Carlsen vs Karjakin: Carlsen Pushes His Luck And Pays The Price.

After 7 consecutive draws and the scores level at 3.5 points, the World Chess Championship saw a changing of the tide in game eight and would leave the chess world both stunned and baffled. At the end of the round, Magnus Carlsen, the reigning World Champion, would trail his challenger, Sergey Karjakin by a point.

Carlsen came out looking comfortable and in good spirits for the game, for which he would have the White pieces. It really didn’t go at all as planned, that is for sure. His choice of the Colle opening was a surprise it has to be said, and perhaps he will rue the choice and wish that he had stuck with something he knows better. Both players played some strange moves (to a mere mortal like me anyway) and Carlsen seemed to be hanging back with 17.Qe1 and 18.Bf1 and trying to provoke Karjakin into taking some form of action. It worked, but unfortunately for Carlsen, Karjakin became more and more active, taking a grip on the position. He was better.

The players both experienced time pressure, during which Karjakin’s position really came into it’s own and the Russian was soon potentially winning. Had he found 37…Qa4(!) then the game could have ended very soon after the time control, but Karjakin played the flawed 37…Qd3. The problem with this move, was that it obligated Black’s knight with the defence of his Queen and this allowed Carlsen’s 38.Nxe6+(!). The necessary 38…fxe6 allowed the White Queen to slip behind Black’s defence and have a constant harassment towards the Black King. And from here a forced draw looked likely.

Carlsen, however, seemed to be trying to prove a point and did not take the draw by repetition. Ultimately, this ended up giving the challenger another crack of the whip. Karjakin once again became more active, and with a nice Queenside passed pawn, steadily improved his position. His 51…h5(!) was like placing a feather on a car that was balancing on the edge of a cliff and White was going to plummet sooner or later. Unfortunately for Magnus Carlsen and his supporters, the Norwegian made it immediately, his 52.h4(??) allowed Karjakin to push his pawn to within a square of queening, with no way for Carlsen to stop it without getting mated.

It was a brutal turn of events for the defending Champion, but ultimately, one that he brought upon himself. Karjakin took the first victory in the match, and a point’s lead.

So what now? Well, I do not subscribe to the belief that Sergey Karjakin is now favourite to take the title. If we look at World Championship history, we see that this is not an unprecedented situation and has some parellels to when Kasparov played Anand for the PCA World Title in 1995. That match, (interestingly enough, also played in New York City),  opened with 8 draws. Kasparov seemed rather lack-lustre and unable to achieve any knockout blows against his opponent.

If my memory serves me well, I recall that one of the chess pundits at the time, was asked what he thought Kasparov had to do in order to win a game. He replied, “lose one,” and this is what happened, when Anand won game nine. Kasparov’s response was to win the next two. Infact, he won four of the next five games and successfully won the PCA World Title 10.5-7.5.

Is it possible that Magnus Carlsen can do the same? Absolutely! Firstly, Carlsen has the same pride and arrogance that Kasparov had when he was at the top and that can not be under-estimated. He has the same belief that he is invincible and can out play his opponents and shatter their futile defences — “I do not accept the concept of the fortress … I just normally break through”. In game 8, he has been shown that although he might be right in most circumstances, he can not take liberties.

Game 8 will have hurt him, embarrassed him (he lost it twice), and this might be just what is needed to spur him on and to persuade him to roll his sleeves up, drop the half measures and fight for his title. I don’t even think that the title is the issue, or the money for that matter, I think he will want to show Karjakin and the chess World that this is not how it goes. That he can turn it on at will and that he is still number 1.

It has to be said, however, that with 8 games played of a 12 game match, he has a lot less time to recover his situation than Kasparov did with 9 out of 18. If he wants to win the match without needing tiebreaks (which of course he does) then he needs to win … now. The next games of the match, will be perhaps the toughest test that we have seen Carlsen face. He is rarely defeated and has never been behind in a World Championship match. We are about to see how his nerves and character can cope with that.

It can also not be overlooked, that the same test of nerves and character also faces Sergey Karjakin. He came into this match on a level playing field but as the clear underdog. He now finds himself with a lead to protect and the World Title in touching distance. This is also new territory for him. Karjakin said himself, in the press conference after game 8, that there was a lot of chess left in this match yet and I agree.

I would also not bet against more drama.

