Image of Magnus Carlsen courtesy of Lennart Ootes
Magnus Carlsen shows us a simple light-square strategy
One weakness allows one plan
Featured is a round 5 game from the 44th Chess Olympiad held in Chennai, India between Zambia's Gillan Bwalya and World Champion Magnus Carlsen. The opening is a Queen's Gambit Declined, Ragozin variation. As early as move 10, white opts for an unusual defense against Carlsen's x-ray along the c-file. White's decision on move 13 to exchange his light-squared bishop for a knight allowed Carlsen to execute a light-square strategy. The primary weakness on e4 was exploited almost effortlessly. Should it come as a surprise for such a game to end by a light-squared bishop strike?
Gillan Bwalya vs Magnus Carlsen | 44th Chess Olympiad, Round 5
Below are 3 positions I draw attention to in the video
Question 1 of 3: What is a good reply to Qc7?
Question 2 of 3: How should black capture on d5?
Question 3 of 3: How can black punish f5?
Tale of the tape
Stockfish 15 analysis
Closing words
I thank you in advance for any likes and/or follows you may give. Any questions or comments you may have can be left in the video's comments section on YouTube, or in the forum below. I hope you have, in some way, benefited from this post. Thank you for taking the time to read, and be well.
-Jerry
