(6) Carlsen,Magnus (2835) - Caruana,Fabiano (2832) [C42]
2018 World Championship London (6), 16.11.2018
[Sam Shankland]

Yesterday was the first game where I thought Carlsen was under any real pressure, and today was the first day where he was in serious danger of losing. I don't know who will be less happy with today's turn of events. Much like game one, one player should not be encouraged to be lucky to survive with white, and the other player can't be happy about not taking one of what will probably be very few chances to score a full point. Beating 2800+ guys is tough! 1.e4 Magnus opts for 1.e4 for the first time. I wondered if Caruana would want to play the Petroff, sticking with his main and best opening but eschewing any surprise value. I mostly expected something else since he has at least so far ditched the QGA, but it looks like at least for now, he is happy to stick with his guns. 1...e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nd3 This is a trendy new move as of 2018, but I can't imagine its the most testing try. [4.Nf3 Is the main move. There follows 4...Nxe4 And now both d4 and Nc3 are serious tries to fight for an advantage. Caruana has faced both these moves many times in the past couple years.] 4...Nxe4 5.Qe2 Qe7 6.Nf4 Nc6!? Initiative a funny forced sequence, but both players were undoubtedly ready for it. [6...Nf6 Also looks fine. I have a hard time imagining White getting anywhere in these symmetrical endings. Still, boring as they appear, they can liven up. Caruana's game with Kramnik in the Candidates saw a quick queen trade as well, and a full point was passed back and forth more than once as the position got complicated and the players got low on time.] 7.Nd5 Nd4! 8.Nxe7 Nxe2 The position is really weird, but funnily enough, it seems balanced. White cannot make use of the extra tempo with both knight ransacking the other side's back rank. 9.Nd5 [9.Bxe2 Bxe7 Is obviously equal; 9.Nxc8 Nxc1 Leads nowhere for White either] 9...Nd4 10.Na3 [10.Nxc7+?! Grabbing the rook leads to trouble 10...Kd8 11.Nxa8? (11.Bd3! Nxf2 12.Kxf2 Kxc7 Should be equal) 11...Nxc2+ 12.Kd1 Nxa1 The loose f2 pawn will be White's undoing.] 10...Ne6 11.f3 N4c5 12.d4 Nd7 13.c3 Both players were still playing fast. Black's knights have been booted all the way backwards from their prevously impressive posts on e2 and e4, but he retains a very solid position and doesn't have any weaknesses. 13...c6 14.Nf4 Nb6 15.Bd3 d5 16.Nc2 White's moral advantage of slightly better coordination is more or less meaningless. When I woke up and this position was on the board, I expected another fast draw, not to have to wait 5 hours until after lunch to write about the game! 16...Bd6 17.Nxe6 Bxe6 18.Kf2 h5 19.h4 Nc8 20.Ne3 Ne7 21.g3 c5 22.Bc2?! This move was the start of Carlsen's troubles. Bringing the bishop to b3 to pressure the d5 pawn might seem natural, but it was a decision he later likely regretted as the bishop became a target and didn't accomplish very much. [22.Ng2 Magnus foung this maneuvre later, and he should have done it here as well. White still retains a moral advantage that is very, very unlikely to yield a full point.] 22...0-0 23.Rd1 Rfd8 24.Ng2 White makes the positional threat of dxc5 followed by Be3 to make an isolated d5-pawn. I was not at all surprised to see Caruana play cxd4 in response, but I found it a little strange he did not make the move immediately. 24...cxd4! 25.cxd4 Rac8 26.Bb3 Nc6! The knight is coming to a5, when is becomes clear the bishop on b3 is doing more harm than good for White's position. 27.Bf4 Na5 Now White has some problems to solve. 28.Rdc1 Very necessary. [28.Bxd6? Nxb3! 29.axb3 Rc2+! An important in-between move. Black takes the second rank and White is in trouble.] 28...Bb4 29.Bd1 Nc4 30.b3 Na3! This was Black's only serious try. The knight will be good on b5, and he is hoping to use the a2-pawn as a long term weakness. [30...Nd6 I guess this could transpose, but it does allow Bxd6. 31.Rxc8 (31.Bxd6!? I am not convinced that the bishop pair matters here since White has no bad pieces. If his bishop was on e3 he would be much worse, but as is, it is on the right color complex and will not magically move to a dark square. With moves like Bf3 and Ne3 coming I can't imagine White having any serious issues.) 31...Rxc8 32.Rc1 ] 31.Rxc8 Rxc8 32.Rc1 Nb5 33.Rxc8+ Bxc8 34.Ne3 Nc3 35.Bc2 [35.a4 In light of the problems White faced in the game, it may have been worth considering to play a4 to avoid the weakness on a2. He voluntarily gave up the light squared bishop later anyway. 