(8) Caruana,Fabiano (2832) - Carlsen,Magnus (2835) [B33]
2018 World Championship London (8), 19.11.2018
[Sam Shankland]
1.e4
c5
2.Nf3
Nc6
Magnus once again sticks with his Sveshnikov/Rossolimo repertoire, though he really got away with one today. It will be interesting to see if he decides to keep going with it even though his positions out of the opening are getting more and more dangerous. 3.d4
Caruana enters the mainline. With the Sveshnikov being implied very heavily in game 1, his team has had a lot of time to come up with ideas. [3.Bb5
Was Caruana's choice in his first 3 white games. I think he took the right choice to go into the riskier open Sicilian mainlines, as his best chance to win the match is in regulation. I also think the positions suit his style better than Magnus's style.] 3...cxd4
4.Nxd4
Nf6
5.Nc3
e5
6.Ndb5
d6
7.Nd5!?
This is a very forcing move that leads to a defined and unbalanced pawn structure right away. [7.Bg5
Would lead to the Sveshnikov mainlines.] 7...Nxd5
8.exd5
Nb8
9.a4!
I always felt running the a-pawn the most critical try in pawn structures like this one. More often than not it comes from a Najdorf with Be3 and an early Nd5, but White will definitely appreciate leaving the c-pawn at home in certain positions. 9...Be7
10.Be2
0-0
11.0-0
Nd7
This position is not nearly as common as the Sveshnikov mainlines, but it's still reasonably well known and there have been plenty of games played. Caruana's next move was the one that got Magnus thinking. 12.Bd2!?
A rare choice, but a very logical move. White prioritizes developing his pieces- what could be more natural. In a lot of cases, White will play f4, and the bishop will stand well on c3 to pressure Black's center. This certainly turned out to be the case during the game. [12.Kh1
For better or for worse, this has been the most common move in the past. It doesn't make much sense to me. I can't imagine avoiding Qb6 coming with check is worth a tempo. Caruana's move looks much stronger.] 12...f5
[12...a6
In light of how the game proceeded, Magnus could have considered stopping White from playing a5. First he can push the knight back, and then after 13.Na3
a5!?
The position doesn't seem so bad to me. The machines like White but I don't see a great plan and Black's pieces have good squares to go to. It has to be said that this is one of the positions where it is very clear that remaining flexible with the c-pawn was in White's favor, as if the pawn were on c4, he would have no good way to open the queenside or deal with a knight sitting on c5 for the rest of the game. A sample line could go 14.f4
f5
(14...exf4!?
15.Bxf4
Bf6
16.c3
Be5
Also looks fine for Black to my unrefined and unintelligent human eye, but the machine disagrees.) 15.Nc4
(15.c3
Bf6
) 15...Bf6
Black has decent counterplay and I do not mind his position at all. It would be interesting to know what Caruana had in mind had Magnus tried a6-a5.] 13.a5
a6
Not a bad move I guess, but it looks wrong to me. The knight is not particularly good on b5 and likely would want to reroute to a3 and c4 anyway, and Magnus now forces this to happen with a loss of tempo and weakens the b6-square at the same time. Magnus's idea was to play e4 without allowing Nd4, but still, I dislike the move. [13...f4!?
It makes a lot of sense to prevent White from playing f2-f4 to contest the center and the kingside. The position is locked and Black looks like he should have decent attacking chances, for instance after 14.Bb4
Nf6
15.c4
a6
16.Nc3
Bf5
The machines like White but g5-g4 is a real plan. Black is not without counterplay] 14.Na3
e4
15.Nc4
Ne5
Magnus was clearly aiming for this position when he played a6. But it seems unpleasant for Black. 16.Nb6!
Caruana was still in preparation and playing very quickly. [16.Nxe5?
dxe5
Would give Black a lot of counterplay. I actually prefer his position.] 16...Rb8
17.f4!
Black must not be allowed to play f4 himself 17...exf3
18.Bxf3
g5?
This was asking too much. White is breaking through on the queenside too fast to expect the kingside attack to work. [18...Bf6
A solid move like this one looks fine to me. 19.c3
Nd7!
20.Be3
Be5!
Black's pieces have found good squares. The machine slightly prefers White but I don't think Black has much to worry about.] 19.c4!
Bc3 followed by c5 is a very easy plan to execute. The loose position of the e5 knight means White will not even need to defend the c5 pawn to get the advance through, and if Nxf3 ever comes, Black may well regret advancing g7-g5 with the open long diagonal. Black is in big trouble. 19...f4
20.Bc3!
