Surprises and Frustrations - Carlsen vs Karjakin (2/3)

by Yasser Seirawan
12/10/2016 – Before the World Championship match in New York almost everyone saw Magnus Carlsen as clear favorite. But Sergey Karjakin was a surprisingly difficult opponent and though Carlsen had very good chances in the first half of the match he failed to crack Karjakin's defenses. Carlsen was frustrated, the match became tense. Yasser Seirawan takes a look at games 1 to 6.
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Looking back on Carlsen vs Karjakin (2/3)

Games 1 to 6: Carlsen cannot convert

2016 has been a year of surprises, the Chicago Cubs winning a World Series in baseball, a once in a century occurrence; Brexit; Donald Trump… Oh my, what would be next? Certainly, the overwhelming pre-match consensus was clear: reigning Champion Magnus Carlsen would win. Ardent fans predicted a veritable stroll in the park for Magnus. Challenger Sergey Karjakin however had other ideas. Instead of playing to script he fought well in a wonderful, combative match equalizing the world champion in the 12 classical games with a 6-6 score. He might have done better.

The match started with two tame draws. The players can both be forgiven. Playing a WCM is a nerve-wracking affair. There is simply so much work to be done. Preparation for the game is just one aspect. There are the details of the hotel, seconds, supporters, meals and the like. Players are never so busy as during a WCM. It is easy to fall ill. Then there are the really challenging parts like dealing with the media. You know, those demanding journalists and photographers just asking you to smile. There are the duties of cooperating with the organizers, pre-match publicity television and radio show requests. It can seem endless. Most times you just want to close your hotel door and shut out the noise. It is vital that you get adjusted to a new sleeping schedule, get a Zen of the playing hall, become friends with your pieces, even the hated chess clock. To soak up the atmosphere of the event. To calm your nerves, to find your groove, to test your form, the first pair of games is an ideal time to do all of this. A pair of tame draws are not unusual.

Game 1 - Notes by Ruslan Ponomariov

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Notes by Ruslan Ponomariov: The first game of the World Championship match in New York is over. Personally I hope to learn something from the match and to see how modern chess develops. 1.d4 0 Nf6 10 2.Bg5 0 In an interview with Norwegian TV before the match I had predicted that both players will play 1.d4. In my opinion nowadays 1.d4 gives White more options to reach complicated positions and to create tension. But I didn't expect the Trompovsky though Carlsen had played it before. Maybe Carlsen wants to force the team of Karjakin to study each and every game he has ever played? At any rate, the next games will reveal his strategy for the match. d5 13 Black's most solid response. If you want to complicate things you can go for 2...g6 or 2...e6 3.e4 h6 4.Bxf6 Qxf6 which leads to asymmetrical positions. But in World Championship matches the players usually play solidly with Black while trying to press with White. Therefore 2.. . d5 is an understandable decision. 3.e3 0 c5 39 4.Bxf6 29 gxf6 7 5.dxc5 12 I White wants to keep more tension he can play 5.Nc3 leading to a Chigorin defense with colors reversed. The text move gives Black more options to rsolve the tension in the center. 5...Nc6 48 There is nothing wrong with this natural development move. It seems as if Karjakin - like everyone else - was a bit by surprised by his opponent's opening choice and decided to calm down and to spend some time to find out where danger might be lurking in his position. I don't think that anything is wrong with 5...e6 either. 6.Nf3 6.b4 a5 6...Nd7 Here I once played 6...Bxc5 7.c4 dxc4 8.Nbd2 Bd7 9.Bxc4 Bc6 10.0-0 Nd7 and I think in this position Black has solved all of his problems. 11.Qe2 Qe7 12.Rac1 0-0 13.Nb3 Bb6 14.Nfd4 Rac8 15.Qg4+ Kh8 16.Qh4 Ne5 17.Nxc6 Rxc6 18.Be2 Rfc8 19.Qe4 Kg7 20.g3 Rxc1 21.Rxc1 Rxc1+ 22.Nxc1 Qc7 23.Nb3 f5 24.Qb1 a5 25.Qd1 Qc6 26.Nd4 Qe4 27.Nb5 Bc5 28.Nc3 Qc6 29.Bb5 Qc7 30.Bf1 Be7 1/2 (30) Andreikin,D-Ponomariov,R Moscow blitz 2015 7.c4 dxc4 8.c6 Nb6 9.Nbd2 c3 10.bxc3 bxc6 11.Qc2 Bg7 12.Bd3 f5 13.e4 and in this position Magnus somehow managed to complicate things and to outplay Vladimir Kramnik: 1-0 (72) Carlsen,M (2864) -Kramnik,V (2803) Moscow RUS 2013. But I think this was not due to the opening. Kramnik was in bad shape in this tournament, he played badly and finished last. It is interesting that Karjakin also took part in this tournament and with his good memory he probably remembered the Carlsen-Kramnik game. 6.Bb5 32 e6 19:58 7.c4 1:50 dxc4 1:10 8.Nd2 25 Bxc5 0 9.Ngf3 1:20 0-0 2:13 10.0-0 57 Na5 2:52 It's interesting to consider 10...c3 to change the pawn structure. Yes, Black's kingside is shattered as well, but Black has the two bishops which might give some chances to play for an advantage. Instead, Karjakin decided to play simpler and more solid. But after the game move White has less to worry about. 11.Rc1 2:20 Be7 4:25 Black also had the option to play 11...a6 12.Bxc4 Nxc4 13.Rxc4 Be7 and now White needs to play actively, otherwise Black will just finish his development and the two bishops will be very strong on the long diagonals. 12.Qc2 0 Bd7 1:56 13.Bxd7 3:05 Qxd7 3 14.Qc3 2:44 Qd5 7:44 Solid again! But sometimes solid play and giving the initiative to your opponent backfires. More principled was 14...b6 15.Ne4 15.Nxc4 Rac8 15...e5 16.Rfd1 Qe6 17.Ng3 Obviously, White has some compensation but Black still has a healthy extra pawn. One wonders what Carlsen would have done with Black in such a position. 15.Nxc4 6:38 Unfortunately White does not have much choice and can hardly avoid mass exchanges. Therefore I think that 5.dxc5 was a really committal move. Nxc4 15 16.Qxc4 10 A slight innacuracy of the World Champion. Possible was the intermezzo 16.Rfd1 Qb5 17.Qxc4 Qxc4 17...Qxb2 18.Rb1 18.Rxc4 and the white rook is already on d1 instead of f1. However, after Rfc8 White probably has nothing better than 19.Rdc1 Rxc4 20.Rxc4 which leads to the same position we reached in the game. But sometimes such small nuances can be important. 16...Qxc4 7 17.Rxc4 4 Rfc8 3:04 18.Rfc1 4 Rxc4 6 19.Rxc4 6 Rd8 0 20.g3 5:58 Again I think it's more accurate to play king to the center first. 20.Kf1 Rd7 21.Ke2 is of course very similar to the game, but maybe White can eventually grab some space with g2-g4, taking two steps at once with g-pawn. 20...Rd7 2:59 21.Kf1 0 f5 2:10 22.Ke2 37 22.Ne5 Rd5 22...Bf6 13 23.b3 23 Kf8 3:29 For the first time it may seem as if White has some advantage because Black's pieces are so passive. White's pieces are indeed slightly more active and Black's pawn structure on the kingside is a bit vulnerable. You can also try to find some analogy with the famous game Ribli-Karpov, Amsterdam 1980, which White managed to win. But it seems that these small advantages are simply not enough to win the game for White unless he gets a lot of help from Black. 24.h3 0 h6 8:06 This move is still a little mystery for me. Why not 24...Ke7 ? Probably Karjakin wanted to nip active play from White in the bud. 25.Ne1 9:35 Ke7 5:16 26.Nd3 0 Kd8 4:39 27.f4 2:47 In case of 27.g4 fxg4 28.hxg4 Rc7 29.Rxc7 Kxc7 30.Kf3 Kd6 31.Ke4 Bc3 It's difficult to see how White can make progress. 27...h5 8:30 Now Black didn't like 27...Rc7 28.Rxc7 Kxc7 probably because of 29.Kf3 Kd6 30.e4 fxe4+ 31.Kxe4 and in this position might hit on some ideas to pose Black problems. 28.a4 13:52 White really has difficulties to make progress. But as always Carlsen tries till the end. 28.Ne5 Bxe5 29.fxe5 Rd5 30.Rh4 Rxe5 31.Rxh5 Rc5 28...Rd5 7:58 29.Nc5 7:50 b6 13 30.Na6 2:49 Be7 0 30...b5!? 31.Nb8 3:34 a5 20 32.Nc6+ 3:25 Ke8 13 33.Ne5 4:26 33.Nxe7 Kxe7 34.Rc7+ Rd7 33...Bc5 33 34.Rc3 4:41 Ke7 0 35.Rd3 28 Rxd3 9 36.Kxd3 12 f6 13 37.Nc6+ 4:10 Kd6 17 38.Nd4 8 Kd5 56 39.Nb5 27 Kc6 0 40.Nd4+ 0 Kd6 1:42 41.Nb5+ 8:05 Kd7 20 42.Nd4 38 Kd6 4 So, to be honest, the first game of the match was not particularly exciting. I don't think we will see this variation again. Even for Magnus it is difficult to squeeze water from a stone. I expect that the Queen's Indian will be tested in the next games unless Karjakin has prepared something else. But before that we will see what Sergey will play with White. ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Carlsen,M2857Karjakin,S2769½–½2016D00AGON FWCM 20161
Carlsen,M2857Karjakin,S2769½–½2016D00AGON FWCM 20161

