Carlsen, who rarely banks on the opening, the Breyer variation must be an optimal choice. Black retains a flexible position and things cannot go really wrong for him. In the worst case, he would find himself in a slightly inferior position after 15-20 moves or so, but Carlsen is quite good at converting such worse positions into... wins! The important thing is to leave the opening behind with the minimum of damage and then get to the complicated middlegame business, clearly Carlsen's piece of cake. 11.Nbd2 Bb7 12.Bc2 Re8 13.a4 Bf8 14.Bd3 c6 A typical position for this line. Black surely is flexible and has no weaknesses at all. He still has useful moves at his disposal, mainly ...g6 and ...Bg7, but then will have to come up with some counterplay in the centre. White has better control in the centre, but in order to prove at least a slight advantage, he has to prepare against Black's ...d6-d5, ...c6-c5 and ...exd4 in optimal way. Easier said than done, especially in over the board conditions. 15.Qc2 A relatively rare move. Carlsen has had some experience against the more popular continuations: 15.b4 Nb6 16.axb5 cxb5!? 16...axb5 1/2 Anand,V (2800) -Carlsen,M (2826)/Nanjing 2010/CBM 139/[Giri] (44) 17.d5 Rc8 18.Ra3 18.Bb2 Nh5 1/2 Shirov,A (2749)-Carlsen,M (2826)/Bilbao 2010/CBM 139/[Edouard,R] (175) 18...Nh5 19.Nf1 g6 20.N1h2 Bg7 Anand,V (2800)-Carlsen,M (2826)/ Bilbao 2010/CBM 139/[Edouard,R] (1/2, 50) A previous Breyer duel between the same two players went: 15.b3 Qc7 Carlsen also tried the standard 15...g6 16.Bb2 exd4 17.cxd4 d5 Nisipeanu,L (2659)-Carlsen,M (2815)/Medias 2011/ CBM 143/[Rogozenco] (1/2, 32) 16.Qc2 Rac8 17.Bb2 Nh5 Karjakin,S (2760) -Carlsen,M (2802)/Moscow (blitz) 2010/EXT 2011 (0-1, 31) 15...Rc8 16.axb5 axb5 17.b4 Slightly more ambitious, but also more committal, than 17.b3 g6 18.Bb2 Qc7 19.c4 bxc4 20.Nxc4 exd4 21.Bxd4 1/2 Vallejo Pons,F (2697) -Grischuk,A (2760)/Khanty Mansiysk 2010/CBM 139 d5= 17...Qc7!?N Carlsen might have disliked the standard 17...g6 for concrete reasons. 18.dxe5!? After the neutral 18.Bb2 Black managed to get enough play in an older top level game: Nh5 19.g3 exd4!? 20.cxd4 d5 21.Bc3 Nb6 22.e5 Rc7 23.Nb3 Bc8 24.Kg2 Ng7 25.Nh2 h5∞ (1/2, 56) Short,N (2635)-Portisch,L (2605)/Wijk aan Zee 1990/CBM 017 18...dxe5 19.Nb3 Qc7 19...c5?! loses a pawn without compensation: 20.bxc5 Nxc5 21.Nxc5 Rxc5 22.Ba3± 20.Bg5! h6 21.Be3 White retains some pressure, since after c5 22.bxc5 the pawn is not that easy to retrieve because Ph6 is hanging. 18.Bb2 18.dxe5 dxe5 19.Nb3 is completely inoffensive: c5 20.bxc5 Nxc5 21.Nxc5 Qxc5= 18...Ra8?! But this counter-developing move does not seem right. 18...g6 would leave White with the problem of how to strengthen his position. 19.Bf1 Possibly the most constructive move. Once the b1-h7 diagonal has been safely defended by Black's last move, the bishop is more useful on f1, defending g2 among others. 19.c4 exd4 20.Bxd4 bxc4 21.Qxc4 d5= 19.Nb3 c5! 20.bxc5 dxc5 21.dxe5 Nxe5 22.Nxe5?! c4 19.Rad1 d5!? 20.exd5 exd4 21.Rxe8 Rxe8 22.dxc6 Qxc6= 19...exd4 Some of the metits of the bishop retreat can be seen after 19...d5?! 20.exd5 exd4?! 21.Rxe8 Rxe8 22.dxc6 Qxc6 23.Nxd4+- and the g2-pawn is defended. 20.cxd4 d5 21.e5 Nh5 22.Bc3 Ng7 23.Nb3 Nb6 This is similar to the Short-Portisch game above, but the move ...Qd8-c7 is at least a waste of time. For instance, Black does not have the nice regrouping ...Rc7, ...Bc8 anymore. So, maybe White has better chances to retain some advantage. 