World Championship Game 12: And on to the rapids...

by Antonio Pereira
11/27/2018 – Two years after Magnus Carlsen openly went for a draw with White in the last classical game of his match against Sergey Karjakin, the World Champion offered a draw in a playable — slightly superior — position to take the struggle to rapid tiebreaks. Fabiano Caruana understandably agreed to split the point and now everything will be decided on Wednesday, when four rapid games — and blitz and Armageddon if the tie is not broken — will determine the champion. Guest analysis by GM WESLEY SO and GM ERWIN L'AMI. | Photos: World Chess

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"It’s just absurd. I’m completely shocked"

It first looked like a far-fetched scenario, but as the match progressed it became increasingly likely; especially those who think classical chess needs to be somehow modified or adjusted to the new computer era were very keen to talk about it; all eyes were put on the two players that are clearly on top of the chess elite...and it finally happened: the classical portion of the match ended with all draws. It is the first time in history that this happens in a World Championship match. 

We cannot say it was without excitement, though. Carlsen replied to Fabiano's 1.e4 exclusively with the Sicilian — and Caruana did not stop using Fischer's 'best by test' move nonetheless. In fact, the World Champion was very close to starting the match with a win, which would have undoubtedly changed the whole dynamics of the duel. And there were more wasted chances for both sides...

With the score tied, one game to go, Carlsen a clear favourite to win the tiebreaks and Caruana having the white pieces in the last game, the stage was set for a great show. Then, everything seemed to go the spectators' way: another Sicilian appeared on the board; for the first time in the match, Magnus outprepared Fabiano with the black pieces; the Challenger had a chance to go for a repetition, but refuted to do so; a complex struggle ensued, with Caruana low on time…do not miss the analyses below by star annotators Wesley So and Erwin l'Ami. But the main story of the day was the 'last move': Carlsen offering a draw from a position of strength!

It was tough

The 'Today in Chess' show, produced by the Saint Louis Chess Club, brought two connoisseurs as guests: former World Champion Garry Kasparov and the person who took the crown from his hands, Vladimir Kramnik. When the game abruptly finished with an agreed draw, the latter was asked what his immediate reaction was. Kramnik:

Let me tell the first word which comes to my mind: It’s a shame…He’s just better without any risk. How can you offer a draw? This is out of the question for me. He can offer a draw any time — in 10-15 minutes. It’s just absurd — something is wrong with Magnus. I have a feeling he cannot withhold the pressure. He’s a great chess player but this is not the way you play a World Championship. You have to fight, especially in such positions. It’s frankly showing such a weakness.

I can understand if he would be one point ahead, and maybe offer a draw in this position, but maybe not. It’s just absurd. I’m completely shocked.

After the tense struggle, the players still had to face the press

These are strong words, but there is something to be said about Carlsen's decision: it is now evident that he was happy to draw and go for the tiebreaks, naturally. Having the black pieces against one of the better-prepared players in the world, who incidentally has also shown great nerves throughout the match, Magnus probably arrived in the game with the idea that a draw was a desirable result. Apparently, he could not adjust this mindset during the game, when he actually got the upper hand.

Nerves, of course, played a big role — both Kasparov and Kramnik talked about their previous experiences in this regard. Kasparov:

I never was in the same situation. All decisive games I played, that was the last game of the match. Either I had to win or draw to retain the title, so whatever your plan was, that was it.

Garry then correctly pointed out that you could not think about a tiebreak — there was none. He concluded:

Every game was all or nothing. This is not all or nothing.

A packed house on Monday

Kramnik, on the other hand, talked about how it might be different for some players to deal with the pressure and find ways to motivate themselves:

My approach was always just to forget about it. Think about the game — as if I were playing a regular game…in such moments, especially in a World Championship match. Maybe I have a strange and old fashioned way of seeing it, but it’s already not so much up to you what will happen…the only thing which you control is your player, your stamina, not to get too nervous, to play as well as you can at this particular moment. [...] As simple as it sounds.

He speculated that he might have a different approach than Magnus:

Maybe [other players] need another approach — exactly the opposite — to get to [their] best. It’s very individual, it depends very much on your temperament [and] on your character…so I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

There is a lot of room for discussion, but the outcome of the game now means that the players will probably have a couple of long nights ahead before deciding who will be regarded as 'World Champion' for the next two years. The tied score after the classical portion changed the paying structure from 60/40 to 55/45, but it seems this is the last thing the players are thinking about. When asked, Carlsen said he was not even aware of the regulation and Caruana replied: "I don't care about the money".

