Carlsen-Karjakin Game-9: Magnus escapes with a draw!

Just before the start of the ninth game, a chess fan, Bobby Fiske, made a fantastic photo-edit saying….

The World Champion is fighting for his chess life!

Sergey Karjakin (2772) – Magnus Carlsen (2853) [C78]
World Chess Championship New York NY USA (9), 23.11.2016

Karjakin came very close to winning his second game in a row. In the ninth game of the World Championship 2016, just before 40 moves, he didn’t choose the strongest continuation and thus, Carlsen was lucky to escape with a draw. Carlsen was very well-prepared in the opening, but his opponent played both actively and accurately.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5

White to play

This is a very interesting variation. Black sacrifices a pawn in order to have active pieces. The position is sharp and tactical, so we can say this was a good opening choice by Carlsen. Carlsen played this variation only four times in his career – the last time was in 2011 against McShane.

7.a4 Rb8 8.c3 d6 9.d4 Bb6 10.axb5 axb5 11.Na3 0-0 12.Nxb5 Bg4 13.Bc2 exd4 14.Nbxd4 Nxd4 15.cxd4 Bxf3 16.gxf3 Nh5 17.Kh1 Qf6 18.Be3 c5 19.e5 Qe6 20.exd6 c4 21.b3 cxb3

White to play

Both players seem to be in their preparation, following a game between Nakamura and Kazimdzhanov from the Tromso Olympiad 2014. In the mentioned game, Black played 21…c3 and White won afterwards. Here Carlsen played a Novelty, a new move, with the intention of improving his game.

21…c3 22.d5 Qxd6 23.Ra6 Nf4 24.Ra4 Ng6 25.Qd3 Bc7 26.f4 Rfd8 27.Rd1 Qf6 28.Rc4 Bd6 29.Qxc3 Qxc3 30.Rxc3 Nxf4 31.Rc6 Be5 32.d6 Ne6 33.Bf5 Rxb3 34.Bb6 Rxb6 35.Rxb6 Nd4 36.f4 Bf6 37.Bh3 Ne2 38.Rb4 g6 39.d7 Kf8 40.Rc4 Nc3 41.Rd3 Ke7 42.Rc8 1-0 Nakamura,H (2787)-Kasimdzhanov,R (2700)/Tromso 2014/CBM 162

22.Bxb3 Qxd6 23.Ra6 Rfd8 24.Rg1 Qd7 25.Rg4 Nf6 26.Rh4 Qb5 27.Ra1 g6 28.Rb1 Qd7 29.Qd3 Nd5 30.Rg1 Bc7 31.Bg5 Re8 32.Qc4 Rb5 33.Qc2

Black to play

White can pin the b5-rook and the d7-queen on the a4-e8 diagonal, but Black escapes with a wonderful Rook sacrifice. Black Queen can go to f5 and she will attack the f3 pawn. For instance, 33.Ba4 Qf5 34.Bxb5 Qxf3+ 35.Rg2 Re1+

33…Ra8 34.Bc4

White cannot play Ba4 because Black has the same trick, again. 34.Ba4 Rxa4 35.Qxa4 Qf5 36.Qxb5 Qxf3+ 37.Rg2 Qd1+ 38.Rg1 Qf3+ 39.Rg2 Qd1+=

34…Rba5 35.Bd2 Ra4 36.Qd3 Ra1 37.Rxa1 Rxa1+ 38.Kg2 Ne7

White to play

Karjakin trades a pair of Rooks and now he is playing only for two results, win or draw. Carlsen aims to reroute the knight to f5. We should mention that he played with less than two minutes left. By his next move, Karjakin is sacrificing temporarily a piece (39. Bxf7) but he will take it back in the next few moves.

This combination wasn’t the best. The best move was 39.Qb3. He felt that the position was good, but he didn’t manage to play the correct continuation due to time pressure.

Suggested: Learn how to evaluate a position in chess now!

39.Bxf7+!? Much better was 39.Qb3! Nf5 40.Bxf7+ Kg7 41.Rh3±

Variation with 39.Qb3

39…Kxf7 40.Qc4+ Kg7 41.d5 Nf5 42.Bc3+ Kf8 43.Bxa1 Nxh4+ 44.Qxh4 Qxd5 45.Qf6+ Qf7

White to play

Black can make an easy draw because White’s kingside pawn structure is ruined. The game ended in a draw a few moves later.