Game 2 - Notes by Ruslan Ponomariov

 
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Comments by Ruslan Ponomariov - 1.e4 0 The last time Sergey played with White against Magnus was at the tournament in Bilbao this year. I was in Bilbao and commented the game live. Sergey played 1.d4 and Magnus chose a Ragozin, which led to a very short draw. I also expected 1.d4 by Sergey in this game - after all, he has Shakriyar Mamedyarov and Vladimir Potkin as seconds and both are 1.d4 players. So, I thought they might have found one or two or even more improvements on the line Sergey and Magnus tried in Bilbao. But no, Sergey decided to play 1.e4 - in his childhood this was his main weapon. We might see Sergey switching to closed openings in the next games - which would indicate how much they worked before the match to be ready for 1. e4 and 1.d4. e5 6 2.Nf3 0 Nc6 4 3.Bb5 0 a6!? 5 No Berlin this time. The mind games started.... 4.Ba4 0 Nf6 6 5.0-0 0 Be7 7 6.d3 17 The main idea of this line is to avoid lots of theory in the Classical Ruy Lopez. After 6.d3 you don't need to study the Marshall, the Breyer, Zaitzev, Chigorin etc. However, most people thought that Carlsen and not Karjakin would try to avoid the main lines. Normally Sergey plays 6.Re1 in this position. After e.g. b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.h3 Bb7 8...d6 9.c3 Be6 10.d4 Bxb3 11.Qxb3 also leads to an exchange of bishops but in contrast to the game White has a pawn and not a knight on c3. 9.d3 d6 10.a3 Na5 11.Ba2 c5 12.Nbd2 Bc8 we reach a position that is similar to the position we had in the game though there are differences: if you compare this line with the game continuation you will see that Black here spent more time to exchange the white-squared bishops. 6...b5 22 7.Bb3 4 d6 6 Black has a number of options. If you want to study this variation more deeply I would recommend to use the Reference button of your ChessBase program to see how the strongest players handled this position. 8.a3 19 0-0 0 9.Nc3 5 Na5 50 10.Ba2 9 Be6 9 11.d4 54 Bxa2 13 12.Rxa2 2 Re8 10 If one compares this position with the lines I mentioned in the comment to the 6th move, Black here is several tempi up and his position has no weaknesses. With pawns on d4 and e4 White has a strong pawn-center which gives him some space advantage but with each piece exchange this factor is less and less significant. Earlier this year Magnus played 12...Nc6 13.d5 Nb8 However, 12...Re8 is also the move many engines want to play. So, I don't know whether Carlsen's small refinement was really a surprise for Karjakin. 13.Ra1 7:58 Nc4 26:16 14.Re1 11:34 Rc8 4:41 The idea behind this move which puts the rook behind the pawn on c7 remains a little mystery to me. Probably Carlsen wanted to be ready meet d5 by White with ...c6. Probably Black didn't want to play 14...Bf8 immediately, because after 15.b3 Nb6 White can pin the knight on f6 with 16.Bg5 But there is nothing wrong with playing 14...h6 first, e.g. 15.b3 Nb6 16.Bb2 Bf8 17.d5 Qc8 18.a4 c6 19.dxc6 Qxc6 with counterplay. 15.h3 11:57 h6 2:00 16.b3 5:11 Nb6 9 17.Bb2 0 Bf8 4:18 18.dxe5 16:20 To me, this looks like a silent draw offer. Modern chess is becoming more and more pragmatic. I think if White wanted to keep chances for a fight he had to keep the tension in the center. 18.Qd3 c6 19.Rad1 Qc7 20.Ne2 d5 21.Ng3 exd4 21...dxe4 22.Nxe4 Nxe4 23.Qxe4 exd4 24.Qxe8 Rxe8 25.Rxe8∞ 22.e5 Ne4 23.Nxe4 dxe4 24.Qxe4 c5 I think this position is still equal but the pawn structure is asymmetrical and both players have chances for active play - White on the kingside, Black on the queenside. 18...dxe5 2 19.a4 6 c6 6:56 20.Qxd8 39 Rcxd8 0 As in game one we do see an early exchange of queens. 21.axb5 11 axb5 12 22.Ne2 6:52 Bb4 0 23.Bc3 4:29 Bxc3 2 24.Nxc3 6 Nbd7 8 25.Ra6 2:05 Rc8 32 26.b4 9:52 Re6 12:18 With 26...c5 Carlsen could have posed more practical problems, e.g. 27.Nxb5 cxb4 28.Nd6 and now the tactical trick 28.Ra4 Rxc2 29.Rxb4 Rb8 28...Re6 29.Nxc8 Rxa6 gives White something to think about. But after White's 18th move Carlsen was probably also happy with a draw. 27.Rb1 2:01 c5 16:23 28.Rxe6 15 fxe6 2 29.Nxb5 1:38 cxb4 0 30.Rxb4 48 Rxc2 9 31.Nd6 4:03 Rc1+ 34 32.Kh2 2 Rc2 8 33.Kg1 11 Well, as it turned out game two was even less exciting than game one. But Carlsen's choice of opening was smart. ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Karjakin,S2769Carlsen,M2857½–½2016C77AGON FWCM 20162

The match really started in the next pair of games, 3 & 4. In these games Magnus really showed his best qualities. Why he is so formidable and why he was considered to be such a pre-match favorite. Game 3 was vintage Magnus. Nothing out of the Opening, he found some needling ways to pressure Sergey. Sensing things were turning against him, Sergey lashed out. With bad timing. Magnus was able to collect a pawn and hold some nagging pressures as well. From virtually nothing Magnus continued to nurse his advantage fully into a Knight. On the verge of winning in yet another outstanding performance something quite unexpected happened, Magnus did not win. First one very late slip, then another and Sergey found a study-like way to escape with a draw.

