Carlsen vs. Nepomniachtchi: World Championship – Game 2

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 2 of the Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi match was a tense struggle which ended in a draw. Magnus Carlsen had white and chose an early rare move in the Catalan. However, his plan nearly backfired after the World Champion made a costly mistake. However, just when it looked like Ian Nepomniachtchi might win game 2, he also played inaccurately! Meaning the second game of the FIDE World Championship had plenty of drama and surprises.

Now, without further ado, let’s take a close look at game 2 of the Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi Match!

I hope you enjoyed today’s special presentation of round 2 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 3 from the Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi Match.

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Date: November 27, 2021
Location: Dubai UAE
Tournament: FIDE World Championship Match 2021
Round: 2
Opening:
Submitted by:
Published on: November 28, 2021
Tags: GAME2-EricRosen-7084, Daily Chess Musings’ Special Coverage of the 2021 FIDE World Championship Match, FIDE, 2021 FIDE World Championship Match between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi, Ruy Lopez, Match between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi, Game 2 of the Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi match, Chris Torres, Game 2, Daily Chess Musings, Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi match, DailyChessMusings.com, Catalan, Ian Nepomniachtchi, second game of the FIDE World Championship had plenty of drama and surprises, World Champion Magnus Carlsen, https://fideworldchampionship.com, Daily Chess Musings’ Special Coverage of the 2021 FIDE World Championship Match between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi, Daily Chess Musings YouTube channel, Daily Chess Musings’ Special Coverage
Categories: Ian Nepomniachtchi, FIDE Chess World Championship 2021, Daily Chess Musings, Magnus Carlsen

[Event "FIDE World Championship Match 2021"] [Site "Dubai UAE"] [Date "2021.11.27"] [Round "2"] [White "Carlsen Magnus (NOR)"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi Ian (RUS)"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Chris Torres"] [ECO "E05"] [Eco "E05"] { [ CATALAN SYSTEM,E05] Carlsen Magnus (NOR) +0 =5 -1 Nepomniachtchi Ian (RUS) +0 =1 -0 } 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 O-O 6.O-O { So Magnus has chosen the Catalan Opening which uses the combined structures of the Reti Opening and the Queen's Gambit. } 6...dxc4 7.Qc2 { Typical for an Open Catalan where white can attempt to regain the pawn with Qc2. } 7...b5 { Of course black can defend the pawn with b5 which is the mainline. } ( 7...a6 8.a4 Bd7 9.Qxc4 Bc6 10.Bg5 ( 