Carlsen vs. Nepomniachtchi: World Championship – Game 1

Greetings chess players. My name is Chris Torres, and this is Daily Chess Musings’ Special Coverage of the 2021 FIDE World Championship Match between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi.

Game 1 of the Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi match was a passionately fought battle which culminated in a draw. Along the way, Magnus Carlsen used a rare line in the Ruy Lopez to instigate the loss of his center pawn in return for space and force. These imbalances left Ian Nepomniachtchi on the defensive for most of the game. With plenty of subtle tactical ideas at play and so much at stake, game 1 of the 2021 FIDE World Championship Match was truly a modern classic.

So, without further ado, let’s examine some incredible chess!

I hope you enjoyed today’s special presentation of round one from the 2021 FIDE World Championship Match between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi. For more on the match please visit the official website at https://fideworldchampionship.com. Additionally, please take a moment to like this video and subscribe to my Daily Chess Musings YouTube channel. Finally, be sure to check out DailyChessMusings.com to find my notes to this video as well as thousands of other free learning resources. My name is Chris Torres, and I will see you tomorrow with a special presentation of round 2 from the Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi Match.

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Date: November 26, 2021
Location: Dubai UAE
Tournament: FIDE World Championship Match 2021
Round: 1
Opening:
Submitted by:
Published on: November 27, 2021
Tags: second game of the FIDE World Championship had plenty of drama and surprises, Chris Torres, Chess24.com, https://fideworldchampionship.com, Daily Chess Musings, Daily Chess Musings’ Special Coverage of the 2021 FIDE World Championship Match between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi, Daily Chess Musings YouTube channel, DailyChessMusings.com, Daily Chess Musings’ Special Coverage, GAME2-EricRosen-7084, Magnus Carlsen versus Ian Nepomniachtchi, Daily Chess Musings’ Special Coverage of the 2021 FIDE World Championship Match, FIDE, Magnus Carlsen, 2021 FIDE World Championship Match between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi, Ruy Lopez, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Match between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi,  , Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi, Game 2 of the Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi match, Chess World Championship Match, Game 2, World Champion Magnus Carlsen, Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi match, Magnus and Nepo rivalry, Catalan, Legends of Chess
Categories: FIDE Chess World Championship 2021, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Magnus Carlsen, Daily Chess Musings

[Event "FIDE World Championship Match 2021"] [Site "Dubai UAE"] [Date "2021.11.26"] [Round "1"] [White "Nepomniachtchi Ian (RUS)"] [Black "Carlsen Magnus (NOR)"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Chris Torres"] [ECO "C88"] [Eco "C88"] { [ RUY LOPEZ,C88] Nepomniachtchi Ian (RUS) +4 =1 -0 Carlsen Magnus (NOR) +3 =9 -1 } 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 { This is the Ruy Lopez which is one of the most common openings played at all levels of chess. Also known as The Spanish Game, the Ruy Lopez is named after the 16th century Spanish priest Ruy Lopez de Segura who devoted a famous manuscript about chess which contained deep analysis