[Event "World Championship Match"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/study/GnRCQlP4/l1LwZ1vV"]
[Date "2021.12.05"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Abasov"]
[BlackElo "2782"]
[ECO "C43"]
[Opening "Russian Game: Modern Attack, Center Variation"]
[UTCDate "2021.12.05"]
[UTCTime "22:38:27"]
[Variant "Standard"]
[WhiteElo "2855"]

{ Dear friends, after the longest game in the history of World Championship matches, the players had a relatively easier day in the office yesterday. Today, the World Champion plays with the White pieces. Are we going to see 1.d4 and many complications (in the Catalan?!) by him or 1.e4 where the rather sound Petroff is most likely expecting him? Considering the match situation, I'd say the second choice seems more logical, however, thinking about the psychological aspect, Nepo is in a more difficult situation at the moment and Carlsen may try using this factor... } 1. e4 $5 { Carlsen seems to be in a calm mood today. I expect him to come up with a small idea in the Petroff and if Ian manages to avoid all the pitfalls - a draw is a perfectly fine result. } 1... e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 { Petroff Defense, as it was expected. } 3. d4 $5 { New move in the match. } ( 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. c4 c6 9. Re1 Bf5 10. Qb3 Qd7 11. Nc3 Nxc3 12. Bxf5 Qxf5 13. bxc3 b6 14. cxd5 cxd5 15. Qb5 { happened in Game 4. } ) 3... Nxe4 4. Bd3 d5 5. Nxe5 Nd7 6. Nxd7 ( 6. Nxf7 { leads to a draw } 6... Kxf7 7. Qh5+ Ke7 ( 7... Kg8 8. Qxd5# { is sad for Black } ) 8. Qe2 { threatening f3 [%cal Gf2f3] } 8... Kf7 ( 8... Nf6 9. f3 { and White is slightly better. } ) 9. Qh5+ ) 6... Bxd7 7. Nd2 $5 { A very rare move! I have 4823 games in my database after 6...-Bxd7 and only 48 games with 7.Nd2. In other words, it's been played in less than 1% of all games! In general, it doesn't seem to be any harmful move, but as we thought, Magnus comes with a small opening idea/try, deviating from theoretical clashes. } ( 7. O-O { is the main move } 7... Bd6 8. Nc3 { is a move that became popular after Ian's victory over Chinese super-GM Yu Yangyi! } ( 8. c4 { was the most common line } 8... c6 9. cxd5 cxd5 10. Qh5 O-O 11. Qxd5 Bc6 12. Qh5 g6 ) 8... Nxc3 9. bxc3 O-O 10. Qh5 f5 11. Re1 c6 12. Bg5 Qc7 13. Re3 g6 14. Qh4 Rae8 15. Rae1 Rxe3 16. Rxe3 Re8 $6 ( 16... b5 { is what Black should have played } ) 17. c4 Rxe3 18. Bxe3 { despite equal material White's positional domination gives them good chances for a win } 18... Be8 19. c5 $1 Qe7 20. Bg5 Qe1+ 21. Bf1 Bf8 22. Be3 $18 Qa5 23. Bf4 Bf7 24. Qf6 Bg7 25. Qd6 Qe1 26. Be3 Bf8 27. Qb8 b6 28. cxb6 axb6 29. Qxb6 Qa1 30. Qa7 c5 31. Qa8 Qe1 32. dxc5 d4 33. Bh6 Be8 34. Qd5+ Bf7 35. Qd8 Qe7 36. Qxe7 Bxe7 37. c6 Bd6 38. g3 Bd5 39. a4 Kf7 40. Bb5 Bc7 41. Bf4 Bxf4 42. gxf4 Ke7 43. c7 Bb7 44. a5 { 1-0, Nepomniachtchi,I (2771)-Yu,Y (2761) Astana, 2019 } ) 7... Nxd2 { was played rather too quickly! } ( 7... f5 $5 $146 { was worth considering } 8. O-O Qf6 { Attacking the d4-pawn and preparing long castle! } 9. Nf3 { a try to fight for the e5-square } ( 9. c3 { slow } 9... O-O-O 10. f3 { isn't good for White as after } 10... Nxd2 11. Bxd2 f4 { followed by ...-g5 and ...