Valentine’s Day at the Chocolate House

Wesley So – Magnus Carlsen

Champions Chess Tour 2021; 3rd stage; Opera Euro Rapid; Final match game 5; time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; chess24.com, February 14, 2021

Sicilian Defence B30

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 e6 4. 0-0 Nge7 5. c3 a6 6. Ba4 b5 7. Bc2 Bb7 8. Re1 Rc8 9. a4 b4 10. d4 cxd4 11. cxd4 Ng6 (11. ... d5 12. Nbd2 Na5 13. Ne5 Ng6 14. Nxg6 hxg6 15. e5 Qb6 16. Nf3 b3 17. Bd3 Nc4 18. Qe2 Be7 19. Rd1 a5 20. Bg5 Qd8 21. Bxe7 Qxe7 22. Rdc1 0-0 23. h4 Nb6 24. Bb5 Qb4 25. Qd2 Nc4 26. Qxb4 axb4 27. Ne1 Na5 28. Rc5 f6 29. Nd3 fxe5 30. Nxe5 Rxc5 31. dxc5 Rc8 32. Rc1 Nc4 33. c6 Nxe5 34. cxb7 Rxc1+ 35. Kh2 Kh7 36. b8=Q Ng4+ 37. Kg3 Nf6 38. f3 Nh5+ 39. Kh2 Rc2 40. Qe5 1 : 0 Tkachiev – Sveshnikov, 15th Russian Team Chess Championship, Dagomys 2008) 12. Nbd2 Na5 13. g3 Be7. Black’s Bishop appears to be not well placed here as it blocks the most natural retreat square for the Knight in case of h2-h4-h5. Perhaps 13. ... h6!? 14. h4 Bd6 15. e5 Bb8 16. Ne4 Bd5 17. h5 Ne7 18. Bf4⩲ might be an improvement. 14. h4

14. ... Bxh4? A strange way to make history repeat itself, mirroring the outcome of the Skilling Open — the fact is that Carlsen’s coffee house sacrifice proves to be completely unreliable, allowing So to win the final match without a struggle. 15. gxh4 Nxh4 16. Nxh4 Qxh4

17. Re3! f5 18. Rg3 0-0 19. Nf3 Qh5 20. Ne5! Qxd1+ 21. Bxd1 d6 22. Nd3 fxe4 23. Nxb4 Nc4 24. a5 d5 25. Bg4 Rf6 26. Bg5 Rg6 27. Bh5 Rxg5 28. Rxg5 1 : 0.

U+003D

Wesley So – Magnus Carlsen

Champions Chess Tour 2021; 3rd stage; Opera Euro Rapid; Final match game 4; time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; chess24.com, February 13, 2021

Giuoco Piano C54

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. e5 d5 7. Bb5 Ne4 8. cxd4 Bb6 9. Nc3 0-0 10. Be3 Bg4 11. h3 Bh5 12. Qc2 Bg6 13. Qb3 Ne7 14. 0-0 c6 15. Bd3 Nf5 16. Qc2 Nxc3!?TN (16. ... Nxe3 17. fxe3 Ng3 18. Bxg6 hxg6 19. Rf2 f5 20. Ne2 Ne4 21. Rff1 g5 22. Nd2 Qd7 23. a4 Ba5 24. Nc3 Rae8 25. Ndxe4 fxe4 26. Qe2 Qe6 27. Qh5 Bd8 28. a5 Rxf1+ 29. Rxf1 Bxa5 30. Qxg5 Bxc3 31. bxc3 a5 32. Ra1 Ra8 ½ : ½ Aronian – M. Adams, 22nd European Team Chess Championship, Batumi 2019) 17. bxc3 Nxe3 18. fxe3 Bxd3 19. Qxd3 f6 20. c4

20. ... Bc7? Indeed, most of Black’s trouble can be blamed on this move. Best was 20. ... fxe5 21. Nxe5 Qd6 with a playable game. 21. cxd5 Qxd5 22. exf6 gxf6 23. e4 Qd7 24. Rad1 Rad8 25. Nh4 Kh8 26. Nf5 c5

27. d5 Be5 28. Rb1 b6 29. Qc4 Rfe8 30. Kh1 Bd4 31. Rf4 Rxe4 32. Rxe4 Qxf5. Carlsen had to give up the Exchange only to get rid of White’s Knight, but things will not get better: 33. Rbe1 Rxd5? 33. ... Qxd5? 34. Re8+! is the “dual”. 34. Rg4 h5 35. Re8+ Kh7 36. Re7+ Kh8 37. Qc1 1 : 0.