Game 3 - Notes by Yasser Seirawan

 
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Notes by Yasser Seirawan - Match play is all about the result. Woulda, coulda, shoulda, explanations all fall before the final score. To get a result a player has to first establish the real battleground: In which lines of Opening play will the match be decided? Match play competition is also an exchange of information. The players start by making informed, educated guesses about their opponents primary Defense, their secondary Defense and so on. A player will play their primary Defense until a disaster before switching to a back-up Defense. For Game One Magnus chose the Trompovsky Opening and in the process learned precisely nothing about Sergey's primary Queen Pawn Defense. In a similar vein, Sergey learned something about Magnus's primary Defense to the King Pawn Opening but by opting out with the safe: 6.d3, instead of 6.Re1, in a Ruy Lopez, he didn't learn enough. The first pair of games were soft, two draws where the balance was barely disturbed. The match was now reduced to a ten game match. Would Game Three finally produce the clash that chess fans were anxious for? 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 Amongst the elite King Pawn Opening players the Berlin Defense has been a huge problem. How to get any advantage as well as how to get play? 4.0-0 The other main try is: 4.d3 Which can be well met by either the active: Bc5 As well as: 4...d6 Transposing into a Classical Ruy where White has committed himself with the d2-d3, tempo. 4...Nxe4 5.Re1 Disappointing. Okay the "Berlin Endgame" that appears after: 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 May not be everybody's cup of tea but the imbalances can lead to rich strategic games. 5...Nd6 6.Nxe5 Be7 7.Bf1 Nxe5 8.Rxe5 0-0 9.d4 Bf6 10.Re2 Stop the presses! Novelty of the year! Mmm, no. The text has been played a few times over the "standard" move: 10.Re1 Presumably the difference being that when Black readies a Rook swap down the e-file, recapturing on the e2-square is to be preferred. Hmm, such a nuanced difference strikes me as insufficient for a pull. 10...b6 Instead, I'll surmise that against the standard move: 10...Nf5 Magnus had planned to advance his d-pawn: 11.d5!? b6 12.c4!? Ba6 13.Na3 c6 14.Rd2 Is a line of play where the Rook might find a purpose along the second rank. Personally, I'm skeptical of White's play as it feels artificial. 11.Re1 Having coaxed Black into playing: ... b7-b6, the e2-Rook moves yet again, this time to avoid: ...Bc8-a6, which would favor Black with a Bishop trade. Re8 12.Bf4! Rxe1 13.Qxe1 Qe7 13...Bxd4? 14.Bxd6 cxd6 15.Qe4 Bxb2 16.Qxa8 Qf8 17.Nc3 Bxa1 18.Nd5 Bf6 19.Nxf6+ gxf6 20.Qxa7 Would leave Black's structure in tatters. 14.Nc3 Bb7 15.Qxe7 Bxe7 16.a4 a6 "Before the Endgame, the Gods have placed the Middle-game. And I thank those Gods." So said Tal. The position at hand queries this adorable quote. It feels as if the players have magically avoided a middle-game and embraced an Ending. Perhaps White has a smidgen of something but it sure feels balanced to me. 17.g3 Perhaps angling for an opportunity to play: Bf1-h3, hitting the d7-pawn at an inconvenient moment. g5 An active rejoinder to be sure that helps Black resolve the problem of his misplaced d6-Knight. The downside to this pleasant move is that the f5-square is weakened. Magnus was quick to pounce. 18.Bxd6! Bxd6 19.Bg2! Bxg2 20.Kxg2 Imperceptibly after these trades White does have something in the position. If he can maneuver his Knight to the f5-square, back it up with his g-pawn, he might yet find a serious pull. f5! Nipping the idea in the bud before it could take shape. Not as convincing would be: 20...Re8 21.Nd5 Re2 22.Ne3! Rd2 23.Rd1 Rxd1 24.Nxd1 When White has the more agreeable play. 21.Nd5 Kf7 22.Ne3 Kf6 Sergey has "met" Magnus well and appears to be closing in on a boring draw. 23.Nc4 Bf8 24.Re1 Rd8?! A "mysterious Rook move" an echo of Game Two where Magnus played: Ra8-c8, backing up a c7-pawn. I suppose the idea is to discourage: Nc4-e5, by preemptively defending the d7-pawn. Very sophisticated indeed. The brutes among us might not have been so caring: 24...d5 25.Ne5 Bd6= Strikes me as just fine for Black. 25.f4 gxf4 26.gxf4 b5 27.axb5 axb5 28.Ne3 c6 29.Kf3 It is easy to get lulled to sleep and imagine that nothing is happening but the swap of four pawns has opened up the a-file and the g-file insuring play for the Rooks. On closer inspection a problem has crept into Black's position: The f5-pawn is a greater target than any White pawn. White is ready to seize one of the open files and ready an invasion. White is now for choice. Ra8 30.Rg1 Ra2!? A highly optimistic move to be sure. My concern is that it could be badly timed. The threat of: Rg4-g5, picking off the f5-pawn needs to be taken seriously. Therefore: 30...Bh6! 31.Rg3 d5! 32.Rh3 Bg7! Is a nice way to keep White at bay. If White persists in his attempts to win the f5-pawn he could well miss the mark: 33.Rh5 Ra2 34.b3 34.Rxf5+ Kg6 35.Rg5+ Kf7 Black will win back his pawn. 34...h6 35.Rxf5+ Kg6 White has managed to tangle up his own pieces. 31.b3 c5? Sergey cracks. Up to now, nothing has gone seriously wrong but the text is born from excessive worry. The threat of: Rg1-g5xf5+, is stronger than its execution. Upon cold reflection best was the simple: 31...d5! 32.Rg5 Ke6! 33.Rxf5 Bg7 With a variation similar to the previous note. Black's counter-attack against the d4-pawn gives sufficient counterplay for holding the draw: 34.Rh5 Bxd4 35.Rh6+ Kd7 36.Rxh7+ Ke6 Seems to be finely balanced. 32.Rg8! Kf7 33.Rg2 cxd4 34.Nxf5 d3 35.cxd3 Ra1!? When I don't understand a move I tend to reward it with a (!?) mark as a sign of respect for the players sophistication. In truth this one is a bit beyond my comprehension. Sergey has jettisoned a pawn for active play or what the real cognoscenti would call "dynamic factors." Cool! So why not play actively? Direct, good and compelling was: 35...Ra3! 36.Rb2 Bb4! 37.Ne3 Bc3 38.Rb1 b4 When thanks to Black's active pieces it would be a real technical challenge to win this one. 36.Nd4 b4 37.Rg5 Rb1 38.Rf5+ Ke8 39.Rb5 From an arid desert Magnus has managed to find an oasis. He has consolidated his extra pawn, now, remarkably, he has created real winning chances. Unlike the previous note, the f8-Bishop is now passive as well as a potential tactical target. Rf1+ 40.Ke4 Re1+ 41.Kf5 Rd1 42.Re5+ By no means a bad move. But around these parts Magnus missed a more incisive continuation: 42.Rb8+! Ke7 42...Kf7?! 