Anyway, it will all be decided on Wednesday when Carlsen will have the white pieces in the first rapid game at the same starting time.

Will Caruana get to beat Magnus in the tiebreaks?

Replay the first moves of Game 12 with commentary

Judit Polgar: "I think it's the most stressful game of his life, no doubt about it"


Match standings


Game 12 summary

GM Daniel King presents a brief summary of the game


Game 12 press conference

Caruana: "I was a bit surprised by the draw offer..."


Game 12 analysed by Wesley So

Current world's number 10 and someone who will very much be in the run to qualify for the next match, Wesley So, took a closer look at the game. He wrote about the Challenger:

"All his tournaments, all the work of his life has been aimed at reaching this point. After accomplishing everything necessary to reach the goal of playing for the World Championship, Fabiano has survived eleven tough rounds to get to this last game. I cannot think of any game where there's so much to play for."

 
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The last game, where so much is at stake. If Fabiano wins he'll become the 17th world champion. All his tournaments, all the work of his life has been aimed at reaching this point. After accomplishing everything necessary to reach the goal of playing for the World Championship, Fabiano has survived eleven tough rounds to get to this last game. I cannot think of any game where there's so much to play for. Will we see Fabiano win the biggest game of his life? Or will we see Carlsen defend his title once again? 1.e4! In the last few months and in tournaments before this one, Fabiano had been experimenting with 1.d4 or 1.c4. Although he had great results with White in some games in the Catalan or the Nimzo, that was just a distraction for Magnus to ponder. In this match of all matches, Fabiano will stick to his main opening 1.e4! c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 Shelving 3.Bb5, which has been played three times in this tournament. cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 As predicted by many people including myself, we see the Sveshnikov Sicilian for the last game. I'm sure many people were pleased to see such a sharp opening for the final game of the match. Magnus has strongh nerves. In order to be able to play such a sharp opening you have to come very well prepared; there are many pitfalls and traps that Black can easily fall into in the Sveshnikov. You have to have complete trust in your ability to calculate and assess the arising positions. Part of me wonders what would happen if Magnus employed 1...e5 in a game in this match. 7.Nd5 7.Bg5 is the main move here by far. Fabiano has played this many times before, his most recent being a big win against Gata Kamsky in the 2017 US Championships. a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.Nd5 Now Black can play both 10...f5 or 10...Bg7. This complex variation used to be very popular. Just a few years ago Boris Gelfand and Teimour Radjabov were staunch defenders of this line. These days we'll probably see 7.Nd5 grow into popularity since everyone copies the top player's games. 7...Nxd5 8.exd5 Ne7 While annotating game 8 for ChessBase, I wondered what would happen if Magnus chose 8...Ne7. Today we'll see exactly that. The usual move 8...Nb8 was played in games 8 and 10. 9.c4 Many years ago while reading Rogozenco's The Sveshnikov Reloaded book, I remember that 9.c3 was considered White's best. It gives White some extra options on the queenside. 9.c3 Now Black should probably play 9...Nf5 to keep d6 defended. If he tries Ng6? it's a mistake since 9...f5!? 10.Qa4 Kf7 is playable too, though White might be a bit better after 11.Qb4 10.Qa4 Bd7 11.Qc4 is unpleasant. Especially after Rc8 12.Qb4 hitting the d6 and a7 pawns. 9...Ng6 10.Qa4 Bd7 is a quick way to decide the last round game and head for the rapid playoffs. But if this happens we might see protesters and rioters in London, and the fans who paid tickets would definitely want a full refund. Playing top level chess is not easy, but fortunately Fabiano comes well prepared and ready to fight for an advantage. 11.Qb4 Bf5 The best move, I'm sure Magnus is still following his prep. The most natural move is 11...Qb8 It has been played 13 times in the past according to the ChessBase Live Book. Still it doesn't seem to equalize. White just has too much space. 12.h4 h5 13.Be2 a6 14.Nc3 Be7 15.g3 for example here. I still like White, after making natural moves for both sides. It seems to me that White has an easier game and the knight on g6 is misplaced. Needless to say 11...Bxb5 12.Qxb5+ Qd7 has to be avoided. No one should give up the bishop pair without getting someting concrete in return. 