World Championship: Game 4 annotated by Luke McShane

by ChessBase
12/1/2021 – On first sight, game 4 of the World Championship match between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi does not seem to be particularly spectacular. Nepomniachtchi went for the Petroff and appeared to be well prepared for Carlsen's novelty 18.Nh4 and after 33 moves the game ended with a repetition and a draw. But as English Grandmaster Luke McShane points out in his analysis, the game contained a lot of hidden tactical possibilities.
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Carlsen vs Nepomniachtchi, Game 4

 
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1.e4 This game was played on Carlsen's birthday, 30th November. In his first White game, Carlsen played 1.d4. The World Champion has a wide repertoire, so it is natural that he wants to see what Nepomniachtchi has prepared against both main first moves. e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 Nepomniachtchi won an important game with the Petroff (Russian) defence against Wang Hao at the Candidates tournament in April 2021. 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.0-0 0-0 The position is nearly symmetrical. In this variation, White tries to build a slight initiative around the fact that the d5 pawn has been slightly weakened by the 'extra' move Nf6-e4. 8.c4 c6 9.Re1 Bf5 10.Qb3 Qd7 11.Nc3 Nxc3 12.Bxf5 Qxf5 13.bxc3 13.Qxb7 is the other try in this position. Caruana used this move at the Grand Swiss in 2019. Qd7 14.Qxd7 14.Qxa8? Na4 15.c5 Na6 the queen is trapped 14...Nxd7 15.c5 Bxh2+ 16.Nxh2 Ne4 Caruana - Wang Hao, FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss, 2019 (a draw) 13...b6 14.cxd5 cxd5 15.Qb5 Qd7 Surprisingly, this is Black's only reasonable move 15...Nd7 16.Qc6 Black just loses material here. Bb8 White can't capture the rook on a8 immediately, but simple moves suffice, e.g. 17.Ba3 Rd8 18.Be7 Re8 19.Bg5 Rf8 20.Kh1 wins 16.a4 16.Qxd5?? Bxh2+ 16.Rb1 has also been played at top level in Vachier Lagrave - Caruana Norway Chess 2017 (a draw) 16...Qxb5 17.axb5 a5 18.Nh4 An interesting try from Carlsen, and the first new move of the game. Nevertheless, it is clear that Nepomniachtchi was ready for this. Of course, Carlsen's 18.Nh4 is rather committal, as has passed up the last opportunity to capture en passant. Black's protected passed pawn on the a-file now becomes a permanent asset. 18.bxa6 gives Black little to worry about. Nxa6 19.Ba3 Bxa3 20.Rxa3 Nc7 with equality 18...g6 Keeping the knight out of f5. Carlsen hinted during the press conference that there were many possibilities for the game to become sharp. Perhaps he was considering lines such as the following: 18...Nd7 A natural alternative 19.Nf5 Rfe8 20.Bg5 Rxe1+ 21.Rxe1 Bf8 22.Ne3 White will will the d5 pawn, but Black's passed a-pawn could be rather dangerous. 19.g4 This reveals the secondary point of 18.Nf3-h4. The knight is coming, via g2, to attack the pawn on d5. Nd7 20.Ng2 Rfc8 20...Nf6 is a plausible alternative. The game would become extremely sharp after 21.Bh6 Rfc8 21...Bxh2+ 22.Kh1 is double edged 22.Ne3 Rxc3 23.g5 Nd7 24.Nxd5 with a really unclear position. Black's king is always going to be in some danger, because doubling rooks on the e-file, followed by Re8+ is an obvious plan for White. But the a-pawn is dangerous, and the Bh6 could easily become irrelevant. 