43.Nf3!± 43.Ke4 Re1+ 44.Kd5 Rd1 45.Nf5+ Kf7 46.d4 Rd3 When appearances can be deceiving. At first blush it seems that there has been a lot of to-and-froing without much happening. In truth, things are going great for White. All his pieces are active and his once dormant d-pawn and f-pawns are playing fine supporting roles. This is laid bare after: 47.Rd8! Rxb3 48.Rxd7+ Kg6 49.Ng3 Re3 50.f5+ Kg5 50...Kh6 51.Rf7! Did I mention the f8-Bishop could become a target? Re8 52.Ne4 White is close to winning now. 51.Ne4+ Kf4 52.Rxh7 b3 53.Nc5 With good winning chances for White. 42...Kf7 43.Rd5 Rxd3 44.Rxd7+ Ke8 45.Rd5 Trading off the d-pawns has benefitted Black. With the reduced material Black need only make a few more pawn swaps and he will be home free to make a draw. Rh3 46.Re5+ Kf7 Natural. But likely wrong. Black's King is more of a target on the Kingside than a stern blockader. For reasons as we will see in the game, there is less danger for Black's King on the d7-square. In addition covering the c6-square is important. 46...Kd7 47.Re2 Bc5 48.Ne6 Be7 When White has a hard task to convert ahead of him. 47.Re2 Bg7 48.Nc6! This is the rub. White defends the b3-pawn indirectly by creating a mating net against Black's King. Rh5+ Doubtlessly played with a heavy heart. Sergey had covertly eyeballed the b3-pawn dreaming that it would soon be his! Not so: 48...Rxb3?? 49.Nd8+ Kf8 50.Ne6+ Kf7 51.Ng5+ With a forced checkmate to follow. 49.Kg4 Rc5 50.Nd8+! Obviously, White wants to keep the game alive. Again, a trade of pawns: 50.Nxb4? Rb5 51.Re4 h5+ 52.Kf3 Bf8 53.Nd3 Rxb3 Is helpful to Black's cause. 50...Kg6 51.Ne6 h5+ 52.Kf3 Rc3+ 53.Ke4 Bf6 54.Re3 h4 55.h3? A careless slip when once again Magnus was close to fitting the noose. An opportunity was present to include the King into the attack by forcibly vacating the f5-square: 55.Nf8+! Kf7 56.Nd7 Threatening a winning King and pawn Ending. Rc2 56...Bd8 57.Ne5+ Ke6 58.Nd3! Bb6 59.Rh3! 57.Kf5! Bg7 58.h3 Is a superior version of the game. 55...Rc1 56.Nf8+ Kf7 57.Nd7 Ke6! The difference between the two lines is now clear: White is prevented from playing: Ke4-f5. 58.Nb6 Rd1 59.f5+ Kf7 60.Nc4 Rd4+ 61.Kf3 Bg5? After fighting so tenaciously Sergey makes an egregious slip which endangers all his hard work. With the draw nearly in sight the simple method was also a direct one, keep attacking the f5-pawn: 61...Rd5! 62.Ke2 Kg7! 63.Rf3 And only now: Bg5! Black's King is ready to sweep away the f5-pawn and secure the coveted draw. 62.Re4 Rd3+ 63.Kg4 And just like that Magnus is back in business. Rg3+ In such positions, there is the "human element" of wanting to eliminate all of White's pawns at the cost of a Bishop and to play K&R versus a K,R&N position. Where possible, you calculate where such an escape might lie. At first blush there appears to be an "easy" draw in view: 63...Bf6 64.Re6 Rg3+ 65.Kf4 Bg5+ 66.Ke4 Rxh3 67.Ne5+ Kf8 68.f6 Rxb3 Exactly at this moment, Black is a happy camper. Just one move away from the goal! 69.Kf5 69.f7! Be7 70.Rg6!+- 69...Bxf6! 70.Kxf6 Kg8 Mission accomplished. A draw is in the offing. How cruel is the scorpion's sting. Go back to move sixty-nine and play: 69.f7! Be7 70.Rg6!, instead. When Black is just lost. Yikes. 64.Kh5 Be7 65.Ne5+ Kf6 66.Ng4+! During the time that this phase of the game was being played I was having dinner at the Closing of the "Showdown" in Saint Louis tournament. In my nearest vicinity was Fabiano, Hikaru and Vishy. We all scrunched around Fabi's smart-phone to follow the cut and thrust. In rapid-fire succession, one defense after another was defeated. The verdict of the table was clear: Magnus was now winning. Our mirth attracted the attention of Veselin Topalov as well. I was beginning to feel out-rated but followed their analysis closely. Kf7 The plausible alternative: 66...Kxf5 Was defeated by the important zwishenzug: 67.Re5+! Kf4 68.Rxe7 Rxh3 69.Rf7+! When Black's King is forced to go into the path of his Rook. Kg3 70.Nf2! While: 70.Rb7 Is also good, the text is much stronger. 70...Rh2 71.Ne4+ Kh3 72.Rf3+ Kg2 73.Rf2+ Forcing the trade of Rooks is the easiest win. 67.Re6 Rxh3 68.Ne5+ Black is now forced to part with his Bishop. Kg7 69.Rxe7+ Kf6 70.Nc6 Kxf5? A move the dinner table had rejected. The conversation had centered on a study-like position that arises after: 70...Rc3‼ 71.Re6+ Kxf5 72.Nd4+ Kf4 73.Kxh4 Rd3! The "collective wisdom" of the table was having a devil of a time here. The analysis continued: 74.Ne2+ Kf3! 74...Kf5?? 75.Rb6+- 75.Nc1 Rd1‼ 75...Rc3 76.Re1 Kf2 77.Rd1 Black's King is cut-off from the Queenside and White's King will march to victory. 76.Rc6 Ke3 77.Rc2 At this moment, the table was reasonably sure that the game was won, as again, Black's King appears to be cut-off and another victorious White King march was in the offing. Vishy forced us away from our dinners with another offering: Rd2! 78.Rc6 Rd1 And no matter how we tried, the win, if it exists proved elusive. 71.Na5?! Missing a golden opportunity to cinch the game: 71.Re1‼ Comes with splendid timing. The text renders any tricks based on: ...Rh3-h1, and pushing the h4-pawn harmless. Secondly, White is ready to play: Ra1-b1, and then collect the b4-pawn. Finally, the King on the h5-square is poised to keep an eye on the h4-pawn. Play might continue: Kf4 This time, the move: 71...Rc3? Has a cruel failing: 72.Ne7+! And Black's King is forced to move into a fatal fork. 72.Rf1+! Ke4 73.Na5! Winning. The key difference is that in this line of play White has managed to bring his Rook to the first rank with gain of tempo. Black is unable to prevent future pawn pluckings. 71...Rh1 72.Rb7?? Tragedy after a supreme effort. With this, the win definitely slipped away. Last chances were still to be had: 72.Rf7+! Ke6 73.Rf2! h3 74.Kh4 Ra1 The plausible alternative: 74...h2? 75.Ra2! Is a rather pretty picture. 75.Nb7 Ra3 76.Rd2! Ke5 77.Nc5 h2 78.Rxh2 Kd5 79.Rc2! At long last, White is winning. 72...Ra1! Sergey seizes his chance to save the game with a study like finish: 73.Rb5+ Kf4! Otherwise the h4-pawn is removed from the board. 74.Rxb4+ What else? White cannot capture the h4-pawn: 74.Kxh4?? Rh1# Is spine chilling. 74...Kg3! 75.Rg4+ Kf2 76.Nc4 h3 77.Rh4 Kg3 78.Rg4+ Kf2 Oh my what a game! The collective wisdom of the table was that if Magnus had won this game 'out of nothing' Sergey would have lost a lot of confidence, conversely thanks to this incredible save we now have a great match in store. ½–½
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Carlsen,M-Karjakin,S-½–½2016C672016 World Championship