12.h4 h5N Black pushes back and does not give White any more space to work with. Fabiano likes playing with a lot of space and it's dangerous to give him too much ground to work with. Coincidentally this is also a novelty according to my database. 12...Be7 13.h5 Nf4 14.Be3 a6 15.Nc3 Nd3+ 16.Bxd3 Bxd3 17.Rd1 12...a6 13.h5 13.Qa4 A provocative move and a typical strategy. By repeating the position twice a player can move the game closer to the time control on move 40. This allows him or her to have more time to think on critical positions. This makes more sense in complicated or unfamiliar openings like the Sveshnikov. In a Berlin 5.Re1 or a symmetrical Petroff it is perhaps unnecessary. But in this game it could be beneficial as we are in foreign territory at such an early stage of the game. Bd7 14.Qb4 Bf5 15.Be3 White gains time from creating threats on the queenside. I suppose he has to act quickly or else Black comfortably finishes his development. Then the construction of Black active pieces on the kingside guarantees counterplay. In that regard 15.Bg5 looks interesting too. A slow move like 15.Be2 will not cut it, if White is looking for an advantage. After Be7 16.g3 a6 17.Nc3 e4 Black creates strong counterplay with Bf6 and Ne5 coming next. It is tempting to disrupt Black's development with 15.Bg5 and with hindsight I would recommend this move. Black does not really want to play f6, and Be7 loses so Qb8 has to be played. 15...Be7? 16.Bxe7 Kxe7 17.c5 is bad for Black. Now his king is forced unto f6 dxc5 18.Qxc5+ Kf6 And now 19.Nd6 leaves Black's king in a tough spot. 19.Nd6± 16.g3 16.Qa5!? is a deep computer move. The fun idea is that b6 17.Qa4 Bd7 18.Bd3 White wants to win quickly with Bf5 but Be7! equalizes and takes out the fun. 18...a6 19.Bf5! is tough to meet for Black. 19.Bxg6 fxg6 20.Bxe7 Kxe7 21.Qc2 Kf7= 16...a6 17.Nc3 Be7 18.Be2 Qc7 now we get a line very similar to the game, but Black has to spend two tempi moving his queen from b8 to c7. Also Fabiano avoids the possibility of 15...Be7 as could happen in his game. It does not look like there is much difference to the untrained eye, but in top level chess little things like this matter. 15...a6 I wonder where both players preparation ended. I suspect it was a move ago. Here Black has another seemingly better (albeit more risky) option. I like here 15...Be7 Black is going to get fast development and piece play for his pawn. 16.Nxa7 16.Bxa7 0-0 17.g3 b6 the bishop on a7 is in a tricky spot. 16.g3 Black can finish his development by castling or go 16...Be4 and 17...Bf3. 16...0-0 White has many possibilities now. It is not simple to defend over the board against Black's initiative. Perhaps 17.Bb6 17.g3 Be4 18.Rh2 Bf3 19.Nb5 f5! with attack. 17.Qxb7? Qa5+ 18.b4 Qa3-+ 17.Nb5 Nxh4 17.Be2 Nf4 17.a4 Nxh4∞ 17...Qd7 18.Qb5 is the safest in order to trade queens. The position is very complex. Bd8 19.Qxd7 Bxd7 20.Bxd8 Rfxd8 21.Nb5 Bxb5 22.cxb5 Ra4 23.g3 Rc8∞ 16.Nc3 Qc7 Solid and simple. There is no need to go for asymetrical positions 16...Be7 17.Qxb7 0-0 18.0-0-0 Nxh4 19.Qb6 it feels that the h4 pawn is not as important as Black's b7 pawn. 17.g3 17.Qa4+ Bd7 18.Qd1 Ne7 17...Be7 18.f3 18.Qa4+ Bd7 19.Qd1 Bg4 20.Be2 Bxe2 21.Qxe2 18.Be2 Nf8 18...Nf8! Optimal rearrangement of the pieces. In these kinds of positions you want to delay castling until White shows his hand. Castling short now will only tempt White to go for a full frontal kingside attack with Be2, and g4/f4 etc. 18...0-0 19.Be2 Bd7 20.a4! With the queenside closed, White can focus on planning his kingside attack. f5 21.f4 exf4 22.gxf4 the position is complex, but it should be in White's favour. 19.Ne4 Nd7 19...Bxe4 20.fxe4 Nd7 21.Bh3 20.Bd3 0-0 Watching this game live I expected 20...Bg6 although perhaps it does not make much difference since Black has to castle sooner or later. 21.Rh2? No doubt the enormous tension of the last round of the World Championship match takes its toll on everyone. Both players start making mistakes. This has a nice idea to it, but it's too ambitious and simply does not work. White wants to play Rc2 and castle long, but this gives Magnus more than enough time and options to meet this plan. Fabiano gives the impression that he likes positions of opposite castled kings. Therefore this move does not come as a big surprise from him. It's just too ambitious. White has to acquiesce and play the calmer 21.0-0 Bg6 22.Qd2 when f5 is always met by Ng5. White can still try to fight for an advantage if Magnus is not careful. 21.0-0-0 b5 castling queenside is unrealistic at this point. 