of The Spanish Game. } 3...a6 { The most common move for black immediately puts the question to white's bishop and is known as The Morphy Defense. } 4.Ba4 ( 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.O-O ( 5.Nxe5 { Is an elementary mistake because... } 5...Qd4 { Forks both the knight on e5 and the pawn on e4. } 6.Nf3 Qxe4+ 7.Qe2 Qxe2+ 8.Kxe2 { with white losing their right to castle. } ) ) 4...Nf6 5.O-O { The most common move follows the old addage of castling as soon as possible. } 5...Be7 { Black is preparing to castle as well. } 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O { By castling here, Magnus is inviting a theoretic discussion in the sharp and well elaborated Marshall counter attack. } 8.h3 { Ian chooses a less pricipaled continuation to avoid the Marshall counter attack that has become quite popular recently. Nevertheless, this anti-Marschall system can be quite venomous as we will soon see. Ian had additionally used 8. a4 to avoid the Marshall. } ( 8.a4 b4 9.d4 d6 10.dxe5 Nxe5 11.Nbd2 Nxf3+ 12.Nxf3 Bb7 13.Qd3 Nd7 14.Be3 Bf6 15.Bd4 Bxd4 16.Qxd4 a5 17.h3 Re8 18.Re3 Qf6 19.Qc4 Nc5 20.e5 Qg6 21.Ba2 Bxf3 22.Rxf3 Rxe5 23.Rxf7 d5 24.Qxc5 Qxf7 25.f4 Qxf4 26.Bxd5+ Kh8 27.Rf1 Rxd5 28.Qxd5 Qe3+ 29.Kh2 Qe8 30.Rf5 h6 31.Re5 Qf8 32.Qe4 c6 33.Re6 Rc8 34.Qe5 Kh7 35.Re7 Rd8 36.Qe4+ Kh8 37.b3 Rd4 38.Re8 Rxe4 39.Rxf8+ Kh7 40.Rf5 Re2 41.Rc5 Kg6 42.Rxc6+ Kf5 43.Kg3 Rd2 44.Kf3 g5 45.g3 Rh2 46.Rc5+ Kg6 47.Rxa5 Rxc2 { ...1-0, Nepomniachtchi Ian (RUS) 2773 - So Wesley (USA) 2760 , Jerusalem 12/16/2019 It \"FIDE Grand Prix\" } ) ( 8.c3 d5 { The ultra complex and aggressive Marshall Gambit! } 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 c6 { Marshall's original ideas of Nf6 and Bb7 are considered weaker than c6 but whichever path is chosen, players of both colors have to know these variations inside and out in order to be successful. } ) 8...Na5 { Not a popular move over the board but a move correspondence chess players are familiar with. The idea for black is a common one in the Ruy Lopez which is to trade the knight for the bishop at the cost of the e5 pawn and then strike back at the center with d5. The most common move is 8... Bb7 which Magnus has, of course, also played in key games. } ( 8...Bb7 9.d3 d6 10.a3 Nb8 11.Nbd2 Nbd7 12.Nf1 Re8 13.Ng5 d5 14.exd5 Bxd5 15.Bxd5 Nxd5 16.Qh5 Bxg5 17.Bxg5 f6 18.Bd2 Qe7 19.Ng3 Qf7 20.Qf3 Nf8 21.Nf5 Ne7 22.Nxe7+ Qxe7 23.a4 Rab8 24.axb5 axb5 25.Ra6 Qd7 26.Rea1 Ne6 27.Be3 Rbd8 28.Qc6 Qxc6 29.Rxc6 Kf7 30.Ra5 Rb8 31.Raa6 Rb7 32.g3 Nd8 33.Rc5 Ne6 34.Rcc6 Nd8 35.Rc5 Ne6 36.Rcc6 { 1/2-1/2, Nakamura Hikaru (USA) 2736 - Carlsen Magnus (NOR) 2872 , Internet 5/30/2020 It \"Lindores Abbey\" (Final 8) } ) 9.Nxe5 { With no way to save the bishop on b3, white mise as well take on e5. } 9...Nxb3 10.axb3 Bb7 11.d3 d5 { As expected, Magnus strikes back at the center with d5. } 12.exd5 Qxd5 { Magnus develops the queen with the threat of mate in 1 on g2. } 13.Qf3 { Nepo deals with the threat by playing Qf3. This is best and quite tricky.Alternatively, he could have played Nf3 which isn't as sharp but black's piece placement is just way better. } ( 13.Nf3 ) 13...Bd6 { Adds another attacker on e5. } 14.Kf1 { ! This is a brilliant move which takes care of the issues regarding Nc3 (see note). Of course tarding queens was also playable. } ( 14.Qxd5 Nxd5 15.Bd2 f6 16.Nf3 Ne7 17.Nd4 Rfe8 18.Nc3 c5 19.Nde2 Nf5 20.f3 c4 21.bxc4 Bc5+ 22.Kh2 bxc4 23.dxc4 Bf2 24.Red1 Re7 25.Bf4 Rae8 26.Rd2 g5 27.Ng3 Nxg3 28.Bxg3 Be3 29.Rd3 h5 30.h4 Rc8 31.b3 f5 32.hxg5 Bxg5 33.Ra5 h4 34.Bd6 Rf7 35.Nd5 h3 36.f4 Bd8 37.Rc5 Rxc5 38.Bxc5 hxg2 39.Bd4 Bc7 40.Rh3 Bxf4+ 