-h5 Black gets excellent chances! } ) 9... Bd6 ( 9... O-O-O 10. Bf4 $5 ) 10. Ne5 O-O-O ( 10... Bxe5 11. dxe5 Qxe5 12. Qe1 $1 ( 12. f3 $4 Qd4+ 13. Kh1 Nf2+ 14. Rxf2 Qxf2 $19 ) ( 12. Re1 O-O-O 13. f3 Qf6 $5 14. fxe4 dxe4 15. Bf1 f4 $44 { looks super interesting, where White has an extra piece, however, all their pieces are yet located on the first rank, whilst Black's pawns are dangerously advanced. } ) 12... Qe7 $1 { Black needs to defend the Queen so that f3 doesn't win a piece } ( 12... O-O-O $2 13. f3 Qd4+ 14. Be3 $18 ) 13. Bf4 { attacking -c7 pawn } 13... O-O-O 14. f3 Qc5+ ( 14... g5 15. fxe4 dxe4 16. Bd2 $16 ) 15. Kh1 ( 15. Be3 d4 16. Bf4 Nf6 17. Qe5 Qxe5 18. Bxe5 Be6 19. Rfe1 Rhe8 20. b4 $5 { preventing c7-c5 seems to be leading to slightly better position for White. } ) 15... Nf6 16. b4 Qb6 17. a4 { White starts the action on the queenside. } 17... Rde8 18. Qd2 Nh5 19. Bg5 h6 20. Bh4 Qe3 $1 21. Qxe3 Rxe3 22. Bf2 Ree8 23. Bxa7 { unlike the Spassky-Fischer game, Bishop on the edge does not get trapped this time. } 23... b6 $2 ( 23... Nf4 24. Bd4 $36 ) 24. Ba6+ Kd8 25. a5 $18 { and White shall win } ) ) 8. Bxd2 Bd6 { after the game Ian said, perhaps logical 8...-Bd6 wasn't the most precise move. I believe 8...-Qe7 could have been a reasonable alternative. P.S. Fun fact: The 8th move of Game 8 - 8 pieces placed along the d-file. Just like 8 planets in 'Planet Parade' :) } ( 8... Qe7+ $5 { looked interesting } 9. Be3 Qb4+ 10. Qd2 { and now the question is, can Black dare to be greedy and grab the b2-pawn? } 10... Qxb2 ( 10... Qxd2+ { is the safest } 11. Kxd2 Bd6 { should be close to total equality. The last hope for White will be here to advance kingside pawns and get some space. } 12. h4 { and once Black meets it accordingly } 12... h5 { the game should end in a draw. } ) 11. O-O Bb4 12. Qe2 O-O { looks like Black is controlling everything, however, their position is not stable enough } 13. Rab1 Qa3 14. Qh5 f5 15. Bf4 Bd6 ( 15... c6 16. Rb3 Qa5 17. Rfb1 $18 { b7 falls and so the position. } ) 16. Rb3 Qxa2 17. Bxd6 cxd6 18. Rxb7 Rf7 19. Qf3 $16 { and Black's position is shaky } ) 9. O-O { Here Nepo started taking some time. I believe he wasn't too much happy about his position. [%cal Gd1h5] } 9... h5 $5 { unique way of dealing with Qh5 ideas! } ( 9... Qh4 10. g3 Qg4 ( 10... Qxd4 $2 11. Bc3 Qg4 12. Qxg4 Bxg4 13. Bxg7 Rg8 14. Bf6 { wins material by force, as after } 14... h5 15. Bh7 Rf8 16. Bg7 { with wins an exchange. } ) 11. Re1+ Kf8 12. Qxg4 Bxg4 { could have been an option, but generally, the setup doesn't seem convincing for Black. } ) ( 9... O-O $6 { is met by } 10. Qh5 { with double-attack on -h7 and -d5. } 10... f5 { the only way to defend both pawns. } ( 10... g6 11. Qxd5 $16 ) 11. Bg5 $1 ( 11. Rfe1 Qf6 $132 ) 11... Qe8 12. Qf3 Qf7 13. Bf4 $14 { White takes the control over e5-square and has better light-squared Bishop. White's advantage is out of the question. The question is: Is it be enough to win the game? } ) ( 9... Qf6 10. Re1+ Be6 11. Qh5 { is a nice way of preventing castling on both flanks. Obviously, the short castle is not possible due to mate in 1 and in case of long castle } 11... O-O-O ( 11... Kd7 { nevertheless looked fun! } 12. c3 { now White