21...Rac8 Or 21...Bg6 22.0-0-0 Bg6 Now f5 is coming and its unpleasant to meet it as White has no good way to prevent it. His best option now is to play calmly and brace for the coming storm. 23.Rc2 I thought at first 23.Kb1 was better to keep the rook on the h-file for now. f5 24.Ng5 Bxg5 25.hxg5 e4 26.fxe4 Ne5 27.Be2 but still both Ng4 or fxe4 now is in Black's favour. 23...f5 24.Nf2 24.Ng5 Bxg5 25.hxg5 e4 24...Nc5 Black has seized a powerful initiative and is slowly taking over. 25.f4 Desperation, but what else? White hopes to at least keep the g6-bishop away from action. 25.Bxc5 dxc5 26.Qe1 Rfe8 as I said earlier no one really wants to give up the bishop pair unless necessary. 25...a5 An automatic move in conjuction with a piece outpost on c5. I wonder if Magnus thought of or even considered b5 ideas here. 25...exf4 26.Bxf4 b5 looks powerful, and might be just close to winning. 27.Qd2 is the sternest defence, when Black can go 27...Bf6, or 27.. .Qb6. White's position is tough to defend and his consolation (asleep bishop on g6) is not enough to save him objectively. His pieces are just badly placed especially the knight on f2. Not to mention shaky king safety. 27.Kb1 a5 when taking on b5 will lead to a queen trap after Be8. 28.Qxb5? Be8 27...Bf6 25...b5 is perfectly good too with the same ideas. 26.Qd2 I expected Bf6 now to keep the tension on the kingside open for a while, but Magnus has no qualms about closing it right away. e4 26...Bf6 27.Be2 is possible, and now Black can think whether to take on f4 or play like Magnus with e4. The computer gives a large advantage for Black after taking on f4, but it is definitely far from clear over the board. exf4 28.gxf4 Rfe8 29.Rg1 29.Bd4 Qe7 29...Bf7 30.Kb1 a4 Black has Nb3 ideas and even positional exchange sacrifices on e3. 31.Bf3 Rxe3 32.Qxe3 Re8 33.Qa3 Bd4 these are computer lines of course. I cannot imagine anyone finding any of these in a tournament game. 27.Be2 Be8 Still even after not playing the best way on move 25 Magnus keeps hopes alive by maintaining a stable advantage. White has to solve the small issue of his vulnerable king. 28.Kb1 Bf6 28...Ba4 is possible, White can sac the exchange with 29.Bxh5 now b5 is an out of this world move. Black is clearly better here by the way. 29.Re1 White's best defense is 29.Nh3! posting the knight on g5. From there it always has the option to jump on e6 and create distraction. Ba4!? 30.b3 looks scary for White, though he probably just survives the onslaught. Bxb3 31.axb3 Nxb3 32.Qe1 b5 33.c5 29...a4 Magnus misses a great opportunity to try to seal the deal. 29...Ba4! is incredibly powerful. Black's attack is simply much faster in all lines. Here are some ChessBase engine analysis: 30.Rcc1 30.b3 Bxb3 31.axb3 Nxb3 32.Qd1 a4! Is a steady but sure way to win as White cannot defend against all the threats. Qa5 is Black's main idea. 33.Bxh5 33.Ka2 Qa5 34.Qb1 b5 33...Qa5 34.Bg6 Qb4 Now a possible line is 35.Qh5 35.Ka2 Nc1+ 35...Rfd8 36.Bxf5 Nd4+ 37.Rb2 Qxe1+ 38.Ka2 Nxf5 39.Qxf5 Bxb2 when White loses all his pieces. 30.Bxh5 Bxc2+ 31.Qxc2 b5 32.cxb5 Qd7 33.Qe2 Na4-+ 30...b5! An important follow up. 31.cxb5 31.Bxh5 Qb7 31.Bd4 Bxd4 32.Qxd4 bxc4 33.Rxc4 Rb8 31...Qb6 32.Bd4 Bxd4 33.Qxd4 Bxb5 34.Bxh5 a4 basically Black is almost winning after 29...Ba4. I think though it is unrealistic to expect a person to find it over the board. Just reading the reports on ChessBase I can only imagine how much tension the players are going through to perform well. Pressure, pressure pressure from every side. 30.Qb4 g6 31.Rd1 When I first saw this move I thought it was an internet glitch. I expected Fabiano to improve the position of his knight with 31.Nd1. 31.Nd1 White will hopefully unravel and take a solid stance with Qd2 and Nc3. 31...Ra8 Draw agreed. A big surprise, considering that Black still had a stable advantage in the position and on the clock. (If I remember correctly Magnus had 50 minutes left here compared to Fabiano's 20 minutes.) I guess Nh3 followed by Ng5 gives White a solid position, so Magnus decided to call it a day. Magnus must be really looking forward to the rapid tiebreaks, as he did two years ago against Sergey Karjakin. He missed great winning opportunities on move 25 and move 29 and I sort of suspect he came into the game with an eye on the tiebreaks. It's also posisble that he just wnated to make a lot of people happy (including myself). As two years ago we again get to see a four game rapid playoff! I am very excited to watch this match live. My prediction is that Fabiano will give Magnus a run for his money. That said, rapid games are a totally different kind of chess. Usually the player with the better nerves wins. Let's see what happens. ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Caruana,F2832Carlsen,M2835½–½2018London 201812

