Through the Kaleidoscope

Hikaru Nakamura – Magnus Carlsen

Unofficial World Fischerandom Chess Championship match game 2 (45+15); Høvikodden, February 9, 2018

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Position 42

1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. Rxd4 d6 4. c4 b5 5. Nb3 Nc6 6. Rd1 bxc4 7. Bxc4 Nb6 8. Be2 g6 9. Bc3 f6 10. h4. With the powerful threat of h4-h5. Furthermore, Nakamura plans to abstain from castling, preparing instead for a Rook lift to h3. It is not a thoughtless decision, as such a strategy – although in a different situation – costed Michael Adams the 4th game of the 1st unofficial World Chess Championship match against Péter Lékó in Mainz on June 26, 2001. 10. ... h5 11. Rh3 Bf7 12. Rg3 Ne5 13. Bxe5 dxe5. “After 13 opening moves, the classical World Champion looks clearly worse. I wonder why Magnus preferred 13. ... dxe5?! to the natural-looking 13. ... fxe5. We’ll definitely learn this from the post-game interviews”, Grandmaster Andrey Alekseevich Deviatkin writes. 14. Rc3 Rxd1+ 15. Qxd1 Qa8 16. N1d2 Bh6 17. Rc7 Qb8 18. Qc2. 18. Rxe7? Bf8 would cost White the Exchange. 18. ... 0-0 19. Ba6. The Pawn is still taboo, for after 19. Rxe7? Rc8 followed by ... Bh6-f8 White again loses the Exchange. 19. ... Bxd2 20. Nxd2 Rd8 21. Nf1? It would seem that after 21. Rxe7! Qd6 22. Rxa7 Qxd2 23. Qc7 White would have won back the Knight remaining at least a Pawn up. Carlsen won’t give Nakamura a second chance. 21. ... Rd7! 22. Rxd7 Nxd7 23. Bc4 Qd6. Hikaru’s seat became suddenly uncomfortable. 24. Ne3 Qd4 25. b4 Nb6 26. Bxf7+ Kxf7 27. Qb3+ Kf8 28. Qb1 Nc8! 29. Nf1 Nd6 30. Ng3 Nb5

31. a3! Nakamura finds the only move good enough to keep White alive. If now 31. ... Nxa3 then 32. Qc1 followed by Qc1-h6+ and White should get what he needs (probably a perpetual check). 31. ... Qc4 32. Qd1 Nd4 33. Qd2 Kg7 34. Kh2 Qc2 35. Qe3 a6 36. f4! The saving formula! 36. ... exf4 37. Qxd4 fxg3+ 38. Kxg3 Qb3+. 38. ... Qe2 doesn’t make too much difference, as after 39. a4! Black should hurry to go for a draw with 39. ... Qg4+ 40. Kf2 Qxh4+ 41. Kg1 Qe1+. 39. Kh2 Qxa3 40. Qc5 Kf8 41. Qc8+ Kf7 42. Qc4+ ½ : ½.

Magnus Carlsen thinking with poignant intensity. Photo: Berit Roald/NTB Scanpix.

Artwork © Willum Morsch‏ (@WillumTM)

Artwork © Willum Morsch‏ (@WillumTM)