35...Nxd1+ 36.Nxd1 f6 Black is slightly better and will press, but I have a hard time seeing him win. Ne3, Bf4, Kd3 looks very hard to break down.] 35...Ba3! Preventing a2-a4. It will be very hard to hold onto this pawn. 36.Bb8 a6 37.f4 Bd7 38.f5 Bc6 Now Nxa2 is an honest to goodness threat. 39.Bd1 A sad necessity, also highlighting why I think a4 earlier on may have been worth considering. 39...Bb2 [39...Nxd1+!? 40.Nxd1 Leads to a similar ending to the one after 35.a4, but here the pawn is fixed on a2, and f5 is vulnerable too. I still think it should be a draw but White's defense will be tougher.] 40.Bxh5 Ne4+ [40...Nxa2!? I would have certainly gone for this one, hoping to use the potential for an outside passed pawn. Caruana's choice is not bad of course.] 41.Kg2 Bxd4 42.Bf4 Bc5 White's position should be defensible. What Magnus chose to do next made his life tougher, which is the first step towards losing the game. 43.Bf3 Nd2 44.Bxd5!? [44.Nd1 In hindsight, this may have been a better choice. I do think the game move should hold, but White's margin for error was very slim. 44...Nxf3 45.Kxf3 d4+ 46.Ke2 Be4 47.g4 White is worse but hanging in there. Nf2-d3 is a real plan. 47...Bb1 48.Kd2! The pawn is taboo. 48...Bb4+ (48...Bxa2? 49.Kc2 ) 49.Kc1 Bd3 50.Nf2 Be2 51.g5 Be1 52.Ne4 Bxh4 53.Bg3 This computer line shows White holding, but I can understand why Magnus would not be keen to enter it. If he was confident the piece down position was a draw, one cannot berate him for making that choice.] 44...Bxe3 45.Bxc6 Bxf4 46.Bxb7 Bd6 47.Bxa6 Ne4 48.g4 Ba3! An important move, without which White would hold easily by playing a2-a4 and keeping the bishop defending b3. Now White must lose one of his queenside pawns. 49.Bc4 Kf8 50.g5 Nc3 51.b4! Magnus correctly chooses to leave himself with the pawn the furthest away from the kingside. 51...Bxb4 52.Kf3 This is a very difficult endgame to play, judge and assess, but I'll share my general impressions. The bishop on c4 lasering down on the f7-pawn means that sooner or later, Black will be forced to play f7-f6. Then, White probably will not want to take the pawn unless forced to- he still has a plan to bring the king to g6 to attack the base of the pawn chain, since he can play gxf6 anytime. If White takes on f6 and Black can recapture with the pawn, he will never be able to take Black's last one. 52...Na4 53.Bb5 Nc5 54.a4 f6 As previously mentioned, Black was forced to play f6. Now, I think his best winning plan is to try to force the g5/f6 pawn tension to resolve. If white ever plays g6, Black can blockade the a-pawn with his knight, bring the bishop to the c1-h6 diagonal to let the king join the fight, and he will probably win. White should never let this happen and if forced to resolve the tension he must take on f6, though this is also not ideal. 55.Kg4 [55.g6? A move like this illustrates my point nicely. 55...Bd2 56.h5 Ke7 57.a5 Kd6 Black will win the a5-pawn and the game. White needs to leave the kingside pawns as they were to keep some annoying counterplay with a potential passer that Black will need to pay attention to.] 55...Ne4! Black ups the pressure on the g5-pawn. He really wants it to move. 56.Kh5 Now Kg6 is on the agenda. Black's king is clearly needed to defend the kingside, and if Kg6 comes next, it will be an easy draw. 56...Be1! Black freezes White's king by attacking the h4-pawn, preventing it from going to its desired destination. [56...Bd2? It would be foolish to only think about Black's plan. White gets the king to g6 and draws easily since g5 cannot be taken. 57.Kg6! fxg5 58.hxg5 And now Bxg5 would allow Bd3, while Nxg5 would allow f6. The game is drawn.] 57.Bd3 Nd6 58.a5! I like Magnus' decision. The a-pawn was never a threat to queen and could only serve as a distraction for Black's pieces, so he takes his one and only chance to force Kg6 through, even at the cost of a pawn. [58.Kg4 The machine prefers to wait. I don't know if Black can win, but he has serious attempts. For instance, 58...Nf7 Is a good start. Black wants Bd2 and to force a resolution of the pawn tension, giving him one fewer weakness to worry about, the security that the f6-pawn will never be captured, and the g7-square for his king. 59.Bc2 (59.Bc4? Ne5+ ) 59...Bd2! 60.gxf6 gxf6 61.Kf3 This position might be a draw, but I am not as confident in this as I am about the one with the king on g6.] 