First Man

Wesley So – Magnus Carlsen

1st World Fischerandom Chess Championship; Final for First Place; match game 6 (15+2); Høvikodden, November 2, 2019

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Position 253

Filipino-American Grandmaster Wesley So inscribed his own name on the gates of the temple of Caïssa by winning the first World Fischerandom Chess Championship in the country of the defending “unofficial” World Champion Magnus Carlsen. So great has been So’s supremacy, that he won the final within today’s first two “fast rapid” games, with six rounds still to go! 1. f4 Nb6 2. Nb3 d5. Under less dramatic circumstances, Carlsen would have probably gone for 2. ... f6!? 3. e4 e5 with a more balanced perspective. Incidentally, Black got a satisfactory play after 4. f5 c6 5. g4 Bc7 6. d3 0-0-0 7. Bf3 Kb8 8. Nfd2 d5⩱ Caruana – Nepomniachtchi, 1st World Fischerandom Chess Championship, Final for Third Place, Høvikodden 2019, match game 7 (15+2). Just for the record, in the end Nepomniachtchi won both the game and third place. 3. e4 dxe4 4. Qxe4 Nfd7 5. Ne3 c6. 5. ... g6 6. f5 c6 7. Bf2 Bc7 may be more solid. 6. Bf2 Bc7 7. Nf5 e6 8. Nxg7 Qf8 9. Nh5 h6. Carlsen must win, but how? 9. ... f5 10. Qf3 Bf7 is definitely less risky, but hardly good enough for a miracle. 10. Be2 Bh7 11. Qf3 Rg8 12. Bd3 Bg6. Another act of contortion, hoping for something to turn up. On the other hand, after 12. ... Bxd3 13. Qxd3 Rxg2 14. Bg3 White certainly does not risk much. 13. Bxg6 fxg6 14. Ng3

14. ... Bxf4. A last, desperate smoke signal, but it can’t work. 15. 0-0 g5 16. Ne2 e5. Carlsen’s frantic Bishop sacrifice is in fact his way of surrendering the game and the match. 17. g3 0-0-0 18. gxf4 exf4 19. Bxb6 axb6 20. Rbe1 Ne5 21. Qc3 Qd6 22. Ned4 g4 23. Nf5 Nf3+ 24. Kh1 Qd7 25. Ne7+ Kb8 26. Nxg8 Nxe1 27. Qe5+ Ka8 28. Nf6 Qf7 29. Rxf4 1 : 0.

“It’s shocking even to me”, So smilingly told NRK. “After checking with computer, I think I’ve played pretty well”. Carlsen, on his part, exhibited his fair play by acknowledging his opponent’s merits: “I just want to say congratulations to Wesley. He played much better than me. I felt I played okay on first day, but, as for the rest, I am just ashamed of myself. I wish I could do it all over again”, he said. Photo © Lennart Ootes.