World Cup: Carlsen and Arjun score with black

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
8/16/2023 – Magnus Carlsen and Arjun Erigaisi both won with black to take a 1-point lead in their quarterfinal matches against Dommaraju Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa, respectively. Leinier Dominguez got winning chances but failed to find precise continuations against Fabiano Caruana, while Vidit Gujrathi and Nijat Abasov signed a 109-move draw on Tuesday. In the women’s section, Aleksandra Goryachkina defeated Tan Zhongyi, also with black. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage
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A dream start

Magnus Carlsen and Arjun Erigaisi have excellent chances of reaching the semifinals in the open section of the FIDE World Cup after scoring wins with black against Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa on Tuesday. Needing to win on demand, the fighting Gukesh and Pragg are likely to go for lively variations right out of the opening in the rematches.

While Carlsen showed his well-known mastery in an endgame (more on that below), Arjun was stronger than his good friend Pragg once a tactical sequence led to an extremely sharp position. Arjun’s passed d-pawn gave him an all-important win that gets the 19-year-old closer to qualifying to his first-ever Candidates Tournament.

Praggnanandhaa R26900–1Erigaisi Arjun2710
FIDE World Cup 2023
Baku15.08.2023[Johannes Fischer]
1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.d4 Nf6 5.0-0 0-0 6.c4 c6 7.Qa4 Nfd7 8.Qb3 a5 9.cxd5 a4 10.Qd1 cxd5 11.Nc3 Nb6 12.Bf4 Nc6 13.Rc1 Ra5 14.b3 axb3 15.axb3 Bg4 16.Ne5 Be6 17.Qd2 Qa8 18.e3 Rc8 19.Nd3 Bf5 20.h3 Bxd3 21.Qxd3 e6 22.Rfd1 Bf8 23.Bf1 Nb4 24.Qe2 Ra3 25.Qb2 Na2 26.Nxa2 Rxa2 27.Rxc8 Nxc8 28.Qc3 Ne7 29.b4 Nf5 30.Rc1 Bd6 31.Be5 Bxe5 32.dxe5 Kg7 33.b5 Qd8 34.Qb4 d4 35.e4
35...Nxg3! A promising piece sacrifice. 36.fxg3 d3 37.Bg2? White misses the narrow path to a draw. After 37.Kh1 Rf2 38.Qd6 Qg5 39.Rc8! Black has nothing better than Rxf1+ 40.Kg2 Rg1+ 41.Kxg1 Qxg3+ mit Remis durch Dauerschach. 37...Qb6+ 38.Kh2 Qf2 39.Rg1 Re2 40.Qe7 d2 41.Qf6+ Qxf6 42.exf6+ Kxf6 Black has two pawns for the piece, but the strong passed pawn on the d-file more than makes up for the material disadvantage. 43.Rf1+ Ke5 44.Kg1 Kd4 45.Bf3 Ke3 46.Bg4 h5 47.Bxe2 Kxe2 48.Rf2+ Kd3 49.Rf1 Kc2 50.Rf2 Kc1 51.Rxf7 d1Q+ 52.Rf1 e5 53.b6 Qxf1+ White gave up. The pawn endgame is easily winning for Black. 0–1

Arjun Erigaisi

Arjun Erigaisi | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

Carlsen’s endgame technique

In an interesting, tense struggle, Carlsen got the upper hand early on despite playing black, as Gukesh’s strongest suit is not deep theoretical preparation. Carlsen ended up getting a superior rook endgame, and showcased his great technique to convert his advantage into a win.

GM Karsten Müller analysed the endgame!

