The Day After Tomorrow

Magnus Carlsen – Hikaru Nakamura
The Magnus Carlsen Invitational; match game 3 (15+10); chess24.com, May 3, 2020
Queen’s Gambit Declined D37

And thus, Magnus Carlsen inscribed his name in the “golden book” of his own The Magnus Carlsen Invitational online tournament, by defeating Hikaru Nakamura 2½ – 1½ in a hard-fought 4-game final. 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 0-0 6. e3 Nbd7 7. Be2 dxc4 8. 0-0 c5 9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. Bxc4 a6 11. Ng5 b5 12. Bxe6 fxe6 13. Nxe6 Qe7!? A recent game went instead 13. ... Qe8 14. Nxf8 Bxf8 15. Bd6 Bb7 16. Bxf8 Nxf8 17. a4 b4 18. Qb3+ Ne6 19. Qxb4 Rb8 20. Qc4 Rc8 21. Qb3 Rb8 22. Qc2 Ng5 23. Rae1 Bf3 24. Qf5 Qh5 25. h4 Qxh4 26. Qf4 Nh3+ 27. gxh3 Qxh3 28. Qxb8+ Kf7 29. Qc7+ Kg8 30. Qb8+ Kf7 31. Qh2 Qg4+ 32. Qg3 Qh5 33. Qc7+ Kg8 34. Qh2 Qg5+ 35. Qg3 Qh5 36. Qh2 ½ : ½ Wojtaszek – Andreikin, Grand Prix 2019, 4th stage, Jerusalem 2019, tie-break game 1 (25+10). Nakamura’s novelty does not appear to be an improvement on it. 14. Nxf8 Qxf8 15. Ne4 Bb7 16. Nxc5 Qxc5 17. Rc1 Qd5 18. f3 Qxa2 19. e4 Nf8. Clearly not 19. ... Qxb2?? because of 20. Rc7 winning material. 20. Rf2 Rc8. There’s no easy ending for Black to liquidate into, so Nakamura’s hurry in seeking exchanges is worth doubting. 21. Rxc8 Bxc8 22. Qd8 Qe6 23. Bd6 Qe8. 23. ... Ne8 24. Bb4! is White’s “brand changer”, but with the Queens on board — and the difference may be important. 24. Qxe8 Nxe8

25. Bb4! Grandmaster Alexander Igorevich Grischuk in his live commentary for chess24.com calls this “maybe the move of the match so far!”. Now White’s Queenside Pawn majority is nullified, while White’s Bishop and Rook exert powerful pressure against the enemy’s forces. That is enough for Carlsen to get a win: 25. ... Ne6 26. Rd2 Kf7 27. Kf2 Nf6 28. Ke3 g5 29. Rd6 Nd7 30. g3 Ne5 31. b3 h5 32. h4 gxh4 33. gxh4 Ng6 34. Be1 a5 35. Rd5 a4 36. Rxh5 Nef4 37. Rg5 axb3 38. h5 Nf8 39. Bc3 b4 40. Bb2 N8e6 41. Rf5+ Kg8 42. Rxf4. Who’s afraid of opposite-coloured Bishops? 42. ... Nxf4 43. Kxf4 Ba6 44. Kg5 Bd3 45. Kg6 Bb5 46. f4 Be8+ 47. Kg5 Bc6 48. e5 Bd5 49. f5 Kh7 50. e6 Bc4 51. Kf6 Be2 52. Ke7 1 : 0.