Half-Time

Wesley So – Magnus Carlsen

Champions Chess Tour 2021; 3rd stage; Opera Euro Rapid; Final match game 2; time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; chess24.com, February 13, 2021

Two Knights Defence C58

The score is level at half-time in the final match between Carlsen and So. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Na5 6. Bb5+ c6 7. dxc6 bxc6 8. Bd3!? Nd5 9. Nf3 Bd6 10. 0-0 0-0 11. Re1 f5 12. Nxe5 Qf6 13. Nf3 g5 14. c4 Nf4 15. Bf1 g4 16. d4 gxf3 17. Qxf3 Ne6 18. Qc3. White can also play 18. c5 at once, after which two recent games continued as follows: (a) 18 ... Bc7 19. b4 Qxd4 20. Qc3 Qxc3 21. Nxc3 Nb7 22. Bc4 Re8 23. Bb2 a5 24. b5 Nxc5 25. Ba3 Ne4 26. Nxe4 fxe4 27. b6 Bxb6 28. Rxe4 Kf7 29. Rae1 Ra7 30. Kh1 a4?! (30. ... Rd8! 31. f4 Rd5! 32. Bxd5 cxd5 33. Re5 Bc7 34. Rxd5 Bxf4=) 31. f4 Ra5 32. g4 Bc5 33. Bxc5 Rxc5 34. f5 h5 35. Bxe6+ Bxe6 36. fxe6+ Ke7 37. Rxa4 h4 38. Rf4 Rc2 39. Rf7+ Kd6 40. Rd7+ Kc5 41. Rh7 Kd6 42. e7 Rd2 43. Rxh4 Rxe7 44. Rh6+ Kd7 45. Rxe7+ Kxe7 46. Rxc6 Rxa2 47. Rc3 Kf6 48. h4 Ke5 49. Rf3 Ra4 50. Rg3 Kf4 51. Rg2 Kf3 52. h5 Kf4 53. g5 Kf5 54. g6 1 : 0 Aronian – Vidit, 5th Grand Chess Tour, 7th stage, Tata Steel India Rapid, Kolkata 2019 (time control: 25 minutes plus 10 seconds per move); (b) 18. ... Nxd4 19. Qc3 Bc7 20. b4 Nb7 21. Bc4+ Kg7 22. Bb2 Rd8 23. Nd2 a5 24. Nb3 axb4 25. Qxd4 Rxd4 26. Bxd4 Qxd4 27. Nxd4 Kf6 28. Nxc6 Nxc5 29. Nxb4 1 : 0 So – Abdusattorov, 5th Speed Chess Championship, chess.com, November 8, 2020, match game 5 (time control: 5 minutes plus 1 second per move). But, no doubt, Carlsen had something in store for his opponent. 18. ... Nb7 19. c5 Bc7 20. b4. 20. d5 simply leads nowhere: 20. ... cxd5 21. Qxf6 Rxf6 22. Nc3 Ba5 23. c6 Nbd8 24. Nxd5 Bxe1 25. Nxf6+ Kf7 26. Nxh7 Nxc6 27. Ng5+ ½ : ½ Bartel – Nasuta, 31st International Chess Festival, Kraków 2021. 20. ... a5 21. b5

21. ... Qxd4. Probably not too accurate. Better seems to be 21. ... cxb5 22. Bxb5 a4! and if 23. Bc4 Black can reply 23. ... Na5 24. Bd5 Rb8 with dynamic equality. 22. Qxd4. Strangely, So lets slip a most propitious chance, viz., 22. Bc4! Qxc3 23. Nxc3 Re8 24. Ba3 Kf8 25. Rad1 with White soon getting a third Pawn for the sacrificed Knight with a very powerful position. 22. ... Nxd4 23. Bc4+ (23. Nc3!? Be6⩱) 23. ... Be6! 24. Bxe6+ Nxe6 25. Rxe6 Nxc5 26. Re2. Despite White’s material compensation, after 26. Rxc6 Be5 27. Rxc5 (instead, 27. Nc3 Bxc3 28. Rb1 Rfc8 doesn’t offer White enough) 27. ... Bxa1 28. Bh6 Rfe8 Black would dominate the scene. 26. ... Rfe8 27. Nc3 cxb5 28. Be3 Be5 29. Bxc5 Bxc3 30. Rxe8+ Rxe8 31. Rb1 b4 32. Kf1 Re5 33. Be3 a4 34. Rc1 a3 35. g3 Rb5 36. Rc2

