The Big Shuffle

Magnus Carlsen – Hikaru Nakamura

Unofficial World Fischerandom Chess Championship match game 9 (10+5); Høvikodden, February 13, 2018

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Position 682

1. a4! Carlsen has clear ideas on how to develop his cornered Queen! 1. ... e6 2. a5 a6 3. e4 Nf6 4. e5 Nd5 5. Nf3 f6 6. exf6 gxf6 7. Ne3 Nxe3 8. fxe3! Bg6 9. b4 Be7 10. Bh4 Rf8 11. Be2 Nc6 12. Qc3 b5 13. 0-0. A very long “double-move” h-side castling. 13. ... 0-0-0. A very short “Rook-move-only” a-side castling. 14. d4. For one thing, it’s fairly flashy the difference of role between the two Queens. Nakamura must find – provided he’ll have time – a way to free Her Majesty from its ivory tower. 14. ... Bh5 15. Qd2 d5 16. c3 Bxf3 17. Rxf3 f5 18. Rh3 Rd7 19. Bg3 Bg5 20. Bf4 h6 21. Bxg5 hxg5 22. Rh6 Re7? After this Black will be inexorably crushed. Comparatively best was 22. ... Rd6 in order to answer 23. g4 by 23. ... Kb7 still with some hope of completing the development of his a-side. 23. e4! dxe4. 23. ... fxe4 24. Bg4 Nd8 25. Qxg5 cannot be much better. 24. Qxg5 Kb7. Tactically flawed, but by now there were not magic moves. If 24. ... Kd7 then 25. d5! very much the same.

25. d5! exd5 26. Rxc6! Ref7 27. Rc5 Rd7 28. Qg6 Qd8. Too late. 29. Qc6+ Ka7 30. Bxb5! axb5 31. Rxb5 Qc8 32. a6! 1 : 0. Mate follows in a very few moves: 32. ... Rd6 33. Rb7+ Ka8 34. Rb8+! Kxb8 35. a7+ Kxa7 36. Ra1+ Kb8 37. Ra8 mate.

Magnus Carlsen (left) vs. Hikaru Nakamura (right). Photo: Berit Roald/NTB Scanpix.