We were collectively stunned. Were we really in for a competitive match? Game 4 was in some ways Sergey’s worse and best game. Sugar plum fairies of beautiful wins danced in his head as he sacrificed a Bishop. Cool defense by Magnus snapped Sergey back to reality, he then panicked with a decision that he wouldn’t make. Ever. He traded his “Spanish Torture” light squared Bishop for a blocking Knight. I’m sure that after the game, Sergey couldn’t recognize or even understand how he could make such a strategic howler. Gifted with a dominating position, Magnus pushed hard. Two Bishops in an open position in the ending combined with a mobile pawn majority meant that the win was virtually in the vault.

Sergey Karjakin - Photos by Max Avdeev

Magnus has been quoted as saying, “I just don’t believe in fortresses.” You become the highest rated player in history no one is supposed to argue. Except when they must. On his forty-fifth move Magnus decided to advance his f-pawn, locking up the position and thereby offering his opponent hope of just such a fortress. Sergey tenaciously hung on for all he was worth and dodged bullet number two – draw! Whoa. Great defense had saved two huge half points. The match remained tied. Fans were getting restless. Magnus was getting frustrated. His lone solace was being on the sunny side of the board.

Game 4 - Notes by Dorian Rogozenco

 
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Notes by Dorian Rogozenco - Another marathon game in the match, another triumph of defence and another draw... At the beginning of game four it seemed as if Karjakin had not yet recovered from the previous tiring encounter, as some of his decisions right after the opening were doubtful, to say the least. But then, in a very critical situation, where most of the specialists predicted a sure win for Carlsen, the Russian Grandmaster again displayed his fantastic skills in defending inferior positions and succeeded in getting the desired draw after almost 7 hours of play. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 In the second game of the match Karjakin went for 6.d3. 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.h3 A popular Anti-Marshall system, which tends to lead to a complicated strategical battle, with many theoretical subleties. Bb7 9.d3 d6 Here Black can still play in Marshall- style with 9...d5 but Karjakin has a lot of experience with such positions which he plays with both colors. So Carlsen decides to go for a positional game. 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Nxe5 11.Nbd2 f6 12.a3 Kh8 13.Ba2 Nf4 14.Ne4 Ng6 15.Be3 Nd4 16.Bxd4 exd4 17.h4 f5 18.Neg5 Nxh4 19.Ne6 Nxf3+ 20.gxf3 Qd6 21.Nxf8 Rxf8 22.Kf1 Bg5 23.Re6 Qf4 24.Qe2 Bxf3 25.Qe5 Qh4 26.Qg3 Qh1+ 27.Qg1 Qh5 0-1 (27) Topalov,V (2752)-Karjakin,S (2779) Astana 2012 11...Nd4 12.Bd2 c5 13.Nc3 Nxb3 14.axb3 Nb4 15.Ne4 f5 16.Ng3 Qd5 17.Nf3 Qd7 18.Ne5 Qd5 19.Nf3 Qd7 20.Bxb4 cxb4 21.d4 Rac8 22.Qd3 Bd6 23.Ne5 Qc7 24.Nxf5 Bxe5 25.Rxe5 and White went on to win in Karjakin,S (2747)-Onischuk,A (2688) Khanty-Mansiysk 2010. 10.a3 Qd7 Both 10...Na5 11.Ba2 c5 and 10...Nb8 11.Nbd2 Nbd7 were played by Carlsen before. However, Karjakin's answer came instantly. 11.Nbd2 Rfe8
This move might have been a surprise for the contender. He thought for 12 minutes before coming up with a reply and also spent a lot of time on his next moves. In previous games Karjakin had faced 11...Rae8 and 11.. .Nd8. 12.c3 Why did it take Karjakin so long to play this natural move? First of all, despite his huge experience in these type of positions, Karjakin never had this particular one in his practice before. Secondly, the position is quite complicated strategically and it is not easy to figure out whether White needs to play c2-c3 at all. For instance it looks logical to postpone it and start with 12.Nf1. Generally speaking, modern theory considers this type of position as slightly better for White. But again, with a lot of strategic subleties. As Grandmaster Nigel Short put it: "In such positions, with White I always feel I have no advantage, but with Black that I can't equalize". Bf8 13.Nf1 h6 14.N3h2 Preparing the typical action on the kingside, which is met by the standard counterplay in the center. d5 15.Qf3 White now threatens to take on h6 and actually has a simple plan: he wants to play Ng3, Ng4 and so on. Black must react very precisely and Carlsen is up to this task. Na5 16.Ba2 dxe4 Played after ten minutes. Possibly the World Champion wondered whether he had compensation in variations like 16...c5 17.Bxh6 c4 18.Rad1 18.Bg5 allows dxe4 19.dxe4 Nxe4 20.Rxe4 f5 which is very unlear 18...dxe4 19.dxe4 Qc6 but then decided to go for the more solid game continuation. 17.dxe4 Nc4
18.Bxh6 A curious moment. After a long think Karjakin makes the most principled move, but soon ends up in a very unpleasant position. Taking on h6 is not a mistake yet, but White must have missed something, as his next move is clearly not the best way to continue. 18.Ng4 maintains equality. 18...Qc6! Very precise play by Carlsen. Black had several sharp alternatives, but the World Champion rightly rejected them. 18...Nxb2 19.Bg5 Nh7 20.Bh4 c5 21.Re2 Nc4 22.Bxc4 bxc4 23.Rd2 and White has an advantage. 18...Nxe4 19.Rxe4 Bxe4 loses due to 19...f5? 20.Rxc4 Bxf3 21.Rxc7+ 20.Qxe4 gxh6 21.Ng4 Bg7 22.Nfe3 with good positional compensation for White. 19.Bxc4?! This doubtful move was played after 16 minutes of thinking! Maybe Karjakin already disliked his position so much, that he decided to go for a clearly worse endgame, hoping to hold it. Amazingly, this worked out in the end... There was still nothing wrong with White's position after 19.Bc1 For example: Nxe4 20.Ne3 Ned6 21.Qxc6 Bxc6 22.Nhg4 which is about equal. 19...bxc4 19...Qxc4 20.Nd2! and White keeps his extra pawn 20.Be3 Nxe4 21.Ng3 Nd6 Both 21...Nxg3 and 21...Qg6 were good alternatives as well. In all cases Black has the advantage. 22.Rad1 Rab8 23.Bc1 f6 24.Qxc6 Bxc6 25.Ng4 Rb5 26.f3
Thanks to his bishop's pair and the pressure on b2 Black has a clear advantage. Basically there are two ways to treat the position: to slowplay it with a move like 26...Kf7, improving the pieces step by step, or take immediate action - which is what Carlsen did in the game. 26...f5 Black uses the fact that the knight cannot go to e3, but slowplay might have been more unpleasant for Karjakin, who was already feeling some time pressure. 27.Nf2 27.Ne3? f4 27...Be7 Perhaps 27...Kf7 was more accurate, as now 28.f4 would be a mistake due to exf4 29.Ne2 Rbe5 28.f4! As usual, in a difficult situation Karjakin starts to defend extremely well. White needs to simplify the position, as otherwise he will soon run out of air. Bh4 Another attractive option was 28...exf4 29.Ne2 Ne4 29...g5 30.Nd4 Rb6 31.Nxc6 Rxc6 32.Rd5 followed by h4 gives White sufficient counterplay. 30.Nxe4 Bxe4 31.Nxf4 Rbb8 In both cases Black is better and it is not easy to decide which position leaves Black with more winning chances. 29.fxe5 Bxg3 29...Rbxe5 is not convincing: 30.Rxe5 Rxe5 31.Bf4 Rb5 32.Rd2 and White has good chances to escape. 30.exd6 Rxe1+ 31.Rxe1 cxd6 32.Rd1 Kf7 After the principled 32...Re5 33.Nh1! 33.Kf1 Re6 with ideas like Rg6 33...f4 33...Bh4 leads nowhere: 34.Rxd6 Re1+ 35.Kh2 but maybe 33...Ba4 34.Rf1 Bh4 35.Bf4 Rd5 is the best 34.Nxg3 fxg3 35.Kf1 Be4 Black has a clear advantage. However, the question remains the same: is it enough for a win? 33.Rd4 Re5 34.Kf1 Rd5 35.Rxd5 Bxd5 36.Bg5 Kg6 37.h4 A very committal decision in time trouble, as the pawn on h4 will fall soon. In return White gets the possibility to activate the knight via h3. Kh5 38.Nh3 Bf7 39.Be7 Bxh4 40.Bxd6 Bd8
The time-trouble is over and we can reach some conclusions: White succeeded to avoid the worst and simplified the position. However, even if Black failed to increase his advantage, he still has reasonable winning chances, as the bishop pair together with the chance to create a passed pawn on the kingside are strong arguments in Black's favour. 41.Ke2 g5 42.Nf2 Kg6 43.g4 Another committal decision by Karjakin, which again worked out well. Bb6 44.Be5 a5 45.Nd1 f4? The decisive mistake, as it considerably limits Black's winning ideas. Carlsen gets a nice passed pawn, but closes the kingside and it will turn out that White can defend his queenside weakness successfully. After 45...Be6 Black must be winning. The World Champion tries hard to win for another 50 moves, but his efforts are in vain and Karjakin again achieves a very important draw. 46.Bd4 Bc7 47.Nf2 Be6 48.Kf3 Bd5+ 49.Ke2 Bg2 50.Kd2 Kf7 51.Kc2 Bd5 52.Kd2 Bd8 53.Kc2 Ke6 54.Kd2 Kd7 55.Kc2 Kc6 56.Kd2 Kb5 57.Kc1 Ka4 58.Kc2 Bf7 59.Kc1 Bg6 60.Kd2 Kb3 61.Kc1 Bd3 62.Nh3 Ka2 63.Bc5 Be2 64.Nf2 Bf3 65.Kc2 Bc6 66.Bd4 Bd7 67.Bc5 Bc7 68.Bd4 Be6 69.Bc5 f3 70.Be3 Bd7 71.Kc1 Bc8 72.Kc2 Bd7 73.Kc1 Bf4 74.Bxf4 gxf4 75.Kc2 Be6 76.Kc1 Bc8 77.Kc2 Be6 78.Kc1 Kb3 79.Kb1 Ka4 80.Kc2 Kb5 81.Kd2 Kc6 82.Ke1 Kd5 83.Kf1 Ke5 84.Kg1 Kf6 85.Ne4+ Kg6 86.Kf2 Bxg4 87.Nd2 Be6 88.Kxf3 Kf5 89.a4 Bd5+ 90.Kf2 Kg4 91.Nf1 Kg5 92.Nd2 Kf5 93.Ke2 Kg4 94.Kf2 ½–½
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Karjakin,S2769Carlsen,M2857½–½2016C88AGON FWCM 20164

