There’s Always a Tomorrow

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – Magnus Carlsen
7th Sinquefield Cup; Saint Louis, August 28, 2019
Sicilian Defence B31

Carlsen was playing (against Vachier-Lagrave) for only one result — a win. 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) was playing (against Mamedyarov) for only one result — a draw. And last but not least, Karjakin was playing (against Caruana) for only one result — a win. With a little help from their opponents, only Carlsen and 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) got what they wanted, and thus a two-way tie-breaker is required to determine the winner of this year’s Sinquefield Cup. Tomorrow is the date. 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. Bxc6 bxc6 5. d4 cxd4. In his round-two game with Anand, Carlsen preferred 5. ... Bg7 6. dxc5 Qa5+ 7. Nbd2 Qxc5 8. 0-0 d6 9. Re1 f6 10. a3!? Nh6 11. b4 Qh5 12. c4 0-0 13. Qa4 Bd7 14. Nf1 Nf7 15. Ng3 Qg4 16. c5!? e5! 17. cxd6 c5 18. Qb3 cxb4 19. axb4 Qe6 20. Qxe6 Bxe6 21. Be3 a6 22. Rec1 Rfd8 23. Nd2 Bf8 24. Nc4 Rac8! 25. f3 Nb5 29. Bxf8 Rxc1+ 30. Rxc1 Kxf8= with a draw agreed on move 45, Anand – Carlsen, 7th Sinquefield Cup, Saint Louis 2019. 6. Qxd4 f6 7. 0-0 d6 8. c4 c5 9. Qd3 Bg7 10. b3. Or likewise 10. Nc3 Nh6 11. Nh4 Rb8 12. b3 0-0 13. Re1 Nf7 14. f4 f5 with a draw agreed on move 64, Kovalev – Praggnanandhaa, 81st Tata Steel Challengers Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 2019. 10. ... Nh6 11. Nc3 Rb8 12. Bd2 0-0 13. Rae1 Nf7 14. h4!? Rb7! 15. h5 g5 16. Nh2 Ne5 17. Qg3!? Kh8! 18. f4!? gxf4 19. Bxf4 Rg8 20. Re3 Nc6. Clearly not 20. ... Bh6? because of 21. Bxh6! Rxg3 22. Rxg3 with a crushing preponderance for White, but 20 ... Qf8!? (intending actually ... Bg7-h6) was well worth considering. 21. Qf2 f5!?

22. Nf3?? This destructive mistake was played by Vachier-Lagrave almost instantly, and without any reason. 22. exf5 Bxf5 (22. ... Bd4 23. Nb5!) 23. Rg3 was perfectly playable and even good for White. 22. ... Bxc3! 23. Rxc3 e5! 24. Rd3. Desperation, but otherwise ... f5-f4 would follow with decisive effect. 24. ... exf4 25. Qb2+ Rbg7 26. h6 fxe4. The rest is easy. 27. Rd2 exf3 28. hxg7+ Rxg7 29. Rxf3 Qg5 30. Rdf2 Nd4 31. Rxf4 Bf5 32. b4 Be6 33. Rf8+ Bg8 34. bxc5 dxc5 35. Qb8 Qe3 36. Qd6 Qc1+ 37. Kh2 Qg5 38. Qd5 Qh4+ 39. Kg1 Qe7 40. Qh5 Qe3 41. Qh4 Ne2+ 42. Kh1 Qc1+ 43. Rf1 Ng3+ 44. Kg1 Qe3+ 0 : 1. “It’s a bit surreal but now I have to get back to earth cause there’s more chess to play tomorrow”, Carlsen finally said.

A huge oversight on Vachier-Lagrave’s part gave Carlsen an unhoped-for opportunity to get to the tie-break. Photo © Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour.