Invisibility to Invincibility

Magnus Carlsen – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
5th Grand Chess Tour; 2nd stage; Zagreb, July 7, 2019
Grünfeld Defence D85

16th World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen handily won his sixth classical super-tournament in a row and broke all records, so from now on, only he himself will be able to outdo himself. 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nxc3 7. bxc3 c5 8. Be3 Qa5 9. Qd2 Nc6 10. Rb1 cxd4 11. cxd4 0-0 12. Qxa5 Nxa5 13. Bd3 Bg4 14. 0-0 Bxf3?! This is probably the beginning of all Black’s troubles, as is tellingly shown by a somewhat similar game: 14. ... Rfd8 15. d5 Bxf3 16. gxf3 e6 17. Bg5 f6 18. Bd2 b6 19. Bxa5 bxa5 20. Bc4 Rac8 21. Ba6 Rc7 22. dxe6 Bh6 23. Bb7 Rd3 24. Bd5 Kf8 25. Rb8+ Ke7 26. Rfb1 Rd2 27. R1b7 Rdc2 28. Rh8 Rxb7 29. Rxh7+ Kd6 30. Rxb7 Rc7 31. Rb8 Bg5 32. Rd8+ Ke5 33. Rg8 f5 34. Rxg6 Bh4 35. Rh6 Rg7+ 36. Kf1 Bg5 37. Rh5 1 : 0 Ragger – Sutovsky, 31st European Chess Club Cup, Skopje 2015. In his need for theoretically sounder models, Black also tried 14. ... b6 15. Rfc1 Rfd8 16. d5 e6 17. Bf4 exd5 18. exd5 Rac8 19. d6 Bf8 20. Rxc8 Bxc8 21. Rd1 Nb7 22. Bc4 Kg7 23. Ng5 Nxd6 24. Ne4 Nb7 25. Be5+ Kh6 26. Bf4+ Kg7 27. Be5+ Kg8 28. Nf6+ Kh8 29. Ne8+ Kg8 30. Nf6+ Kh8 31. Ne8+ Kg8 32. Nf6+ Kh8 33. Ne8+ Kg8 34. Nf6+ ½ : ½ Wiedenkeller – Domínguez Pérez, 31st European Chess Club Cup, Skopje 2015. 15. gxf3 e6 16. Rfd1 Rfd8 17. Bf1 b6 18. Ba6 Rd6 19. Rbc1 Rad8 20. Bg5 f6 21. Be3 h6 22. Bb5 f5

23. d5! Carlsen makes his final breakthrough in a well calculated sequence. 23. ... g5 24. Bd2 fxe4 25. fxe4 a6 26. Ba4. 26. Bxa6? exd5 27. Bb4 allows Black to reply with 27. ... Rc6 still making defence possible. 26. ... exd5 27. Bb4 Re6 28. Rxd5 Rxd5 29. exd5 Re4 30. Rc8+ Kf7 31. a3 Be5 32. Be8+ Kg7 33. d6 Rd4. 33. ... Nb7 34. d7 Bf6 (34. ... Rd4 transposes into the game) 35. Bf8+! also ends in a triumph of White. 34. d7 Nb7 35. Be7 Re4 36. Rc6 Bd4 37. Rc7! 1 : 0.

Magnus Carlsen just thinking out loud. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour.

Through the Eye of the Needle

丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) – Magnus Carlsen
5th Grand Chess Tour; 2nd stage; Zagreb, July 4, 2019
Catalan Opening E05

Magnus Carlsen also crushed 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) — actually the world No. 3 — with stunning power, and for the first time in classical time control. That means that the search for the next challenger will likely become a still more exclusive affair among very few rich people. 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 0-0 6. 0-0 dxc4 7. Qc2 b5 8. a4 b4 9. Nfd2 Nd5 10. Nxc4 c5 11. dxc5 Ba6!? This new move by Carlsen upset 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) enough to make him think long and hard. 12. Ne3 Nd7 13. Nxd5 exd5 14. c6 Rc8 15. Bf4 Nc5 16. c7 Qd7 17. Nd2 g5. 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) has now to defend his precarious “drawing zone” being a hour behind his opponent, which is going to be a “mission impossible” against the Carlsen of today.

