[Event "Casablanca Chess 2024"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2024.05.18"] [Round "01"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2828"] [BlackElo "2749"] [TimeControl "900+10"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "C52"] [Opening "Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Slow Variation"] [StudyName "Casablanca Chess 2024"] [ChapterName "Carlsen, Magnus - Anand, Viswanathan"] [ChapterURL "https://lichess.org/study/pW48HFwg/ZMRUBn1c"] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/ChessLifeOnline"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 { [%clk 0:15:10] } 1... e5 { [%clk 0:15:10] } 2. Nf3 { [%clk 0:15:10] } 2... Nc6 { [%clk 0:15:10] } 3. Bc4 { [%clk 0:15:10] } 3... Bc5 { [%clk 0:15:10] } 4. b4 { [%clk 0:15:10] } 4... Bxb4 { [%clk 0:15:10] } 5. c3 { [%clk 0:15:10] } 5... Ba5 { [%clk 0:15:10] } 6. O-O { Carlsen, for reasons that will soon become clear, "plays" the very rare 6. 0-0 rather than the immediate 6. d4. } { [%clk 0:15:10] } (6. d4 Nf6? 7. dxe5 Ng4 8. Bg5! $16) 6... Qf6?! { [%clk 0:15:10] } (6... Nf6 { is thought to be best here, when } 7. d4 O-O $15 { and Black's king safety alleviates worries about opening the e-file as well as tactical threats behind Bc4xf7+. }) 7. d4 { [%clk 0:15:10] } 7... Nge7 { [%clk 0:15:10] } 8. Bg5 { [%clk 0:15:10] } 8... Qd6 { [%clk 0:15:10] } 9. Qb3 { [%clk 0:15:10] } 9... O-O { [%clk 0:15:10] } 10. Rd1 { [%clk 0:15:10] } 10... Bb6 { We reach the position from Chigorin – Steinitz, Havana, 1889, as chosen by GM Jan Gustafsson. } { [%clk 0:15:08] } 11. Na3 { [%clk 0:13:28] } 11... Na5 { [%clk 0:12:03] } 12. Qa4 { [%clk 0:12:37] } 12... Nec6 { [%clk 0:08:21] } (12... exd4 { is apparently best: } 13. cxd4 Nec6 { and Black's pieces are no more tangled up than White's, while the d4-pawn might be overloaded. } 14. d5 Qb4! $10 { is a nice simplifying resource for Black. }) 13. dxe5!? { This is a great example of Magnus's ability to create practical problems for his opponent. } { [%clk 0:09:36] } (13. d5 { Is the only "objective" path to an advantage, according to the engine, and that probably isn't surprising to Carlsen. The d4-d5 push, even when it gets in the way of the light-squared bishop, is a common theme in the Evans Gambit, especially when the c6-knight is short on squares. } 13... Nd8 14. Bf1 { and White retains the bishop pair with a clear plan to dislodge Black's queen and dominate the center from there. But this is not a particularly hard position for Black to play, either: } 14... f6 { Indeed, now it is White who has to make decisions. For instance: can Na3-b5 be interposed? Is the bishop better on the c1-h6 diagonal or the h4-d8 diagonal? Does a trade on e3 favor White? These questions might even have good answers for White, but, practically speaking, Black's last two moves have been much easier to play. } 15. Bd2 Qe7 16. c4 Bc5 $14) 13... Qc5?? { Played instantly, suggesting Anand had not fully appreciated the problem: } { [%clk 0:08:21] } (13... Qg6! { is a great resource for Black. } 14. Bf4 Nxc4 15. Nxc4 Bc5! { A fabulous intermezzo. I'm not saying that Magnus saw this whole line when playing 13. dxe5 and decided that Anand would not find it. Rather, it's that Magnus understood that the "obvious" replies (like 13. ... Qc5??) were going to make Black's life very difficult. Thus, Black would either play a simple move that leads to a hard game, or has to work hard to find a way to a simpler position. Either way, Black is the one under pressure now. } (15... Qxe4?? 16. Nxb6 $18)) 14. Rd5 { [%clk 0:09:35] } 14... Qxf2+ { [%clk 0:08:15] } 15. Kh1 { It's not that the queen is necessarily trapped on f2, but it is certainly very far off sides now. } { [%clk 0:09:20] } 15... Qb2 { [%clk 0:06:12] } (15... Nxc4 16. Nxc4 { actually does not get Black's queen out of danger, with Bg5-h4 and Ra1-e1 coming. This is just such an easy position within which White's pieces can find improving moves, whereas Black's task is certainly not easy (even if there were adequate defenses here, which the are not!). }) (15... d6 16. Rf1 Qb2 17. Rb5 { again traps the queen. }) 16. Rb1 { [%clk 0:09:20] } 16... Qxa3 { Finally, Anand admits that the queen is a goner. } { [%clk 0:04:48] } (16... Qxc3 17. Rd3 { traps the queen. }) (16... Qf2 17. Rf1 Qb2 18. Rb5 Qxc3 19. Bd2 { is yet another lovely variation. }) 17. Qxa3 { [%clk 0:09:28] } 17... Nxc4 { [%clk 0:04:56] } 18. Qa4 { [%clk 0:09:31] } 18... Ne3 { Black has one more trick up his sleeve. } { [%clk 0:04:46] } 19. Rxb6! { [%clk 0:08:28] } (19. Rd3? { , for instance, allows } 19... Ng4 { with a threat of gaining more material via the fork on f2. }) (19. Bxe3 Bxe3 20. Nd4 { can't be so bad. But that's a lot of pawns in the way of White's rooks being particularly impactful. }) 19... Nxd5 { [%clk 0:04:19] } (19... cxb6 20. Bxe3 { was the point. }) 20. Rxc6 { 1-0 White wins. } { [%clk 0:08:28] } (20. exd5 cxb6 21. dxc6 dxc6 22. Qf4 { is also apparently a winning advantage, due essentially to the same features of the position: Black's lack of development, the relative ineffectiveness of the rooks, and the chronic weakness on the dark squares. }) 1-0