Earthstone

Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi – Magnus Carlsen
World Chess Championship match game 7; Dubai, December 4, 2021
Spanish Game C88

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 0-0 8. a4 Rb8 9. axb5 axb5 10. h3 d6 11. d3. The theoretical debate about the Anti-Marshall is still going on. It is Nepomniachtchi who first deviates from 11. c3, as actually played in the game 5. 11. ... h6 12. Nc3 Re8 13. Nd5 Bf8. Finally Grandmaster Arturs Neikšāns’ moment of glory has come: “I was the first one to play the position 8 years ago and I don’t even remember doing it”! After 13. ... Nxd5 14. Bxd5 Bb7 15. c3 Ra8 16. Rxa8 Qxa8 17. Nh2 Nd8 18. Bb3 Bc8 19. Ng4 Be6 Black apparently parried all attacks against his King, Neikšāns – Kujawski, 13th Europen Rapid Chess Championship, Warsaw 2013. 14. Nxf6+ Qxf6 15. c3 Ne7 16. Be3 Be6

17. d4. “I think the opening has gone well for Ian”, says Caruana. “It’s not a very large advantage but it is pressure and he’s up on the clock. This is a bit of an opening success”. 17. ... exd4 18. cxd4. Caruana thought that 18. Nxd4, regardless of its objective value, might have at least resulted in a more interesting game (in which case 18. ... Bxb3 19. Qxb3 d5!? is the engines’ recommendation). 18. ... Bxb3 19. Qxb3 Ng6. “It was kind of the usual that he was a little bit better and I had to gradually equalize”, Carlsen said afterwards. “I think I did that OK”.

20. Rec1. “Probably his only chance there at the end was to play 20. Rac1 instead of 20. Rec1 and then trade e4 for c7”, Carlsen said. “I thought he was a little bit better. But very, very little and unrealistic that he can play for a win I thought. Gradually I’d equalize there as well”. 20. ... c5 21. e5 Qf5 22. dxc5 dxc5 23. Bxc5 Bxc5 24. Rxc5 Nxe5 25. Nxe5 Rxe5 26. Rxe5 Qxe5

27. Qc3 Qxc3 28. bxc3 Rc8 29. Ra5 Rxc3 30. Rxb5. Dead draw. But they — obeying a paroxysmal rule — cannot advance such an indecent proposal before move 41. 30. ... Rc1+ 31. Kh2 Rc3 32. h4 g6 33. g3 h5 34. Kg2 Kg7 35. Ra5 Kf6 36. Rb5 Kg7 37. Ra5 Kf6 38. Rb5 Kg7 39. Ra5 Kf6 40. Ra6+ Kg7 41. Ra7 ½ : ½. Grandmaster Levon Grigori Aronian justly sums up the evidence so far as to the match: “Today is not as much about Nepomniachtchi, but about his team... He needs to come up with something serious. A challenge for Carlsen”.

“Today was surely no missed chances”, Nepomniachtchi eventually said. “It was a very balanced game. I believe it was just boring”. Photo © Niki Riga.