41.Nxf4 Rh7 42.Rxh7 Kxh7 43.Nd5 Kg6 44.Kxg2 f4 45.Be5 Kf5 46.Bxf4 Ke4 47.Kf2 a5 48.Bd2 a4 49.Nc3+ Kd4 50.Nxa4 Be4 51.Bc3# { 1-0, Grinberg Eyal (ISR) 2472 - Zlatin Alexander (ISR) 2296 , Skopje 3/20/2019 Ch Europe } ) ( 14.Nc3 { ?? The commonly used motif of Developing the knight with a threat against the queen is a blunder because... } 14...Qxe5 15.Rxe5 ( 15.Qxb7 Qxe1# ) 15...Bxf3 16.Re1 Bc6 ) 14...Rfb8 { ! A brilliant move by Carlsen which prtoects the bishop on b7 to renew the threat of Qxe5. } ( 14...Qxe5 { ? Doesn't work as well after Kf1 was played because... } 15.Qxb7 Qh2 16.Qf3 Rfe8 17.Be3 { and now the white king can escape to e2 if black plays Qh1+. } 17...Qh1+ 18.Ke2 Qh2 19.Kd1 a5 20.Nc3 { and white would be a pawn up with better piece placement. } ) 15.Qxd5 { Trading queens is now the best way to deal with Magnus' threats. } 15...Nxd5 { And after the exchange of queens white Ian is up a pawn but Magnus has excellent compensation in his piece placement. } 16.Bd2 { Ian activates a piece and stops Magnus from playing Nb4. } 16...c5 { Ian may have an extra pawn on the queenside but Magnus' pawn minority controls more space. } 17.Nf3 { And even this position has been seen at least 5 times in high level correspondence chess games. So again, as we've seen in the all the past World Championship matches in recent memory, the best over the board players are pulling ideas from the correspondence chess datatbases. } 17...Rd8 { The rook is no longer needed to protect the bishop on b7 so it moves to a more active file. } 18.Nc3 { Nepo develops another piece and finally unifies his rooks. } 18...Nb4 { But the side effect of white placing his knight on c3 is that Magnus can place his on b4 where it threatens the c2 pawn. } 19.Rec1 { So Ian moves his rook to defend c2. } 19...Rac8 { And Magnus moves also moves the a-rook to the c-file. Right here, my computer suggests that white is actually slightly better but I think I would actually prefer to play the black side here with all of Magnus' wonderfully placed pieces. } 20.Ne2 { Moving the knight back to e2 actually give it better options including f4 and g3. Additioanlly, now that white bishop on d2 is targeting the knight on b4. } 20...Nc6 { Carlsen's knight on b4 was defended enoguh but Magnus is famous for out-maneuvering his opponents in these types of tricky engames so he backs off to find greener pasteurs for his horse. Had he left it on b4, Ian could have captured it... } ( 20...Be7 21.Bxb4 cxb4 22.d4 { and perhaps even get a passed pawn. } 22...Bf6 { But one that would be hard for white to maintain. } 23.c3 h6 24.Rc2 bxc3 25.bxc3 Bxf3 26.gxf3 Bxd4 { and even if black were to win the passed pawn... } 27.Rxa6 { [%csl db3,dc3,db5] [%c_square b3;square;b3,c3;square;c3,b5;square;b5] White gets a 2 on 1 queenside pawn majority. } 27...Bf6 28.Rb6 Rd5 { Certainly not winning for white but i am guessing 10 out of 10 grandmasters would choose to play white side here. } ) 21.Be3 { If Nepo wants a draw he could liquidate material quickly with 21. d4. } ( 21.d4 cxd4 22.Nexd4 Nxd4 23.Nxd4 Be5 24.c3 Bxd4 25.cxd4 Rxc1+ 26.Rxc1 Rxd4 { And this would be a sure draw at this level. } ) 21...Ne7 { From e7 Magnus's knight can find good activity on f5 or d5. } 22.Bf4 { ?! Ian's play here surprised me. I am sure Magnus was expecting Ng3 because had Ian wanted to place his bishop on f4 he could have done it straight away a move ago. } ( 22.Ng3 { !? } 22...Nd5 23.Bd2 Bf8 24.Ne2 Nb4 25.Ne1 { and white would still be winning but also still defending. } ) 22...Bxf3 { Magnus is ok losing his bishop pair to create longterm pawn weaknesses for white. } 