36. ... b3! 37. axb3 Rxb3 38. Kg2 Kf7 39. Bd2? Although unappealing, 39. Ra2 Bb4∓ was White’s best chance. 39. ... Be5 40. Bf4. Now both 40. Bc1 and 40. Ra2 would be met by 40. ... Bb2 with overwhelming advantage. 40. ... Bxf4. Of course 40. ... Rb2 is also very strong. 41. gxf4 Rb7 42. Ra2 Ra7. This book win is in a way a remake of Kasparov – Karpov, Moscow 1984, World Chess Championship match game 6. 43. Kg3 Ra4 44. Kh4 Kg6 45. Kg3 Kf6 46. h3 h5 47. Kh4 Kg6 48. Kg3 Kg7 49. Kf3 h4 50. Ke2 Kf6 51. Kd1 Ke6 52. Kc1 Kd5 53. Kb1 Ke4 54. Rd2 Kf3 55. Ka2 Kg2 0 : 1.

Second Time Around

Magnus Carlsen – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

Champions Chess Tour 2021; 3rd stage; Opera Euro Rapid; Semifinal Armageddon tie-break game; time control: 5 minutes for White and 4 minutes for Black with no increment; chess24.com, February 12, 2021

Grünfeld Defence D85

In the third stage of the Champions Chess Tour 2021, too, as in the first one, Carlsen and Wesley So are the finalists. And in the semifinals, too, as in the quarterfinals, it took Carlsen till the Armageddon to dismiss his opponent. 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Bd2 Bg7 6. e4 Nb6 7. Be3 0-0 8. a4 a5 9. h3 Nc6 10. Nf3 f5!? At least, Vachier-Lagrave is the first to change course, knowing that Carlsen was eager to exorcise the demon who obliged him to the Armageddon climax: 10. ... Nb4 11. Be2 c6 12. 0-0 Be6 13. Ng5 Bc4 14. Rc1 Rc8 15. b3 Bxe2 16. Nxe2 Nd7 17. f4 h6 18. Nf3 e6 19. Ne5 c5 20. Nxd7 (20. Nc4 would have probably still retained an edge) 20. ... Qxd7 21. dxc5 Qc6 22. e5 Rfd8 23. Nd4? (correct is 23. Bd4 Bf8 with Black regaining the Pawn) 23. ... Qe4 24. Qd3?? 0 : 1 Carlsen – Vachier-Lagrave, Champions Chess Tour 2021, 3rd stage, Opera Euro Rapid, chess24.com, February 11, 2021, Semifinal match game 8 (time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move). 11. exf5 Bxf5 12. Be2 Nb4 13. Rc1 c6 14. 0-0 N6d5 15. Bd2 Qd6 16. Re1 Kh8

17. Nxd5. Hard to say, but probably 17. Bc4 was more in order here. 17. ... Nxd5. But luckily for Carlsen, Vachier-Lagrave neglects his last opportunity for resistance (17. ... cxd5!⩲). 18. Bc4 Nb4 19. Qb3 Rad8 20. Bg5 Bf6 21. Bh6 Bg7 22. Qe3 Rde8 23. Bf4 Nd5 24. Bxd5 Qxd5 25. Rc5 Qd8 26. Be5 Bc8

27. Qh6! The kiss of the white widow spider. 27. ... Rf6. The point is 27. ... Bxe5 28. Ng5! forcing mate. 28. Bxf6 exf6 29. Rxe8+ Qxe8 30. Qe3 Qd8 31. Qe1 Bf8 32. Rxa5 Bd7 33. Ra7 Qb8 34. Qa5 Kg7 35. Ra8 Qf4 36. Qd8 Qc1+ 37. Kh2 Qf4+ 38. Kh1 Qd6 39. Qb8 Qb4 40. Ra7 1 : 0.