19.Rad1 Nb6?! Paradoxically, this does not reduce the impact of c3-c4 at all. In fact, weakening the defence of the e5-pawn will have serious effects. Given White's centralisation, 19...g6 looks dangerous, too: 20.c4 bxc4 21.Bxc4 21.Qxc4 Ba6= 21...exd4 22.Bxd4 d5 23.Bxd5 Nxd5 24.exd5 Rxe1+ 25.Nxe1 Bxb4 26.Ne4 Black is under pressure on bth wings. With the pawn on g7, things would be different, but it is late to think about that now. Black should probably have admitted that something had gone slightly wrong and played some very safe move like 19...h6!? According to White's answer, Black could next play ...g6 or ...d5. Or if 20.c4 bxc4 21.Bxc4 exd4 22.Bxd4 , the safest might be Qc8!? unpinning the c6-pawn and preparing both ...d6-d5 and ...Ba6. 22...Ba6 23.Bxa6 Rxa6 24.b5± 22...d5 23.e5 dxc4 24.exf6 If he does not wish to see his kingside structure ruined, Black has to spend a tempo on g6 20.c4! bxc4 21.Nxc4 Nxc4 22.Bxc4± White has wonderful development, with the bishops deserving a special mention. This time, the Breyer has yielded Carlsen slightly less than a worse but playable position. h6 Even now, this seems to be the only move allowing him to put up some resistance. 22...g6? 23.dxe5 dxe5 24.Ng5 Re7 25.f4+- 22...Ba6?! 23.dxe5 23.Bb3!?± 23...dxe5 24.Ra1 Bxc4 25.Rxa8 Rxa8 26.Bxe5 Qb6 27.Qxc4 Bxb4 28.Rb1 c5 29.Ng5 Qb7 29...Ra7 30.Bc3 30.Qxc5 22...exd4 23.Bxd4 d5 23...Nxe4? 24.Bd5 Nf6 25.Ng5+- Golubev 24.Bxd5 Nxd5 25.exd5 Rxe1+ 26.Rxe1± Bxb4? 27.Ng5 g6 28.Ne4+- 23.dxe5 23.Bb3 also looks playable, but may lead to some undesired complications. White is entitled to hope to win the game by technical means. exd4 24.Nxd4 c5 25.Nf5 Nxe4 25...Bxe4? 26.Rxe4 Nxe4 27.Bd5+- 26.f3 Qb6! 26...Nf6 27.Nxh6+!+- 27.Re3 c4 28.Qxc4 Ng5 29.Bd4 Qc6 and Black's position is worse, but probably holdable. 23...dxe5 24.Bc3 Ba6 Aiming to get counterplay in a position that does not allow that. 24...Nd7? 25.Rxd7 Qxd7 26.Nxe5 Rxe5 27.Bxe5 Bxb4 28.Rd1 Qe7 29.Qb3+- 24...g6?! 25.Qb2 Nd7 25...Bd6 26.Rxd6 Qxd6 27.Bxe5 Rxe5 28.Nxe5+- 26.Rxd7 Qxd7 27.Nxe5 Rxe5 28.Bxe5+- Maybe Black should have thought of consolidating the e5-pawn with 24...Re7!? 25.Qb2 Rae8 , although his position would be rather cramped. 25.Bb3 c5 26.Qb2 c4 27.Ba4 Re6 28.Nxe5 Bb7 Black has lost a pawn, but his light-squared bishop has become active and for an instant White is slightly hanging. 29.Bc2? This has a double drawback: it cuts the queen off from the kingside and allows Black's optimal regrouping with the next move. 29.Bb5!± Ba6 29...Nxe4 30.Rd7+- Golubev 29...Bxe4 30.Bxc4 Rxe5 31.Bxe5 Qxc4 32.Rd4 Qc2 33.Qxc2 Bxc2 34.b5+- Golubev 30.Bd7 Rb6 30...Re7 31.Bc6± 31.b5 Bxb5 32.Bxb5 Rab8 33.Ba5+- 29...Rae8! 30.f4 Bd6 Suddenly, Black has entirely adequate compensation. He is threatening ...Nh5 followed by either ...f6 or ...g5, undermining White's stability in the centre. 31.Kh2?! This is hard to explain, the king does not stand well on the same diagonal as the black queen and bishop. 31.g3 Nh5 32.Re3 g5 33.Ba4 R8e7 34.Qe2 34.Qf2 gxf4 35.gxf4 f6 34.Qg2 f5 34...gxf4 35.Qg4+ 35.Nxf7 fxe3 36.Qxh5 Rxf7 37.Qg4+ Kh7 38.Qxe6∞ 35...Kf8 36.gxf4 Nf6 37.Qf5 Bxe4 38.Rxe4 Nxe4 39.Qxe4 Bxe5 40.Bxe5 Qa7+ 41.Qd4 Qxa4 42.Bd6= 31.Re3 Nh5 is likely to transpose. 31...Nh5 32.g3 f6 33.Ng6 Nxf4! White is in trouble already. This seemed virtually impossible 10 moves earlier. What kind of magic does Magnus use? 34.Rxd6 34.gxf4 Bxf4+ 35.Kg2 35.Nxf4 Qxf4+ 36.Kg2 f5-+ 35.Kh1 Rxe4 36.Bxe4 Rxe4 37.Kg1 Bd2!+- 35...f5 34...Nxg6 35.Rxe6 Rxe6 36.Bd4?! 36.Qc1!? 36...f5 Winning a pawn. 37.e5 Nxe5 38.Bxe5 Qc6 39.Rg1 39.Bxf5 Rxe5 39.Be4 fxe4 40.Re3 39...Qd5 40.Bxf5 Rxe5 41.Bg4 h5 42.Bd1 c3 43.Qf2 43.Qxc3 Qa2+ 44.Qc2 Qxc2+ 45.Bxc2 Re2+ 43...Rf5 44.Qe3 Qf7 45.g4 Re5 An elegant solution. The simple 45...Qc7+ was good enough, of course. 46.Rg3 46.Qg3 Rf2+ 46...Qc6 46...h4? 47.gxf5 47.Rg1 c2 48.Qb3+ Kh8 49.Qxc2 Qd6+ 50.Rg3 h4 46.Qd4 Qc7! 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Karjakin,S2767Carlsen,M28680–12013C95Norway Chess 1st5