10.Bf4 Bd6 11.Nc3 Nbd7 12.Rfe1 Bxf4 13.gxf4 Nb6 14.Qd3 Nbd5 15.e3 Nb4 16.Qd2 a5 17.Rac1 Qe7 18.Red1 Rfd8 19.Qe2 Bxf3 20.Bxf3 c6 21.Ne4 Nxe4 22.Bxe4 Qh4 23.Kh1 g6 24.Rg1 Rd7 25.Rg5 Nd5 26.Rcg1 Kh8 27.Qf3 Qh6 28.Qg3 f5 29.Bf3 Rg8 30.h4 Nf6 31.Rg2 Qf8 32.h5 gxh5 33.Rxg8+ Nxg8 34.Bxh5 Rg7 35.Qxg7+ Qxg7 36.Rxg7 Kxg7 37.Kg2 Nf6 38.Bd1 h6 39.Bb3 Kf7 40.f3 Ke7 41.Kg3 Kd6 42.Kh4 b5 43.Kg3 Nd5 44.e4 Nb4 45.Kf2 Nd3+ 46.Ke3 Nxb2 47.Bc2 { ...0-1, Ragger Markus (AUT) 2657 - Carlsen Magnus (NOR) 2870 , Dubai 6/19/2014 Ch World (blitz) } ) 10...Nbd7 11.Nc3 h6 12.Bxf6 Nxf6 13.b4 Bd5 14.Nxd5 exd5 15.Qb3 c6 16.e3 Bd6 17.Rfd1 Re8 18.b5 axb5 19.axb5 Rxa1 20.Rxa1 Qb6 21.Ne1 Ne4 22.Bxe4 dxe4 23.Rb1 c5 24.Nc2 cxd4 25.Nxd4 Be5 26.Qd5 Bxd4 27.Qxd4 Qxd4 28.exd4 Rd8 29.Rc1 Rxd4 30.Rc8+ Kh7 31.Rc7 b6 32.Rxf7 e3 33.fxe3 Rd5 34.Rb7 Rxb5 35.Kg2 Kg6 36.Kf3 Kf6 37.h4 h5 38.Kf4 Rf5+ 39.Ke4 Re5+ 40.Kf4 Rf5+ 41.Ke4 Re5+ 42.Kf4 Rf5+ { 1/2-1/2, Giri Anish (NED) 2768 - Nepomniachtchi Ian (RUS) 2774 , Internet 6/21/2020 It \"Chessable Masters\" (Gp B) } ) ( 7...c5 8.dxc5 Bxc5 9.Qxc4 Qe7 10.Nc3 a6 11.Bg5 Nbd7 12.Qh4 h6 13.Bf4 e5 14.Bg5 hxg5 15.Nxg5 Nb6 16.Be4 g6 17.Qh6 Re8 18.Nxf7 Qxf7 19.Bxg6 Qg7 20.Qxg7+ Kxg7 21.Bxe8 Nxe8 22.Rac1 Be7 23.Rfd1 Be6 24.Ne4 Bxa2 25.Nc5 Bd5 26.e4 Bc6 27.f3 Kf7 28.Nd3 Ke6 29.h4 Nf6 30.Kf2 Rf8 31.Ke3 Rg8 32.Rg1 Bf8 33.g4 Rh8 34.Rh1 Bb5 35.Nc5+ Bxc5+ 36.Rxc5 Nc4+ 37.Kf2 Nxb2 38.Rc7 Bc6 39.Rg7 Nd3+ 40.Ke3 Nf4 41.h5 Rd8 42.h6 Rd3+ 43.Kf2 Bxe4 44.fxe4 Nxe4+ 45.Kg1 Rg3+ 46.Kf1 Rg2 47.h7 { ...0-1, Vachier-Lagrave Maxime (FRA) 2794 - Xiong Jeffrey (USA) 2629 , Internet 8/30/2017 Tournament \"chess.com\" (blitz) (1/4 final) (3m+2s) } ) 8.Ne5 $15 { Magnus advances his knight to the e5 outpost unleashing a discovered attack from his bishop onto black's a8 rook. Previously, this early knight excursion was considered premature. The mainline for white is playing 8. a4 to undermine black's defence of c4. } ( 8.a4 { !? } 8...Bb7 9.axb5 a6 10.Nc3 axb5 11.Rxa8 Bxa8 12.Nxb5 Bd5 13.Bf4 c5 14.dxc5 Qa5 15.Nc3 Qxc5 16.Rc1 Rc8 17.Nxd5 Nxd5 $14 ) 8...c6 { Blocking the threat With c6 and now black's queenside pawn structure is reminiscent of the Slav. } ( 8...Qxd4 9.Bxa8 Qxe5 10.Bf4 Qh5 11.Bf3 Ng4 12.Bxg4 Qxg4 13.Nc3 Qh5 14.Qe4 b4 15.Nd1 Qd5 16.Qxd5 exd5 17.Ne3 Be6 18.Bxc7 Nc6 19.Rfd1 d4 20.Nc2 Rc8 21.Bf4 g5 22.Bd2 c3 23.Bc1 Bf6 24.Ne1 Bf5 25.Nd3 Re8 26.Kf1 Bh3+ 27.Ke1 Bg4 28.e3 dxe3 29.Bxe3 cxb2 30.Rab1 Bc3+ { 0-1, Korevand Sina (IRI) 2197 - Mousavi Seyed Khalil (IRI) 2487 , Rasht 12/ 6/2018 Ch Iran (team) (Super League) } ) ( 8...Nd5 9.a4 c6 10.Nc3 f6 11.Nf3 b4 12.Nb1 Ba6 13.e4 b3 14.Qd1 c3 15.bxc3 Bxf1 16.Bxf1 Nc7 17.Qxb3 Kh8 18.Na3 f5 19.exf5 exf5 20.Ne5 Nd5 21.Qb7 Qc7 22.Rb1 Qxb7 23.Rxb7 Rc8 24.Bc4 Rc7 25.Rxc7 Nxc7 26.Nc2 Nd5 27.Nxc6 Nxc6 28.Bxd5 Rc8 29.Bd2 Na5 30.Ne3 g6 31.Kf1 Rb8 32.Ke2 Nb3 33.Be1 Ba3 34.Nc4 Be7 35.Ne5 Na5 36.Kd3 Rb1 37.Bd2 