Tiny Things

Magnus Carlsen – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

Champions Chess Tour 2021; 3rd stage; Opera Euro Rapid; Semifinal match game 1; time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; chess24.com, February 11, 2021

Grünfeld Defence D85

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Bd2 Bg7 6. e4 Nb6 7. Be3 0-0 8. h3 e5 9. Nf3 exd4 10. Bxd4 Nc6 11. Bxg7 Qxd1+ 12. Rxd1 Kxg7 13. Bb5 Nb4 14. a3 a6 15. Be2. White can claim a day off with 15. axb4 axb5 16. Nxb5 Ra4= 17. Rd4 Ra1+ 18. Rd1 Ra4 19. Rd4 Ra1+ 20. Rd1 ½ : ½ Kasimdzhanov – Giri, Grand Prix 2014–2015, 3rd stage, Tbilisi 2015. 15. ... Nc6 16. Nd4 Nxd4 17. Rxd4 Be6 18. 0-0 Rfd8 19. Rfd1 Rxd4 20. Rxd4 Kf6?! This is new but no better than 20. ... g5 21. f3 Nd7 22. Bc4 (however, 22. g3!? may promise something more) 22. ... Ne5 23. Bxe6 fxe6 24. Kf2 Kf6= Lê Quang Liêm – Artemiev, 2nd IMSA Élite Mind Games Blitz, 淮安 (Huái’ān) 2017. 21. f4 Ke7 22. Kf2 Rd8 23. Ke3 Rxd4 24. Kxd4

24. ... f6?! 24. ... a5! seems to be more to the point: if 25. e5 Black can reply 25. ... h5 holding on to his position. 25. h4. 25. b4 Nd7 26. h4 was probably the correct move order. 25. ... Nd7. 25. ... a5! was still called for. 26. b4 h6 27. a4 g5 28. g3 gxf4 29. gxf4 Nb8? Thus the Knight gets hopelessly stuck into a deadlock, with dramatic consequences for Black, but it’s doubtful that 29. ... Nf8 (as recommended by many commentators, including Leontxo García) may better serve Black’s cause. For instance: 29. ... Nf8 (heading to e6) 30. a5 Bb3 31. Bg4 Ne6+ (31. ... Ng6 32. Bc8+−) 32. Bxe6 Kxe6 33. Ne2! Bd1 34. Ng3 Bg4 35. Nf1! followed by Nf1-e3 with a completely winning endgame.

30. Nd5+! Bxd5 31. exd5! Black’s Knight is dominated. 31. ... b6 32. h5 a5 33. bxa5 bxa5 34. Kc5 f5 35. Bb5 Kd8. It’s hardly worth saying that the King and Pawn ending would be lost for Black. 36. Kd4 1 : 0.

Hidden Hitchcock

Magnus Carlsen – Daniil Dmitrievich Dubov

Champions Chess Tour 2021; 3rd stage; Opera Euro Rapid; Quarterfinal match game 6; time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; chess24.com, February 10, 2021

Two Knights Defence C55

Although Carlsen did go through to the semifinals, his win over Dubov was not easy at all, and it took him till the Armageddon to shake his opponent off. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 h6 5. Nc3 Bb4 6. 0-0 Bxc3 7. bxc3 0-0 8. Bb3 d6 9. Nd2 d5!?TN (9. ... Be6 10. Nc4 a5 11. Ne3 d5 12. exd5 Nxd5 13. Bxd5 Bxd5 14. f4 exf4 15. Rxf4 Be6 16. Ba3 Re8 17. Qf3 Ne7 18. Rd4 ½ : ½ Zvjaginsev – Grischuk, 4th World Rapid Chess Championship, Berlin 2015) 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Ne4 Na5 12. Bxd5 Qxd5

13. Bxh6! f5! 14. c4! Qc6 15. Bd2 fxe4 16. Bxa5 Qg6!? Whatever it takes to win! Dubov hopes to scare his “king-employer” with the double threat of ... Bc8-g4 and ... Bc8-h3. 17. Qe2. Of course 17. f3 at once was also perfectly playable. 17. ... Rf4. With redundant reiteration.

18. Bd2? Seemingly oblivious to the manifest danger, Carlsen leaves his opponent with a free hand to do what he wants. White again ought to play 18. f3, after which the following variation is very likely, if not forced: 18. ... exf3 19. Rxf3 Bg4 20. Rg3 Bxe2 21. Rxg6 Raf8 22. h3 Rf1+ 23. Rxf1 Rxf1+ 24. Kh2 Kf7 25. Rg3 Ra1 26. Bxc7 Rxa2 27. Bxe5 g6 28. c5 Rxc2 29. d4 b6 30. cxb6 axb6 31. d5 Rd2 32. d6 Rd3 with a draw. 18. ... Bg4! 19. f3 Bxf3! 20. Qf2 Rg4 21. g3 Rf8 22. Rae1 Rf6 23. dxe4 (23. Re3 Bh1!!−+) 23. ... Qh5! 24. Re3 Bxe4 25. Qe2? 25. Qe1 Bxc2 is very bad too, leaving White a Pawn down and much the worse game, but at least it would have avoided immediate disaster.

