The World Chess Championship match between Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin, resumed on Monday 14th November after the rest day. The match had seen two rather straight-forward draws so far, and when game 3 produced a Berlin Defence, the expectations of a fight were not high. Indeed, social media was extremely negative and dismissive of any potential, with many calling the draw almost straight away. And this is understandable, the Berlin Defence is so heavily analysed and deep in theory, that the sharpness required for exciting chess can be lacking in the games.
However, humans are not perfect beings and human chess can produce the unexpected. In this game, that is exactly what happened.
The game saw Magnus Carlsen with the White pieces, and once again he took a rare line in a common opening. His 10.Re2 has been seen only a handful of times before and prompted Sergey Karjakin to once again slump into a deep think of 25-minutes. The game proceeded in a very casual way, with nothing of event, which increased the damnation from many observers, amateur and professional. White held some advantage, but as can be the case in the Berlin, Black held things together and was solid enough that nothing drastic was possible.
That was until Karjakin’s 30…Ra2, which was out of context. All of a sudden, the challenger seemed to switch from solid and tight play, to some delusion of grandeur and aggression. Coupled with his following move, 31…c5, things had become tough for him. Carlsen smelled blood, and pressed, but in all fairness, it was not his best day at the office. He is unquestionably a genius at our game, but in this instance he missed a few critical moves during the course of the game and did not capitalise as we would expect him to. As resilient as always in defence, Karjakin fought extremely admirably and obtained some play on the Kingside, particularly a passed h-pawn. With this, and some of Carlsen’s moves, which were good but just not good enough, he was able to throw enough spanners in the works, that White could not continue to push in the end, due to Black’s own threats.
A very tense and exciting draw was the result.
After the game, Magnus Carlsen was obviously disappointed, he should have won this game. When asked if he was worried about what he will find when he looks at it, he replied, “yes, absolutely”. Quite rightly, he undoubtedly let his opponent off the hook and this is extremely unlike him. Sergey Karjakin seemed the happier of the two, and I think that this is very logical. It goes without saying that he made mistakes, and he admitted to being badly prepared for 10.Re2. However, he survived, against one of the most powerful players in the world and is still level in the match. Simply put, both players messed up in this game, but Magnus Carlsen made the final, most crucial mistakes.
With the scores at 1½ points each, the match continues on Tuesday 15th November, with Sergey Karjakin having the white pieces for game 4. I can not help but feel that we could see a game, the challenger must come out and use some momentum, and attempt to have Carlsen rueing his missed chances. It makes no sense at all to me, for Karjakin to come out and play safe and give Carlsen a day off to regroup before his next white game. If Sergey Karjakin wants to win this match, game 4 could be when he makes that abundantly clear.
[Site “New York City”]
[Date “2016.11.12”]
[Round “3”]
[White “Carlsen, Magnus”]
[Black “Karjakin, Sergey”]
[Result “*”]
[ECO “C67”]
[Annotator “Shaw,John Lee”]
[PlyCount “156”]
[EventDate “2016.11.12”]
[EventCountry “USA”]{Annotations by John Lee Shaw for www.hotoffthechess.com.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bb5 {The Ruy Lopez. Karjakin played this in game 2, now it’s Carlsen’s turn.
} Nf6 {The Berlin Defence, possibly the most hated combination of moves by
chess spectators. The reason is that it has been so heavily analysed that it’s
theory goes extremely deep and can often produce very dull, eventless draws.}
4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 {Wise development, masking the discovery
potential by the knight and preparing to castle out of the danger area.} 7. Bf1
Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re2 {Carlsen plays a rare line, with only 4
games showing up in my database. Re1 is the norm. Karjakin took quite a think
here before playing his next move — was he unprepared for this?} (10. Re1 Nf5
11. c3 d5 {is how things usually go, with a smll, enduring pull for White.})
10… b6 {Played after a 25-minute think. It is a logical move, intending to
develop the light-squared bishop on the long diagonal. Of course, Black’s
knight is a bit of a problem on d6.} (10… Nf5 11. c3 d5 12. Bf4 b6 {=}) 11.
Re1 {So now we get to the position that we should have had at the last move.
This may seem strange to the observer, Carlsen is clearly testing the scope of
his opponent’s preparation with very rare lines. And this is producing results
(25-minute thinks) and telling him how Karjakin will handle surprises. So far,
the answer is quite well!} Re8 12. Bf4 Rxe1 {Black is quite happy to draw this
game, and exchanging suits him. Especially with his knight on d6, which is a
very horrid piece.} 13. Qxe1 Qe7 {Very logical chess, and perhaps this reveals
Karjakin’s match strategy, especially with Black. He will play solidly and
keep things tight, making Carlsen work for any advantages and needing to take
risks.} (13… Bxd4 {would be a very embarrassing mistake} 14. Bxd6 cxd6 15.
