[Event "FIDE World Chess Championship"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/1NIB7sSp/dSf0d6LS"] [Date "2021.11.30"] [Round "4"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2855"] [BlackElo "2782"] [Annotator "Shlyakhtenko,Robert"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "C42"] [Opening "Russian Game: Classical Attack, Staunton Variation"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/1NIB7sSp/dSf0d6LS"] [Orientation "white"] { [%evp 0,65,17,17,17,9,55,23,38,41,41,41,33,33,49,49,42,42,42,47,54,28,69,69, 96,96,88,57,60,73,58,58,61,38,24,32,24,-30,-23,-48,-48,-49,0,0,0,0,0,8,49,49, 27,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0] } 1. e4 { This seems like the right moment in the match for Carlsen to try 1.e4. It gave him a chance to probe his opponent's preparation, and allowed his team two extra days of work on the Catalan and other 1.d4 lines. In the actual game, black experienced no problems after simply following well-established theory. Whether Carlsen will continue playing 1.e4 in future games remains to be seen, but I would be very surprised if he fundamentally changed his approach and abandoned 1.d4 completely. } 1... e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 { Nepomniachtchi had already employed the Petroff in the Candidates Tournament, against Wang Hao, so this choice of opening could hardly have come as a surprise for Magnus. } 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 (5. d3 Nf6 6. d4 d5 { was Wang Hao's more insipid handling of the position. See Wang,H (2762)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2774) Ekaterinburg 2021, 0-1 (59) }) 5... d5 { It's important to understand that this variation is just an Exchange French with an extra tempo for black. However, this "extra" tempo was spent on the move ... Ne4, which places the knight on a difficult-to-maintain position. Thus, white's most aggressive plans are connected with the move c2-c4, attempting to dislodge the knight on e4. } 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. c4 c6 9. Re1 { Carlsen had only played this move once before, in a 2005 (!) game against Mamedyarov. } 9... Bf5 10. Qb3 Qd7!? { A trendy line, which has nearly replaced the more popular 10... Na6 at the top level. } (10... Na6 11. cxd5 { With this move white has in mind a queen sacrifice. } (11. Qxb7? Nb4!) 11... cxd5 (11... Nac5?! 12. dxc5 Nxc5 13. Bxf5! Nxb3 14. axb3 cxd5 15. Nc3 { is the point. White is clearly better already, as the minor pieces can coordinate quickly, while black's queen cannot find useful targets. }) 12. Nc3 Nb4 (12... Be6 13. a3! { gives white an enduring edge due to the misplaced knight on a6. }) 13. Bxe4 dxe4 14. Bg5! Qd7 15. Nxe4 Be6 16. Qa3! f6 17. Bd2 a5 18. Nxd6 Qxd6 19. Bxb4 axb4 20. Qd3 { To put things simply, white has won a pawn. Black has plenty of defensive chances and it is likely that he can hold a draw, but defending such a position is not to everyone's taste. }) 11. Nc3 Nxc3 12. Bxf5 Qxf5 13. bxc3 (13. Qxb7 { has been tested in several high-level games. So far, white has not won a single one. } 13... Qd7 14. Qxd7 (14. Qxa8? Na4! 