Deep Blues

Vincent Keymer – Magnus Carlsen

1st Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour; first leg; Stage 2: Knockout; Semifinal match game 1; time control: 90 minutes plus 30 seconds per move; Wangels, February 11, 2025

nbrkbrqn/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/NBRKBRQN w FCfc - 0 1

Position #360

1. g4 Ng6 2. Nb3 e5 3. Ng3 f6 4. c4 0-0-0. Carlsen took to the confession booth to critique his own development strategy, complaining that it had turned Black’s game into a struggle for survival.
5. d4 Nb6 (5. ... exd4 6. f4⩲/±)
6. d5 d6 7. Bf5+ Bd7 8. f3 a6 9. e4 Nf4 10. Bxd7+ Rxd7 11. Kc2!? White offers a Pawn and the Exchange (11. ... Nxc4 12. Kc1 Nh3 13. Qh1 Ne3 14. Bd2) for the sake of the initiative.
11. ... Ba7 12. Bd2 Kb8 13. Be3 Nh3 14. Qg2 Nf4 15. Qf2 h5 16. Rfd1 hxg4 17. fxg4 Nc8 18. c5 dxc5 19. Bxc5 g6 20. Bxa7+ Nxa7 21. Kb1 Qh7 22. Nc5 Rd6 23. Ne2 Nxe2 24. Qxe2 Nb5 25. Qc4 Rc8 26. a4 Nd4

27. g5! Keymer throws fuel on the fire, compelling Carlsen to think long and hard about each move.
27. ... Rcd8 (27. ... fxg5!? 28. Rxd4! exd4 29. e5 Ka8!! 30. Qxd4 Rdd8 31. Qb4 Rb8∞)
28. gxf6 Rxf6 29. Rf1 Rb6 30. Rf2 g5 31. Ka2 Ka7 32. Rcf1

Carlsen defended well so far, but now the clock tells its own story.
32. ... g4? (32. ... Rc8 33. Rf7 Qxh2 34. R1f2 Qh3∞)
33. Qc3? (33. Rf7! Qxh2 34. R1f2 Qh6 35. Rxc7+−)
33. ... Nf3 34. Rg2 Rg8 35. Rff2 Rd6 36. Qe3 Ka8 37. Ne6 c6? An oversight in time trouble.

38. Qa3! Rxe6. 38. ... Rd7 39. Nf8 loses material by a Knight fork.
39. dxe6 Rc8? 1–0. The g4-Pawn also falls and Carlsen has had enough of it.