Magnus Carlsen

While the battleground of the match, the Openings, was being settled, no great novelties or major surprises were in store, a possible pre-match strategy for Sergey was taking hold: Stay close. Draw as many games as possible. Clearly, Magnus was getting frustrated at his inability to score a victory.

With tensions rising a potential route to match victory was beginning to emerge: Frustrate Magnus, hold him, let him over reach. Game 5 was a dream come true for Sergey. Magnus switched his Opening for a third time in as many games with the White pieces. This time choosing the placid waters of the Giuoco Piano and for the third time received precisely nothing. A Bishop’s of opposite colors middle-game position was achieved but Magnus tried to press for an advantage that wasn’t there.

Sensing an opportunity, Sergey decided to strike out with a bold plan of his own, he would take a King walk to the Queenside and hope that if Magnus tried to (desperately) launch a Kingside pawn storm, where he held a majority, his King would be safe, out of harm’s way, while Magnus’ would be made vulnerable. The plan of such a boomerang worked to perfection. Magnus did precisely what Sergey hoped and opportunity for the first time knocked on his door. Unfortunately for Sergey he failed to fully answer. His pawn sacrifice on move forty-two was terrific, his follow up on move forty-three a mistake. Now it was Magnus’ turn to narrowly save the game. The match was well and truly in full swing, with both players now giving as good as they got.