Qe4 Bxb2 16. Qxa8 Bxa1 17. Ba6 {winning.}) 14. Nc3 Bb7 15. Qxe7 {This decision
is based widely upon the fact that Black has problems, his pieces are not
ideal. The best piece in the board is the Queen and therefore it makes sense
to get it off the board. Normally, one might want to play something like Qd2
and then Re1, but the problem with that is that after Qd2, Black can play Ne4
and solve the issue of his Nd6 — Carlsen wants that piece to stay there as
long as possible, or for it to cost Black time in order to improve it.} Bxe7
16. a4 {Re1 would be more natural and normal, but Carlsen takes a different
route. It reminds me of a boxer switching to South Paw, the World Champion
seems to be being deliberately unorthodox and ‘out-of-the-box’.} (16. Re1 Kf8
17. Bd3 Bf6 18. Be5 Re8 19. Kf1 {This seems rather nice for White, but it is
not going to be easy to generate substantial play.}) 16… a6 {This move
doesn’t hurt, stopping the White Knight getting up to any mischief via b5.} 17.
g3 {To play Bg2 and exchange bishops, thus enabling the White Knight to go to
d5. Carlsen was asked in the press conference about g4 here instead, with the
idea to play g5 and h4 — he said he rather liked that idea.} (17. g4 f5 18. g5
Re8 19. h4 Kf7 20. Re1 {Is very unclear, Black is probably ok though.}) 17…
g5 18. Bxd6 Bxd6 19. Bg2 Bxg2 20. Kxg2 f5 {I think of the two players,
Karjakin would perhaps be the happier here. He did not have a very good
opening at all and has not really had huge problems from it. Right now, his
situation is fine.} 21. Nd5 Kf7 22. Ne3 Kf6 {This could be a case of seeing if
White has any interest in repeating, with Nd5+ Kf7, Ne3 Kf6 etc.} 23. Nc4 {
Carlsen makes it clear that he has no desire to repeat … just yet at least.}
(23. Nd5+ Kf7 24. Ne3 Kf6) 23… Bf8 24. Re1 Rd8 {Karjakin was critical of
this move, which he felt hurt him. It actually seems quite valid, but his
feeling that …d5 would have been better seems quite just.} (24… d5 25. Ne5
Bd6 {=}) 25. f4 gxf4 26. gxf4 {This pawn sticks out a mile as a weakness, now,
with no particular piece to defend it other than the King.} b5 {With White’s
arena on the Kingside, Black wants to generate play on the Queenside. This is
good, logical chess, but Black has to be careful — he can not afford more
weaknesses.} 27. axb5 axb5 28. Ne3 {Eyeing the f5-pawn straight away, the
knight was on its way here anyway.} c6 29. Kf3 {Activating the King and
clearing the g-file for the rook.} Ra8 30. Rg1 Ra2 {This is where I felt that
the game started to go wrong for Karjakin. The move just looks wrong, and
almost like a delusion of grandeur. Black should be focussing on tidying up
his weaknesses rather than moves such as this which are out of context. After .
..Bh6, I am not sure where the game could have gone. Instead, White has a
little something.} 31. b3 {Made with the intentions of playing either Rg5 or
d5 next} c5 {This is a bad move, and really opens the door for Magnus Carlsen.
Black has made things far more dicey for himself than he had to and now there
is tension and weakness on both flanks for him. This is very puzzling to me,
Karjakin should be concentrating on avoiding weakness and making Carlsen push
(perhaps over-push) if he wants to win. Instead, he seems to have tried to
generate something himself, and this was overly optimistic. The mood of the
game switches from here and White now has good potential.} (31… d5 32. Rg5
Ke6 33. Rxf5 Bg7 {and White has to be accurate, here.} 34. Rh5 Bxd4 35. f5+ Kd6
36. Rh6+ Kd7 37. Rxh7+ Kd6 38. Rh6+ Kd7 39. Re6 Bxe3 40. Rxe3 Rxc2 {should be
holdable}) 32. Rg8 {Carlsen highlights a third weakness in Black’s tally, this
bishop. Should it move, say to d6, then White plays Rg5 and the threat is to
take on c5 and then play Rxf5+. Black’s position is very critical here.} Kf7
33. Rg2 {A nice finesse, White will win a pawn now.} cxd4 {Black has nothing
better than to go with the flow.} 34. Nxf5 d3 {If Karjakin is going to lose a
pawn, he will at least do it on his terms, busting White’s structure.} 35. cxd3
Ra1 {…Ra3 may have been slightly better, here.} (35… Ra3 {giving White
something to sort out} 36. Rb2 Bg7 (36… Bb4 {this seems to give White a
better game.} 37. h4 Kf6 38. Ne3 Bc5 39. Nc2 Ra8 {and Black is defnitely in a
tough situation.}) 37. Rb1 b4 38. h4 Bf6 39. Nd6+ Ke6 40. Nc4 {and Black is
fighting.}) 36. Nd4 b4 37. Rg5 Rb1 38. Rf5+ Ke8 39. Rb5 Rf1+ {I don’t quite
understand this move, which helps White to move his King up the board.} 40. Ke4
Re1+ 41. Kf5 {The pressure on Black is building now, White has a very
aggressive stance. Black has to do everything he can to limit activity for his
opponent, throw distractions in his way, or he will be smothered.} Rd1 42. Re5+
Kf7 43. Rd5 Rxd3 44. Rxd7+ {This seemed to be the way to go if White wanted to
win, but Ke4 was a very good alternative.} (44. Ke4 {with the likely
continuation as follows} Rh3 45. Rxd7+ Ke8 46. Rb7 Rxh2 47. Nf3 Re2+ 48. Kf5
Bd6 49. Rxh7 Re3 50. Nd2 Bf8 {with a very clear edge to White, but by no means
easy to convert, especially against one who can defend like Karjakin.}) 44…
Ke8 45. Rd5 Rh3 46. Re5+ Kf7 47. Re2 {As good as White’s control of the game
is, he doesn’t want to be allowing Black too much play.} Bg7 48. Nc6 {Crafty
Carlsen sets up a trap.} Rh5+ {Karjakin does not take the bait amnd instead
plays the move offering most resistance. In the case of …Rxb3?? he would be
resigning shortly afterwards.} ({a humungous blunder, would be} 48… Rxb3 49.