46.Qd4 Ke8 47.Qe4+ Qe7 48.Qd5 Bd8 49.Kf1 Qf7 50.Qe4+ Qe7 51.Be5 Qe6 52.Kg2 Be7 53.Qa8+ Kf7 54.Qh8 h5 55.Qg7+ Ke8 56.Bf4 Qf7 57.Qh8+ Qf8 58.Qd4 Qf5 59.Qc4 Kd7 60.Bd2 Qe6 61.Qa4+ Qc6 62.Qa7+ Qc7 63.Qa2 Qd6 64.Be3 Qe6 65.Qa7+ Ke8 66.Bc5 Bd8 67.h3 Qd5 68.Be3 Be7 69.Qb8+ Kf7 70.Qh8 Qe6 71.Bf4 Qf6 72.Qb8 Qe6 73.Qb7 Kg8 74.Qb5 Bf6 ½-½

You can download the PGN of this game here.

P.S. Carlsen will have two Whites in the remaining three games. The tenth game will be played on Thursday, 24 November which you can watch LIVE here. Do you think Magnus can win with White?  Feel free to comment and discuss below.

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Instructive video analysis of Karjakin’s victory over Carlsen in Game-8

Our guest coach FM Marko Makaj has prepared a very instructive video analysis of Game-8 for you. In this video, Marko explains about the key moments of the game, the chances missed by the players and the error made by Carlsen. If you missed our text analysis of this game, you can find it here. 

You can watch the video lesson below:

VIDEO 

You can download the PGN of this game here.

About the author

Marko Makaj is from Croatia. He is a FIDE Master with an ELO of around 2350 and a chess trainer. He has held this title since 2008. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have time to play in tournaments in order to achieve the title of IM or GM. He has been working as a coach for over 15 years and many of his students have achieved great results.

Did you enjoy watching the video analysis by Marko Makaj?  Feel free to write your feedback in the comments below. 

P.S. Today, 23 November, is Marko’s birthday. RCA wishes a very Happy Birthday to this cool teacher!  Don’t forget to write your wishes in the comments below.

How the World reacted to Karjakin’s victory over Carlsen (Game-8)?

The 26-year-old challenger from Russia, Sergey Karjakin, draws everyone’s attention after defeating the World Champion Magnus Carlsen in the eighth game of the World Chess Championship 2016, in New York.

Magnus wanted to score a win too badly that he had to take chances with White pieces. The players were in time trouble at critical positions (between moves 30 to 45), and Carlsen’s blunder helped Karjakin take the driver seat.

Suggestion: You may like to see the video analysis of Game-8 by FM Marko Makaj here.

Today I’ll share with you the reactions of other top GMs for the result of Game-8, along with some interesting and ‘funny’ photos.

That’s how moves 35-37 looked like….

“Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown….”

I think that’s how Carlsen’s fans would have reacted..

Magnus Carlsen was really frustrated after Game-8 that he didn’t attend the press conference! First, he skipped the individual interviews immediately after the game, and then while he sat waiting for his opponent at the press conference, with hundreds of fans and photographers focused on him, he cracked.

There could be potential consequences for the World Champion for not appearing at the press conference. The following tweet explains it in a better way:

But this is probably not what will be on the top of Carlsen’s head, as he would be focusing on making a comeback.

The tweets of Nakamura, Howell, Giri and Short says it all!

Moreover, one of the most interesting things is that 7-year old Sergey Karjakin said he´ll become World Champion. He said that in one of the Russian interviews. You can watch the clip on our RCA Facebook page by clicking the image below:

Now, he´s got the chance! Can he make it? 

Finally, in the press conference, a kid asked “How many games do you play a day to practise?”. And guess what Karjakin replied!

“At this tournament, one.”

He also met with a question about winning with Black, and he said “It’s much better to play well than to play White!”

If you want to see more such interesting images and funny memes, you can “Like” our RCA Facebook page and follow the updates.

P.S. What are your thoughts after Game-8? Do you think Magnus can make a comeback and level the score? Feel free to write your thoughts in the comments below. 