{ Annotations by John Lee Shaw for www.hotoffthechess.com. }
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. e3 e6 4. Bd3 c5 5. b3 {Carlsen chooses the Colle System,
perhaps a statement that he wants to stay away from theoretical debate and
just take Sergey Karjakin on in a straight battle of playing chess. The Colle
System is a bit like using 1.Nf3 as the first move — handled well, it can be
very flexible and potent, but without a clear plan it can result in passivity
and an easy game for Black.} Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Bb2 b6 8. dxc5 {Following
Gonzalez Rodriguez-Cruz, Barcelona 2010, which was drawn in 47.} Bxc5 {
Deviating from the above game, which continued …bxc5. This position shows up
4 times in my database, and has a good showing for Black with 2 wins and 2
draws.} (8… bxc5 9. c4 Bb7 10. Nc3 Nbd7 11. Rc1 Re8 12. Qe2 Rc8 13. Rfd1 Qc7
14. cxd5 exd5 15. Bf5 d4 16. exd4 Bd6 17. Qd3 Bxf3 18. Qxf3 Bxh2+ 19. Kh1 Qf4
20. Nd5 Nxd5 21. Bxd7 Qxf3 22. gxf3 Bf4 23. Rxc5 Rxc5 24. dxc5 Re2 25. Bd4 Rxa2
26. Bb5 Nc7 27. Bc4 Rd2 28. Rxd2 Bxd2 29. c6 a6 30. Bb6 Bf4 31. Kg2 Kf8 32.
Bc5+ Ke8 33. Kh3 h5 34. Kh4 g6 35. Bb6 Ke7 36. Bxc7 Bxc7 37. Bxa6 Kd6 38. Bc4
Bd8+ 39. Kg3 Kxc6 40. Bxf7 g5 41. Bxh5 Bc7+ 42. Kg4 Bf4 43. Kf5 Kb6 44. Bf7 Kc5
45. Ke6 Kb4 46. Kd7 Bc1 47. Kc6 Bd2 {1/2-1/2 (47) Gonzalez Rodriguez,J (2409)
-Cruz,C (2536) Barcelona 2010}) 9. Nbd2 {Magnus Carlsen handles the position
in his own way. Qe2 was the norm before this game.} Bb7 {Continuing to develop,
Black can’t lag behind too much on that.} 10. Qe2 {Yet again transposing to
familiar territory, which is not a surprise with this opening.} Nbd7 {Usually
with this setup of pieces, Black has the move, but in this case it is White,
so one could say that White has obtained a move in hand here, but Black will
not be too unhappy with the situation.} 11. c4 {Carlsen chooses the most
direct continuation and who can blame him? The main alternatives were Rad1 and
e4.} dxc4 {by no means an obligatory capture, Karjakin could have prepared for
the possible opening of the c-file with …Rc8. …Qe7 would also have been
useful, preparing to bring his King’s rook to d8.} 12. Nxc4 Qe7 13. a3 a5 14.
Nd4 Rfd8 15. Rfd1 Rac8 16. Rac1 Nf8 {The Knight is on its way to g6 — a
slight time investment here, but the piece will be a lot better placed there,
supporting e5 and potentially eyeing h4.} 17. Qe1 {At the time, I thought this
was a flexible waiting move, and with the idea of keeping the opponent
guessing. The pawn thrust b3-b4 is something that Karjakin will have to keep
an eye on now, and it is not beyond the realms of possibility that a later Qc3
could cause some problems, lining bishop and Queen up along the long diagonal.}
Ng6 {With approximate equality and I suppose it is here that the game begins.
It is certainly the point at which it gets rather strange … or “crazy” as
Karjakin put it.} 18. Bf1 {A second ‘quiet’ move, possibly preparing to defend
the Kingside, possibly also simply unmasking the rook along the d-file.
However, there was some speculation that Magnus was playing the provokation
game, enticing Karjakin to undertake some kind of action. If this was the case,
it seemed to work.} Ng4 {…Nh4 was also possible, but doesn’t seem to lead to
much after Qe2. This move seems more logical to me anyway, with …Qg5 a
natural possibility also.} 19. Nb5 {A bit of a figurative flick of the hand
here, as Carlsen ignores Black’s undertakings on the Kingside.} Bc6 {I am not
sure why Karjakin played this, it is possible that he allowed Carlsen to
distract him. I don’t really see any reason why Black should not play …Qg5
here, even though h3 seems a good response.} (19… Qg5 20. h3 N4e5 {White has
nothing better than to liquidate.} 21. Nxe5 Nxe5 22. Bxe5 Qxe5 23. Rd2 (23. b4
axb4 24. axb4 Bf8 {engines say that Black is way better, here, but they must
see something I don’t, I think both should hold fine.}) 23… Bf8 24. Rxc8 Rxc8
) 20. a4 Bd5 {This move is partly in response to the threat of Na7, forking
the Rc8 and Bc6. Also, though, the c and d files are closed off now and this
means that the players have to be sharp and bear the possibility of these
files opening with exchanges and discoveries in mind. It is all tension.} 21.
Bd4 Bxc4 22. Rxc4 {Carlsen preferring to recapture with rook rather than bishop.
I think this is just a question of taste.} (22. Bxc4 Bxd4 23. Nxd4 Nf6 {
Is fairly equal I think, but White has perhaps more influence in the position.}
