Autumn Leaves

Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin – Magnus Carlsen
9th Bilbao Masters Final; Bilbao, July 21, 2016
Queen’s Gambit Declined D38

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. e3 0-0 7. Qc2 Re8 8. Bd2 a6 9. a3 Bd6 10. h3 Bd7. For 10. ... h6 11. Rd1 dxc4 12. Bxc4 e5 13. 0-0 Bd7 see Nakamura – Aronian, Candidates Tournament, Moscow 2016. 11. cxd5 exd5 12. Bd3 Na7! 13. Qb3 c6. “Come on Sergey Karjakin, take the Pawn! Only way his game against Magnus Carlsen is going to liven up. Do it for us!”, pleads Chris Bird. 14. Qxb7. His plea was fulfilled! 14. ... Nb5 15. Nxb5 axb5!? Threatening to trap the Queen by ... Qd8-e7 followed by ... Re8-b8. According to all chess engines, however, Black’s best move would have been 15. ... cxb5(!) with interesting variations for fun or blood. But, subjectively speaking, it’s never easy to play unnatural moves.

16. Ne5. The Knight promptly comes to rescue off Her Majesty and Carlsen must be content with a draw. 16. ... Rb8 17. Qa6 Ra8 18. Qb7 Rb8 19. Qa6 Ra8 ½ : ½. So the saga of the Cold War can continue.

Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin (R.) vs. Magnus Carlsen (L.)
Photo: Juan Carlos Fernández (@FdezJcfdez)