Carlsen-Karjakin Game-8: Karjakin wins, seizes lead

World Champion Magnus Carlsen is down! Sergey Karjakin takes the lead after eight rounds, with 3.5 – 4.5 in his favour. Carlsen is shocked and can’t attend the press conference after a much-tensed game. He took too many risks and avoided the repetition of the moves.

Karjakin beats Carlsen, in classical chess, only for the second time in his career. The first time was in 2012, also with Black pieces. He repeated that today: “It’s much better to play well than to play White“, he said.

Sergey Karjakin (2772) – Magnus Carlsen (2853) [D05]
World Chess Championship New York NY USA (8), 21.11.2016

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 e6 4.Bd3 c5 5.b3 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.Bb2 b6 8.dxc5 Bxc5 9.Nbd2 Bb7 10.Qe2 Nbd7 11.c4 dxc4 12.Nxc4 Qe7

White to play

Black equalizes after the opening and Magnus know that very well. Of course, the position is played before by both sides. Both of the players have developed their pieces and they are ready for the middlegame plan.

13.a3 a5 14.Nd4 Rfd8 15.Rfd1 Rac8 16.Rac1 Nf8 17.Qe1?!

Black to play

White’s last move Qe1 is mysterious because the queen is no longer protecting the e4-square and the Black’s Knight can land there in the future. Magnus is fighting hard to prove any advantage of his position, but in reality, he’s not playing the best moves.

Suggestion: You may like to read our article “Three ways to improve in chess“!

17…Ng6 18.Bf1 Ng4 19.Nb5 Bc6 20.a4 Bd5 21.Bd4 Bxc4 22.Rxc4 Bxd4 23.Rdxd4 Rxc4 24.bxc4

Black to play

“Of course, if he takes with the rook he can never be worse here.“, as Karjakin stated in the press conference. Carlsen is fighting for the win and for that reason, he tries to complicate the position. He would like to create an unbalanced position in order to have chances for the win.

In reality, 24.bxc4 is not the best move and now the queenside pawns, a4 and c4, are weak and Karjakin may attack them later on in the game.

24…Nf6 25.Qd2 Rb8 26.g3 Ne5 27.Bg2 h6 28.f4 Ned7 29.Na7 Qa3 30.Nc6 Rf8 31.h3 Nc5 32.Kh2 Nxa4 33.Rd8 g6 34.Qd4 Kg7 35.c5?

Black to play

Both players were in huge time trouble and three results are possible because the players have less than 2 minutes to reach 40 moves. The move c5 is very surprising. White is trying to complicate the issue, but c5 is a mistake which Black cannot punish in the game.

35…Rxd8 36.Nxd8 Nxc5 37.Qd6 Qd3

White to play

The best square for Black’s queen is d7, because the Queen is the best defensive piece. She can consolidate the defensive side.

Actually, it is very difficult to find the correct move order because the Queen can reach d7 from two different directions.

“I didn’t have time at all to calculate,” Karjakin said about the critical differences between 37…Qd3 and 37…Qa4. “Having one minute on the clock, it was impossible to understand.”

If Black plays Qa4 then White can capture the b6-pawn with Qxb6. This is what Karjakin was concerned about. Perhaps, the computer can find them easily, but it’s very difficult to spot the correct moves during the game. Please note that both players have heavy time pressure.

38.Nxe6+! fxe6 39.Qe7+ Kg8 40.Qxf6 a4 41.e4 Qd7 42.Qxg6+ Qg7 43.Qe8+ Qf8 44.Qc6?!

Black to play

This was another very risky decision. Probably, White should try for the draw with move repetition, Qg6 and Qg7. In reality, White doesn’t have a forcing draw, but only White should try for the draw. Carlsen pushed very hard in the game. He wanted a decisive result.

Perhaps, he feels that he should prove something. He is the World Chess Champion and he feels the obligation to convert one game into a win, but the position didn’t provide this opportunity for him to do so.

44…Qd8 45.f5 a3 46.fxe6 Kg7 47.e7?!

Black to play

This is another critical moment: White has a lot of options and the best one is Qb5. In the game, White played e7 and exchange the advanced e6-pawn for the b6-pawn.

Now the a3-pawn is the most dangerous pawn in the position as it gives winning chances for Black. 47.Qb5 a2 (47…Nxe6 48.Qb4 Qf8 49.Qxb6) 48.Qb2+ is a possibility.

