[Event "Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge 2024"] [Site "Weissenhaus, Germany"] [Date "2024.02.16"] [Round "3"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2830"] [BlackElo "2804"] [TimeControl "40/5400:1800+30"] [Annotator "FM VanMeter"] [FEN "nnrkbbrq/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/NNRKBBRQ w GCgc - 0 1"] [Variant "Chess960"] [ECO "?"] [Opening "?"] [StudyName "ISCA Games"] [ChapterName "Carlsen, Magnus - Caruana, Fabiano"] [SetUp "1"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/wp8a4FT9/9fKCxkan"] [Orientation "white"] { The Future of Chess !?! This game is one of Carlsen's best in the tournament and it clinched for him the $60,000 first place prize. For an aspiring player who really wishes to learn "How to play Chess" this "freestyle" chess makes a lot of sense. Here you need to play based upon what I would call the "true principles" in chess, and not try to rely upon memorizing facts and knowledge from the long history of the game. Thus, you will be learning methods and not relying upon remembering 'facts'. This was the first Chess960 event to use "classical" time controls. The players all played the same position on each board, and they (White, or Black) had 10 minutes to consult with each other before play began. (Fun fact: When Magnus stopped consulting with the other three players with his color before the round his results skyrocketed.) The players and commentators alike noted that the extra time was great and the they all had to start thinking and solving problems from move one! You can find much more technical details about the event and the games from the internet, of course... Lots of YouTube videos and live commentary. I particularly liked Peter Leko, along with Tanya Sachdev and Nicholas Huschenbuth. But I'd say Nakamura was good, as was Danny King. GothamChess with Levy Rozman is always entertaining. Even the ChessDojo(!) had coverage. Lots of intersting interviews and "color' featurettes were a staple on ChessBase India. Let's have a look... } { [#] } 1. g4!? { [#] It's not common to see this move (Grob's Attack [unless you're facing Gerald Roberts(!)]) with the g-pawn, but it fulfills the important function of opening the game for the queen and is as good as the more traditional central moves, which were played in other games (see above). It should be noted, and this is easy to miss, that Black's pawn on b7 is attacked. } (1. c4 g5 2. Nc3 d6 3. g3 Bc6 4. Bg2 Nb6 5. d3 Bxg2 6. Qxg2 Nc6 7. b4! { with a strong initiative for White in Aronian-Abdusattorov. }) (1. d4 g5 (1... d5 2. Nb3 Nb6 3. O-O-O g5 4. e4 e6 5. g3 O-O-O 6. Nc3 dxe4 7. Nxe4 Bc6 8. Bg2 Bd5 { with a good game for Black in Ding-Keymer. Interestingly, this same position arrived, with a different move order, in the Gukesh-Firouzja game. }) 2. O-O-O d5 3. g3 O-O-O 4. e4 e6 5. Nc3 Nb6 6. Nb3 dxe4 7. Nxe4 Bc6 8. Bg2 Bd5 { Gukesh-Firouzja. }) (1. O-O-O { Castling on the first move is a temptation. In this starting position O-O-O simply entails switching the two pieces between c1/d1 or c8/d8. }) 1... c6? { This move doesn't help Black's position and is a clear mistake! Pay attention to the subsequent play and see if you can understand why this is so. } (1... O-O-O! { as it defends the b7-pawn in the most efficient manner. }) 2. O-O-O! { Defending his b-pawn in advance and preparing for central play with d2-d4. } 2... g5 3. h4 h6 4. d4 { White already has a comfortable advantage [Why?], as Black's position has become passive. The c6-pawn takes an important square away from the knight AND it limits the e8 scope. } 4... d5 5. e4 O-O-O 6. Nb3 Nc7 7. Nc3 { White's knights are much better placed. } 7... e6 8. Bd2! { White is better placed in the battle for the 5th Quadrant (the extended center bounded by f3-c3-c6-f6]. The structure and piece placement also gives white an edge in mobility. } 8... Be7 9. f4! { [#] The "FIVE PAWNS ATTACK": White's pawns make a great impression. In conventional chess, getting such a good position against Caruana so early is difficult, to say the least. } 9... Nd7 10. exd5! { A very interesting moment. One of the difficult topics of positional play is knowing when to release the central pawn tension. Carlsen does this masterfully in the next two moves. According to his own explanation, this exchange forces Black to weaken his king. Then he creates a passed pawn on the other side, which he can use to distract the black pieces and attack the queenside, or even use said pawn to decide the game by itself, as will, in fact, happen. Magnus clarifies and defines the position to HIS liking. The structure takes on the characteristics of the French defense... and black is saddled with that bad e8! } (10. e5 { gains space, but allows Black to create some counterplay after } 10... c5) 10... cxd5 11. fxg5! hxg5 12. h5 { This is Carlsen's idea. When we look at the way he executes his plan, everything seems easy and logical, but playing like this during the game is something else. } 12... Nb6 (12... Nb8 { Followed by Nc6 is an alternative