Gukesh D27440–1Carlsen, Magnus2835
FIDE World Cup 2023
Baku15.08.2023[Mueller,Karsten]
1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 b6 3.Nc3 Bb7 4.f3 e6 5.e4 a6 6.Qd2 d5 7.0-0-0 Bb4 8.a3 Bxc3 9.Qxc3 dxe4 10.d5 Nxd5 11.Qxg7 Qf6 12.Qxf6 Nxf6 13.Be5 Ke7 14.Bxc7 Nbd7 15.Bg3 Rhg8 16.Be2 Ke8 17.fxe4 Nxe4 18.Bf3 Nxg3 19.hxg3 Bxf3 20.Nxf3 Rxg3 21.Rxh7 Ke7 22.Nd4 Ne5 23.Re1 Rg4 24.Rxe5 Rxd4 25.Re2 Rad8 26.c3 Rf4 27.Kc2 Rg8 28.b4 b5 29.Kb3 Rfg4 30.Rf2 R8g7 31.Rxg7 Rxg7 32.a4 f5 33.axb5 axb5 34.Ra2 Rg5
The king blockades the passed pawns, the rook attacks. This is a typical distribution of roles in rook endings: 35.Ra7+? This check just wastes time. 35.Ra5 defends due to f4 36.Kc2 White's king must deal with Black's passed pawns. Then his activity draws, e.g. Rxg2+ 37.Kd3 Rg5 37...e5 38.Rxb5 Rg3+ 39.Kc4 Ke6 40.Rb8 Kf5 41.b5= 38.Ke4 Rf5 39.Ra7+ Only now the check can be given. Kf6 40.Kf3 e5 41.Ra6+ Kg5 42.Re6= 35...Kf6 36.Ra2 f4! 37.Rc2 37.c4?! Rg3+-+ 37...Rg3!?
Paralysing White is good technique. The direct 37...e5 38.c4 Rg3+ wins as well. 38.Ka2 Ke5 39.Kb2 Kd5 40.Rd2+ Ke4 41.Kb3 e5 42.Re2+ Kf5!? Backwards is the way forward. 42...Kd3? 43.Rxe5 Rxg2 44.Rxb5= 43.Rd2 e4 44.Rd5+ Kf6 45.Rxb5 e3 46.Rb6+ 46.Kc2 is met by Rxg2+ 47.Kd3 Rd2+ 48.Ke4 e2-+ 46...Kf5 47.Rb5+ Ke4 48.Rb8 e2 48...e2 49.Re8+ 49.b5 Re3-+ 49...Kd3 50.b5 Re3 51.Rd8+ Ke4 52.Re8+ Kf5-+ 0–1

Full-game analysis by IM Robert Ris

Quarterfinals’ games - Open

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1.d4 8 Nf6 50 2.Bf4 15 b6 4:14 3.Nc3 12 Bb7 1:09 4.f3 10 e6 5:29 5.e4 10 a6 3:25 6.Qd2 27 A45: Trompowsky Attack. d5 3:38
7.0-0-0N 1:00 Predecessor: 7.exd5 Nxd5 8.Nxd5 Bxd5 9.Bd3 Bd6 10.Bg3 0-0 11.Ne2 c5 12.c3 Bb7 13.0-0-0 1-0 Lantos,A (2038)-Karacsonyi,G (1978) HUN-chT2 Erkel 1617 2016 (1.6) 7...Bb4 9:07 8.a3 22:07 The position is equal. Bxc3 4:38 9.Qxc3 8 dxe4 5 10.d5 3:46 Nxd5 2:01 11.Qxg7 18 11.fxe4? is the wrong capture. Nxc3 12.Rxd8+ Kxd8-+ 11...Qf6 10 12.Qxf6 25 Nxf6 1 13.Be5 6:12 Ke7 2 14.Bxc7 11 Nbd7 2:05 15.Bg3 5:51 Rhg8 1:09 16.Be2 6:47 Ke8 3:43 17.fxe4 7:42 Nxe4 1:02 18.Bf3 42 Nxg3 1:41 19.hxg3 5:09 Bxf3 39 20.Nxf3 6 Rxg3 16:26 21.Rxh7 6 Ne5! is the strong threat. Ke7 1:30 22.Nd4 3:24 Ne5 40 Repels Nc6+ 23.Re1 5:49 Rg4 2:15 24.Rxe5 5:47 Rxd4= 2       Endgame KRR-KRR 25.Re2 15 Rad8 1:48 26.c3 3:08 Rf4 19 27.Kc2 40 Rg8 20 28.b4 4:29 b5 5:10 Black should play 28...Rfg4 29.Kb3 2:00 Rfg4 31 30.Rf2 1:15 R8g7 31 31.Rxg7 15 Rxg7 1 KR-KR 32.a4 1:49 f5 42       33.axb5 1:31 axb5 2 Strongly threatening ...Rg3. 34.Ra2? 3:35
Black continues to play with concentration. 34.c4!= 34...Rg5? 28 34...Kd6!-+ and Black stays clearly on top. And now ...e5 would win. 35.Ra6+ Ke5 35.Ra7+? 6:02       35.Ra5 35...Kf6-+ 1:05 36.Ra2 2:41
36...f4! 1:19 ...e5 would be deadly. 37.Rc2 32 Rg3 1:39 38.Ka2 4 Ke5 5:00 But not 38...e5? 39.c4-+ 39.Kb2 1 Kd5 3:34 40.Rd2+ 3:27 Ke4 4:09 41.Kb3 15:56 e5 47       White must now prevent ...Ke3. 42.Re2+ 18 Kf5 13 43.Rd2 36 e4 1:06 44.Rd5+ 4:24 Kf6 9 45.Rxb5 50 e3 10 Black mates. 46.Rb6+ 38 Kf5 10 47.Rb5+ 23 Ke4 6 48.Rb8 7 e2 1:31 Weighted Error Value: White=0.68/Black=0.13 (very precise) 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Gukesh D2744Carlsen,M28350–12023A45FIDE World Cup 20236.1
Dominguez Perez,L2739Caruana,F2782½–½2023C55FIDE World Cup 20236.1
Vidit,S2719Abasov,N2632½–½2023B30FIDE World Cup 20236.1
Praggnanandhaa R2690Erigaisi Arjun27100–12023D78FIDE World Cup 20236.1
Carlsen,M2835Gukesh D2744½–½2023B22FIDE World Cup 20236.2
Caruana,F2782Dominguez Perez,L27391–02023D33FIDE World Cup 20236.2
Erigaisi Arjun2710Praggnanandhaa R26900–12023B22FIDE World Cup 20236.2
Abasov,N2632Vidit,S27191–02023D02FIDE World Cup 20236.2
Erigaisi Arjun2710Praggnanandhaa R2690½–½2023E36FIDE World Cup 20236.3
Praggnanandhaa R2690Erigaisi Arjun2710½–½2023D31FIDE World Cup 20236.4
Erigaisi Arjun2710Praggnanandhaa R26900–12023C22FIDE World Cup 20236.5
Praggnanandhaa R2690Erigaisi Arjun27100–12023D37FIDE World Cup 20236.6
Erigaisi Arjun2710Praggnanandhaa R26900–12023C54FIDE World Cup 20236.7
Praggnanandhaa R2690Erigaisi Arjun27100–12023D35FIDE World Cup 20236.8
Praggnanandhaa R2690Erigaisi Arjun27101–02023A07FIDE World Cup 20236.9

