The longest in history
Replay full analysis of the game by world number six Anish Giri at the end of the article!
Back in 1978, world champion Anatoly Karpov played his first match to defend the title after getting the world crown by default in 1975. He faced Viktor Korchnoi, a fierce fighter, in Baguio City, Phillipines. The fifth game, played on July 27, followed a streak of four very short draws. The game also ended in a draw, but by no means was it a short one — it would become the longest-ever game (in terms of moves) in a World Championship match up to that point, and it held that record for over 43 years. Until the sixth game of the 2021 match between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi.
After 136 moves, not only did Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi break the aforementioned record, but the game also saw Carlsen obtaining the first win in a classical encounter at a World Championship match in a bit over five years — the Norwegian had defeated Sergey Karjakin with white in game 10 of the 2016 match on November 24.
It was a full-blown fight, which lasted 7 hours and 45 minutes. Since games kick off at 16:30 local time in Dubai, the first decisive encounter of this year’s match finished fifteen minutes past midnight!
Let our authors show you how Carlsen tailored his openings to be able to outplay his opponents strategically in the middlegame or to obtain an enduring advantage into the endgame.
A rollercoaster battle, the game saw Carlsen employing a non-forceful opening setup with the white pieces, apparently trying to take the struggle to the middlegame. Nepo responded in kind, as he rejected an opportunity to swap queens on move 17. Uncharacteristically, Carlsen found himself in deep time trouble, and a sharp skirmish saw him missing a major chance to play a winning sequence nearing the first time control. In the endgame, piece setups continued to shift, but Carlsen never stopped trying, and he was eventually rewarded with a remarkable victory.
As per the contract signed by the contenders, they were obliged to attend a press conference no matter the length of the game. Nepo was visibly downhearted, but also extremely polite when giving his responses, while a chirpy world champion reflected:
It was never easy, nor should it be. [...] You have to try for every chance, no matter how small it is.
Going to the press conference must have felt as only a small inconvenience for the players though. Especially for Nepo, it is rather unfortunate that this marathon took place in the first of a three-game series to be played on consecutive days. The players will return to the board on Saturday and Sunday, with the Russian getting one more black during the weekend.
Going for a middlegame
Perhaps avoiding either a Petroff or a Berlin, Carlsen played 1.d4, and after 1...Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.g3, delaying a pawn push to c4, the world champion asked the challenger what kind of setup he wanted to establish on the board. The sneaky move order avoided any forceful lines that might give White an advantage from the get go, but in exchange took the battle to the middlegame, where the Norwegian intended to demonstrate his superiority.
Nepo was more than up to the task, rejecting a pawn sacrifice on move 10 and going for activity instead. Moreover, on move 17 the Russian chose not to trade queens, expecting to get good play despite doubling his pawns on the kingside.
Carlsen vs. Nepomniachtchi
Instead of 17...Qxf6 18.Qxf6 gxf6, Nepo immediately went for 17...gxf6. In his annotations, Anish Giri explained:
An interesting choice, perhaps stemming from some ambition. Queen trade would have also been fine. Sometimes in those endgames White can claim a good d3 knight against a “bad” bishop, but with Black pieces so active and bishop being on b6, there is little talk of White fighting for anything.
With so much talk about draws in the World Championship match, this was a clear sign that it had little to do with the players’ willingness to fight. As Olimpiu G. Urcan put it:
These DVDs are about Understanding Middlegame Strategies. In the first DVD dynamic decisions involving pawns are discussed. The second DVD deals with decision making process concerning practical play.
Black was doing fine, and Carlsen was burning quite a lot of time on each move. Nepo’s choice on move 25 only made matters more complicated.
Black could have played 25...b4, more or less keeping things under control, while with 25...Rac8 he agreed to enter an imbalanced position with a queen against a pair of rooks after 26.Qxc8 Rxc8 27.Rxc8. Giri:
This is not neccessary, but it did lead to chaos, so the fans should be grateful to Ian.

Chess is hard! | Photo: Eric Rosen
Time trouble
Unlike in previous World Championship matches, FIDE decided this year to only give the contenders an increment after move 61. Thus, in both time controls — on move 40 and move 60 — players are forced to make their moves with the clock ticking down incessantly, without getting a 30-second breather after each decision. For the first time in the match, this factor played a major role in game 6.
With Carlsen’s clock dangerously ticking down, the engines suddenly showed he had a +2 advantage after move 32!
Maurice Ashley asked Carlsen if he had analysed 33.Rcc2 in this position, with the world champion rather dumbfounded by the question. He went for 33.Rd1 instead, which is understandable given how low on time he was and how “hard to spot and calculate” the winning variation was (Giri).