threatens to trap the majesty of the Queen with Bg5, so Black should be careful about that. } 12... h6 { with a big game on! } ( 12... Bf4 $2 13. Bxf4 Qxf4 14. Re5 $16 { White's domination is way too strong. } ) ) 12. Bg5 $16 { White wins material } ) 10. Qe1+ $5 { Was played after 40 minutes of thinking! I'd call this - The first critical moment of the game. Obviously, Ian's last move took Magnus out of the book. However, it doesn't feel like Black can checkmate the rival King on the kingside. 9... -h5 seems to be more like an active-prophylactic move against Qh5. I assume, spending so much time Magnus initially tried to figure out whether he can punish Ian's confrontational play. After realizing there's no refutation, he started to analyze what's going on on the board psychologically. With 10.Qe1+, he basically showed Ian that he is not against the peaceful outcome today. (P.S: Of course, a crucial nuance is the match situation, that Magnus has the lead. Was the score in the match even, I'm pretty much convinced he would have played differently). Being aware of Nepo's personality and his ambitiousness, Magnus knew that 9...-h5 kind move shall not be followed by ...-Qe7, which forces the Queen trades and simplifications. And yes, the game showed he was absolutely right. } ( 10. c4 $5 dxc4 11. Re1+ $5 { intermezzo } ( 11. Bxc4 Qf6 12. Re1+ Kf8 13. Qb3 ) 11... Kf8 ( 11... Be6 $4 12. Bxc4 $18 ) 12. Bxc4 Qf6 13. Qb3 { looks promising for White } ) ( 10. Re1+ Kf8 $1 ( 10... Be6 $2 11. c4 { and Black having difficult times. } 11... Kf8 12. c5 Be7 13. Re5 $18 ) 11. c4 Qh4 12. g3 Qxd4 13. Bc3 Qg4 { seems totally fine for Black } ) 10... Kf8 $6 { Not that it is a bad move, as the time showed, it was a bad decision. There was absolutely no need for Black to do something like that. } ( 10... Qe7 { makes the most sense and is the best move } 11. Qxe7+ Kxe7 12. Rae1+ Kf6 13. h4 Bf5 14. Bg5+ Kg6 15. Bxf5+ Kxf5 16. Be7 Rhe8 17. Bxd6 cxd6 { and despite the fact that Black has got doubled pawn, the activity of their King at least compensate the damaged pawn structure. } ) 11. Bb4 Qe7 12. Bxd6 ( 12. Qxe7+ Bxe7 ) 12... Qxd6 13. Qd2 { Well, as a result of 10...-Kf8 we reached this position. What can we say? Whilst we have almost symmetrical pawn formations, Black's Rooks are not connected yet. This factor gives White a slight edge. } 13... Re8 14. Rae1 Rh6 { Black tries to bring the h8-Rook into the game. } 15. Qg5 { so, White starts keeping an eye on h5-pawn that the Rook couldn't move easily. } 15... c6 ( 15... Rhe6 { a try to rely on tactical resources doesn't work for Black due to concrete play. } 16. Qxh5 $1 ( 16. Rxe6 Rxe6 17. Qxh5 Rh6 18. Qe5 { is the same. } ) 16... Rh6 ( 16... Rxe1 17. Qh8+ Ke7 18. Rxe1+ $18 ) 17. Rxe8+ $1 Bxe8 18. Qe5 $1 $16 { and White is having an extra pawn } ) 16. Rxe8+ Bxe8 17. Re1 { White has the e-file. more active Queen and Bishop, yet it is not enough to win as the position remains to be symmetrical (in terms of pawn structure) and there's only 1 open file. } 17... Qf6 18. Qe3 ( 18. Qg3 Qd6 ( 18... Qxd4 19. Bf5 $1 { controlling e6-square and preventing ...