Another strong move. Apparently Sesse was claiming that White is absolutely winning here- this is far too optimistic an assessment in human play, there is a lot of potential counterplay to contain, much like one sees in a mainline King's Indian. But his position is definitely very promising. 20...Bf5!
Magnus chooses the combattive move. He understood his position was "dangerous" though I would go a step further and just call it "bad". But he handled it absolutely the way he needed to- in a combattive manner looking for counterplay, as is the general plan in the Sveshnikov. [20...Qc7?
Trying to prevent c5 is only a temporary fix. Black has a lost position on the queenside as c5 will eventually win the game. He needs to look for kingside counterplay. 21.b4
Bf6
22.Rc1
White should be winning. Even a simple plan like Bxe5 followed by Nxc8 leaves Black unable to get g5-g4 through or make any kind of counterplay while c5-c6 comes very fast.] 21.c5
Caruana found the best move. His position is close to winning technically, it's more his kind of game, and he had a huge time advantage. This was his first real chance to score a full point after only missing a completely impossible line in game 6, and he did not manage to come through. If he loses the match, he will likely look at this game as the turning point. 21...Nxf3+
22.Qxf3
dxc5
23.Rad1
Bd6
24.h3??
I wavered between offering this move one question mark and two, eventually settling on the harsher evaluation, even though I normally only offer it for a move that squanders a full point rather than a half point. Time is absolutely of the essence. White is a pawn down and facing the bishop pair with an imbalanced structure. His position is strong, but he absolutely needed to look for the most direct moves. Magnus is now instantly fine after one slow move that was not at all in the spirit of the position, and he even said so himself after the game. [24.Nc4!
Of course this move needed to be played. The idea is totally obvious and White did play it on the next move, only he needed to do so faster. Black cannot allow d5-d6 to come through so eventually his dark squared bishop will be exchanged, and then the attack is decisive. 24...g4
Undoubtedly Caruana was worried about this move, otherwise h3 would really be inexplicable. But White is faster. (24...Qd7
Black cannot simply move the queen to bring the sleeping b8-rook into the game on e8 the way he did after White played h3, because the queen lacks access to the g6 square- the only way to hold both h5 and d6. After 25.Qh5
Black can resign.) 25.Qf2
f3
(25...g3
26.Qd2!
gxh2+
27.Kh1
Is hopeless for Black. Rxf4 is a big threat, and 27...Bg6
28.Rde1!
Offers no salvation as Re6 will come next.) 26.Rfe1!
Black is hard pressed to deal with Nxd6 followed by Be5. He should lose.; Also possible was 24.Qh5
Bg6
25.Qh6
Rf7
26.Nc4
Bf8
27.Qh3
as was given by Carlsen at the press conference. "It was very hard for me to evaluate but it felt like White is having all the fun... This felt like a dangerous moment to me."] 24...Qe8!
The move came instantly. The queen will be perfect on g6, preventing Qh5, defending the d6 bishop, and preparing for Rbe8 to contest the open e-file. Black is now absolutely fine and can even take over the game if White is not careful-he is a pawn up with the bishop pair after all. 25.Nc4
Qg6
26.Nxd6
Caruana messed up in a big way to let Black hold, but he was also professional and objective enough to make a draw when it was time. [26.Rfe1
Trying for a win at all costs was possible, but after 26...Rbe8
(26...g4!?
Looks decent too. h3 did not stop anything and now even serves as a hook) 27.Be5
Bxe5
28.Nxe5
Qg7
29.Qc3
g4!
Lots of counterplay] 26...Qxd6
27.h4
gxh4!
The simplest. White must trade queens and then Black doesn't have a care in the world. 28.Qxf4
Qxf4
29.Rxf4
h5
30.Re1
Bg4
31.Rf6
Rxf6
32.Bxf6
Kf7
33.Bxh4
Re8
34.Rf1+
Kg8
35.Rf6
Re2
36.Rg6+
Kf8
37.d6
Rd2
38.Rg5
Caruana has had some good moments and been able to apply pressure here and there, and had that one impossible engine win in the piece up ending. But today was the only game thus far where he absolutely had it within his power to come home with a full point. Magnus does not give many people chances like this, and he might not give another one. Still, while Caruana can't be feeling too happy (or confident) that he missed his opportunity today, he is clearly outpreparing Magnus every game with both colors for several games in a row. If Magnus loses the match, I suspect it will be due to another opening mishap. I'm sure he notices this trend himself and I expect him to switch things up a bit in the final four games. 1/2-1/2
