[Event "World Championship Match"] [Site "Dubai"] [Date "2021.11.26"] [Round "1"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2782"] [BlackElo "2855"] [Annotator "Abasov"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "C88"] [Opening "Ruy Lopez: Closed"] [StudyName "FIDE World Championship 2021 - AbasovN"] [ChapterName "Game 1"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/RoBvWqfx/FncZMPtk"] [Orientation "white"] { Today is the day! The match between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi begins! } 1. e4 { was played by Arkady Dvorkovich! Hold on, another player joins the match? No... It's a good old tradition FIDE president opens the match with making the first move. } 1... e5!? (1... c5 { the Sicilian Defense }) 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 { Ruy Lopez } 3... a6 { Abasov on 3... a6: and thankfully no Berlin! In fact, Carlsen plays it rarely } 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O { So far so good. Both players follow the rules and play the main moves } 8. h3!? { Here, I got a deja vu for a moment. Another challenger from Russia, who now is in a Team Nepo played this move twice in the match against Carlsen 5 years ago. The main reason White opts it over 8.c3 is to avoid the Marshall Attack. } (8. c3 { Carlsen most likely would follow with } 8... d5 { and enter Marshall Attack, where Black sacrifices the central pawn for the activity. } 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 c6 $44 { followed by ...-Bd6 }) 8... Na5!? { Huh... Carlsen is determined on giving away the central e5-pawn! It's a novelty in the GM level I should say. Meaning no Grand Master ever been brave enough to sac the pawn so easily! } (8... Bb7 { was the move Carlsen played in both of his games against Karjakin back in 2016 } 9. d3 d6 (9... d5 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nxe5 Nd4 12. Nc3 Nb4 13. Bf4 Nxb3 14. axb3 c5 15. Ne4 f6 16. Nf3 f5 17. Neg5 Bxg5 18. Nxg5 h6 19. Ne6 Qd5 20. f3 Rfe8 21. Re5 Qd6 22. c3 Rxe6 23. Rxe6 Qxe6 24. cxb4 cxb4 25. Rc1 Rc8 26. Rxc8+ Qxc8 27. Qe1 Qd7 28. Kh2 a5 29. Qe3 Bd5 30. Qb6 Bxb3 31. Qxa5 Qxd3 32. Qxb4 Be6 { ½-½, Karjakin,S (2769)-Carlsen,M (2853) New York 2016 }) 10. a3 Qd7 11. Nbd2 Rfe8 12. c3 Bf8 13. Nf1 h6 14. N3h2 d5 15. Qf3 Na5 16. Ba2 dxe4 17. dxe4 Nc4 18. Bxh6 Qc6 19. Bxc4 bxc4 20. Be3 Nxe4 21. Ng3 Nd6 22. Rad1 Rab8 23. Bc1 f6 24. Qxc6 Bxc6 25. Ng4 Rb5 26. f3 f5 27. Nf2 Be7 28. f4 Bh4 29. fxe5 Bxg3 30. exd6 Rxe1+ 31. Rxe1 cxd6 32. Rd1 Kf7 33. Rd4 Re5 34. Kf1 Rd5 35. Rxd5 Bxd5 36. Bg5 Kg6 37. h4 Kh5 38. Nh3 Bf7 39. Be7 Bxh4 40. Bxd6 Bd8 41. Ke2 g5 42. Nf2 Kg6 43. g4 Bb6 44. Be5 a5 45. Nd1 f4 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, Karjakin,S (2769)-Carlsen,M (2857) New York 2016 }) 9. Nxe5 { who would dare to refuse even?! } 9... Nxb3 { As a compensation for a pawn, Magnus gets rid off the dangerous light-squared Bishop. } 10. axb3 { capturing towards the center! } 10... Bb7 { developing the Bishop and attacking e4-pawn } 11. d3 (11. Nc3 { on what game would most likely continue with } 11... b4 12. Nd5 (12. Ne2 Nxe4) 12... Nxd5 13. exd5 Bxd5 14. d4 Re8 { with equal play }) 11... d5 { Surely Black tries to open up the position. They have got the Bishop pair! } 12. exd5 Qxd5 { threatening mate in 1! } 13. Qf3 { Nepo spots and masterfully parries it! It's well known fact that, the side with material advantage should try to simplify position with exchanging major pieces (Queen & Rooks). } (13. Nf3 { was the alternative but after } 13... Rae8 14. Nc3 Qf5 { followed by ...-Bd6, Black's activity is unquestionable }) 13... Bd6 14. Kf1!? { another totally weird looking but rather instantly played move. As one of the best theoreticians Giri Anish commented in live broadcast: "That's what you expect in the World Championship match. Two players play something that nobody ever seen before but they both have. That's the World Championship level prep" concluding with "That's normal" :) } 14... Rfb8!? { Carlsen accepts the challenge and comes up with another strange looking move! Instead of fighting for the open e-file World Champion brings the f8-Rook to the other Rook. Looks weird, doesn't it? But there's a simple idea behind the move. To defend the b7-Bishop. } (14... Rfe8?! { White follows with } 15. Nc3 Qxf3 16. Nxf3 Rxe1+ 17. Nxe1 { and manages to drastically simplify the position where the value of an extra pawn grows significantly. }) (14... Qxe5!? 