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Women’s: Goryachkina beats Tan

Aleksandra Goryachkina entered the Women’s World Cup as the second seed. The Russian grandmaster has already qualified to the next edition of the Candidates Tournament.

According to the FIDE regulations, unlike in the open section, if Goryachkina finishes among the top-3 in Baku, the spot in the Candidates will not be filled by the next best player in the World Cup, and instead will be decided by the January 2024 ratings list. Thus, Tan Zhongyi, Nurgyul Salimova and Anna Muzychuk are now fighting for two spots at the knockout event.

While Salimova held Muzychuk to a 32-move draw with black on Tuesday, Goryachkina managed to beat Tan with the black pieces.

Tan, Zhongyi25230–1Goryachkina, Aleksandra2557
FIDE Womens World Cup 2023
Baku15.08.2023[Johannes Fischer]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 Be7 6.e3 0-0 7.Bd3 Re8 8.Nge2 c6 9.h3 Nbd7 10.Qc2 a5 11.0-0 Nf8 12.f3 b5 13.Rae1 Ba6 14.Ng3 b4 15.Na4 Ne6 16.Bxf6 Bxf6 17.Bxa6 Rxa6
18.Nf5? This knight excursion proves to be superficial, and only a little later the knight retreats again. In the further course of the game White failed to find convincing position for her pieces and was gradually outplayed. Better was 18.Rc1 although Black has a very comfortable position even in this variation. 18...h5 19.Rc1 g6 20.Ng3 Qb8 21.Ne2 Qb5 22.Rcd1 Raa8 23.b3 Rac8 24.Qd3 Kg7 25.Rd2 Qxd3 26.Rxd3 c5 27.dxc5 Nxc5 28.Nxc5 Rxc5 29.Nf4 d4 30.e4 Rc2 31.Rf2 Rec8 32.Rfd2 Rxd2 33.Rxd2 Bg5 34.g3 h4 35.Rxd4 Rc1+ 36.Kh2 Rc2+ 37.Ng2 Rxa2 38.e5 Bd2 39.Rd7 a4 40.e6 Kf8 41.bxa4 b3 42.Rb7 b2 43.f4 fxe6 44.Nxh4 Bb4 45.Nxg6+ Kg8 0–1

Aleksandra Goryachkina

Aleksandra Goryachkina | Photo: chess.com / Maria Emelianova

Semifinals’ games - Women’s

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1.d4 4 d5 13 2.c4 7 e6 15 3.Nc3 8 Nf6 17 4.cxd5 9 exd5 6 5.Bg5 8 Be7 33 6.e3 9 0-0 39 7.Bd3 11 Re8 39 8.Nge2 36 c6 2:10 9.h3 1:51 Nbd7 1:36       10.Qc2 57 a5!? 4:06       A promising side line. D36: Queen's Gambit Declined: Exchange Variation: Main line (5 Bg5 c6 6 Qc2). 11.0-0 6:37 Nf8 1:18
12.f3N 4:07 Predecessor: 12.Rae1 Ne4 13.Bf4 f5 14.f3 Nd6 15.Ng3 Bh4 16.Re2 g6 17.Nh1 Ne6 18.Bh2 1-0 Bogdanovich,G (2355)-Gazmaga,S Wuerzburg op 7th 1991 (5) 12...b5 18:32 The position is equal. 13.Rae1 6:43 Ba6 2:50 14.Ng3 4:20 b4 3:28 14...h6!? 15.Bf4 Ne6 15.Na4 5:08 Ne6 4:35 16.Bxf6 23 Bxf6 1:12 17.Bxa6 3:21 Rxa6 2 18.Nf5 50 18.Re2= 18...h5! 7:16 19.Rc1 5:44 19.Nc5 Ra7 20.f4 19...g6-+ 1:37 20.Ng3 19 Qb8? 4:26 Better is 20...Ng7!-+ And now ...Bh4 would win. 21.e4 Bxd4+ 22.Kh1 c5 21.Ne2= 7:38 Qb5 1:55 22.Rcd1 10:58 22.Rfe1= 22...Raa8 7:52       Black is more active. 22...Ra7!? 23.Rd3 Rae7 23.b3 4:26 Rac8 1:45 24.Qd3 6:35 Kg7 3:22 25.Rd2 5:00 Qxd3 4:58 26.Rxd3 4 c5 28 27.dxc5 6 Nxc5 17 28.Nxc5 10 Rxc5 1 29.Nf4 1:26 29.Rfd1= keeps the balance. 29...d4! 5:48 Black keeps a firm grip on the game. 30.e4 5:49 30.exd4 Rc2 31.Rf2 Re1+ 32.Rf1 Rxf1+ 33.Kxf1 30...Rc2 46 31.Rf2 8:47 Rec8 21 32.Rfd2 5:43 Rxd2 2:15 33.Rxd2-+ 5       Endgame
KRB-KRN 33...Bg5! 12 34.g3 5 h4 16 35.Rxd4 3:55 Rc1+ 3:31 35...hxg3 36.Nd5 36.Kh2 1:15 Rc2+ 1:11 37.Ng2 6 Rxa2 37 38.e5? 1:45 38.Rd1 is a better defense. 38...Bd2 5:47 ...a4 is the strong threat. 39.Rd7 4 a4 7:33 40.e6 20 e7 would be deadly. Kf8 46 40...axb3 41.e7 Be1 42.e8Q 41.bxa4 32:09
41...b3! 7:16       And not 41...fxe6 42.Rb7 42.Rb7 0 b2 3:25 42...Rxa4 43.Nxh4 Ra2 44.Rxb3± Stronger than 42...fxe6 43.Rxb3 hxg3+ 44.Kxg3= 43.f4 0 fxe6 2:28 Not 43...Rxa4 44.Rb8+ Kg7 45.Rxb2 hxg3+ 46.Kxg3 44.Nxh4 0
44...Bb4! 2:24       Promotion 45.Nxg6+ 0 Kg8 49 Weighted Error Value: White=0.60/Black=0.09 (flawless) 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Tan,Z2523Goryachkina,A25570–12023D36FIDE Womens World Cup 20236.1
Muzychuk,A2504Salimova,N2409½–½2023B13FIDE Womens World Cup 20236.1
Goryachkina,A2557Tan,Z2523½–½2023A42FIDE Womens World Cup 20236.2
Salimova,N2409Muzychuk,A2504½–½2023D27FIDE Womens World Cup 20236.2
Muzychuk,A2504Salimova,N24090–12023B15FIDE Womens World Cup 20236.3
Salimova,N2409Muzychuk,A25040–12023A87FIDE Womens World Cup 20236.4
Salimova,N2409Muzychuk,A25041–02023D27FIDE Womens World Cup 20236.5
Muzychuk,A2504Salimova,N2409½–½2023B15FIDE Womens World Cup 20236.6

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Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.
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