Round-up shows

GM Erwin l'Ami reviews the game


All games of the match

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.d3 Bg7 6.h3 Nf6 7.Nc3 Nd7 B31: Sizilianisch (Rossolimo-Variante) 7...0-0 8.0-0 Ne8 9.Be3 b6 10.e5 f6 11.Re1 Nc7 12.Qd2 fxe5 13.Bh6 Rxf3 14.Bxg7 Kxg7 15.gxf3 Bxh3 16.Rxe5 e6 17.Rg5 1-0 (33) Caruana,F (2827)-Gelfand,B (2703) Batumi 2018 7...b6 8.Be3 e5 9.0-0 0-0 10.a3 Qe7 11.Qb1 Nh5 12.b4 f5 13.bxc5 f4 14.Bd2 bxc5 15.Qb3+ Be6 0-1 (39) Caruana,F (2820)-Carlsen,M (2862) Wijk aan Zee 2015 CBM 165 [Stohl,I] 8.Be3 e5 9.0-0 b6 LiveBook: 6 Partien 10.Nh2 Nf8 11.f4N Vorgänger: 11.Qd2 Ne6 12.Bh6 0-0 13.Bxg7 Kxg7 14.Ne2 Qg5 15.f4 exf4 16.Nxf4 1-0 (45) Manik,M (2440)-Nayhebaver,M (2005) Kosice 2010 11...exf4 12.Rxf4 Be6 13.Rf2 h6 14.Qd2 g5 15.Raf1 Qd6 16.Ng4 0-0-0! 17.Nf6 Nd7 18.Nh5 Be5 19.g4 f6 20.b3 Bf7 21.Nd1 Nf8 22.Nxf6 Ne6 23.Nh5 23.Nd7!? Bf4 24.Nf6= 23...Bxh5 23...Bg6 is interesting. 24.Kh1 Qe7 25.Qe2 Rdg8 26.Rg1 Kb8 24.gxh5 Nf4 25.Bxf4 gxf4 26.Rg2 Rhg8 27.Qe2 Rxg2+ 28.Qxg2 Qe6! 29.Nf2! Rg8       Schwarz hat starke Initiative. 30.Ng4 Qe8 31.Qf3 Qxh5 32.Kf2! Bc7 33.Ke2
33.e5! Kb7 34.Nf6 Qh4+ 35.Ke2 33...Qg5!-+ 34.Nh2 34.Qf2 war nötig. 34...h5 35.Rf2 Qg1 36.Nf1 h4 36...Qg7-+ 37.Nd2 Kb7 37.Kd2? 37.e5! 37...Kb7 38.c3 Be5 Droht ...Tg3! und aus. 39.Kc2 Qg7 39...b5-+ zielt auf ...Tg3! ab. 40.Qe2 b4 41.cxb4 Bd4 40.Nh2! Bxc3 41.Qxf4 Bd4 42.Qf7+ Ka6! 43.Qxg7 Rxg7       Endspiel KTL-KTS Doch nicht 43...Bxg7?! 44.Rf5= 44.Re2 Rg3 45.Ng4 e5 ist eine echte Drohung. Rxh3 Weiss muss nun ...Tg3 beachten. 46.e5 Rf3 47.e6 Rf8 48.e7 Re8 49.Nh6! h3 50.Nf5
Und weiter mit Th2 wäre nett. 50...Bf6! 51.a3 b5 Günstiger ist 51...Ka5 52.b4= cxb4 53.axb4
53...Bxe7!       54.Nxe7 54.Rxe7 Rxe7 54...h2 55.Rxh2 Und Th7 würde nun gewinnen. Rxe7 KT-KT 56.Rh6 Kb6 57.Kc3 Rd7 58.Rg6 Kc7 59.Rh6 Rd6 60.Rh8! Rg6 61.Ra8! Kb7 62.Rh8 Rg5 63.Rh7+ Kb6 64.Rh6 Rg1 Weiss sollte ...a5 verhindern. 65.Kc2 Rf1 66.Rg6 Rh1 67.Rf6 Rh8 68.Kc3 Ra8 Mit der Idee ...a5. 69.d4 Rd8 70.Rh6 Rd7 71.Rg6 Kc7 72.Rg5 Rd6 73.Rg8 Rh6 74.Ra8 Rh3+ 75.Kc2 Ra3 76.Kb2 Ra4 77.Kc3! a6 78.Rh8 Ra3+ 79.Kb2 Rg3 79...Rd3 feels hotter. 