25. ... Rxg3+! 0 : 1. White must surrender either the King or the Queen.

Above and Below

Magnus Carlsen – Daniil Dmitrievich Dubov

Champions Chess Tour 2021; 3rd stage; Opera Euro Rapid; Quarterfinal match game 1; time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; chess24.com, February 9, 2021

Two Knights Defence C55

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Be7 5. 0-0 d6 6. c3 0-0 7. Re1 h6 8. Nbd2 Be6 9. Bxe6 fxe6 10. Nf1 a5!?TN (10. ... Nh5 11. d4 exd4 12. cxd4 d5 13. exd5 Qxd5 14. Ne3 Qd7 15. Nc4 Bb4 16. Nce5 Nxe5 17. Rxe5 Qf7 18. Qb3 Bd6 19. Rxe6 a5 20. Bd2 a4 21. Qc4 Rae8 22. Rae1 b5 23. Qd5 Nf6 24. Qf5 Rxe6 25. Rxe6 Qd7 26. Be3 Nd5 27. Qg6 Qf7 28. Qe4 Qf5 29. Qxf5 Rxf5 30. Re8+ Kf7 31. Rb8 Nb4 32. Kf1 Rd5 33. Ke2 Nxa2 34. Kd3 Nb4+ 35. Ke4 c6 36. Rb7+ Kf6 37. g4 g5 38. h4 gxh4 39. Bxh6 h3 40. Bd2 Nc2 41. g5+ Ke6 42. g6 Bb4 43. Bg5 Bf8 44. g7 Bxg7 45. Re7+ Kd6 46. Rxg7 b4 47. Bf4+ Ke6 48. Be5 1 : 0 Bernášek – Cvek, 28th Czech Team Chess Championship — Extraliga, Brno 2020) 11. Ng3 a4 12. Bd2 d5 13. b4 axb3 14. axb3 Rxa1 15. Qxa1 d4 16. Qb1 dxc3 17. Bxc3 Bc5 18. b4 (18. Nxe5?? Nxe5 20. Bxe5 Ng4−+) 18. ... Bb6 19. b5 Nd4 20. Bxd4 Bxd4 21. Qb3 Qd7 22. Nf5

22. ... Ng4? Black’s Knight takes a bad jump crash. Instead, it had to head for the f4-square with 22. ... Nh5! seeking counterplay against the White King. 23. N5xd4 exd4 24. e5. Threatening to trap the Knight with h2-h3. 24. ... h5 25. Qc4

25. ... Rxf3!? Given the circumstances, that is, if nothing else, tricky. 26. gxf3 Nh6 27. Rc1 Nf5 28. Qxc7 Qd5 29. Qc2 Nh4 30. Qe2 Nxf3+ 31. Kh1 Nxe5+ 32. f3

32. ... Qxb5? That is tantamount to resignation, but it’s very doubtful — not to say impossible — whether 32. ... Nxf3 33. Qe4 Qxe4 34. dxe4 g5 35. Kg2 g4 36. Rc7 b6 37. Rc6 might have saved Black. 33. Re1 Nxd3 34. Rd1 1 : 0.

Out of Line

Daniil Dmitrievich Dubov – 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén)

Champions Chess Tour 2021; 3rd stage; Opera Euro Rapid; Prelims Tournament; time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; chess24.com, February 8, 2021