-Re6 wins the game for White. } ) 19. Re5 Bd7 20. h4 { looks unpleasant for Black. } ) 18... Bd7 19. h3 h4 20. c4 $5 { typical actions for such kind positions. As we mentioned above, White's pieces are more active but the problem is they cannot prove themselves in a position where there's only 1 open file. With 20.c4 White consciously enter a position with an isolated pawn, however, get more room for the pieces! } 20... dxc4 ( 20... g5 $5 { another active-prophylactic move (same as 9...-h5) looked really strong here! } 21. cxd5 cxd5 22. Qe5 ( 22. Rc1 Bc6 23. b4 a6 ) 22... Be6 23. Rc1 Qxe5 24. dxe5 f6 25. exf6 Rxf6 26. Re1 ( 26. Rc7 $6 Rf7 $36 { is even better for Black, thanks to passed d-pawn. } ) 26... d4 27. b3 Bf5 28. Bxf5 Rxf5 29. Re4 Rd5 30. Kf1 d3 31. Ke1 Rc5 ) ( 20... Be6 { is no good due to } 21. cxd5 { and Black is forced to recapture with c6-pawn. } 21... cxd5 { after what White takes c-file without any contest. } 22. Rc1 Qd8 23. Qe5 $18 ) 21. Bxc4 b5 $4 { Was played after 4 minutes of thinking... There's not much to comment on this move. Normally, you'd expect a player of 2800 level to see that 21...-b5 is a huge blunder, but it proves again that elite players are also human beings. It shows how the tension is high in Dubai and that after an almost 8-hour Game 6 Ian didn't recover fully. I can only feel sorry for him. } ( 21... Kg8 { was meanwhile the best continuation for Black } 22. Qe7 ( 22. Qa3 { a try to attack a7-pawn and prepare Re7 doesn't work due to } 22... Qxd4 $17 ) ( 22. Qb3 { with the idea of attacking b7-pawn and eyeing -f7 is only now being met by } 22... b5 $1 ) 22... Be6 23. Qxf6 Rxf6 24. Bxe6 Rxe6 { pawn endings are always tricky! Without any calculation, I'd say it should be a draw, but you never know! } ( 24... fxe6 $5 { should lead to easy draw } ) 25. Rxe6 fxe6 26. Kf1 Kf7 27. Ke2 Kf6 28. Ke3 e5 $1 ( 28... Kf5 $4 { trying to have more active King is met by } 29. g4+ $1 { and White gets 2 vs 1 on the kingside after } 29... hxg3 30. fxg3 $18 { this should be winning for White, because, White eventually will create an outside passed pawn on the kingside, and whilst the Black King will be busy dealing with it, the White King is going to collect all the remaining pawns of Black on the opposite flank. } ) 29. Ke4 exd4 30. Kxd4 Kf5 31. g3 $5 { again White may try to have 2 vs 1 on the kingside, but this time Black may ignore White's wishes and play } 31... b6 32. gxh4 Kf4 33. a4 ( 33. h5 Kg5 ) 33... g6 34. b3 a5 35. f3 Kxf3 36. Ke5 Kg3 37. Kf6 b5 38. Kxg6 Kxh4 39. Kf5 Kxh3 40. Ke5 bxa4 41. bxa4 Kg4 42. Kd6 Kf5 43. Kxc6 Ke6 44. Kb5 Kd7 45. Kxa5 Kc8 { and Black King reaches home. } ) ( 21... Qd6 22. Qb3 b5 23. Bxf7 { leads to a position with an extra pawn for White as after } 23... Qxd4 { Black loses d7-Bishop } 24. Rd1 $1 $18 ) 22. Qa3+ Kg8 ( 22... Qd6 23. Qxa7 { had Ian ..-g5 being played in this position (as we mentioned on move 20) he could win the Bishop on c4, but now } 23... bxc4 { he gets checkmated due to back-rank issues... } 24. Qa8+ $18 ) 23. Qxa7 { In the press conference Ian admitted that he simply forgot that after 23...