15. c5 Na6 $19) 14... Nxd7 15. c5 Bxh2+ 16. Nxh2 Ne4 { and black should hold the balance after some degree of accuracy. }) 13... b6 14. cxd5 cxd5 { Black's problems are in the short-term. If he has time to develop the knight on b8, he will at the very least have no problems in view of the weak pawn on c3. } 15. Qb5!? (15. Ba3 { , for example, allows } 15... Bxa3 16. Qxa3 Nc6 { and any trace of a white initiative will vanish in the next few moves. }) (15. Ne5 Nd7! { is also fine for black, e.g. } 16. Qxd5 Bxe5 17. dxe5 Nc5 { with play on the light squares. }) 15... Qd7 (15... Nd7? { loses immediately to } 16. Qc6! { and black cannot save the bishop on d6. }) 16. a4 (16. Rb1 { can be neutralized by the accurate } 16... Rd8 17. g3 Qxb5!? $146 18. Rxb5 Na6! 19. Rxd5 Nc7 20. Rh5 Rac8 { , and black has enough play against the hanging pawns to hold the balance. }) 16... Qxb5 17. axb5 a5! { Certainly the best move. Black solves his only structural problem. } 18. Nh4!? $146 { Carlsen's idea for this game. His goal is to provoke the move ...g6, after which the knight can be transferred to e3 or f4 via the g2-square. As it turns out, the d5-pawn is black's main weakness in the position. At the same time, there is a certain element of risk to this move. Firstly, it simply takes a lot of time, which allows black to coordinate his pieces. Secondly, it leaves black with a protected passed pawn on the a-file, which could become dangerous after further trades. } (18. bxa6 Nxa6 { is not too difficult to hold for black, as he always has the idea of trading the weakness on b6 for the weakness on c3 by playing ...b5-b4. }) 18... g6 19. g4 Nd7 20. Ng2 Rfc8 { A barely perceptible inaccuracy. } (20... Nf6! { Black could have responded very concretely, taking advantage of his slight lead in development. } 21. Bh6! { White has to continue playing dynamically, even if it means sacrificing a pawn. The following variation is very natural: } (21. f3 { the main point is that white is too slow here. After } 21... Rfe8 22. Bf4 (22. g5 Nh5! { and black is clearly better. }) 22... Bxf4 23. Nxf4 g5! 24. Nd3 Rac8 25. Rxe8+ Nxe8! { white is no longer able to attack the d5-pawn, and black's long-term trumps (the passed a-pawn, and white's weaknesses on c3 and b5) give him the advantage. }) 21... Bxh2+! 22. Kh1 Rfe8 23. Rxe8+ (23. Bg5? Rxe1+ 24. Rxe1 Nxg4 25. f3 Bg3! { is the point. }) 23... Rxe8 24. Ne3 Bb8 25. g5 Ne4 26. Nxd5 Nxf2+ 27. Kg1 Ng4 28. Nxb6 f5! { and, given a choice, I would play black: it's difficult to play with a locked-out bishop. The correct result would be a draw, e.g. } 29. Nd7 Bf4 30. Kf1! { (preventing ...Re2) } 30... Nh2+ 31. Kf2 Ng4+ 32. Kf3 Bd2 33. b6 Re3+ 34. Kg2 Re2+ 35. Kg3 Re3+) 21. Bf4! { Now white has time to bring his pieces into the game. } 21... Bxf4 22. Nxf4 Rxc3 23. Nxd5 Rd3 { A natural move, placing the rook behind the passed pawn. } 24. Re7 Nf8 25. Nf6+ (25. Ra4 { gains nothing after the simple } 25... Ne6 26. Nxb6 Rb8 27. d5 Ng5 28. Nc4 Rxb5 29. Rxa5 Rxa5 30. Nxa5 Rxd5) (25. Nxb6 { also leads to simplifications and a likely draw. For example, } 25... Rb8 26. Nd5 Rxb5!? { Other moves are also possible. } 27. Nf6+ Kg7 28. Ne8+ Kg8 29. Nd6 Rg5 30. h3 Rxh3 31. Kg2 Rd3 32. f3 Rxd4 33. Nxf7 Rgd5) 25... Kg7 26. Ne8+ Kg8 27. d5 { The next few moves are also natural. Both sides advance their respective passed pawns. } 27... a4 28. Nf6+ Kg7 29. g5 a3 { Black has defended nearly perfectly, and white's position no longer seems totally secure. Taking into account the clock situation as well, Carlsen wisely repeated moves and forced a draw. } 30. Ne8+ (30. Kg2 { is a potential try, but black is fine after a few simple moves. } 30... a2 31. h4 Rd2 32. d6 (32. h5 gxh5 33. Nxh5+ Kg6 34. Nf4+ Kg7) 32... Ne6 33. d7 Rd8 34. Re8 h6) 30... Kg8 31. Nf6+ Kg7 32. Ne8+ Kg8 33. Nf6+ { Draw. } 1/2-1/2