Catalan Opening E01

丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) ended up being excluded from the quarterfinals of the Opera Euro Rapid, and can hardly console himself with the honour of having been one of the testers for Dubov’s opening secrets. 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Nbd2 dxc4 6. Bg2 a5 7. a3 Bxd2+ 8. Bxd2 0-0 9. Qc2 b5 10. a4 c6 11. h4 Nbd7. Dubov’s coming attack might have been inspired by the following game: 11. ... Ba6 12. h5 h6 13. g4 Nxg4 14. Rg1 f5 15. Bh3 Qe8 16. Bxg4 fxg4 17. Ne5 Qxh5 18. Nxg4 Kh8 19. 0-0-0 Qf5 20. e4 Qh5 21. Nxh6 gxh6 22. Rh1 Qe2 23. Rxh6+ Kg7 24. Rg1+ Kf7 25. Rf6+ Kxf6 26. Bg5+ Kf7 27. Qxe2 Ke8 28. Qh5+ Kd7 29. Bf4 Kc8 30. Qe5 Rf7 31. Rg8+ 1 : 0 Sadzikowski – Sonis, 4th PRO Chess League Group Stage, chess.com, January 15, 2020 (time control: 15 minutes plus 2 seconds per move). Black has no reason to feel happy about 11. ... Na6 (apart from the final result): 12. Ne5 Nb4 13. Bxb4 axb4 14. Nxc6 Qd6 15. Ne7+ Qxe7 16. Bxa8 b3 17. Qc3 Qa7 18. Bf3 Nd5 19. Qc1 Qxd4 20. axb5 c3 21. bxc3 Nxc3 22. Qd2 Nxb5 23. Qxd4 (23. Ra8 first is also strong) 23. ... Nxd4 24. 0-0-0? (24. Be4 f5 25. Bd3 Bb7 26. f3 Rd8 27. Kd2±) 24. ... Nxf3 25. exf3 Bb7 26. Rd3 Bd5 27. Kb2 h6 28. Ra1 Rc8 29. Rc3 Rxc3 30. Kxc3 g5 31. hxg5 hxg5 ½ : ½ 许翔宇 (Xǔ Xiángyǔ) – 韦奕 (Wéi Yì), 14th “映美杯” (“Yìng Měi Cup”) Chinese Chess League, 杭州 (Hángzhōu) 2018. 12. h5 h6

13. g4!↑ Nxg4. Otherwise g4-g5 follows. 14. axb5 Bb7? Thus 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) gets caught into one of Dubov’s (many?) homemade opening traps, with an inevitable débâcle. 14. ... Qb6 15. bxc6 Ndf6 was probably the best he could do at the moment.

15. Nh2!+− Nxf2 16. Kxf2 Qh4+ 17. Kf1 Qf6+ 18. Bf3 1 : 0.

A Lazy Sunday Afternoon

Magnus Carlsen – Hikaru Nakamura

Champions Chess Tour 2021; 3rd stage; Opera Euro Rapid; Prelims Tournament; time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; chess24.com, February 7, 2021

Queen’s Gambit Declined D37

After a very lazy Sunday hanging around the monitor’s screen, in his last game of day two, Carlsen defeated his archrival, Nakamura, to retain the sole lead in the Opera Euro Rapid. 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 0-0 6. a3 c5 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. b4 Be7 9. e3 a5. If 9. ... Nc6 White may transpose to one of Nakamura’s back pages: 10. cxd5 exd5 11. Be2 Be6 12. 0-0 Ne4 13. Rc1 Bf6 14. Na4 Rc8 15. Nc5 Nc3 16. Qd3 Bf5 17. Qd2 d4 18. Nxb7 dxe3 19. Qxe3 Qb6 20. Rxc3 Qxb7 21. Rc5 Rfe8 22. Qc1 Rxe2 23. Rxf5 Nd4 24. Rc5 Nxf3+ 25. gxf3 Rce8 26. Rc6 Bd4 27. Qc4 Bb6 28. Bg3 h5 29. a4 R2e6 30. Rxe6 Rxe6 31. a5 Bd8 32. Rd1 Be7 33. Qd5 Qxd5 34. Rxd5 h4 35. Bb8 Bxb4 36. Kg2 a6 37. Bc7 Be7 38. Bb6 Rg6+ 39. Kh3 Rf6 40. Rd7 Bb4 41. Kg4 Rg6+ 42. Kxh4 Rh6+ 43. Kg3 Rh5 44. Ra7 Bxa5 45. Rxa6 Bb4 46. Be3 Rd5 47. h4 Bd6+ 48. Kg2 f5 49. Bg5 Kf7 50. h5 f4 51. Bh4 Bf8 52. Kh3 Rxh5 53. Kg4 Rb5 54. Kxf4 Rb4+ 55. Kg3 Bc5 56. Bg5 Bd4 57. Be3 Be5+ 58. f4 Bf6 ½ : ½ Topalov – Nakamura, 4th Champions Showdown Blitz, Saint Louis 2017, match game 7 (time control: 3 minutes plus 2 seconds per move). 10. cxd5 Nxd5 11. Nxd5 exd5 12. b5 Nd7 13. Be2 Nc5 14. 0-0 a4 15. Be5 Nb3 16. Ra2 Be6 17. Nd4 Bd6 18. Nxe6 fxe6 19. Bb2 Rc8 20. g3 Qd7 21. Bd3 Qf7