) 22… Bxd4 23. Rdxd4 {Engines prefer exd4 here, but I am not so sure, the
move just looks aesthetically bad. And White has no threat with it, Black will
play …Nf6 and …Nd5 and I think be fine.} Rxc4 24. bxc4 {This was the first
worrying sign for me, that Magnus Carlsen was perhaps trying a bit too hard in
this game and risked over-pushing. It is true that he now has a pawn lever,
but the potential to use it is not great, Karjakin has good resources and has
shown that he can use them well so far in this match. Sometimes in chess one
has to just accept that there is nothing there and live to fight another day,
not respecting the board can be extremely detrimental.} Nf6 25. Qd2 Rb8 26. g3
Ne5 27. Bg2 h6 28. f4 Ned7 29. Na7 {Both players were in quite pressing time
trouble and this would heavily influence events up to move 40.} Qa3 30. Nc6 Rf8
31. h3 ({an interesting way to draw, was} 31. Rxd7 Nxd7 32. Qxd7 {when Black
must be accurate} Qxe3+ {and neither player can do anything from here with
correct play.} 33. Kf1 Qc1+ 34. Kf2 Qxc4 35. Ne7+ Kh8 36. Bf3 Qc5+ 37. Kg2 {=})
31… Nc5 {Starting to assume the initiative in the game} 32. Kh2 Nxa4 33. Rd8
g6 34. Qd4 Kg7 35. c5 {?? This was a horrible move by Magnus Carlsen, (Rd7 Nc5,
Ra7=), and gives Sergey Karjakin big chances to win this game. However,
Karjakin was getting very short on time — did Carlsen gamble here and try to
make the Russian think in order to find the best continuation? Or was he just
trying to split the black pawns and straight blundered? We will perhaps never
know.} Rxd8 36. Nxd8 Nxc5 {So far so good for Karjakin, he is finding the
right moves under intense pressure and has a winning stance.} 37. Qd6 Qd3 {
?? Karjakin returns the favour of a blunder and allows Magnus Carlsen back in
to the game. Correct and winning was …Qa4.} (37… Qa4 {Any move White makes,
here, he is losing and his fate is in Black’s hands. Nxe6+, which Carlsen
played in the mainline, obviously does not work now, because the knight is
free to move, recapturing on e6 and Black’s King stays snug.}) 38. Nxe6+ {
! Carlsen finds the saving grace.} fxe6 39. Qe7+ Kg8 40. Qxf6 a4 41. e4 {
And Black, even with those lovely pawns on the Queenside, can not prevent
White from drawing, here.} Qd7 {Karjakin took a bit of a think for this move,
he was at move 41 having to fight further for a draw — 1 or 2 quicker moves
and he could have been sitting at the board having made the time control,
totally and utterly winning.} 42. Qxg6+ Qg7 43. Qe8+ Qf8 {and now, the game
should continue Qg6+ Qg7 and repeat for the draw. Magnus Carlsen, however, had
other ideas.} 44. Qc6 Qd8 45. f5 a3 {correctly pushing his pawn, taking on f5
was suicide.} 46. fxe6 Kg7 47. e7 {47.Qb5 was also possible, when Black should
be ok after 47…Nxe6 but needs to be accurate.} (47. Qb5 Nxe6 48. Qb4 Qf8 49.
Qxb6 Kf6 {=}) 47… Qxe7 48. Qxb6 Nd3 {Karjakin, now with bags of time, is now
threatening again and White needs to be careful. One can’t push ones luck too
many times and expect to get away with it.} 49. Qa5 Qc5 {It is very clear that
Black is the one influencing this game now.} 50. Qa6 Ne5 {Very accurate, the
knight is well placed on e5, for both attack and defence. I believe that
Norwegian TV had been hearing comments that Magnus Carlsen was the only player
interested in winning in the match and that Sergey Karjakin was only
interested in draws. Well, if that was the case, he had lots of other moves to
choose from here.} 51. Qe6 h5 {This move is the equivalent of placing a
feather on a car that is dangerously balanced on a cliff, wonderful chess from
Sergey Karjakin — Magnus Carlsen is dead in the water now. His next move
speeds that up considerably.} 52. h4 {?? One can’t give enough question marks
for this move, it is one of the worst moves I have witnessed Magnus Carlsen
play. He completely takes his eye off of 1). Black’s a2 pawn, 2). the
g4-square, 3). Black’s knight, and 4). unforgivably, his own King.} a2 {
!! White can not safely prevent the Black a-pawn from queening. Upon Qxa2, (to
moves such as Qa6, Black plays Qd4 with the same situation), Black plays
decisively, with …Ng4+. Should the White King go to h1, it is mate quickly
by means of …Qc1+, Bf1 Qxf1#. Kh3 would delay matters, but after Qg1 the
White King is not escaping. And here, Magnus Carlsen resigned and Sergey
Karjakin took a point lead in the match — 4.5-3.5} 0-1

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