-bxc4 his Bishop is also hanging... } 23... Qd8 ( 23... bxc4 24. Qxd7 $18 ) ( 23... Bxh3 $5 { could have been the last try as after } 24. Re8+ Kh7 25. Qxf7 { was the only way to keep the advantage for White. } ( 25. Bxf7 { looks extremely strong but in fact loses all the advantage after } 25... Rg6 $3 { and suddenly Black is in the game, in fact, White is the side now to fight for a draw. } 26. Rh8+ { only move! } ( 26. Bxg6+ $4 Qxg6 27. g3 Qb1+ 28. Kh2 Qf1 { and White cannot prevent a checkmate from -g2. } ) 26... Kxh8 27. Qb8+ Kh7 28. Qg8+ Kh6 { last 3-4 moves by White were strictly only. They needed to push Black's King onto g-file } 29. Bxg6 Qxg6 30. Qh8+ Kg5 { and once King finally comes to g-file, it covers the pin, so White captures on -h3. } 31. gxh3 Kf4+ { but the show goes on! The activity of Black's King gives them good chances to fight for a win! } 32. Kf1 { another only move by White } ( 32. Kh2 { is no good due to } 32... Kf3 $1 33. Qf8+ Ke2 $36 { and the King goes all the way to -f1, to deliver a checkmate! } ( 33... Qf6 $5 $36 ) ) 32... Qb1+ 33. Kg2 Qe4+ 34. Kg1 Qg6+ { game ends in a draw. } ) ) 24. Bb3 { Now in addition to active pieces White has also got an extra pawn. The position is technically winning. } 24... Rd6 25. Re4 $1 { the cleanest. White is threatening Rxh4-Qxh4, Qb8 } 25... Be6 26. Bxe6 Rxe6 ( 26... fxe6 27. Qc5 { and Black loses another pawn. } ) 27. Rxe6 fxe6 28. Qc5 { Black's main problem in this position is not only the fact that they are down a pawn. but that they have a number of weaknesses (on -c6; e6; -h4). } 28... Qa5 { Ian is looking for counter-chances. } 29. Qxc6 Qe1+ 30. Kh2 Qxf2 31. Qxe6+ { Now Black is couple pawns down, and normally it's enough to win the game } 31... Kh7 32. Qe4+ Kg8 33. b3 Qxa2 34. Qe8+ Kh7 35. Qxb5 Qf2 36. Qe5 ( 36. Qb8 $5 { would be a very nice touch, covering b8-h2 diagonal so that Nepo never gets a check and simply march the b-pawn all the way to the Queen. } 36... Qxd4 37. b4 $18 { followed by b5-b6-Qc7-b7-b8=Q } ) 36... Qb2 37. Qe4+ Kg8 38. Qd3 Qf2 39. Qc3 Qf4+ 40. Kg1 Kh7 41. Qd3+ g6 42. Qd1 { With extra cautious play Magnus doesn't want to give a single hope to his opponent. } 42... Qe3+ 43. Kh1 g5 44. d5 g4 { Ian tries his last chance, creating some play on White's King and hopefully getting eternal checks. } 45. hxg4 ( 45. d6 { was still perfectly fine, but it's a kind of position where all the roads lead to Rome. } 45... gxh3 46. Qh5+ Kg7 47. Qg4+ Kh7 ( 47... Kf7 48. Qf3+ $18 ) 48. Qxh4+ Kg7 49. Qg4+ Kh7 ( 49... Kf7 50. Qf3+ $18 ) 50. Qxh3+ $18 ) 45... h3 46. Qf3 { The game is over. Black resigned... What can I say? I personally have mixed emotions. Unlike game 6, where Magnus put enormous effort to win the game, it more feels like Nepo self-destructed today. It's extremely difficult to strike back after such unpleasant defeats. I have a sensation that Ian has burnt himself out, with declining draws in both Game 6 and today with taking too much risk. With 6 games to go, Magnus' 2-point lead makes me think about the chances. I believe the odds now are 97/3 and the destiny of the match has mostly been decided. Yet I genuinely hope the rest day tomorrow will recharge Ian and in the second half of the match, we see a completely different player - the true Samurai in action! I am most definitely sure he is capable of keeping the intrigue until the very end and it's never over until it's over! } 1-0