Game No. 5 - Notes by John Nunn

 
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Notes by John Nunn - Carlsen had pressed strongly in Games 3 and 4 so now, with the white pieces in front of him, would this be the game for the champion's breakthrough in the match? 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 So far Carlsen has adopted three different openings in his three games with White. Gone are the days of Alekhine-Capablanca when they played the Queen's Gambit Declined in almost every one of the 34 games. Bc5 4.0-0 Nf6 5.d3 The quiet form of the Giuoco Piano, often called the Giuoco Pianissimo. White aims for a slow build-up, sometimes trying to gain space on the queenside with c3 and b4, or playing for a delayed action in the centre after transferring the knight from b1 to d2, f1 and g3, much as in the Spanish. It's tempting to just comment that such quiet methods are unlikely to bring White much of an objective advantage, but that isn't the way Carlsen plays. Like another world champion, Emanuel Lasker, he is often not so concerned with playing the most critical lines, but more in reaching a position in which he can show his strengths. Quiet methods have secured Carlsen many victories from positions that initially didn't appear to offer many winning chances. 0-0 6.a4 But this is really unusual. White generally prefers to prepare central expansion by 6.c3 or to pin the knight by 6.Bg5 The ChessBase online database gives a mere 22 games with this move, with White scoring a respectable 66%. 6...d6 7.c3 Now we have transposed into a more standard line. Black has to take action against the threat to trap his bishop. a6 8.b4 Ba7 9.Re1 Ne7 A standard plan in such positions. Black transfers his knight to the kingside in order to generate play there. With only one minor piece on that side of the board, White is slightly vulnerable there especially if he does not undertake the knight transfer to g3. 9...Ng4 can be met by 10.Ra2 a benefit of White's early queenside pawn advance. 10.Nbd2 Ng6 11.d4 I'm not very enthusiastic about this move, even though my computer likes it. Is White playing on the queenside or in the centre? True, the knight transfer to g6 has weakened Black's hold on d4, allowing White to push in the centre, but it is better to wait for this type of move until White is more prepared. Playing d3 and then d4 involves an inevitable loss of tempo and White's development is not yet good enough to give a central advance any real bite. c6 A good response by Karjakin. Noting the slight fragility in White's position, he prepares to play actively in the centre himself. 12.h3 It's unfortunate that White has to play another non-developing move, but 12.Nf1 is strongly met by Bg4 White has not achieved any advantage from the opening. 12...exd4?! Karjakin plans to break apart White's centre, but the results are not especially favourable. He could have kept the balance by the simple 12...Re8 or, if he really wanted some central action, by 12...d5 13.cxd4 Nxe4 14.Bxf7+! A somewhat surprising decision, but a good one. 14.Nxe4 d5 15.Bd3 dxe4 16.Bxe4 Be6 doesn't give White anything, so Carlsen prefers to keep his knights, which are effective despite the relatively open position. 14...Rxf7 15.Nxe4 d5 16.Nc5 16.Neg5?! Rf6 only puts the g5-knight in jeopardy. 16...h6 Ruling out any possible ideas involving Ng5 followed by Qh5. 17.Ra3 Thanks to White's earlier queenside advance, White can save time by doubling rooks without developing the c1-bishop first. Bf5 18.Ne5 This looks slightly premature. White would have had more chances of an advantage with the natural 18.Rae3 Qf6 19.Ne5 Re7 20.Nxg6 Rxe3 21.Rxe3 Bxg6 22.Qe2 with a solid control of the open file, although admittedly any advantage is rather slight. 18...Nxe5 19.dxe5 19.Rxe5 achieves nothing after Bb8 20.Nxb7 Qf6 21.Re8+ Kh7 attacking the knight and threatening ...Bh2+. 19...Qh4 Attacking b4 and taking aim at f2. 20.Rf3 A good defensive move maintaining the balance. Bxc5?! The tactical justification for White's play is 20...Qxb4? 21.Ba3 Qa5 22.e6 Rf6 23.Nxb7 Qb6 24.e7 and wins, but Karjakin's response is not the best. 20...Bg6 21.Rxf7 Bxf7 would have been fine for Black, since the e-pawn is not well enough supported to be a real danger. 21.bxc5 The exchange on c5 has altered the structure of the position. White's queenside pawns are broken, but they are not really vulnerable, while Black's b-pawn is now permanently backward. Perhaps the main worry for Black is that White's 4 vs 2 kingside majority is far more mobile than Black's queenside pawns. The outlines of real problems for Black are visible in the position and it is surprising that Karjakin went in for a line which allowed Carlsen to exercise his famous grinding skills when he had a reasonable alternative which kept some active play. Re8 22.Rf4 Qe7 23.Qd4 White now a very safe advantage. At the moment it may appear small, but it could easily increase. The big question is whether White can advance his kingside pawns without exposing his king too much. Ref8 24.Rf3 Be4 25.Rxf7 Qxf7 26.f3 Bf5 27.Kh2 It might appear that White can start pushing his pawns at once, but after 27.g4 Qg6 28.Kh2 Be6 29.f4 Qc2+ 30.Bd2 g6 31.Rg1 Kf7 Black sets up a line of defence which is hard to break through. Carlsen therefore manoeuvres in the hope of finding a more favourable moment to start his pawn advance. However, the extra time allows Black to improve his position and it becomes more rather than less difficult to advance the pawns. 27...Be6 28.Re2 Qg6 29.Be3 Rf7 30.Rf2 Qb1 31.Rb2 Qf5 32.a5 Kf8 An interesting plan. If White does eventually push on the kingside, it could be that Black's king will be a tactical weakness. Karjakin therefore decides to transfer his king to the queenside, where his numerical superiority of pawns offers good shelter. Additionally, the king can defend the b7-pawn, relieving his other pieces of a rather menial job. 33.Qc3 Carlsen cannot see any way to make progress, and for the moment just moves around without achieving very much. Ke8 34.Rb4 g5! An interesting and highly committal decision. Black could have set up a light-square blockade with ...g6, aiming to hold onto the f5-square at all costs, but he decides instead to take pre-emptive action to prevent White's pawns even getting as far as f4 and g4. The danger is that in any ending the kingside pawns on dark squares will be vulnerable to attack by White's bishop, especially if his king is far away on the queenside. In my view, Karjakin made the right decision and, by taking action himself rather than simply waiting, he has forced Carlsen to come up with a counterplan. 35.Rb2 Kd8 36.Rf2 Kc8 37.Qd4 Qg6 Black is now even ready to play ...h5 followed by ...g4, which would completely kill any winning prospects for White, so Carlsen decides to block Black's advance. 38.g4 h5 39.Qd2 Rg7 I don't see how White can make progress here since any pawn advance of the kingside would expose the white king too much. If White could swap off the major pieces the g5-pawn would fall, but there is no way to achieve this. 40.Kg3 Rg8 41.Kg2? This move, which blocks the path of White's major pieces to the h-file is a serious error after which White is even worse. Any normal move, such as 41.Rh2 would have maintained the balance. 41...hxg4 42.hxg4 42.fxg4? Qe4+ 43.Kg1 Rh8 loses at least a pawn,. 42...d4! Karjakin strikes with a pawn sacrifice allowing him to activate his bishop. This is even stronger than 42...Qh6 43.Qd4 White must block the d-pawn since 43.Kf1 d4 44.Bxd4 Qh1+ 45.Ke2 Rd8 gives Black a very dangerous attack 43...Rh8 44.Kf1 Qh1+ 45.Ke2 Qb1 46.Bxg5 when White can at least run with his king to f4. 43.Qxd4 43.Bxd4 Qh7 44.Kg1 Qh3 45.Qe2 Rf8 46.Rh2 Qg3+ 47.Rg2 Qxf3 48.Qxf3 Rxf3 is an unpleasant ending for White, since all his pawns are weak, but this might actually have been the lesser evil. 43...Bd5? Karjakin fails to make the most of his chances. After 43...Rh8 44.Qe4 Qh6 45.Kf1 Qh1+ 46.Ke2 Bd5 would have been deeply unpleasant for White. His king is floating around in the middle of the board, while Black's piece press from all sides. After 47.Qd3 Qa1 48.Bxg5 Qxe5+ 49.Be3 Qa1 it is unlikely that White will survive in the long run. As is so often the case in opposite-coloured bishop positions with major pieces, it's the initiative and attacking chances which count, and not the odd pawn or two. 44.e6 In an echo of Karjakin's ...d4, Carlsen returns the pawn in order to gain space for his pieces. However, it would have been even simpler to play 44.Kg3 allowing the rook to switch to h2, after which I can see nothing for Black. 44...Qxe6 Or 44...Qh7 45.e7 Qxe7 46.Bd2 Qh7 47.Qf6 Rh8 48.Qf5+ Qxf5 49.gxf5 g4 50.Kg3 gxf3 and with his king active White should have no trouble holding the ending. 45.Kg3 The crisis is essentially over and the game is once more on course for a draw. Qe7 46.Rh2 Qf7 47.f4 Further activating White's pieces and fully equalising. gxf4+ 48.Qxf4 48.Bxf4 Qf5 49.g5 was also safe for White. 48...Qe7 49.Rh5 Rf8 50.Rh7 Rxf4 51.Rxe7 Re4 Forcing the draw. After 51...Re4 52.Rxe4 Bxe4 53.Kf4 Bd3 54.Ke5 Kd7 55.Kf6 Ke8 56.Bh6 Bc2 57.g5 Bd3 58.g6 Bc2 59.g7 Bb3 Black is not in any danger. ½–½
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Carlsen,M2853Karjakin,S2772½–½2016C54WCh 2016

While Magnus was getting nothing with the White pieces, Sergey wasn’t doing any better. Magnus kept threatening to play the Marshall Gambit in the Ruy. A threat Sergey took seriously and avoided. Game 6 featured a similar type of pawn sacrifice by Black. In this line of play, Black earns the two Bishops along with dynamic play. Magnus had no problems whatsoever and earned an easy draw.

Game No. 6 - Notes by Tiger Hillarp Persson:

 
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Notes by Tiger Hillarp Persson - 1.e4 e5 I spent my entire life as a chess player, trying to find assymetry where I can find it. Magnus and Sergey operate from a more elevated view-point than mine, and although they both occasionaly flirt with assymmetry, I do not get the feeling that they believe it merits a proper relationship. 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 In a sense the Ruy Lopez is a little more ambitious than the G-whatever Piano (In Swedish we call it "the Italian", so I'm excused for not acing the spelling bee). If we continue down the rabbit hole with 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.0-0 Nf6 5.d3 0-0 , there is a big difference between... this position, compared to the more easily spelled sibling; that Black has still not moved the pawns on the queenside. This difference means that Black has fewer weaknesses to take care of and it could turn out to be the whole difference between a win and a big advantage (for White) later in the game. 3...a6 I believe it was Julian Hodgson who said that the only problem with 1.e4, compared to 1.d4, is that the e4-pawn is hanging. After 3...Nf6 4.0-0 Nxe4 we reach one such position, the Berlin Defence. (The Petroff is another) 5.Re1 Nd6 6.Nxe5 Be7 7.Bf1 Nxe5 8.Rxe5 0-0 was seen in game three of the match. Black argues that a reasonably symmetrical position makes White's extra tempo less important. Time has told it is a decent argument. 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a3 was played in the second game of the match. The main difference here is that Black can play d6 before 0-0 with having to fear a rapid c3/d4, which would lead to the one of the old main lines. 8.a4 is also played frequently, but after Bd7 has been doing quite well lately. 6...b5 7.Bb3 0-0 It sounds ridiculous to call such a move "critical", but in a sense it is. The reason is that 7...d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 leads to a one of the biggest theoretical tablelands in chess, whereas the game move avoids that altogether by meeting 8.c3 with 8...d5. In days of old, this line, the "Marshall Attack", led to sluggerfest bonanzas, but in the age of engine-guided preparations it has a tendency to end in draws. This explains why a defensively minded wielder of the dark forces is naturally drawn to the Marshall Attack. 8.h3 The consequences of Karjakin's last move is that White is forced to play this move, unless he is happy to enter the "old" lines after 8...d6 9.c3. 8.a4 After Bb7 9.d3 Re8 9...d6 is more popular. 10.Nc3 Nd4 11.axb5 Nxb3 12.cxb3 axb5 13.Rxa8 Bxa8 14.Nxb5 d5 , Black equalized with ease, in Dominguez Perez,L (2730)-Carlsen,M (2850) World Rapid 2015. 8.c3 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 c6 is the starting position of the above mentioned Marshall Attack. I'm too old to try to get familiar with it. Perhaps I would, if jailed by nazis and left with only a monograph (written by Peter Svidler) to fend for my sanity, eventually be able to say something sensible about this position. And although the likelyhood of this scenario has increased lately, I'm afraid that you'll have to wait until some time next year, at least. (Seeing the draw looming twenty moves ahead, you'll have to excuse me for trying to pump up the drama a bit.) 8...Bb7 The most natural move if Black wants to avoid 9.d3 9.c3?! d5! is nice for Black. It is not recommended to play 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Nxe5? 11.d4 11...Nxe5 12.Rxe5 Nf4 , when catastrophy strikes the white camp. Reading about the unredeemed expectations of some kibitzers, I get the feeling that they expect something like this, and nothing less. Sorry guys. You should stick with risk. 9...d5!? This Marshall Attack-inspired gambit can hardly have come as a surprise for Karjakin, partly because it is a main line and partly because it is played to draw. Especially the latter reason should have appealed to Magnus after yesterdays rather wobbly performance. In a rapid game against Zhigalko last year, Magnus played 9...d6 10.a3 Nb8 11.Nbd2 Nbd7 12.Nf1 Re8 13.Ng3 Bf8 14.Ng5 d5 15.exd5 Nc5 16.c4 and had to fight to equalize. 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Nxe5 None of the players has room to deviate. Here 11.a4 Nd4! equalizes immediately. 11...Nd4! Compared to the Marshall Attack, Black doesn't have as much of an attack here. The compensation is a more positional character. While the bishop on b7 roams freely, Black's queenside pawns doesn't have to worry about a2-a4 (since Nxb3 would completely ruin White's pawn structure) and c7-c5 will take a lot of space. From a White perspective, the c2-pawn has to be taken care of and the knight on e5 turns out to be in a rather awkward position... 12.Nc3 Nb4 An instructive illustration of my last comment about the knight on e5: 12...Nxb3 13.axb3 Nb4 14.Bd2 f6! 15.Ng4 f5! The pawn is accelerated forward as it attacks the knight. 16.Ne5 Bd6 17.Na2 Bxe5 18.Rxe5 Nc6 19.Re1 f4 20.Bc3?! Black also has a strong attack after 20.f3 Nd4 21.Rf1 Rf6 20...f3 21.Re4 a5!? 22.b4 and now, instead of axb4 which was unclear, in Timofeev,A (2658)-Sokolov,I (2655) Sarajevo 2007, Black should have played 22...Ne7! , with a very strong attack. 13.Bf4 Perhaps there is nothing better here, but this move doesn't feel right to me. Why? There is something about putting the bishop in the line of fire (g5/Nd5) and striving to tuck it in on h2, that rings false. I'd prefer to put it on c3. On the other hand the bishop is not obstructing the queen and could come to e5. After weighing the pros and cons, I must disagree with my first instinct. It does indeed make sense. I'd probably spend some time on 13.Bd2 according to the principle "less is more" (and "don't put the bishop on square where it is likely to be attacked"). 13.Ne4 has been played a number of times and the lines after Nxb3 14.axb3 Qd5 15.Nf3 f5 seem to hold no danger to Black. 13...Nxb3 14.axb3 c5 15.Ne4 Karjakin is trying to prove that the inclusion of Bf4 and c5 somehow favours White. f6! According to the reports I read, Carlsen continued to blitz out the moves even now, so it's pretty clear that this was all part of his preparations. 16.Nf3 f5! A recurring idea leaving White with little choice. 17.Neg5! 17.Ng3 Bxf3! and it becomes obvious why the attack on the c2-pawn is a problem for White: 18.gxf3 18.Qxf3 Nxc2-+ 18...Bf6 17.Ned2 is the most ambitious move, since it keeps some pieces on the board. After Bf6 18.Be5 Re8 19.Rc1 h6 20.Re2 What else? Bxe5 21.Nxe5 Nd5 White cannot let the knight land on f4 and 22.g3 f4 gives Black a nasty initiative. So, it seems that the most ambitious move was less than good. 17...Bxg5 18.Nxg5 h6! 19.Ne6 Qd5 20.f3 Rfe8 The last five moves have basically been forced, but now White has two alternatives; one human and one non human. 21.Re5 21.Nc7 Qd4+ 22.Kh1 Rxe1+ 23.Qxe1 Qxf4 24.Nxa8 Nxc2 looks like absolute disaster for White from afar, but in fact White can get a draw in more than one way. One pretty line is 25.Qe8+ Kh7 26.Nb6‼ Nxa1 27.Nd7 and Black has no defence against the Nf8/ Nd7-pendulum. 21...Qd6 22.c3 The challenger goes for the draw in the most solid manner. The more complicated 22.Re2 also ends up in equlity after Qd7 23.Nc7 23.Nxc5? Qd4+ 23...Rxe2 24.Qxe2 Rc8 25.Re1 Qd4+ 26.Qe3 Nxc2 27.Qxd4 Nxd4 28.Re7 Alas, how forced! Nc6 29.Rd7 Rd8 30.Rxd8+ Nxd8 31.Bd6 Kf7 32.Bxc5 Ne6 33.Nxe6 Kxe6 is a most drawish draw. 22...Rxe6 23.Rxe6 Qxe6 24.cxb4 cxb4 If White was allowed to play d4, Be5 and then put the queen or rook in such a place from where it would keep an eye on g7; then White would be better. 25.Rc1 Rc8 But Carlsen will not let White have three moves for free. 26.Rxc8+ Qxc8 27.Qe1 Qd7 28.Kh2 a5 29.Qe3 Bd5 30.Qb6 Bxb3 31.Qxa5 Qxd3 32.Qxb4 Be6 Next Black will put the queen on d7 and the position will reach a state of zero entropy. So, draw agreed. ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Karjakin,S2772Carlsen,M2853½–½2016C88World Championship6

The sixth in a row. At the halfway point the match was dead-locked. Both players had reasons to feel they had missed an opportunity. Magnus a bit more so. As the tensions built, chess fans asked themselves, would the fantastic training and preparations shown by the players mean that Capablanca’s fears of a hundred years earlier be proven right? That a properly played chess game between two elite masters would be destined for a draw?

To be continued - part three is going to follow soon.

Part 1: Carlsen vs Karjakin: Missed Opportunities

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