80.Rh7+ Kd6 81.Ra7 Rxd4 82.Ka3 Rd3+ 80.Kc2 Rg5 81.Rh6 Rd5 82.Kc3 Rd6 83.Rh8! Rg6 84.Kc2 Kb7 85.Kc3 Rg3+ 86.Kc2 Rg1 87.Rh5 Rg2+ 88.Kc3! Rg3+ 89.Kc2 Rg4 90.Kc3 Kb6 91.Rh6 Rg5 92.Rf6 Rh5 93.Rg6 Rh3+ 94.Kc2 Rh5 95.Kc3! Rd5 96.Rh6 Kc7 97.Rh7+ Rd7 98.Rh5 Rd6 99.Rh8! Rg6 100.Rf8 Rg3+ 101.Kc2 Ra3 102.Rf7+ Kd6 103.Ra7! Kd5 Droht stark ...Kc4. 104.Kb2 Rd3 105.Rxa6 Rxd4 106.Kb3 Re4 107.Kc3 Rc4+ 108.Kb3 Kd4 109.Rb6! Die Stellung ist ausgeglichen. Kd3 110.Ra6 Rc2 111.Rb6! Rc3+ 112.Kb2 Rc4 113.Kb3 Kd4 114.Ra6 Kd5 115.Ra8 Precision: Weiß = 71%, Schwarz = 67%.
½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Caruana,F2832Carlsen,M2835½–½2018B31World Chess Championship 20181
Carlsen,M2835Caruana,F2832½–½2018D37World Chess Championship 20182
Caruana,F2832Carlsen,M2835½–½2018B31World Chess Championship 20183
Carlsen,M2835Caruana,F2832½–½2018A29World Chess Championship 20184
Caruana,F2832Carlsen,M2835½–½2018B31World Chess Championship 20185
Carlsen,M2835Caruana,F2832½–½2018C42World Chess Championship 20186
Carlsen,M2835Caruana,F2832½–½2018D37World Chess Championship 20187
Caruana,F2832Carlsen,M2835½–½2018B33World Chess Championship 20188
Carlsen,M2835Caruana,F2832½–½2018A29World Chess Championship 20189
Caruana,F2832Carlsen,M2835½–½2018B33World Chess Championship 201810
Carlsen,M2835Caruana,F2832½–½2018C42World Chess Championship 201811
Caruana,F2832Carlsen,M2835½–½2018B33World Chess Championship 201812
Carlsen,M2835Caruana,F28321–02018A22World Chess Championship 201813.1
Caruana,F2832Carlsen,M28350–12018B33World Chess Championship 201814.1
Carlsen,M2835Caruana,F28321–02018B44World Chess Championship 201815.1

Macauley Peterson contributed reporting from London

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Antonio is a freelance writer and a philologist. He is mainly interested in the links between chess and culture, primarily literature. In chess games, he skews towards endgames and positional play.

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