route for the knight. }) 13. Bd3 Qh6 14. Rgf1 Rf8 15. Qg1 Bc6 { [#] } 16. Be1! { Another excellent positional move. The bishop will go to g3, and the exchange of dark-squared bishops is welcome. This is how it goes in the Winawer French, but there black voluntarily trades the  for the c3. If you look closely at the structure, black is weak on the dark squares, so Magnus eliminates their main (only?) defender. } 16... Bd6 17. Bg3 Bxg3 18. Qxg3 Nc4 { [#] Black is strategically busted, and now comes perhaps Carlsen's only questionable decision in the entire game, as the capture of the knight on c4 leads to victory immediately. } 19. Rde1?! { Naturally his move is based upon a solid French foundation of keeping e5 under control. This involved almost a 14 minute think. } (19. Bxc4! dxc4 20. Nd2 { The pawn is attacked, and the knight can go to e4, attacking important weaknesses on the dark squares. But wait, I can't do that as then my d-pawn is hanging and I lose material. This is the reasoning of most players as material IS KING, but if one were to look just one move further... } 20... Rxd4 21. Ne2! { This is the move that Carlsen missed [Actually, he admitted, oh, I didn't even look at this... Stupid backward knight move. It just highlights all of the deficiencies in the black position. What a pity... } 21... Rdd8 22. Nxc4 { with the threat of Nd6 and a winning position. That is predicated upon having better king safety and far superior mobility. }) 19... Nd6 20. Nc5 { [#] } 20... f5! { An important decisive move to place the knight on e4. Is black actually breaking out? } 21. Qe5 Ne4 { [#] } 22. a4! { NO!! Another fantastic move by Carlsen. This move calmly improves the position and keeps the prize [c8, by preparing b5 ideas] in mind. Under pressure, Caruana makes a decisive mistake. } 22... Nxc3? { While this looks 'natural' (doubling pawns, exposing king) he is, for sure, capturing the wrong knight. This will not slow down the white queen side attack, The e4 was his best piece, and the white king will remain safe. What is the real problem in the black position? One that has been there forever? Yes, if you said the c6, that's good, but also the . What has it been doing? } (22... Nxc5 23. dxc5 d4 { is a better chance, but with a series of precise moves, White keeps a big advantage: } 24. Nb5 Bxb5 25. axb5 Rd5 26. Qh2! Rxc5 27. Re5! Rxe5 28. Qxe5 { likely with a win. The h-pawn is very strong in the endgame, the bishop is much better than the knight, and Black has several pawn weaknesses. }) 23. bxc3 { Even with doubled pawns, the white king's position is very safe. Black has no counterplay to compensate for his various weaknesses. } 23... fxg4 { [#] Temporarily he is a pawn ahead! There is that materialism attitude again. And if white tries to regain it won't he get counterplay on the e-file, and maybe eliminate all of the kingside pawns? Possibly he is escaping from the worst? But look more carefully... Magnus is ready to strike with ..."just simple chess" ala Capablanca, Smyslov, Fischer, Karpov, et al } 24. Rxf8 Qxf8 { Now for the simple elegant move, please... } (24... Rxf8 25. Bg6 { prepares the capture on e6, but more importantly removes the  from the battle, and wins easily. }) 25. Qxc7+!! { Other moves also lead to a win, for instance: } (25. Rf1 Qh8 (25... Qg8 26. h6!) 26. Qxg5) (25. Qxg5) 25... Kxc7 26. Nxe6+ Kd6 27. Nxf8 Rxf8 28. h6! { The h-pawn embodies White's strategy in this game. It is also easily recognizable that this must have come from a French... } 28... Bxa4 29. Re5 a6 { Caruana prepares the exchange of bishops with Bb5, seeking salvation in the rook endgame. } 30. Rxg5 Bb5 { [#] But there is no salvation! There is only a clinical technical demonstration by the best endgame player in the history of chess. In what follows there are lots of little things to notice and learn: Slowly improve your pieces. Make the opponent's pieces worse. Tie them down. Gain time when you can. Prevent counterplay. Activate and use your king... Can you think of more? } 31. Rg6+! Kd7 32. Bxb5+ { only now } 32... axb5 33. Rxg4 Rf1+ { [#] best! } 34. Kd2 (34. Kb2?? { It's never too late to ruin a masterpiece. This move allows a draw since White's king has no path through on the queenside. } 34... Rh1 35. Rg7+ Kc6 36. Rg6+ Kc7) 34... Rf2+ 35. Kd1 Rh2 36. Rg7+ Kc6 37. h7 { [#] Black is paralyzed, and White can calmly advance with the king. } 37... b6 38. Ke1 b4 { A desperate attempt to gain activity, but White can protect all his pawns. } 39. cxb4 Kb5 40. c3 Kc4 41. Rc7+ Kd3 42. Kf1 Ke3 43. Kg1 Rh6 44. Kg2 { Chess960 is a very entertaining chess variant, full of new ideas, where creativity and understanding are more important than memorizing opening lines. I hope we have many more tournaments in this format, not only for the elite but for everyone. Here in Indianapolis one can play Chess960 at Mike Chapuran's IndyChess meetings, and he has held several tournaments. I played in his first one last year, and I'll undoubtedly play in some in the future. Maybe, I will see YOU there. Enjoy! } 1-0