Nd8+ Kg8 50. Re8+ Bf8 {with Kf6 or Ne6 meaning that Black is toast.}) 49. Kg4
Rc5 50. Nd8+ Kg6 51. Ne6 h5+ {The crux of this game now, is whether White can
achieve activity and take space, forcing Black on the back foot. Karjakin is
putting up a very resilient defence.} 52. Kf3 Rc3+ 53. Ke4 Bf6 54. Re3 {
Carlsen said in the press conference that he felt pretty good about his
chances up to this point. And it does indeed seem that Black is managing to
throw enough spanners in the works in order to prevent White from making too
much headway.} h4 {Perhaps …Rc2 and …Kf7 were worth a look, but in any
case, Black can’t take on e3, White would be winning after Kxe3} 55. h3 Rc1 56.
Nf8+ Kf7 57. Nd7 Ke6 58. Nb6 Rd1 59. f5+ Kf7 60. Nc4 Rd4+ {Black is virtually
equal here, White doesn’t have the freedom he needs in order to force his
advantage home.} 61. Kf3 Bg5 62. Re4 Rd3+ 63. Kg4 Rg3+ (63… Bf6 {looks
natural but would be a mistake as Black’s pieces are badly situated and the
White knight can take advantage.} 64. Re6 {the threat is Nd6+, with Ne8 a
possibility should Black err and play …Kg7 for example. This is serious as
Black doesn’t want to be moving backwards or taking his bishop off of the
h-pawn.} Rg3+ 65. Kf4 {And now, the bishop must move due to Nd6+, however, the
question is to where?} Bg7 (65… Ba1 66. Nd6+ {…Kg8 allows White to get the
rooks off with Rg6+ and after …Kf8 he would just push the f-pawn.}) 66. Nd6+
Kg8 67. Rg6 {is winning.}) 64. Kh5 Be7 65. Ne5+ Kf6 66. Ng4+ {With a winning
position — but ‘winning’ does not mean ‘won’. The question is whether White
can force the issue or not.} Kf7 67. Re6 Rxh3 {There is nothing better than
this, though …Rxb3 and …Kf8 were alternatives. Both led to very long
endgames that White should win with good play. This line is no different.} 68.
Ne5+ Kg7 69. Rxe7+ {Those watching the game online felt that there was no way
that Black could hold on now. And in a way, they are right, but in human chess
one can never be sure of anything.} Kf6 70. Nc6 Kxf5 {A slip, …Rc3 would
have drawn with correct play. Instead, White can still press.} (70… Rc3 71.
Re6+ Kxf5 72. Nd4+ Kf4 73. Ne2+ Kf5 74. Re8 Rh3 {And Black has enough
counterplay and resources to save the point here.}) 71. Na5 (71. Re1 {May have
been more fruitful, but even so, it takes 20 moves of extremely pristine
technique.} Kf4 72. Rf1+ Ke4 73. Na5 Rh2 74. Kg4 Ra2 75. Nc6 Rg2+ 76. Kxh4 Rb2
77. Na5 Ra2 78. Nb7 Ke5 79. Rd1 Rh2+ 80. Kg4 Rf2 81. Rd8 Rg2+ 82. Kf3 Rh2 83.
Na5 Kf6 84. Kg4 Rg2+ 85. Kf4 Rf2+ 86. Ke4 Rg2 87. Nc6 Ke6 88. Nd4+ Ke7 89. Rb8
Kd6 90. Rb6+ Kc7 91. Rxb4 {with a hugely winning position.}) 71… Rh1 72. Rb7
{an inaccuracy, White needed his rook more involved in the goings ons on the
Kingside. Black has an escape.} (72. Rf7+ Ke6 73. Rf2 Ra1 74. Nb7 h3 75. Kh4 {
and Black is probably done, here}) 72… Ra1 {And Karjakin, ever resourceful,
finds it.} 73. Rb5+ Kf4 74. Rxb4+ Kg3 75. Rg4+ Kf2 76. Nc4 h3 77. Rh4 Kg3 78.
Rg4+ Kf2 {and there is no way for White to proceed here, without Black’s
h-pawn advancing. The players agreed a draw. Match standing 1.5 points each.} *[/pgn]
