The Fifth Season

Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi – Magnus Carlsen
World Chess Championship match game 5; Dubai, December 1, 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. Varying from game 3, in which he played 8. ... Bb7. 9. axb5 axb5 10. h3 d6 11. c3 b4 12. d3

12. ... bxc3. 12. ... d5 at once is also good: 13. exd5 Nxd5 14. Nxe5 Nxe5 15. Rxe5 Be6 16. Bxd5 Bxd5 17. cxb4 Bf6 18. Re1 Rxb4 19. Nc3 Bb7 20. Qc2 Qd7 21. Ne4 Bd4 22. Be3 Rxb2 23. Qc4 Bxe3 24. Rxe3 Bxe4 25. dxe4 g6 26. Rc1 ½ : ½ Jakovenko – Khalifman, 58th Russian Chess Championship Superfinal, Moscow 2005. 13. bxc3 d5!? A providential novelty, substantially improving on 13. ... Nd7? 14. Be3 Nb6 15. Nbd2 Kh8 16. Bd5 Qd7 17. Bxb6 Rxb6 18. Nc4 Ra6 19. Qb3 Nd8 20. Rxa6 Bxa6 21. Ra1 Bxc4 22. Bxc4 Ne6 23. Ra7 Nf4 24. Kh2 f5 25. Qb5 Qc8 26. Qc6 fxe4 27. Rxc7 Qf5 28. Qxe4 Qf6 29. g3 Ng6 30. Kg2 Bd8 31. Rd7 Bb6 32. Rb7 Bc5 33. Rb3 Ba7 34. d4 Rb8 35. Rxb8+ Bxb8 36. Qb7 Qf8 37. Ng5 h6 38. Ne6 Qg8 39. Bd5 exd4 40. cxd4 Kh7 41. Ng5+ 1 : 0 Balashov – Janocha, Wisła 1992. 14. Nbd2 dxe4 15. dxe4 Bd6 16. Qc2 h6 17. Nf1 Ne7 18. Ng3 Ng6 19. Be3. White is half an hour ahead on the clock and, according to Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana, also enjoys a comfortable edge. 19. ... Qe8

“There were some different things to consider”, Carlsen said afterwards. “Mainly I was choosing between 19. ... Qe8 and 19. ... Re8, since I thought I needed to get ... Bc8-e6. But, yeah, there were some subtle differences I thought. But at the end of the day I couldn’t find a way to refute 19. ... Qe8, so I went for that. I thought his best chance was to go 20. c4 after that move and try to get c4-c5, because I thought after what he did then I should gradually be fine”. 20. Red1. According to engines (and Carlsen himself), here is where Nepomniachtchi let slip a critical chance for an advantage prospect. “I guess I had nice pressure. Probably I chose the wrong plan. Maybe c2-c4-c5 was a fine idea, but somehow I thought this Bb3-a4 is quite smart”, Nepomniachtchi then said. Critical was 20. c4! (Δ c4-c5), because in case of 20. ... c5 then 21. Ba4 obviously would have more effect than in the game. Possibly the best reply to 20. c4! may be 20. ... Qe6 21. Ba4 Rd8 22. c5 Bf8 23. Ra3⩲ with only a slight advantage to White. 20. ... Be6 21. Ba4 Bd7. Then Carlsen confessed that now he could finally sigh a breath of relief just as the worst was over. 22. Nd2 Bxa4 23. Qxa4 Qxa4 24. Rxa4 Ra8 25. Rda1 Rxa4 26. Rxa4 Rb8 27. Ra6 Ne8

28. Kf1. “28. Kf1 shows that Ian doesn’t really have a concrete approach to put pressure on Black. He is just trying to slowly get the King to e2”, Caruana says. 28. .. Nf8 29. Nf5 Ne6 30. Nc4 Rd8 31. f3 f6 32. g4 Kf7 33. h4 Bf8 34. Ke2 Nd6 35. Ncxd6+ Bxd6 36. h5 Bf8 37. Ra5 Ke8 38. Rd5 Ra8 39. Rd1 Ra2+ 40. Rd2 Ra1 41. Rd1 Ra2+ 42. Rd2 Ra1 43. Rd1 ½ : ½.

“Obviously I’m not thrilled with the game”, Carlsen eventually said. “Unless you count ... Ra8-a2+ [and] ... Ra2-a1 at the end I didn’t make a single active move. The result obviously is fine”. Photo © Niki Riga.