18. Be5 f6 19. Bd4 Rxc7 20. Qd1 Ne6 21. Nb3 Bc4 22. Na5 Nxd4 23. Qxd4 Kg7 24. Rfc1 Bxe2 25. Rxc7 Qxc7 26. Re1 Bc5 27. Qxd5 Re8 28. Qb7. 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) enters an endgame which he feels to be drawable, but that instead will end with the triumph of Black’s Bishop pair. All things considered, then, 28. Qc6 Qxc6 29. Nxc6 Bh5 was worth considering as possibly giving better drawing prospects. 28. ... Qxb7 29. Nxb7 Bf8 30. Bc6 Re7 31. f3 Bc4 32. Rxe7+ Bxe7 33. Kf2 f5 34. Ke3 Bg8 35. Kd3 g4 36. Na5 Bc5 37. Nc4 Bg1 38. Ne3 Be6 39. fxg4 fxg4 40. Ke2 h5 41. Bd5 Bd7 42. Bb3 Bxh2 43. Kf2 h4 44. gxh4 Be5 45. Nc4 g3+ 46. Kg1 Bf4 47. Bd1 Bc6 48. b3 Kh6 49. a5 Be4 50. Kf1 Kg7 51. Kg1 Kf6 52. Kf1 Ke6 53. h5 Kd5 54. a6 Kd4 55. Bg4 Kc3 56. Be6 Bc2 57. Na5 Bc7 58. Nb7 Bd3+ 59. Kg1 Bxa6 0 : 1. “Win is a win, but this one is special”, Carlsen finally said.

Thanks to his win against 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén), Carlsen remains in the lead with ½ point ahead of Wesley So. Photo © Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour.

Jump Seat

Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi – Magnus Carlsen
5th Grand Chess Tour; 2nd stage; Zagreb, July 3, 2019
Sicilian Defence B30

Yesterday Carlsen successfully defeated his nemesis Nepomniachtchi taking also the lead of the tournament. 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 e5. Carlsen chivalrously gives the odds of the centre light squares. 4. Bc4 g6 5. d3. Somewhat similar may be 5. h4!? h6! 6. h5 g5 7. Nh2!? Nf6 8. d3 d6 9. Nf1 Bg4 10. f3 Be6 11. Ne3 Bg7 12. Ncd5 0-0 13. c3⩲ Vachier-Lagrave – Carlsen, 6th Sinquefield Cup, Saint Louis 2018. 5. ... h6!? 6. h4 d6 7. h5 g5 8. Nh2 Bg7 9. Ng4 Nge7 10. Ne3 0-0 11. Bd2 Kh8 12. g4 Rb8 13. a4 Nd4 14. Ncd5 Nxd5 15. Nxd5 Ne6 16. f3 Nf4 17. Qb1 Be6 18. Qa2 Qd7 19. Rg1 b6 20. Bc3 Bxd5 21. Bxd5 a6 22. Bd2 Qe7 23. Rf1 b5! White has got nothing, so Carlsen takes his time now. Two thematic breaks will literally disrupt Nepomniachtchi’s nervous balance. 24. axb5 axb5 25. Kf2. A strange walk which gives sense to Black’s next ... f7-f5. 25. ... c4!? 26. Bxf4. If 26. dxc4 then 26. ... bxc4 27. Bxc4 d5! (27. ... f5!? is likewise interesting) 28. Bxd5 f5!∞ with unclear play — but certainly easier for Black. 26. ... exf4 27. Rad1 f5! That’s the point and should not be the end of White’s afternoon. After something like 28. exf5 Qe3+ 29. Kg2 Qe2+ 30. Kh3!? cxd3 31. cxd3 Rbc8!?∞ Black, in spite of his volatile initiative, may hardly hope for more than a draw.

28. gxf5?? g4!−+ 29. d4 Qh4+ 30. Ke2 Qh2+ 31. Rf2 gxf3+ 0 : 1.

“Body language after 28. ... g4 was played”. Caption and photo: Grand Chess Tour (@GrandChessTour).

Trust in a Complex World

丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) – Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi
5th Grand Chess Tour; 2nd stage; Zagreb, July 1, 2019
English Opening A20

1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. 0-0 Be7 7. d4 e4 8. Ne5 f5 9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. Qc2 Nb4 11. Qa4 Bd7 12. a3 Nd5 13. Nc3 Bd6!? A novelty by Nepomniachtchi instead of 13. ... 0-0 14. Nxd5 cxd5 15. Qb3 c6 16. Bf4 Qb6 with approximate equality, Thiede – Langrock, 2nd International Chess Tournament Cala d’Or, Santanyí 2004. But probably 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) would have put Black to the test with 14. Qc4! (instead of 14. Nxd5) which wins a Pawn, apparently with no obvious drawback. 14. f3! exf3 15. Bxf3 Nb6. In many variations, Black ends up dropping a Pawn, and compensation would be uncertain and difficult to demonstrate. By his move Nepomniachtchi holds tight to his c-Pawn, even though at the cost of keeping the King in the centre (or is he thinking about Queenside castling?). Whatever it is, he’s relying upon his h-Pawn to “steal the initiative”. 16. Qb3 Qf6 17. Be3