Ra1 38.Nc6 Nxc6 39.Bxc6 Rb1 40.Bb5 g5 41.Bd7 Rh1 42.Bxf5 Rxh2 43.Be3 Rh6 44.d5 Ra6 45.Bd7 Kg7 46.Bb5 Rd6 47.Bc6 h5 48.Bxa7 { ...1/2-1/2, Biermann Lenhard (GER) 2056 - Skabs Denis (GER) 1874 , Dortmund 7/15/2019 It (open) } ) 9.a4 { Attacking the b5 support for c4 by thrusting a pawn to a4 is a common theme in the Catalan. } 9...Nd5 { +0.00 CAP } 10.Nc3 { ?! Adding to the pressure on b5. Also worthy of consideration is playing axb5 immediately. } ( 10.axb5 { !? } 10...cxb5 $15 ) 10...f6 { This will send white's knight away but also weakens black's king safety and e6 pawn. } 11.Nf3 Qd7 $10 { Those playing black should strongly consider advancing the b5 pawn to b4. } ( { 'better is' } 11...b4 { 'better is' } 12.Nd1 Ba6 13.Bd2 c5 14.e4 b3 15.Qc1 Nb4 16.Bxb4 cxb4 17.Ne3 Qc8 18.d5 c3 19.Nd4 Bxf1 20.Bxf1 cxb2 21.Qxb2 $17 ) 12.e4 { Carlsen gains a second center pawn free of tempo because it's threatening the knight on d5. } 12...Nb4 { Nepo's knight is in route to d3. } 13.Qe2 Nd3 14.e5 { Ian will need to be extra careful about opening up the center being that Magnus has much better development. } 14...Bb7 { Not a square where the bishop has a lot of scope but Ian realises that catching up on development is priority number 1. } 15.exf6 Bxf6 16.Ne4 Na6 { Capturing another pawn with Bxd4 would have been too greedy. } ( 16...Bxd4 17.Nxd4 Qxd4 18.Ng5 Qd7 19.Qe4 Rf5 20.Be3 { and Carlsen would have been very happy with his superior force at play. } ) 17.Ne5 $15 { This is a mistake. } ( 17.Nxf6+ { !? } 17...gxf6 18.Bh6 { Black's king is very vulnerable. } 18...Rf7 19.Ne1 { Working on eliminating black's dangerous knight. } 19...Nab4 20.Nxd3 Nxd3 21.b3 { undermining the knights defense. } 21...Qxd4 22.bxc4 bxc4 23.Qxe6 Nxf2 24.Be3 Qg4 25.Qd6 Ne4 26.Qf4 Qxf4 27.Rxf4 f5 { Black's pawn structure is a mess while white is left with the bishop pair and slightly better chances. } ) 17...Bxe5 { Carlsen must have missed this capture followed by Nac5. } 18.dxe5 Nac5 19.Nd6 { Both sides have knights in the sixth. Fun stuff! } 19...Nb3 { But now Ian is guaranteed to win material. } 20.Rb1 { ?! Magnus, very uncharacteristically, makes another mistake. } ( 20.Be3 { !? } 20...Nxa1 21.Rxa1 a6 22.Be4 Nxe5 23.Qh5 Ng6 24.Rd1 Qc7 25.a5 Rab8 26.Ba7 Qe7 27.Bxb8 Rxb8 28.Qc5 Rd8 29.Kg2 Nf8 $15 ) 20...Nbxc1 21.Rbxc1 Nxc1 22.Rxc1 Rab8 { Up the exchange, Ian is looking to put his extra rook to work in the b-file. } 23.Rd1 { Magnus places his rook in the same file as his opponent's queen. Now the knight can move with a discovered attack which of course is very dangerous for black. } 23...Ba8 { Ian plays a nice move which keeps his bishop on the diagonal of interest while improving the influence of his b8 rook. } 24.Be4 { Because of the discovered attack, Carlsen could have taken a free pawn with Nxb5. However, he instead places his bishop where it can