Sergey Karjakin and Magnus Carlsen at the
1st Norway Chess Tournament in Stavanger

After the excitement of two decisive encounters in 2013 followed a period of peace between Carlsen and Karjakin and their five next games all ended in a draw. But a week ago, in round three of the “Masters” in Bilbao 2016, Carlsen struck again and inflicted a bitter loss on the World Championship Challenger.

Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin comment on their game
in the press center of the "Masters" in Bilbao

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.c3 Nf6 4.Be2 g6 According to the ChessBase Mega-Database more than 200 players have blundered here with 4...Nxe4 5.Qa4+ 5.0-0 Bg7 6.Bb5+ Nc6 6...Bd7 7.Bxd7+ Nfxd7 8.d4 0-0 9.Bg5 Nc6 10.d5 Nce5 11.Nfd2 b5 12.a4 1/2-1/2 (64) Carlsen,M (2868)-Wang,H (2743) Stavanger 2013 7.d4 Qb6 8.Ba4 cxd4 9.cxd4 0-0 10.d5 Nb8 10...Na5!?= 11.Nc3 Bg4 12.h3 Bxf3 13.Qxf3 Nbd7 14.Rb1 Rfc8 15.Bc2 Ne5 16.Qe2 Nfd7 17.Bg5 h6 18.Bh4 18.Bxe7?! g5 19.Nb5 Ng6 20.Nxd6 Nxe7 21.Nxc8 Rxc8∞ 18...g5 19.Bg3 Qa6 20.Qd1 Rc4? This move does not make a good impression. In the further course of the game the rook moves too often but does too little. 20...Nc4 with complications. 21.Bd3 Nc5 22.Be2 Bxc3 23.bxc3 Qxa2 20...Ng6 21.Bd3 Qa5= 21.Kh1 Rac8 22.f4 gxf4 23.Bxf4 Qb6 24.Qh5 Nf6 25.Qf5 Qd8 26.Bb3 Rd4 After 26...R4c7? White simply takes on e5: 27.Bxe5 dxe5 28.Qxe5 and the white queen is safe. 27.Bxe5 dxe5 28.Rbd1 28.Qxe5?! Nxe4 28...Qd7 29.Qf3 Rb4 29...Rxd1 30.Bxd1 b5 31.Ne2 30.Rd2 Rf8
31.g4! Energetic play on the kingside. a5 32.Rg2 White simply threatens g5 - a pawn advance Black cannot stop. Nh7 33.h4 Rb6 34.g5 Kh8 34...hxg5? 35.hxg5 -- threatening 36.d6 36.d6 Rxd6 37.Bxf7+ Kh8 38.g6+- 35.Rfg1 f5 More stubborn was 35...Rg6 36.Ba4 Qc8 37.Rh2 Kg8 36.Qh3 Rb4 The sixth move of this rook. 37.gxh6 Or 37.d6 exd6 38.gxh6+- 37...Bxh6 38.Qg3 Threatening mate on g8. 38.Rg6 would also have been strong. Bf4 39.Qg2 Nf6 40.d6 Qxd6 41.Nd5+- 38...Nf6 39.Qg6 Ng4 40.Rxg4 40.Rxg4 fxg4 41.Qxh6+ Kg8 42.Qg6+ Kh8 43.Qh5+ Kg7 44.Rxg4++- 1–0
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Carlsen,M2855Karjakin,S27731–02016B509th Masters Final 20163