21.Bf4 21.Bd2 defending the pawn is much less promising. With the extra move Rf8-c8, Black has time to play Nf6 22.f3 Ne8 and the knight is coming to a nice square on c7, so White seems to be in more danger here. 21...Bxf4 22.Nxf4 Rxc3 22...Nf6 23.g5 shows one of the reasons to prefer 19.g4 over 19.g3 23.Nxd5 Rd3 24.Re7 Nf8 the only move, since 24...Rd8 25.Rxd7 wins a piece: Rxd7 26.Nf6+ 25.Nf6+ This came after Carlsen's first big think of the game, lasting more than 20 minutes. It is possible that he was still somewhat familiar with the position (which remains balanced), but needed time to decide how best to pose practical problems. 25.Nxb6 Rb8 26.Nd5 Rxd4 is likely to end in a draw soon. 25...Kg7 26.Ne8+ Kg8 Other king moves are possible, but leaving the pawn on f7 loose would introduce a bit more risk into the position. Black has no reason to fear a repetition 27.d5 Avoiding the immediate draw by repetition. 27.Nf6+ Kg7 28.Ne8+ Kg8 27...a4 Not the only decent move for Black, but certainly the simplest. 28.Nf6+ 28.d6 was also playable, but Black has various ways to secure equality. For example a3 29.d7 Rd8 30.Nf6+ Kg7 31.Re8 R3xd7 32.Nxd7 Rxe8 33.Nxb6 Rb8 34.Nc4 Rxb5 35.Rxa3 with a draw 28...Kg7 29.g5 Supporting the knight in this way creates the outline of a mating net around the Black king. One of White's ideas here is extremely simple: Ra1-c1-c7 and Rxf7+. But Black has more than one way to deal with this, and pushing the passed a-pawn is certainly the simplest. a3 30.Ne8+ This came after another long think from Carlsen. There are quite a few alternatives to contemplate: 30.Rc1 leads to a pretty draw by perpetual check a2 31.Rxf7+ 31.Rcc7?? is too clever, and meets a simple refutation: a1Q+ 32.Kg2 Qxf6 31...Kxf7 31...Kh8 32.Kg2! and Black is in big trouble 32.Rc7+ Nd7 33.Rxd7+ Kf8 34.Nxh7+ Kg8 35.Nf6+ with a typical draw by repetition, because hiding in the corner allows Rh7 mate. 30.Re3 is another move Carlsen may have considered. Rxe3 31.fxe3 If White had time to bring his king to the queenside, this could be dangerous for Black. But the bind on the kingside is not permanent: h6 32.h4 hxg5 33.hxg5 Nh7 34.Nxh7 Kxh7 and now White must be careful to secure the draw 35.Kf2? 35.d6 draws easily by deflecting the Black rook 35...Kg7 36.e4 f6 37.gxf6+ Kxf6 38.Ke3 Ke5 and Black wins 30.d6 was possible, but Black has various paths to equality. For example Ne6 31.d7 Nxg5 this strikes me as the simplest, though 31...Rd8 is also acceptable 32.Re8 Ra5 33.d8Q Rxd8 34.Rxd8 34.Nh5+ Kh6 35.Rxd8 Kxh5 doesn't change much 34...Kxf6 35.Rd6+ Kg7 36.Rxb6 Nf3+ 37.Kg2 Nd4 38.Ra6 Rxb5 39.R6xa3 and Black will draw without any difficulty. 30.Kg2 a2 31.Re2 Rda3 is a strange position, which seems to be equal, although I suspect White is the one running more risk here. One simple idea for Black is to play Ra3-a7, followed by Nf8-d7. 30...Kg8 30...Kh8 was possible, as before, but Black should not be overly ambitious. 31.Nf6 a2 31...Kg7 is safer 32.Rxf7 Rb3 33.Kg2 Rxb5 34.h4 and Black has serious problems to solve. Rb1 35.Rxa2 Rxa2 36.Rxf8+ Kg7 37.Rb8 and Black may already be lost here. 31.Nf6+ Kg7 32.Ne8+ Kg8 33.Nf6+ ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Magnus Carlsen2855Ian Nepomniachtchi2782½–½2021FIDE World Championship 20214

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