After Dinner

Wesley So – Magnus Carlsen

Champions Chess Tour 2021; 1st stage; Skilling Open; Final tie-break game 1; time control: 5 minutes plus 3 seconds per move; chess24.com, November 30, 2020

r6r/1p6/4pk2/PBPpn1p1/1P2b3/4RPP1/7N/4R1K1 b - - 0 31

Position after 31. f2-f3

It took only the first tie-break blitz game for So to win the inaugural leg of the Champions Chess Tour, which might make think that Carlsen, in turn, was quite in a hurry to turn off the computer and celebrate his birthday “offline” — after all, one is young only once in a lifetime! 31. ... Rxh2! And yet that was to be... 32. Kxh2 Nxf3+ 33. Rxf3+ Bxf3 34. c6

34. ... d4? And now it’s time to dance the night away. 34. ... bxc6 35. Bxc6 Ra7! was still a tough challenge. 35. Rf1! Rh8+ (35. ... g4 36. Rxf3+ gxf3 37. cxb7+−) 36. Kg1 Rh1+ 37. Kf2 Rxf1+ 38. Bxf1 Bxc6 39. b5 Bd7 (39. ... Bd5 40. Bg2+−) 40. a6 bxa6 41. bxa6 d3 42. Bxd3 Ke5 43. a7 Bc6 44. Bf1 1 : 0.