22. e4. White lights the fuse, hoping to trigger off his Bishop pair, but Black, too, gets what he wants, namely the a7-g1 diagonal and the f‐file. 22. ... Bc5 (22. ... d4!? 23. f4 Be7) 23. exd5 exd5. 23. ... Bxf2+ 24. Kg2 Nd2! is just as appealing as complicated; for instance, there might follow 25. Bd4 e5 26. Rxd2 Qxd5+ 27. Kh3 Bxd4 with a sharp balance. 24. Be5 Rce8 25. Bf4 h6 26. Qg4 Re6 27. h4 h5 28. Qd1 Rf6 29. Kg2

29. ... g6?! Maybe this gives White a little too much, even if Nakamura must have thought Carlsen hadn’t enough time to take advantage of it. In any event, both 29. ... Rxf4!? 30. gxf4 Nd4 and 29. ... Nd4 would have been safer and better. 30. Bh6 Re8 31. Bg5 Rfe6 32. Bc2 Re1?? What a frightening error! After all, Black was still in time for 32. ... Nd4, yet somehow holding everything together.

33. Bxg6! 1 : 0.

Nibble

Leinier Domínguez Pérez – Magnus Carlsen

Champions Chess Tour 2021; 3rd stage; Opera Euro Rapid; Prelims Tournament; time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; chess24.com, February 6, 2021

Sicilian Defence B75

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 a6 8. Qd2 h5 9. Bc4 Nbd7 10. 0-0-0 b5 11. Bb3 Nc5 12. Kb1 Bb7

13. Rhe1. It may be interesting to note that after 13. Nd5 a draw was agreed upon in Korneev – Antón Guijarro, 21st Torneo Magistral Internacional de Elgóibar, Elgóibar 2011. An exemplary game, instead, is mentioned by many pre-computer theoreticians, viz., 13. Qf2 Qb8 14. h3 Nxb3 15. Nxb3 b4 16. Na4 a5 17. g4 Nd7 18. Bd4 e5 19. Be3 Qc7 20. Nb6 Nxb6 21. Bxb6 Qd7 22. Nc5 Qc6 23. Nxb7 Qxb7 24. gxh5+− Honfi – Bilek, 21st Hungarian Chess Championship, Budapest 1965 — but Black’s move 19 is a grave error (he ought to have played 19. ... Bc6). Maybe International Master Thomas Rendle is right in assuming that “Kc1-b1 is often a key move in the Sicilian, unfortunately here White missed the strong follow-up 13. Nf5! (now ... Nc5xb3 isn’t check) with the idea of Be3xc5 and Qd2-g5”. 13. ... Rc8. Yet an extra nibble (half a byte) of theory: 13. ... Nxb3 ½ : ½ Narayanan – Jones, 82th Hastings International Chess Congress, Hastings 2006. 14. Bg5 0-0 15. Nd5 e6 16. Nxf6+ Bxf6 17. h4 Bxg5 18. hxg5 Kg7 19. Qe3 Qc7 20. Rd2 b4 21. Red1 Rfd8 22. Qf4 Qe7 23. Ne2 a5 24. e5 d5 25. g4 hxg4 26. Qf6+ Qxf6 27. gxf6+ Kh6? Suddenly switching to the climax. It will be immediately clear why it was necessary for Black to play 27. ... Kf8.

28. Rh1+? Domínguez Pérez apparently misses an unrepeatable opportunity here, viz., 28. Rd4!! (Δ 29. Rh1+ Kg5 30. f4+ Kf5 31. Ng3#) 28. ... gxf3 29. Rg4! Kh5 30. Rg3 g5 31. Nf4+! Kh4 32. Rdg1! gxf4 33. Rg7 followed by mate. 28. ... Kg5 29. f4+ Kf5 30. Rf1 g5 31. Nd4+? 31. Ng3+! Kg6 would likely transpose to the game, since now with 31. ... Ke4! 32. fxg5 Kxe5−+ Black might have written another story. 31. ... Kg6? 32. f5+ exf5 33. Nxf5 g3 34. Rg2. 34. Nxg3 Ne4 can very well transpose to the game. 34. ... Ne4 35. Nxg3 Re8 36. Nxe4 dxe4