17. ... Qg6? This seems to lose precious time. Had he played 17. ... h5! at once, then 18. Bf2 h4! gave Black better chances to “make the basket” (19. gxh4 Rxh4!↑). 18. Bf2 h5. Now, it’s late. 19. e4! h4!? Good or bad — this is, by now, what Black can do, for if 19. ... 0-0-0 then 20. e5 followed by d4-d5 with crushing effect. 20. exf5 Qxf5 21. Rae1+ Kd8 22. Ne4 Qg6 23. Nxd6 cxd6 24. d5 c5 25. a4! The threat of a4-a5 is troublesome enough to make Black’s reply quite foreseeable: 25. ... Bxa4. If instead 25. ... Nxa4 then 26. Re6!! with devastating effect. 26. Qa3! Re8. Black must prevent Re1-e6. 27. b4! 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) methodically tightens the noose, and Black’s end comes rapidly: 27. ... Rc8 28. bxc5 Rxe1 29. Rxe1 hxg3 30. hxg3 dxc5 31. Kg2 Qc2 32. Qe3 Rc7 33. Qe6 Rd7 34. d6 Kc8 35. Rh1 1 : 0.

Nepomniachtchi (right) stretches out his hand to 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) as he resigns the game. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour.

How Not to Say Goodbye

Fabiano Caruana – Magnus Carlsen
5th Grand Chess Tour; 2nd stage; Zagreb, June 28, 2019
Spanish Game C84

The result of a single game cannot change, of course, the overall relationship strength between the two strongest players on the planet (so far), but it may serve to confirm (or disconfirm) the reliability of Fabiano Caruana as a most likely challenger to Magnus Carlsen even for the next world cycle. Thus, the resilience Caruana showed in his last 16 classical games against the mighty Carlsen may still constitute a powerful argument in his own favour. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Nxe4 6. d4 Be7. The Walbrodt Variation. 7. Re1 b5 8. Rxe4 d5 9. Nxe5 Nxe5 10. Rxe5 bxa4 11. Nc3 0-0. An illustrious reference is 11. ... Be6? 12. Qh5! g6 13. Qf3 Bf6? (this leads to a quick catastrophe, but also after 13. ... c6 14. Bh6 White stands better — Em. Lasker’s analysis) 14. Rxd5! Bxd5 15. Nxd5 Bg7 16. Bg5!+− Em. Lasker – Tarrasch, Berlin 1916, match game 6. 12. Re1!? Here is something of a novelty. Likewise after 12. Rxd5 Bd6 13. Bg5 Qe8 the game is complex with chances for both colours, Kruppa – Ivanchuk, Semifinal of 54th Championship of USSR, Irkutsk 1986. 12. ... Bd6 13. Qh5 a3 14. Nxd5 axb2 15. Bxb2 Rb8 16. Rab1 Re8 17. Ne3 Bf4 18. d5 Rb4 19. c4 Bxe3 20. Rxe3 Rxe3 21. fxe3 Rxc4 22. Bd4 c5 23. Ba1 f6 24. h3 Qe7 25. Qf3 h6 26. Re1 Re4 27. Kf2 Bd7. That is what happened so far, and it is enough to guess the result. 28. Rd1 Kh7 29. Rd2 Qe8 30. Bb2 Ra4 31. a3 Rc4 32. Re2 Qg6 33. e4 Ba4 34. d6 Bc6 35. Qg3 Qxg3+ 36. Kxg3 Kg6 37. e5 fxe5 38. Bxe5 h5 39. Bb2 h4+ 40. Kh2

40. ... Kf5!? 41. Bxg7 Re4!? Carlsen is just pretending not to accept the draw outcome or what? 42. Rxe4 Kxe4 43. Bf6. Two united passed Pawns won’t prove to be enough for Caruana to score a victory, since, in the end, he will end up with the wrong colour Rook Pawn for his Bishop. 43. ... c4 44. Bxh4 c3 45. Bf6 c2 46. Bb2 Kd5 47. g4 Kxd6 48. Kg3 Bb5 49. Kf3 Ke7 50. h4 Kf8 51. h5 Be8 52. Kg3 Kg8 53. Kh4 Kh7 54. Kg5 Bd7 55. Kf4 a5 56. Kg5 a4 57. Kf4 Be6 58. g5 Bf7 59. g6+ Bxg6 60. hxg6+ Kxg6 61. Ke5 Kf7 62. Kd6 Ke8 63. Bc1 Kd8 64. Kc6 Kc8 65. Bf4 c1=Q+ 66. Bxc1 Kb8 67. Kb6 Ka8 68. Bf4 stalemate.

