Carlsen-Karjakin Game-6: Halfway done

After one and half hours, game six ended in a draw. So a match of 24 games would be much more appropriate for Carlsen and Karjakin!  In Game-6, Karjakin had White and opened with 1.e4. Ken Rogoff, the Havard economist, and best-selling author made the ceremonial first move.

Sergey Karjakin (2772) – Magnus Carlsen (2853)
World Chess Championship New York NY USA (6), 18.11.2016

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.h3 Bb7 9.d3 d5

White to play

Karjakin played the Anti-Marshall move 8 h3, which avoided the usual weakness on d3. Usually, White plays c3 and Black d5 in order to take control over the d3 square. But Carlsen, nevertheless, chose to sacrifice a pawn with 9…d5 in any case. This Marshall Attack-inspired gambit can hardly have come as a surprise for Karjakin, because he has an awesome opening preparation.

10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Nxe5 Nd4 12.Nc3 Nb4 13.Bf4

Black to play

Black has positional compensation for the pawn. He was able to trade off the light-squared bishop on b3 and grab space on the queenside. The bishop on b7 is very strong.

Black need not worry about a2-a4, since Nxb3 would completely ruin White’s pawn structure. Here it seems like Black had equalized the game.

13…Nxb3 14.axb3 c5 15.Ne4 f6 16.Nf3 f5 17.Neg5 Bxg5 18.Nxg5 h6

White to play

Here we can see some active developments in the game. Black is attacking the knight. The Knight can jump to e6 and give a double attack to Queen to d8 and the Rook to f8. Carlsen had prepared the counterattack Qd5. The Queen is threatening checkmate on g2, so White doesn’t have time to capture the Rook on f8.

The game is approximately equal because neither side has weaknesses. Black has some compensation for the sacrificed pawn but nothing special.

19.Ne6 Qd5 20.f3 Rfe8 21.Re5 Qd6 22.c3

Black to play

The challenger goes for the draw in the most solid manner, with the move 22 c3. He started a forced series of exchanges. He manages to exchange all the Rooks and the pair of Knights.

22…Rxe6 23.Rxe6 Qxe6 24.cxb4 cxb4 25.Rc1 Rc8 26.Rxc8+ Qxc8 27.Qe1

Black to play

Here White has his own threats. He would like to play the Qe7 and after that the Be5 in order to create an attack to g7. Carlsen protects himself with the move Qd5. Black’s pawn on a6 is dangerous, because Black has the potential to create an outside passed pawn by pushing the pawn. The d3-pawn is White’s strong pawn because it is a passed pawn.

We can see the opposite-colored bishops, so both sides can stop the passed pawns easily. After some moves, the players exchanged even more pawns and they agreed to a draw.

27…Qd7 28.Kh2 a5 29.Qe3 Bd5 30.Qb6 Bxb3 31.Qxa5 Qxd3 32.Qxb4 Be6 ½-½

You can download the PGN of the game here.

Many experts have predicted that Carlsen will win the match and he remains the favorite. But by this point (after 6 games) in his two previous matches, both against Viswanathan Anand, Carlsen had already won two games. Karjakin is super solid and a very strong player.

Both Sergey & Magnus were in high spirits after Game 6 (photo: Vladimir Barsky, Russian Chess Federation)

In the press conference afterwards, both players were in a good mood. Perhaps, they feel very confident of themselves. Perhaps, Karjakin has the full support from Russians and they are waiting for the appropriate moment to reveal their top secrets. Perhaps, he will start attacking the World Champion in the very last games of the Match.

Probably, no one, including Carlsen most of all, expected him to win less at this point. It seems that Karjakin has enforced his pace in the match. 

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Don’t forget to watch Game-7 today LIVE in our site! What’s your prediction – feel free to comment below. 

Carlsen-Karjakin Game-4: Karjakin survives, again!

The ‘miracle’ continues at the World Championship! Karjakin managed to survive another extremely difficult position by defending, again, for 6.5 hours game and 94 moves. Sergey didn’t manage to get a decent position in the opening with the White pieces and Magnus tortured him for a very long and painful game, but the former manages to survive till the end.

A disappointed Magnus Carlsen (photo: Vladimir Barsky, Russian Chess Federation)

Thus, we had four draws in four games and the score is equal, 2-2 each.

Sergey Karjakin – Magnus Carlsen [C88]
World Chess Championship New York NY USA (4), 15.11.2016

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.h3

Black to play

This is the anti-Marshall line. After the short castle, Black is waiting for the move c3 in order to play d5. White tried to avoid this line and for that reason, he can choose between many moves, like h3, d3, a3 or a4. The main point of the anti-Marshall lines is to not weaken the d3-square.

8…Bb7 9.d3 d6 10.a3 Qd7 11.Nbd2 Rfe8 12.c3 Bf8 13.Nf1 h6 14.N3h2 d5 15.Qf3 Na5 16.Ba2 dxe4 17.dxe4 Nc4 18.Bxh6

Black to play

Karjakin didn’t show any good preparation in the opening, so Black managed to equalize the position easily. Black is controlling the center, and puts pressure on e4-pawn. Black has very active pieces in the center and much more prospects and plans. The Knight on c4 is completely blocking the light-squared Bishop on a2 and limits White’s attacking chances a lot.

In this particular position, White tried to sacrifice, temporarily, the h6-bishop, but it’s obvious that this attack/sacrifice cannot work because Black has very active pieces. First of all, Black is not forced to capture the Bishop. If captured, then the Knight on f6 will fall. Secondly, White’s pieces are not close to the Black’s monarch.

Here Black has a lot of interesting options. He can capture on b2 or on e4 with the Bishop or with the Knight. In the game, Carslen played the strongest move, Qc6. Probably, this was the move which Karjakin had overlooked. After this move, Black is increasing his central control and his initiative.

18…Qc6 19.Bxc4 bxc4 20.Be3 Nxe4 21.Ng3 Nd6 22.Rad1 Rab8 23.Bc1 f6 24.Qxc6 Bxc6

White to play

Black has a clear edge. The b2-pawn is weak, The central files are blocked, so White’s Rooks cannot do anything. Black has the Bishop pair. Finally Black has an ‘extra’ pawn in the center and his Kingside pawns, e5, f6 and g7 can advance forward in the future.

25.Ng4 Rb5 26.f3 f5 27.Nf2 Be7 28.f4 Bh4 29.fxe5 Bxg3 30.exd6 Rxe1+ 31.Rxe1 cxd6 32.Rd1 Kf7 33.Rd4 Re5 34.Kf1 Rd5 35.Rxd5 Bxd5 36.Bg5 Kg6 37.h4 Kh5 38.Nh3 Bf7 39.Be7 Bxh4 40.Bxd6 Bd8 41.Ke2 g5 42.Nf2 Kg6 43.g4 Bb6 44.Be5 a5 45.Nd1

Black to play

Here is the critical position. Here is another golden opportunity for Magnus to break Karjakin’s defense and open the score in his favor. Indeed, Black has a lot of options like f4, capture on g4 and Be6.

The best reply is Be6. This will force White to capture on f5 and Black can recapture with the King. After that, Black’s pieces will be more active and he will be ready to start pushing his g-pawn with the help of the two Bishops.

The g-pawn is not the only White’s problem. Black has another interesting plan. He can use the g-pawn as a decoy in order to keep White’s pieces busy, and after that, he can organize an attack on the queenside. He can try to capture all the queenside weak pawns, starting from b2.

45…f4?! This is the critical mistake. After this move, Carlsen cannot win any more.

Hikaru Nakamura’s tweet about the move 45…f4

[45...Be6; 45...fxg4 46.Ne3] 46.Bd4 Bc7 47.Nf2 Be6 48.Kf3 Bd5+ 49.Ke2 Bg2 50.Kd2 Kf7 51.Kc2 Bd5 52.Kd2 Bd8 53.Kc2 Ke6 54.Kd2 Kd7 55.Kc2 Kc6 56.Kd2 Kb5 57.Kc1 Ka4 58.Kc2 Bf7 59.Kc1 Bg6 60.Kd2 Kb3 61.Kc1 Bd3 62.Nh3 Ka2 63.Bc5 Be2 64.Nf2 Bf3 65.Kc2 Bc6 66.Bd4 Bd7 67.Bc5 Bc7 68.Bd4 Be6 69.Bc5 f3 70.Be3 Bd7 71.Kc1 Bc8 72.Kc2 Bd7 73.Kc1

Black to play

This is a fortress position. Black cannot enter into White’s camp. Magnus tried to exchange one of the bishops, but the game ended in a draw later.

73…Bf4 74.Bxf4 gxf4 75.Kc2 Be6 76.Kc1 Bc8 77.Kc2 Be6 78.Kc1 Kb3 79.Kb1 Ka4 80.Kc2 Kb5 81.Kd2 Kc6 82.Ke1 Kd5 83.Kf1 Ke5 84.Kg1 Kf6 85.Ne4+ Kg6 86.Kf2 Bxg4 87.Nd2 Be6 88.Kxf3 Kf5 89.a4 Bd5+ 90.Kf2 Kg4 91.Nf1 Kg5 92.Nd2 Kf5 93.Ke2 Kg4 94.Kf2 ½-½

You can download the PGN of this game here.