take aim at black's king. It's not hard to imagine white launching a kingside attack with Qh5 and maybe Rd4. } 24...c3 { ?! Now it's Nepo's turn to make a mistake. c3 is not even a useful distraction as white can still play Nxb5 or simply just bxc3. Qe7 would have given black winning chances. } ( 24...Qe7 { !? } 25.Qh5 g5 26.Bg2 Rbd8 27.Qh6 b4 28.Bh3 c3 29.bxc3 bxc3 30.Rc1 Kh8 31.Qxe6 Qxe6 32.Bxe6 Rb8 33.Rxc3 c5 34.Rc1 $17 ) 25.Qc2 { Magnus forms a queen and bishop battery which obviously threatens h7. } 25...g6 { Stops the threat but creates more open space around the king. } 26.bxc3 bxa4 $15 { Opening up the b-file for the rook but Qg7 was the best move for black. } ( 26...Qg7 { !? Adds to the king's protection while threatening the e5 pawn. } 27.f4 a5 $17 { Threatening further trouble for white on the queenside however I would have been vbery excitied to see g5 played. } ( 27...g5 { With excellent attacking chances for black. } ) ) 27.Qxa4 { After Magnus takes this pawn the position is roughly equal. } 27...Rfd8 { and there are a plethora of pins at play. } 28.Ra1 { forms a battery on a7. } 28...c5 { But Nepo finally releases the energy of his bishop onto the diagonal of contention. } 29.Qc4 { Magnus likes his attacking chances so he doesn't go for the pawn capture because it would also exchange queens. } 29...Bxe4 30.Nxe4 { With the big threat of Nf6+ fork. } 30...Kh8 { Ian's king wisely steps aside. } 31.Nd6 { And Magnus knight returns to its ideal outpost. } 31...Rb6 { Preparing to coordinate the rooks into a b-file battery. } 32.Qxc5 { After Magnus takes this pawn, equality is reached as his beautiful knight and extra pawn balance out against second rook. } 32...Rdb8 33.Kg2 a6 34.Kh3 Rc6 35.Qd4 Kg8 36.c4 Qc7 37.Qg4 { Threatening e6. } 37...Rxd6 { Nepo has finally had enough of the knight on d6 and takes it with the rook. } 38.exd6 Qxd6 39.c5 { Nice little tactic to win a pawn. } 39...Qxc5 40.Qxe6+ Kg7 41.Rxa6 { Magnus has a slight advantage but not really enough to win. } 41...Rf8 { Thretening f2. certainly not 41... Qxf2 because... } ( 41...Qxf2 { ?? } 42.Qe5+ { white with the rook and indeed game winning fork. } ) 42.f4 Qf5+ { Being a pawn down and with less king safety, Ian is happy to echange queens into a simple rook and pawn drawn endgame. } 43.Qxf5 Rxf5 { A rook with three pawn against a rook with two pawns with the pawns on the same side is a textbook drawing position. } 44.Ra7+ Kg8 45.Kg4 Rb5 46.Re7 Ra5 47.Re5 Ra7 48.h4 Kg7 49.h5 Kh6 { blocking white's king from g5. } 50.Kh4 { Even the great Magnus Carlsen isn't strong enough to overpower a few hundred years of rook and pawn endgame theory. } 50...Ra1 51.g4 Rh1+ 52.Kg3 gxh5 53.Re6+ Kg7 54.g5 Rg1+ 55.Kf2 Ra1 56.Rh6 Ra4 57.Kf3 Ra3+ 58.Kf2 Ra4 { And the players agree to a draw in game 2 of the 2021 FIDE World Chess Championship Match. } 1/2-1/2