23.gxf3 Bxf4 24.Nxf4 Rc6 { The rook defends a6 but also has lots of interesting poswsibilities along the sixth rank. } 25.Re1 { Ian takes an open file for his rook. } 25...Nf5 { Magnus' knight was pushed to relocate to a square it had been eyeing anyways. } 26.c3 { Ian stops black's knight from moving to d4. } 26...Nh4 { So Magnus moves the knight to h4 where it threatens the weak pawn on f3. } 27.Re3 { and Ian of course moves his rook to e3 to where it can defend f3 but still be in the open file. } 27...Kf8 { The old adage states that \"the king must be active in the endgame.\" and Carlsen abides. Additionally, blacks king controls e7 lest Ian get any ideas of placing a rook there. Still, playing pawn to g6 should also be considered. } ( 27...g6 28.Ke2 h6 29.Rg1 Rcd6 30.Re5 Kf8 { was another possibility that looks very equal. } ) 28.Ng2 { Nepo has had enough of Carlsen's knight hanging around his kingside so he offers a trade. } 28...Nf5 { Carlsen declines and threatens Ian's rook. } 29.Re5 { So Ian moves his rook to a safe square where it in turn threatens Magnus' knight. } 29...g6 { So Carlsen ends up playing g6 at any rate. } 30.Ne1 { Obviously to defend d3. But there seems to be a more natural way for white to do this here such as Ke2. } ( 30.Ke2 Ng7 31.h4 h5 32.Re4 Ne6 33.f4 Rcd6 34.Re3 Ng7 35.Rd1 { [%cal dg2e3,dg2f4,dg2h4] [%c_arrow g2e3;from;g2;to;e3,g2f4;from;g2;to;f4,g2h4;from;g2;to;h4] [%csl de3,df4,dh4] [%c_square e3;square;e3,f4;square;f4,h4;square;h4] But, after exploring the variation, white's knight isn't very good on g2 either so I suppose 30. Ne1 was reasonable after all. } ) 30...Ng7 { Magnus is giving himself the possibility to play pawn to f5 while again trying to out-maneuver Nepo. } 31.Re4 { Nepo puts his rook onto an open rank. } 31...f5 { Only to be hit by Magnus' f5 pawn thrust. } 32.Re3 { and now back to e3. } 32...Ne6 { and Magnus is eyeing placing his kingt on f4. } 33.Ng2 { So Ian plays Ng2 to stop the threat of Nf4 from black. } 33...b4 { Magnus is having his way with this position and it's a beautiful thing to watch. Playing b4 threatens to open the b file or c file and if white plays c3-c4 it will allow black to play Nd4. } 34.Ke2 { Nepo moves his king closer to the action. Again, in the endgame, the king is a very useful piece and should become active. } 34...Rb8 { Carlsen plays rook to b8 so that it will be unleashed after bxc3. } 35.Kd2 { and Nepo get's his king into position to defend in a nick of time. } 35...bxc3+ 36.bxc3 { Recapturing with the king would have been a horrific mistake! } ( 36.Kxc3 { ? Allows the black knight to advance to d4. } 36...Nd4 37.Ra2 Rxb3+ 38.Kd2 { And I am sure Magnus would have won from here. } ) 36...Rxb3 { However, now Magnus has even upped the material. } 37.Kc2 { Ian's king is where it needs to be. } 37...Rb7 38.h4 { To stop Magnus from playing Ng5. } 38...Kf7 39.Ree1 { Ian reconnects the rooks so that they can fight for any file. } 39...Kf6 { Magnus' king suddenly becomes very active. } 40.Ne3 { Ian plays Ne3 in route to playing Nc4. Nepo's pieces are finally coordinating nicely. } 40...Rd7 41.Nc4 { and now the white knight sees alot of good squares but the biggest threat to Magnus is obviously Ne5. } 41...Re7 { sliding out of the knight fork and into an open file. } 42.Ne5 { Even without the fork, this is still a strong move. } 42...Rd6 { Magnus moves his other rook to safety. } 43.Nc4 { To which Ian returns his knight to c4 and threatens it again. } 43...Rc6 { Rinse } 44.Ne5 { repeat } 44...Rd6 { and } 45.Nc4 { A hard fought game 1 of the 2021 FIDE World Championship Match ends in a draw. } 1/2-1/2