In round eight of the “Masters”, Karjakin has White and the chance to take revenge. But no matter how the game will end today, the most crucial encounter between Carlsen and Karjakin will take place in November 2016 when these two play for the World Championship. If Karjakin wins this match, it does not matter how often he has won or lost before against Carlsen. But the question is how good Karjakin’s chances are to win the match. The current score indicates that Carlsen is favorite. But who knows what will happen in November?

Magnus Carlsen vs Sergey Karjakin - Games with classical time-control

 
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1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.d3 g6 5.a3 a5 6.e3 f5 7.d4 e4 8.d5 Nb8 9.Nd2 d6 10.g4 Nf6 11.gxf5 gxf5 12.Bh3 Bg7 13.Rg1 0-0 14.b3 Kh8 15.Bb2 Nbd7 16.Na4 Ne8 17.Bxg7+ Nxg7 18.Qc2 Ne5 19.Qc3 Qf6 20.f4 exf3 21.0-0-0 f4 22.Bxc8 Raxc8 23.e4 Rce8 24.Rdf1 Ng6 25.Rxf3 Qxc3+ 26.Nxc3 Rf6 27.Rh3 Ne5 28.Nf3 Kg8 29.Kc2 b6 30.Nxe5 dxe5 31.Kd3 Rg6 32.Ne2 Re7 33.Rxg6 hxg6 34.Rh6 Kf7 35.Ng1 Ne8 36.Nf3 Kg7 37.Rh4 Nd6 38.Rg4 Kf6 39.Rg1 Ra7 40.a4 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Carlsen,M2553Karjakin,S2599½–½2005A35Corus-B4
Karjakin,S2678Carlsen,M2690½–½2007C83Corus12
Karjakin,S2732Carlsen,M2765½–½2008B78Baku FIDE GP9
Karjakin,S2732Carlsen,M2765½–½2008D87Foros Aerosvit 3rd11
Carlsen,M2776Karjakin,S2706½–½2009D11Corus6
Karjakin,S2720Carlsen,M28100–12010C11Corus10
Karjakin,S2776Carlsen,M2815½–½2011B12Bazna Kings 5th4
Carlsen,M2815Karjakin,S2776½–½2011E43Bazna Kings 5th10
Carlsen,M2826Karjakin,S2763½–½2011E32Moscow Tal Memorial 6th4
Carlsen,M2835Karjakin,S27690–12012E12Tata Steel-A 74th9
Carlsen,M2843Karjakin,S2778½–½2012E15Grand Slam Final 5th3
Karjakin,S2778Carlsen,M2843½–½2012C18Grand Slam Final 5th8
Carlsen,M2861Karjakin,S27801–02013A11Tata Steel-A 75th8
Karjakin,S2767Carlsen,M28680–12013C95Norway Chess 1st5
Karjakin,S2782Carlsen,M2864½–½2013C67Tal Memorial 8th2
Karjakin,S2772Carlsen,M2881½–½2014E27Gashimov Memorial-A3
Carlsen,M2881Karjakin,S2772½–½2014E15Gashimov Memorial-A8
Karjakin,S2771Carlsen,M2881½–½2014C67Norway Chess 2nd6
Karjakin,S2769Carlsen,M2844½–½2016C79Tata Steel-A 78th8
Carlsen,M2855Karjakin,S27731–02016B509th Masters Final 20163
Johannes Fischer was born in 1963 in Hamburg and studied English and German literature in Frankfurt. He now lives as a writer and translator in Nürnberg. He is a FIDE-Master and regularly writes for KARL, a German chess magazine focusing on the links between culture and chess. On his own blog he regularly publishes notes on "Film, Literature and Chess".

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