15. Qxb7 (15. Rxe5 Bxf3 16. gxf3 Bxe5 $19) 15... Qh2 { at the first glance it seems like the King of White is about to get checkmated, but that's only a mirage. } 16. Qf3 $16 { Followed by Be3 White manages to consolidate } (16. Nc3 $14)) 15. Qxd5 (15. Nc3? { loses on } 15... Qxe5! $19 { Now we see why the previous move of Magnus was made }) 15... Nxd5 { This was the first moment where Nepo started to think seriously } 16. Bd2 (16. Nc3 { loses to } 16... Nb4 17. Re2 Re8 $19 { White fails to hold the position. }) 16... c5! { Key strategy in such positions is to keep playing active for the side lacking material! Any slowdown can be fatal! } 17. Nf3 Rd8 (17... Nb4!? { could have also been played } 18. Bxb4 (18. Rc1 Rd8 19. Nc3 { transposes to the game }) 18... cxb4 { where Black can eventually create a passed pawn on a-file. }) 18. Nc3 Nb4 { Seemed like the first move Carlsen made on his own. Until now he would blitz out the moves what clearly indicates that he was in the book. } { One of the eternal questions in chess is: Which Rook shall we take the open file with? Now Nepo is in front of a dilemma, which of rather decently placed Rooks shall he place on passive -c1 square in order to defend the -c2 pawn? } 19. Rec1 { after some thinking he decided he doesn't need the e-file as much as the a-file. } (19. Rac1 { was according to engines slightly better option. Don't even try asking me why. I have no clue myself! }) 19... Rac8 { to be honest, initially i didn't get the idea of this move. } (19... f6!? $132 { taking under control -g5 square and leaving -f7 square for the King. On top of that with ... -f6 Black can suddenly take the initiative on the kingside with pawn storm ... -g5/ ..-h5! }) 20. Ne2 Nc6 21. Be3 (21. Bf4 { with the idea of trading off dark-squared Bishops looked super-natural to me. } 21... Bf8 22. Rd1 Nb4 23. Ne1 { Yes, passive. But if it works, it works. All the pieces of White are going back, but such positions remind me a "spring". The go back to consolidate and then within no time jump off back into the game. }) 21... Ne7 22. Bf4?! { Nepo plays it! But plays it in the wrong moment... } 22... Bxf3 23. gxf3 Bxf4 24. Nxf4 Rc6! { after some exchanges Black no longer has the Bishop pair, however, White's kingside pawn structure has radically damaged. With the last move Magnus defends on a6 and is ready to switch the Rook to the opposite side of the board. } 25. Re1 Nf5 26. c3 Nh4 { The Knight that been on b4 some moves earlier has reached the h4 all the way through c6-e7-f5-h4 and starts 'tickling' kingside weaknesses of White } 27. Re3 { The direct way of defending f3 } (27. Rad1!? Nxf3 28. Re3 Nh4 29. d4 $132 { and due to back rank issue Black cannot capture on d4 twice. }) 27... Kf8 { little slow } (27... g6! { in the line } { would be a good prophylactic move } 28. Ng2 Nf5 29. Re5 { where Knight on f5 is defended by a pawn and Black can simply grab d3-pawn } 29... Rxd3 $17) 28. Ng2! { White starts regrouping the pieces } 28... Nf5 29. Re5 g6 30. Ne1 (30. Ke2 { looked more natural, followed by Ne3 }) 30... Ng7 { Knight is heading to -e6 from where it is going to protect -c5 (that would relieve -c6 Rook's job) and potentially might hop on -f4, causing some headache! } 31. Re4 f5 32. Re3 Ne6 33. Ng2 b4 34. Ke2 Rb8 35. Kd2 bxc3+ 36. bxc3 Rxb3 37. Kc2 Rb7 38. h4 Kf7 { Magnus does another 'slow' move with the King (just like on move 27) giving White enough time for consolidation } (38... a5!? { looked interesting } 39. Ree1 (39. Rxa5?? { loses to } 39... Nd4+) 39... Rcb6 40. Ra2 a4 41. Ne3 Ra6 { and White struggles equalizing easily }) 39. Ree1! { leaves the -e3 square for the Knight from where it will hop all the way to c4. I would rather call the Knight on c4 an Octopus! It' looks like it has got 8 legs! Covering -b2, threatening forks both from -a5 and -e5. Stopping Rooks from doubling with controlling -b6! } 39... Kf6 40. Ne3 Rd7 41. Nc4 Re7 42. Ne5 Rd6 43. Nc4 Rc6 44. Ne5 Rd6 45. Nc4 { 1/2-1/2 The game is a draw. } { The first game of the match ends with three-fold repetition. What can I say about the outcome of the game? Both players seemed to be well-prepared on a sideline in Ruy Lopez. However, what I sensed, despite the fact that at the end of the opening variation engine still was giving some preference to White, Carlsen was happy to play that position. I assume the reason is, Nepo is well known to be a super sharp player who can confuse anyone in complicated positions, but he has never been an extreme technician in the endgames. By trading off the Queens and the Knight to a Bishop Carlsen got the type of position Ian is not best at. Eventually, a single imprecise move was enough for Magnus to take the initiative. Normally, I'd expect him to put more problems in front of his opponent, but it didn't happen today. Nevertheless, we followed a thrilling game and the show only begins! } 1/2-1/2