The idea is that after 33.Rcc2 Bxa3 White has 34.Nf4, giving up a second pawn on the queenside — 34...Qxb4 35.Rd7 e5 36.Nxh5+ Kg6
On this DVD a team of experts looks closely at the secrets of Karpov's games. In more than 7 hours of video, the authors examine four essential aspects of Karpov's superb play.
The surprising winning move here is 37.Rc6, since 37...Kxh5 leaves the black king in a mating net after 38.Rxf7. As Giri explains:
You have to see what your follow-up is here, otherwise the whole sequence makes little sense. [...] The move itself is not obvious, giving up both queenside pawns, but the attack is devastating.
In the game, Nepo was fortunate that his opponent did not see this line, but also missed some chances of his own in the time scramble — he did not have that much more time on his clock than Carlsen during this phase of the game.

Over 7 hours of deep focus | Photo: Niki Riga
The endgame
At the press conference, Mike Klein compared the game to a miniseries, implying the existence of episodes and turning points. We can take the comparison further and note that the endgame was in itself a miniseries, with sub-episodes and turning points of its own — we will surely get a more in-depth look to the intricacies of the ending by our in-house specialist Karsten Müller, perhaps in the next instalment of the ‘Endgame Magic’ show.
First, Black seemed to have enough counterplay with his passed pawn on the a-file.
Once that pawn left the board, it seemed like — as long as the black queen remained active — White would not be able to break through.
White then grabbed both f-pawns and the bishop in exchange for a rook. Nepo’s task was not enviable, but his previous play seemed to demonstrate he would be able to hold the balance.
In over 4 hours in front of the camera, Karsten Müller presents to you sensations from the world of endgames - partly reaching far beyond standard techniques and rules of thumb - and rounds off with some cases of with own examples.
Finally, when White’s g-pawn and Black’s h-pawn left the board, we were in tablebases territory — the game was drawn with perfect play. However, well into the eighth hour of play and facing the ever-fighting world champion, it was never going to be easy for Nepo.
The losing move according to the tablebases was Black’s 130th! Six moves later, the Russian challenger threw in the towel.
It was nothing short of a fantastic chess game!
Expert analysis by GM Anish Giri