37. e6 fxe6. 37. ... e3 38. exf7 Re5 was probably better. 38. f7 Rf8 39. Bxe6 Rc5 40. Rg3? 40. Kc1! would have saved a vital tempo, making Black’s task much harder. Now Carlsen, thanks to back rank “ghostmates”, succeeds without any difficulty in liquidating to a winning ending, even though, as they say, there’s nothing more difficult than winning a won game. 40. ... Re5 41. Bg4 e3 42. Kc1 Rxf7 43. Rxf7 Kxf7 44. Kd1 Kf6 45. Ke1 Bd5 46. a3 bxa3 47. bxa3 Be4 48. Rxe3 Bxc2 49. Kd2 Rxe3 50. Kxe3 Ke5 51. Bf3 Bf5 52. Bc6 Kd6 53. Bf3 Kc5 54. Be2 Bg6 55. Bf1 Bh5 56. Ke4 Bd1 57. Ke3 g4 58. Ba6 Bf3 59. Bf1 Bc6 60. Kf4

60. ... Kd4? 60. ... Bd7, 60. ... Bb5, and 60. ... Bf3 are tablebase wins. 61. Kxg4 Kc3 62. Kf5 Kb2

63. Ke5? 63. Be2 and 63. Kf4 are tablebase draws. 63. ... Kxa3 64. Kd6 (64. Be2 Kb4 65. Bd1 Ba4 66. Bf3 Bb5 67. Bd1 Bc4 68. Bc2 Bb3−+) 64. ... Be8 65. Kc5 a4 66. Bc4 Kb2 67. Kb4 a3 68. Bd5 Bg6 69. Be6 Bb1 70. Bd5 Ba2 71. Be4 Bf7 72. Bb1 Bb3 0 : 1.

Backward induction

Magnus Carlsen – Levon Grigori Aronian

Champions Chess Tour 2021; 3rd stage; Opera Euro Rapid; Prelims Tournament; time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; chess24.com, February 6, 2021

Queen’s Gambit Declined D38

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 0-0 8. e3 Bf5 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 Nbd7 11. Qb5 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 Nb6 13. Nd2 Qd7? Not a good idea, as the exchange of Queens leaves White with a dominating position. An earlier game continued 13. ... c6 14. Qb3 Qe7 15. 0-0 g5 16. Bg3 Nh5 17. a4 Nxg3 18. hxg3 Rab8 19. a5 Nd7 20. c4 Nf6 21. cxd5 cxd5 22. Nf3 Rfc8 23. Ne5 Rc7 24. Rfc1 Rbc8 25. Rxc7 Rxc7 26. Nd3 Kg7 27. Nc5 Ne4 28. Qxd5 Nxc5 29. dxc5 Rxc5 30. Qb3 Qe5 31. Qa4 Rc4 32. Qa3 Rc3 33. Qa4 Rc4 34. Qa3 Qc3 35. Qxc3+ Rxc3 36. Rb1 Rc5 37. Rxb7 Rxa5 38. g4 Ra2 39. Kh2 Rxf2 40. Rxa7 Re2 41. Ra3 Kg6 ½ : ½ Guseva – Kashlinskaya, 67th Women’s Russian Championship Superfinal, Saint Petersburg 2017. 14. Qxd7 Nfxd7 15. a4 a5 16. Ke2±

16. ... Rfe8. 16. ... f5!? 17. Bg3 Rfc8 18. Rhb1! might not make too much difference. 17. Rhb1! It prevents ... c7-c5. 17. ... Re6. Black clumsily carries on his purpose, only to soon crash against the iceberg. 18. Bg3 c5

19. Rb5! c4. After this Black is doomed to sit and wait the avalanche. If, on the other hand, 19. ... cxd4 20. cxd4 Rc6 White might continue 21. Nb3! Rc2+ 22. Kd3 Rac8 23. Nc5 winning the Exchange. 20. Bc7! Rc6 21. Bxb6 Nxb6 22. g4! Kf8 23. h4 Ke8

24. e4! The rest is only a merciless cat and mouse game: 24. ... Rd8 25. e5 f6 26. f4 g5 27. hxg5 hxg5 28. f5 fxe5 29. dxe5 d4 30. Rh1 dxc3 31. Ne4 c2 32. e6 Rd4 33. Re5 Nd5 34. Rxd5! Rxe4+ 35. Kd2 Rxg4 36. Rh8+ Ke7 37. Rh7+ Ke8

38. f6 c1=Q+ 39. Kxc1 Rg1+ 40. Kc2 Rg2+ 41. Kd1 Rg1+ 42. Kc2 Rg2+ 43. Kc3 Rg3+ 44. Kd4 Rd3+ 45. Ke5 Re3+ 46. Kf5 Rcxe6 47. Rh8+ 1 : 0.