58...Bxa5 59.gxf6! [59.Kg6? Bd8! And White will not be left with a passer. After 60.gxf6 Bxf6! 61.h5 Nf7! Black prevents further trades, and with no passed pawn, there is no counterplay. Black will eventually win.] 59...gxf6 60.Kg6 Bd8 At this point, I think Black will win if he can get his king to h8. Then Ne5+ would be a valid plan to kick out the White king. 61.Kh7! [61.Bc2? Kg8 62.Bb1 The knight will take its time to get to e5, but it does get there. 62...Nf7? Too hasty. (62...Nb5 63.Bd3 Nd4 64.Bc4+ Kh8 65.Bd5 Ne2 66.Bc4 Nf4+ f4 might be a fine square too. As long as Black can bring his king up to stop and ultimately capture the h-pawn, he should win. In order to stop this, White absolutely must keep the black king off of the g-file. 67.Kf7 Kh7 ) 63.Ba2 ] 61...Nf7 62.Bc4 Ne5 63.Bd5 Ba5 64.h5 White is not happy about his pawn being forced onto a light square, but there was nothing he could do about it anyway since Black could always play Be1 if he so desired. Still, I think this position is just a draw. White leaves his king on h7 until the end of time. If the Black king ever leaves, Kg7 followed by h5-h6 becomes a serious idea. And the only way to dislodge the king is to try to bring the knight to g5. As long as White's bishop is on the a2-g8 diagonal at that time to avoid the coming Kg8, I cannot see a plan for Black. 64...Bd2 65.Ba2 Nf3 66.Bd5 Nd4 [66...Ng5+ 67.Kg6 Bc3 As I mentioned, this gets Black nowhere since the king cannot come to g8. h6 draws on the spot, but even if White sits with Ba2, there isn't much for Black to do. As soon as the knight moves, Kh7 comes again.] 67.Kg6? Technically this move does lose in a higher sense, and the monster machines point out mate in 64 or something like this. It is well outside of human capability for Black to prove it, even for a 2800+ player. Still, I think it was the wrong idea to leave h7 on simple grounds. IT was the best square for White's king and should not leave unless forced to. 67...Bg5 68.Bc4 Nf3 I would not feel right awarding this move a question mark since the win was some computer nonsense that was clearly impossible for a being with flesh and bones. [68...Bh4! According to the monster, this was the only winning move. The point is that White is in a deadly zugzwang. If he ever advances h6, the pawn eventually gets captured. If the bishop leaves the a2-a8 diagonal, Kg8 comes. And if the bishop leaves the a6-f1 diagonal, Ne2-f4 is winning. 69.Bd5! The most resilient try. (69.h6 Nf3! White loses after Ne5+ 70.Ba2 (70.h7 Ne5+ 71.Kh5 Kg7 72.Ba2 Bg5 ) 70...Ne5+ 71.Kh5 Bg5 72.Bb3 Nd3 Nf4 comes next. The pawn will be lost.) 69...Ne2 70.Bf3 (70.Kh7 Bg5! Somehow White cannot hold the pawns.) 70...Ng1! Another impossible only move. If Caruana could make it here by some miracle I'd give him good chances to find the rest of his way, but Bh4 and Ne2-g1 both feel completely outside of human capability. 71.Bd5 (71.Bg4 Kg8! Black got his king to g8, and will be able to put White in zugzwang to get the knight out. 72.Kh6 Bf2 73.Kg6 Bd4 74.Kh6 Be3+ 75.Kg6 Bg5! White must either play h6 or let the knight escape. 76.h6 Kh8 77.h7 Bh4 78.Kh5 Be1 79.Kg6 Bc3 80.Kh6 Bd2+! 81.Kg6 Bg5! The same Bg5 makes a second zugzwang. The knight gets out.) 71...Bg5! And White is un zugzwang again. h6 will always lose, but he also cannot allow the bishop to leave d5. 72.Kh7 (72.h6 Nh3 ; 72.Ba2 Nh3 Nf4 will win the pawn) 72...Ne2! And White's bishop runs out of squares. 73.Ba2 (73.Bb3 Nd4! Wins the f5-pawn; 73.Be6 Nf4 ; 73.Bc4 Nf4! ) 73...Nf4! Forces h5-h6.] 69.Kh7 It's a technical draw again. 69...Ne5 70.Bb3 Ng4 71.Bc4 Ne3 72.Bd3 Ng4 73.Bc4 Nh6 74.Kg6 Ke7 Black can bring the king, but f5 is impossible to capture without letting the h-pawn run. 75.Bb3 Kd6 76.Bc2 Ke5 77.Bd3 Kf4 78.Bc2 Ng4 79.Bb3 Ne3 80.h6 Bxh6 The ending was fascinating to study, though Magnus's only serious danger came from an impossible computer line. Still, he did come much closer to losing today than he had in any other game yet. Now he has tried 3 different first moves in his first 3 white games. He will play white again in game 7, and my guess is we will see him repeat a previous choice for the first time, hoping to come with better analysis now that he has more of an idea what to prepare for. The second half of the match should produce some more interesting games as the pressure increases and there is more to play for in every game. 1/2-1/2