47…Qxe7 48.Qxb6 Nd3 49.Qa5 Qc5 50.Qa6 Ne5 51.Qe6 h5!

White to play

White was in a big trouble because the passed a-pawn is a killer. Black managed to create a lot of threats in the White’s monarch with the Queen and the Knight. White doesn’t have time to capture the a-pawn.

52.h4 a2 0-1 

White resigned in this position because if the Queen captures the a2 pawn, then Black will give check with the Ng4+, then after Kh3, Black will play Qg1.

You can download the PGN of this game here.

Black is threatening to checkmate with Qh2# and Queen is covering the two very important squares a7 and b7. White doesn’t have perpetual checks. 53.Qxa2 Ng4+ 54.Kh3 Qg1 55.Qb2+ Kg6 56.Bf3 Nf2+ 0-1

After the game, Carlsen waited for a couple of minutes, alone, at the press conference stage, while Karjakin gave his customary private interview with the Russian television.

Carlsen was visibly uncomfortable (as seen above) and a few moments later, he got fed up and went away. He did not return to attend the press conference.

Sergey Karjakin at the press conference

In the next game, Karjakin will play with White and Carlsen with Black. What do you think? Will Karjakin become the new World Champion, or can Carlsen make a comeback?  Feel free to write your thoughts in the comments below.

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Carlsen-Karjakin Game-7: New opening, another draw

It was Carlsen’s time to put his head into the lion’s mouth and everybody expected the beast to snap. But it didn’t happen, because the World Champion easily kept the draw, being a pawn down, in an opposite-colored bishop endgame.  Both players have missed their own chances to score a full point. The seventh game ended in a draw, and the match stands in the balance.

(photo: Albert Silver)

The first move, 1.d4, was executed by Gbenga Akinnakgbe. He is a huge chess fan and an actor best known for his role in The Wire.

Sergey Karjakin – Magnus Carlsen [D10]
World Chess Championship New York NY USA (7), 20.11.2016

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 a6 5.Bd3 dxc4

White to play

The Slav defense is characterized by the move 2…c6. A few moves later, the game turned into the Queen’s gambit accepted, with the move dxc4.

Suggestion: Learn how to play gambits and how to counter-attack gambits from my lesson “Gambit Rules“.

6.Bxc4 e6 7.Nf3 c5 8.0-0 b5 9.Be2 Bb7 10.dxc5 Nc6 11.Nd2

Black to play

Karjakin admitted that he didn’t know the theory too well. Perhaps, this is the reason why he exchanged as much pieces as he can, in the next moves.

11…Bxc5 12.Nde4 Nxe4 13.Nxe4 Be7 14.b3 Nb4 15.Bf3 0-0

White to play

Here Carlsen castled and he missed a critical move, f5. For example:

15…f5 16.Ng5 Bxf3 17.Nxf3 Qxd1 18.Rxd1 Bf6 19.Nd4 Bxd4 20.exd4 Kf7

White to play

The knight is a better minor piece in this position and Black’s pieces are more coordinated.

16.Ba3 Rc8

White to play

A draw might be the most likely result with almost any move in this position, but the best move was Rb8. Carlsen admitted 18…Rc8 was a blunder.

17.Nf6+ Bxf6 18.Bxb7 Bxa1 19.Bxb4 Bf6 20.Bxf8 Qxd1 21.Rxd1 Rxf8 22.Bxa6 b4

White to play

White is a pawn up, but he has no winning changes because of the opposite-colored Bishops. White cannot create a passed pawn and he cannot attack any other weakness. After some moves, the game ended in a draw.

23.Rc1 g6 24.Rc2 Ra8 25.Bd3 Rd8 26.Be2 Kf8 27.Kf1 Ra8 28.Bc4 Rc8 29.Ke2 Ke7 30.f4 h6 31.Kf3 Rc7 32.g4 g5 33.Ke4 Rc8 ½-½

You can download the PGN of this game here.

Here is a quite funny tweet by Teimour Radjabov:
Karjakin states that at the end, he could not improve his position and that he has to grab the chances when he gets them. His only real chance was in game five. Carlsen states that the results of the last games were decent for him. The last two games were not that interesting, but in most of the games something was happening. 

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