(photo: Vladimir Barsky, Russian Chess Federation)

It looks like Karjakin is the happiest person in the world. But how long could it last? Can the World Champion get another winning position in Game-5, and will he be able to convert it into a win?  Feel free to write your thoughts below.

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Winning the Middlegame – Teaser and Pre-Registration

A few days ago, I informed you that our upcoming course will be called “Winning the Middlegame” and is about the middlegame and pawn structures. Today, I am excited to keep on sharing more information about the course! :) You can find the cover image of the course:To give you more details about the course, we’ve published the teaser video on the course today!   You can watch the teaser video below:

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE TEASER VIDEO ON YOUTUBE

I hope you liked the video. Feel free write your impressions of the teaser in the comments section of the video (or here), and please share this information with your friends to let them know about this informative course.And most importantly, the pre-registration for the course is OPEN now! By pre-registering yourself for the course, you will be notified a few hours before the course launch, and you will get BETTER SPECIAL OFFERS than those who don’t pre-register!    This is a unique opportunity for you to get a higher discount on the course – so click on the link below to pre-register now!

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Chess Tactics – Knight Fork Part-2

In the first part of this lesson, we had a look at a few examples of the “knight fork” and carried out some training exercises. If you missed it, you can find it here. In the second part, we’ll see a few more examples and exercises to understand the different patterns of this tactical motif completely.

Example – 6

White to play

White’s rook is under attack but he recognizes the amazing knight fork pattern here. White starts with a check: 1.Nd7+ Kf7 is the only move to support the rook. And now White makes some forcing moves 2.Rxe8 Rxe8 3.Rxe8 Kxe8 and here comes the fork 4. Nf6+ 1-0

Example – 7

Black to play

It’s Black’s turn here. To attain the “main fork”, he starts with a “mini-fork”: 1…Nb3 and White has to move the rook. 2. Rb1and now comes the main fork 2…Nd4, attacking both the queen on e2 and the bishop on b5. 0-1

Example – 8

Black to play

It’s Black’s turn. To attain the fork, he starts with a sacrifice, winning a pawn: 1…Bxd5 2.exd5. Now Black wins the rook with the fork 2…Nc2+ – after 3.Rxc2 Rxe3, Black is an exchange up. 0-1

As usual, simply looking at examples is not enough – let’s try to solve a couple of problems now. 

Exercise – 4

Black to play

Exercise – 5

White to play

After calculating all possible variations, you may check the solution here.

P.S. Did you like this article? Would you like to see similar articles on other tactical motifs? Feel free to write your thoughts and feedback in the comments below. 

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Chess Puzzle - 109

White to move and win.

Solution : 1.Rf7+ Kg5 2.h4+ Kh5 3.Rf5+ gxf5 4.Bf7#

Chess Puzzle - 108

White to move and win.

Solution : 1.Qxf6 Bxf6 2.Bxf6 and next move 3.Rh8#

Chess Puzzle - 107

White to move and win.

Solution : 1.Qxd7+ Rxd7 2.Re8+ Rd8 3.Rxd8#

Chess Puzzle - 106

White to play and win.

Solution :

1.Nd7 (1...Qxd7 2.Qh8#) 1...Kg8 2.Qe8+
a) 2...Kg7 3.Qf8+ Kh7 4.Nf6#
b) 2...Kh7 3.Qxf7+ Kh8 4.Qf8+ Kf7 5.Nf6#

Chess Puzzle - 100

Black to move. How should Black proceed?

Solution :

1...Bxe5 2.dxe5 Bc6 3.Qxc6 f3

Chess Puzzle - 98

White to move.

Solution:

1.Nxf5+ ( 1..Kh5 2.Qf6 ) gxf5 2.Rxd6+

Chess Puzzle - 96

White to move and win.

Solution :

1.Rf7+ Kxf7 2.Qe7#

Chess Tactics

Black to move. How should black proceed?

Chess Puzzle - 92

White to move. How should white proceed?

Solution : 1.Bxf7+ Kxf7 2.Qb3+ Kf8 3.Ng5

Chess Puzzle - 89

White to move and win!

Solution : 1.Rxh6 Bxh6 2.Qe5+ Bg7 3.Qh2+ Bh7 4.Qxh7#

Chess Puzzle - 82

White to move. How should white proceed?

Chess Puzzle - 81

White to move. How should white proceed?

Chess Puzzle - 80

White to move. How should white proceed?

Chess Tactics

White to move. How should white proceed?

Chess Puzzle - 78

Black to move. How should black proceed?

Chess Puzzle - 77

Black to move. How should black proceed?