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.g3 e6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.0-0 0-0 6.b3 c5 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.c4 dxc4 9.Qc2!? Qe7 10.Nbd2!? Nc6! 11.Nxc4 b5 12.Nce5 Nb4! 13.Qb2 Bb7 14.a3 14.Bg5 h6 15.Bh4 14...Nc6 15.Nd3 15.Bg5 Nxe5 16.Qxe5 Bxa3 17.Bxf6 gxf6 18.Qxb5 Rab8 19.Qa4 Bxf3 20.Bxf3 Bc5 15...Bb6 16.Bg5 16.a4 Rfd8!? 17.axb5 Nd4 16...Rfd8 17.Bxf6 gxf6 18.Rac1 Nd4 19.Nxd4 Bxd4 20.Qa2 Bxg2 21.Kxg2 Qb7+ 22.Kg1 Qe4 23.Qc2 a5 24.Rfd1 Kg7 25.Rd2 Rac8 26.Qxc8 Rxc8 27.Rxc8 Qd5 28.b4 a4 29.e3 Be5?! 29...Bb2 30.Rc5 Qd6 31.Rxb2 Qxd3 32.Rbc2 Qxa3 33.Rxb5 Qa1+ 34.Kg2 Qb1 30.h4!? h5?! 30...Bb2 31.Rc5 Qd6 32.Rxb2 Qxd3 33.Rbc2 Qxa3 34.Rxb5 Qa1+ 35.Kg2 Qb1 36.Rc3 Qe4+ 37.Kh2 Qb1 31.Kh2!? Bb2? 32.Rc5 Qd6 33.Rd1? 33.Rcc2! Bxa3 34.Nf4! Qxb4 35.Rd7 e5 36.Nxh5+ Kg6 37.Rc6! Kxh5 38.Rxf7 33.Rxb2 Qxd3 34.Rbc2 33...Bxa3 34.Rxb5 Qd7! 35.Rc5 e5 35...Bxb4! 36.Rcc1 Be7 37.Ne5 Qb5 38.Rd7 Qxe5 39.Rxe7 Qb2 40.Rf1 a3 41.Rd7 a2 42.Rdd1 36.Rc2? Qd5? 36...Bxb4! 37.Rcc1 Ba3! 38.Ra1 Qg4! 39.Rd2 Be7 37.Rdd2 Qb3 38.Ra2 e4 38...Bxb4 39.Rdb2 Qxd3 40.Rxb4 f5 41.Rbxa4 Qf1 38...f5 39.Nxe5 Bc1 40.Re2 a3 41.Rac2 Bb2 42.Nc4 Bf6 39.Nc5 Qxb4 40.Nxe4? 40.Rdc2! f5 41.Nxa4 Qxa4 42.Rc3 Qd1 43.Rcxa3 f6 44.Ra4 Kg6 45.Rd4 Qf1 46.Rd8 Kh6 47.Rd5 Kg6 48.Rad2 40...Qb3 41.Rac2 Bf8 42.Nc5 42.Rc8 a3 43.Rdd8 a2 44.Rxf8 a1Q 42...Qb5 43.Nd3 a3 44.Nf4 Qa5 45.Ra2 Bb4 46.Rd3 Kh6 47.Rd1 Qa4 48.Rda1 Bd6 49.Kg1 Qb3 50.Ne2 Qd3 51.Nd4 Kh7 52.Kh2 Qe4?! 53.Rxa3! Qxh4+ 54.Kg1 Qe4 54...Qg4 55.Ra4 Be5 56.R1a2 56.Kg2 h4 57.Rh1 Bxg3 58.fxg3 Qe4+ 59.Nf3 Qc2+! 60.Kf1 Qd3+! 60...Qxa4? 61.Rxh4+! 61.Kf2 Qc2+! 56...Qd1+ 57.Kg2 h4! 58.Nf5 hxg3 59.Nxg3 55.Ra4! Be5 56.Ne2 Qc2 57.R1a2 Qb3 58.Kg2 58.Kh2 Kg6! 59.Nf4+ Bxf4 60.gxf4 58...Qd5+ 59.f3 Qd1 60.f4 Bc7 61.Kf2 Bb6 62.Ra1 Qb3 63.Re4 Kg7 64.Re8 f5 65.Raa8 Qb4 66.Rac8 Ba5 67.Rc1 Bb6 68.Re5 Qb3 69.Re8 Qd5 70.Rcc8 Qh1 71.Rc1 Qd5 72.Rb1 Ba7 72...Bd8 73.Re5 Qd3 74.Rbb5 h4 75.Rxf5 hxg3+ 76.Nxg3 Bh4 73.Re7 Bc5 74.Re5 Qd3 75.Rb7 Qc2 76.Rb5 Ba7 77.Ra5 Bb6 78.Rab5 Ba7 79.Rxf5 Qd3 80.Rxf7+! Kxf7 81.Rb7+ Kg6 82.Rxa7 Qd5 83.Ra6+ Kh7 84.Ra1 Kg6 85.Nd4 Qb7 86.Ra2 Qh1 87.Ra6+ Kf7 88.Nf3 Qb1 89.Rd6 Kg7 90.Rd5 Qa2+ 91.Rd2 Qb1 92.Re2 Qb6 93.Rc2 Qb1 94.Nd4 Qh1 95.Rc7+ Kf6 96.Rc6+ Kf7 97.Nf3 Qb1 98.Ng5+ Kg7 99.Ne6+ Kf7 100.Nd4 Qh1 101.Rc7+ Kf6 102.Nf3 Qb1 103.Rd7 Qb2+ 104.Rd2 Qb1 105.Ng1 Qb4 106.Rd1 Qb3 107.Rd6+ Kg7 108.Rd4 Qb2+ 109.Ne2 Qb1 110.e4 Qh1 111.Rd7+ Kg8 112.Rd4 Qh2+ 113.Ke3 h4 114.gxh4 Qh3+ 115.Kd2 Qxh4 116.Rd3 Kf8 117.Rf3 Qd8+ 118.Ke3 Qa5? 119.Kf2! Qa7+ 120.Re3 Qd7 121.Ng3 Qd2+ 122.Kf3 Qd1+ 123.Re2 Qb3+ 124.Kg2 Qb7 125.Rd2 Qb3 126.Rd5 Ke7 127.Re5+ Kf7 128.Rf5+ Ke8 129.e5 Qa2+ 130.Kh3 Qe6 131.Kh4 Qh6+ 132.Nh5 Qh7 133.e6! Qg6 134.Rf7 Kd8 135.f5 Qg1 136.Ng7
- Start an analysis engine:
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Carlsen,M | - | Nepomniachtchi,I | - | | 2021 | | Wch Match Dubai 2021 | |
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Up on the scoreboard — world champion Magnus Carlsen | Photo: Eric Rosen
All games
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
- 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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