Today’s draw raises to 16 the number of consecutive draws between Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour.

Foufou

Magnus Carlsen – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
5th Grand Chess Tour; 1st stage; Côte d’Ivoire Rapid (25+10); Abidjan, May 9, 2019
Sicilian Defence B90

As expected, 16th World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen won the rapid round-robin of the Grand Chess Tour’s first stage with stunning ease, implicitly suggesting that his last challenger was to have the honour of not being here. 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 Ng4 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bh4 g5 9. Bg3 Bg7 10. Qd2 Nc6 11. Nb3 Be6 12. h4 gxh4 13. Bxh4 b5 14. f4 b4 15. Na4 Qc7 16. 0-0-0 Rb8 17. Kb1 Na5 18. Nxa5 Qxa5 19. b3 Qc7 20. Be2 h5 21. f5 Bd7 22. Bxg4 hxg4 23. Qg5. White forces a liquidation that will leave him a Pawn ahead, but in a very unstable “ending” of Queen and Rook vs. Queen and Rook. 23. ... Bf6 24. Qxg4 Bxa4 25. Bxf6 Rxh1 26. Rxh1 exf6 27. bxa4 Ke7 28. Qf3 Rc8 29. Qd3 a5 30. Rd1 Rg8 31. Qe2 Rg3! Maybe White could have done better somewhere earlier, but now Black gets an entry for his Rook to take over the third rank with a dynamic equality. 32. Qf2 Ra3! 33. g4

33. ... Rxa4? But this inconsistent move that cuts the Rook off the stage is a grave mistake which loses immediately. Correct seems 33. ... Qc5! 34. Qxc5 dxc5 35. Rd5 Rc3 with a likely draw. 34. g5!+− fxg5 35. f6+ Ke8 36. Qe2 b3 37. axb3 Rb4 38. e5! dxe5 39. Rd5 Kf8 40. Qh5 Rh4 41. Qxg5 Rh7 42. Qd2 1 : 0.

Magnus Carlsen vs. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Photo © Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour.

Alloco

Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi – Magnus Carlsen
5th Grand Chess Tour; 1st stage; Côte d’Ivoire Rapid (25+10); Abidjan, May 8, 2019
Sicilian Defence B32

Not too surprisingly, 16th World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen showed himself in great form even in the first African stage of the Grand Chess Tour, which has now come to its fifth edition. 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 5. Nb5 d6 6. N1c3 a6 7. Na3 Be7 8. g3. It’s very unlikely that such a sideline may cause Carlsen to worry about his theoretical conclusions. 8. ... Nf6 9. Bg2 b5 10. Nd5 Nxd5 11. exd5 Nb8 12. 0-0 Nd7 13. c4 0-0 14. cxb5 axb5 15. Nc2 f5 16. Nb4 Bf6 17. Nc6 Qe8 18. a4 Nc5 19. Be3 Nxa4 20. Qc2 Bd7 21. b3 f4 22. bxa4 fxe3 23. axb5 Rxa1 24. Rxa1 Bg5 25. b6 exf2+ 26. Kh1 Bc8 27. Rf1 Qf7 28. Qe2 e4

29. h4? Clearly not 29. Bxe4?? on account of 29. ... Bh3−+ winning heavy material. However, Nepomniachtchi misses his only chance to stay in the game with 29. Qxe4! Ba6! (not 29. ... Re8? because of 30. Rxf2! turning the tables) 30. Qe6 Bxf1 31. Bxf1 and White’s powerful Knight on c6 and the passed b-Pawn provide excellent compensation for the Exchange. 29. ... e3!−+ 30. hxg5 Re8! The elegant pointe. Black was perhaps hoping for 30. ... Ba6? 31. g6!∞ (but not 31. Qxa6?? because of 31. ... Qh5+ and mate next move). 31. Kh2 Bg4! As a last act of White’s drama, Black unblocks his e-Pawn just to queen in a few moves. 32. Qxg4 e2 33. b7 Qxb7 34. Rxf2 e1=Q 35. Qf5 Qe3 36. Rf3 Qe2 37. Nd4 Qe5 38. Qg4 Qbxd5 39. Nf5 Qde6 40. Qh5 Qg6 41. Qg4 h5 42. Qc4+ d5 43. Qb5 Qxg5 44. Qd7 h4 45. Rf1 hxg3+ 46. Kg1 g6 47. Bxd5+ Kh8 0 : 1.

Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi vs. Magnus Carlsen. Photo © Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour.