Carlsen vs. Nepomniachtchi: World Championship – Game 4

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 4 of the Carlsen – Nepomniachtchi ended in yet another draw! However, the path to the split point was anything but dull. Magnus unleashed a novel approach against a sharp Petroff variation which produced serious imbalances. Nepomniachtchi was out of his preparation but managed to navigate the double-edged positions with high accuracy thus securing a hard-earned draw.

Now, without further ado, let’s take a close look at game 4 of the Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi Match!

I hope you enjoyed today’s special presentation of round 4 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 5 from the Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi Match.

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Date: November 30, 2021
Location: Dubai UAE
Tournament: FIDE World Championship Match 2021
Round: 4
Opening:
Submitted by:
Published on: November 30, 2021
Tags: Daily Chess Musings’ Special Coverage of the 2021 FIDE World Championship Match, FIDE, World Champion Magnus Carlsen, 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, Catalan, Ian Nepomniachtchi, 2021 FIDE World Championship Match between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi, Ruy Lopez, GAME3-EricRosen, DailyChessMusings.com, Daily Chess Musings’ Special Coverage, Game 4 of the Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi match, second game of the FIDE World Championship had plenty of drama and surprises, Game 4, Chris Torres, Petroff defense, Match between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi, https://fideworldchampionship.com, Petroff variation, Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi match
Categories: Daily Chess Musings, Magnus Carlsen, Ian Nepomniachtchi, FIDE Chess World Championship 2021

[Event "FIDE World Championship Match 2021"] [Site "Dubai UAE"] [Date "2021.11.30"] [Round "4"] [White "Carlsen Magnus (NOR)"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi Ian (RUS)"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Chris Torres"] [ECO "C42"] [Eco "C42"] { [ PETROFF'S def.,C42] Carlsen Magnus (NOR) +11 =9 -4 Nepomniachtchi Ian (RUS) +0 =0 -1 } 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 { The Russian Game which is also known as Petroff's Defense. } 3.Nxe5 d6 { In 1824, the Russian chess master Alexander Petroff demonstrated that black could play Nxe4 but that it is better to preface it with 3... d6. For this important contribution, the opening is named after him. } ( 3...Nxe4 4.Qe2 Nf6 5.Nc6+ { Is an infamous trap referenced by Damiano in the early 1500's. } ) 4.Nf3 ( 4.Nc4 Nxe4 5.Qe2 Qe7 6.Ne3 Nc6 7.Nd5 Nd4 8.Nxe7 Nxe2 9.Nd5 c6 10.Bxe2 cxd5 11.Nc3 Be6 12.Nb5 Kd7 13.d3 Nc5 14.Bf3 Be7 15.Nc3 d4 16.Ne2 Bf6 17.b3 Bf5 18.Kd1 Rab8 19.Bb2 Ne6 20.Bd5 a6 21.Re1 h5 22.a4 h4 23.h3 Bg6 24.a5 Rh5 25.Bf3 Rc5 26.Ra4 Rbc8 27.Bxd4 Nxd4 28.Nxd4 Bxd4 29.Rxd4 Rxc2 30.Rc4 Bxd3 31.Rxc8 Rxc8 32.Re3 Bc2+ 33.Kd2 Bf5 34.Bxb7 Rc2+ 35.Kd1 Rc5 36.b4 Rb5 37.Bxa6 Rxb4 38.Ra3 Be4 39.f3 Ba8 40.Kc2 d5 41.Kc3 Rf4 42.Bd3 Kc7 43.a6 g5 { ...1-0, Carlsen Magnus (NOR) 2872 - Caruana Fabiano (ITA) 2822 , Internet 6/14/2020 It \"Clutch Chess Showdown\" } ) 4...Nxe4 5.d4 { By letting the black knight stay on e4 for a while, White intends to win tempi for the development attacking him later with his pieces. } ( 5.Nc3 { Nimzowitsch choice is another popular option. Play continued in Anand vs Kramnik, 2008 with } 5...Nxc3 6.dxc3 Be7 7.Bf4 O-O 8.Qd2 Nd7 9.O-O-O Nc5 { = } 10.Be3 ( 10.Nd4 Re8 11.f3 Ne6 12.Be3 Bg5 13.Bxg5 Qxg5 14.Qxg5 Nxg5 15.Bc4 Ne6 16.Rhe1 Kf8 17.Nxe6+ Bxe6 18.Bxe6 Rxe6 19.Rxe6 fxe6 20.Kd2 Ke7 21.Ke3 Rf8 22.Rd4 Rf5 23.h4 a5 24.a4 Rh5 25.g3 Re5+ 26.Re4 Rd5 27.Rd4 Re5+ 28.Re4 Rd5 { 1/2-1/2, Harikrishna P 2673 - Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2674 , Lausanne 19. 9.2005 It \"Lausanne Young Masters\" } ) 10...Re8 11.Bc4 Be6 12.Bxe6 Nxe6 13.h4 Qd7 14.Qd5 ( 14.Qd3 Qa4 15.Ng5 Nf8 16.Qd5 Bxg5 17.hxg5 Qe4 18.c4 Qxd5 19.cxd5 Nd7 20.Rd3 f6 21.Rc3 Rac8 22.Rh4 Re7 23.Rhc4 Nb6 24.Bxb6 axb6 25.gxf6 gxf6 26.a4 Kf8 27.Kd2 Rg7 28.g3 Ke8 29.Rf3 Rg6 30.Rh4 h6 31.Re4+ Kd7 32.Re6 Rf8 33.c4 h5 { ...1-0, Svidler Peter 2750 - Bacrot Etienne 2705 , Morelia 22. 2.2006 It (cat.20) } ) ( 14.Kb1 Qb5 15.Rh3 Rad8 16.Ng5 Bf8 17.a4 Qxa4 18.Qd3 Nxg5 19.hxg5 Qe4 20.Qe2 Qxg2 21.Rdh1 Qe4 22.Rh4 Qf5 23.Qc4 Re7 24.Rh5 Rde8 25.Qh4 Re4 26.Qh2 f6 27.gxf6 Qxf6 28.Rxh7 R8e5 29.Qg2 d5 30.R1h6 Qf5 31.Bc5 Re7 32.Bxe7 Rxe7 33.Rh3 Qxh7 { ...1-0, Istratescu Andrei 2622 - Karpov Anatoly 2672 , Bucharest 22. 3.2005 Match } ) 14...Qc6 ( 14...Qa4 15.Ng5 Qc6 16.c4 Qxd5 17.cxd5 Nxg5 18.hxg5 f6 19.gxf6 Bxf6 20.c4 Re4 21.b3 Rae8 22.Kc2 h6 23.Kd3 Bg5 24.Bxg5 hxg5 25.Rh5 Rf4 26.f3 Rf5 27.Rdh1 Kf7 28.Rh8 Rfe5 29.Rxe8 Rxe8 30.g4 a5 31.a3 b6 32.Ra1 Kf6 33.b4 Ra8 34.Kc3 { ...1/2-1/2, Shirov Alexei 2739 - Motylev Alexander 2645 , Wijk aan Zee 20. 1.2007 It (cat.19) } ) 15.Qf5 ( 15.Qh5 Qc4 16.Ng5 Bxg5 17.hxg5 Nf8 18.Rdg1 Re4 19.Rh3 Rae8 20.Rgh1 Qe6 21.Qd1 b6 22.b3 d5 23.Qd3 c6 24.Kb2 Qg6 25.a4 Qe6 26.Rh5 c5 27.g6 Nxg6 28.Rxh7 f5 29.g3 Re7 30.R1h5 d4 31.cxd4 cxd4 32.Bd2 Ne5 33.Qb5 d3 34.Be3 dxc2 { ...0-1, Cabrera Alexis 2499 - Ipatov Alexander 2265 , Mislata 26. 8.2007 It (open) } ) 15...Qc4 ( 15...Nf8 16.h5 Qd7 17.Qd5 Qe6 18.c4 Qxd5 19.cxd5 Nd7 20.Nd4 Nf6 21.Nf5 Bf8 22.Bd4 Nxd5 23.Bxg7 Ne7 24.Nxe7+ Rxe7 { 1/2-1/2, Svidler Peter 2732 - Gelfand Boris 2733 , Mexico City 16. 9.2007 Ch World } ) ( 15...a5 16.h5 a4 17.a3 Qc4 18.Kb1 b6 19.Bd4 Ra5 20.Qg4 h6 21.Rhe1 Bf8 22.Nd2 Qb5 23.Ne4 Kh8 24.Ng3 Nxd4 25.cxd4 d5 26.Rxe8 Qxe8 27.Nf5 Ra8 28.Qf3 c6 29.Rd3 Qd7 30.Qg4 Rd8 31.Re3 c5 32.dxc5 d4 33.Qxd4 Qxd4 34.Nxd4 Bxc5 35.c3 { ...1/2-1/2, Volokitin Andrei 2678 - Gashimov Vugar 2663 , Crete 4.11.2007 Ch Europe (team) } ) ( 15...g6 16.Qh3 h5 17.Kb1 Qe4 18.Nd2 Qg4 19.Qh2 Bf6 20.f3 Qa4 21.g4 Ng7 22.Ne4 Be5 23.Bf4 Qb5 24.g5 Re6 25.Bxe5 Qxe5 26.Nf6+ Kh8 27.Qf2 Qf5 28.Rhe1 Rd8 29.Qxa7 Qxf3 30.Rf1 Qg2 31.Nd5 Re2 32.Nf4 Qe4 33.Nxe2 Qxe2 34.Rde1 Qg2 35.Rxf7 { ...1-0, Fressinet Laurent 2654 - Landa Konstantin 2678 , Ajaccio 25.10.2007 Ch Europe (blitz) } ) 16.Kb1 ( 16.Ng5 Bxg5 17.hxg5 Nf8 18.Kb1 Re5 19.Qd3 Qxd3 20.cxd3 Rae8 21.Rh3 b6 22.Kc2 R5e6 23.Rdh1 f6 24.gxf6 Rxf6 25.d4 d5 26.Kd3 h6 27.Rh5 c6 28.b3 Rg6 29.Rg1 Nd7 30.g4 Nf6 31.Rh4 Ne4 32.Rh5 Nf6 33.Rh4 { 1/2-1/2, Karjakin Sergey 2694 - Kramnik Vladimir 2785 , Wijk aan Zee 13. 1.2007 It (cat.19) } ) 16...g6 17.Qh3 h5 18.Nd2 ( 18.Nd4 Nxd4 19.Rxd4 Qe6 20.Qf3 Bf6 21.Rb4 b6 22.Qc6 Rac8 23.Rd1 a5 24.Rc4 Rcd8 25.a4 Re7 26.Rd5 Qd7 27.g3 Qxc6 28.Rxc6 Ra8 29.Ka2 Kf8 30.Ka3 Ke8 31.b4 axb4+ 32.cxb4 Kd7 33.b5 Re4 34.c4 Re6 35.Kb3 Re5 36.Bxb6 Bd8 37.Rxe5 dxe5 { ...1-0, Bartel Mateusz 2569 - Fridman Daniel 2604 , Germany 9.12.2006 Bundesliga 2006/07 } ) 18...Qe2 19.Rde1 Qg4 20.Qh2 d5 21.f3 Qa4 22.g4 Bd6 23.Qf2 hxg4 { N } ( 23...Ng7 24.c4 dxc4 25.Bd4 Qc6 26.Bc3 Bc5 27.Qg3 Bd6 28.Qf2 Bc5 29.Qg3 Bd6 { 1/2-1/2, Svidler Peter 2732 - Kramnik Vladimir 2785 , Mexico City 21. 9.2007 Ch World } ) 24.fxg4 Qxg4 { +0.07 CAP } 25.Reg1 $15 { ?! } ( 25.Ref1 { !? } 25...Nd8 26.Rhg1 Qe6 27.Re1 Qh3 $10 ) 25...Qh5 26.Nf3 Re7 27.Bg5 Ree8 28.Be3 Re7 29.Bg5 Rd7 30.Nd4 Nxd4 31.Qxd4 Bf8 32.Qe3 c6 33.Qh3 Rd6 34.Bf4 Re6 35.Rg5 Qh8 36.h5 Rae8 37.Bd2 Bc5 38.Rg3 Re2 39.Kc1 Qg7 40.a3 Bd6 41.Rgg1 Bc5 42.Rg3 Bd6 43.Rg4 R8e6 $14 { ?! } ( 43...R2e7 { !? } 44.hxg6 fxg6 45.Rhg1 Re6 46.Qd3 Kf7 47.c4 Be5 $10 ) 44.hxg6 Rxg6 45.Rxg6 fxg6 46.Be3 Qe5 47.Qh7+ Kf8 48.Bd2 Qf6 49.Qxb7 Rh2 50.Re1 Qf2 $16 { ?! } ( 50...Bg3 { !? } 51.Qa8+ Kg7 52.Qxa7+ Qf7 53.Qe3 Bxe1 54.Qe5+ Qf6 55.Qc7+ Kf8 $14 ) 51.Kb1 $10 { ? } ( 51.Rd1 g5 52.Qxc6 Bf4 53.Qxd5 Ke7 54.c4 Bxd2+ 55.Rxd2 Qf4 56.Qd8+ Kf7 57.Qd7+ Kf6 58.Qd8+ $16 ) 51...Qxd2 52.Rf1+ Kg8 53.Qf7+ Kh8 54.Qxg6 Qg2 55.Qe8+ Qg8 56.Qxc6 Bf8 57.Qa8 Bc5 58.Qxg8+ Kxg8 59.Rf5 Rd2 60.c4 Kg7 61.b4 Be7 $15 { 1/2-1/2, Anand Viswanathan (IND) 2783 - Kramnik Vladimir (RUS) 2772 , Wijk aan Zee 1/27/2008 It ( } ) 5...d5 { The most logical and active continuation. Black tries to hold his center. } 6.Bd3 Bd6 { 6... Be7 is another major continuation that was featured in the 1984 World Championship between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov. } ( 6...Be7 7.O-O Nc6 8.c4 Nb4 9.Be2 dxc4 10.Bxc4 O-O 11.Nc3 Nd6 12.Bb3 Bf6 13.h3 Bf5 14.Be3 Re8 15.a3 Nd3 16.Rb1 c5 17.dxc5 Ne4 18.Bc2 Nxb2 19.Qxd8 Raxd8 20.Rxb2 Bxc3 21.Rxb7 Nxc5 22.Bxc5 Bxc2 23.Rxa7 Bd1 24.Re7 Rxe7 25.Bxe7 Rd3 26.Ng5 Bb2 27.Bb4 h6 28.Ne4 f5 29.Nc5 Rd5 30.Re1 f4 31.a4 Rd4 32.a5 Rxb4 33.Rxd1 Bd4 34.Ne6 Ba7 35.Rd7 Rb1+ 36.Kh2 Bxf2 37.Nxf4 Ra1 38.Ne6 Rxa5 39.Rxg7+ Kh8 40.Rf7 Be3 41.Kg3 Bd2 42.Rd7 Bc3 43.Kf3 Kg8 44.Nf4 Rf5 45.Ke4 Rf7 46.Rd8+ Kh7 47.Rd3 Re7+ 48.Kf3 Bb2 49.Rb3 Bc1 50.Nd5 Re5 51.Nf6+ Kg6 52.Ne4 Rf5+ 53.Ke2 Re5 54.Rb4 Re7 55.Rc4 Re8 56.g3 Bb2 57.Kf3 Re6 58.Rc5 Bd4 59.Rd5 Be5 60.Rb5 Bc7 61.Rc5 Bb6 62.Rc8 Bd4 63.Rg8+ Bg7 64.h4 Ra6 65.Kf4 Ra5 66.Re8 Rf5+ 67.Ke3 Re5 68.Rg8 Re7 69.Kf4 Rf7+ 70.Kg4 h5+ 71.Kh3 { 1/2-1/2, Karpov Anatoly (RUS) 2705 - Kasparov Garry (RUS) 2715 , Moscow 1984 Ch World (match) } ) 7.O-O O-O 8.c4 { Exploiting a somewhat shaky stance of the black e4-knight, White tries to seize the initiative in the center. } 8...c6 9.Re1 { One more attempt of attacking Black's centralized knight. White entice the black rook to e8 in order to use the rook's opposition on the e-file in his favor. } 9...Bf5 $14 { /= This continuation leads to more complicatedplay, which is more promising for Black. } 10.Qb3 { after other continuations, like } ( 10.Qc2 Nd7 11.Nc3 Ndf6 12.Ne5 Bg6 13.Nxg6 Bxh2+ 14.Kxh2 Ng4+ 15.Kg1 fxg6 16.Bxe4 Qh4 17.Bf3 Qh2+ 18.Kf1 Rae8 19.Rxe8 Rxe8 20.Ne4 Qh1+ 21.Ke2 Qg1 22.cxd5 cxd5 23.Bxg4 Rxe4+ 24.Kf3 h5 25.Be6+ Kh7 26.Qc8 { 1-0, So Wesley (USA) 2760 - Vazquez Renier (ESP) 2565 , Montpellier 6/ 1/2015 Ch France (team) (Top 12) 2015 } ) 10...Qd7 { Defending the b7 pawn. } 11.Nc3 { Magnus develops by adding another threat to black's knight on e4. } 11...Nxc3 { Under mounting pressure, it's time for black's knight on e4 to leave the board. } 12.Bxf5 Qxf5 13.bxc3 { A safer route than Qxb7. } ( 13.Qxb7 Ne4 14.Qxa8 Qd7 15.cxd5 cxd5 16.Rxe4 Nc6 17.Qxf8+ Kxf8 18.Re2 f6 19.Bd2 g5 20.h3 h5 21.Bc3 Ne7 22.a3 g4 23.hxg4 hxg4 24.Nh4 g3 25.Bb4 Qg4 26.Nf3 Nf5 27.fxg3 Qxg3 28.Bxd6+ Qxd6 { Is a fun line out of my correspondence chess notes. } ) 13...b6 { With it's defender now elsewhere, the pawn on b7 steps forward so as to be protected by it's friend on a7. } 14.cxd5 { Carlsen trades off a double pawn to create and isolated pawn for black. } 14...cxd5 { So bothe sides have a key weakness to for their opponent's to target. Magnus should be targeting black's isolated pawn on d5 while Ian will be looking at attacking white's backward pawn on c3. } 15.Qb5 { Magnus immediately targets the isolated d-pawn while also setting up a threat of playing pawn to c4 to take advantage of the d5 pawn also being pinned to black's queen. } 15...Qd7 { So Ian moves his queen to d7 so that if Magnus plays Qxd5 he will be punished by Bxh2+ with a discovered attack on the white queen. } 16.a4 { So Magnus plays pawn to a4 to weaponize his isolated a-pawn while supporting his queen. } 16...Qxb5 { Nepo responded by exchanging queens. Alternatively he could have played... } ( 16...Rd8 17.g3 Bc7 18.Bg5 f6 19.Bd2 Nc6 20.c4 Ne7 21.Rac1 a6 22.Qxd7 Rxd7 23.c5 Kf7 24.Bb4 bxc5 25.Bxc5 Nf5 26.Rb1 Ba5 27.Re2 h5 28.Rb3 g5 29.Nxg5+ fxg5 30.Rf3 Bd8 31.Rxf5+ Bf6 32.h3 a5 33.Rb2 Ra6 34.Rb5 Ke6 35.Rf3 g4 36.hxg4 hxg4 37.Rf4 Rg7 38.Rb2 Rg5 39.Kg2 Rc6 40.Rb7 Rg6 41.Ra7 Bd8 42.Rf8 Bc7 43.Re8+ Kd7 44.Re7+ Kc8 45.Ra8+ Kb7 46.Rxa5 Rgf6 47.Ra7+ Kc8 48.Rg7 Rfe6 49.Rg8+ { 1-0, Adams Michael (ENG) 2718 - Morozevich Alexander (RUS) 2707 , Wijk aan Zee 1/16/2005 It (cat.19) } ) ( 16...Nc6 17.c4 a6 18.Qxd5 Nb4 19.Qe4 Rae8 20.Qb1 Rxe1+ 21.Nxe1 Qc7 22.Bf4 Bxf4 23.Qxb4 Bxh2+ 24.Kf1 Bd6 25.Qb3 Re8 26.Nf3 a5 27.Qb5 Rc8 28.Rc1 Qc6 29.Qxc6 Rxc6 30.Ke2 f6 31.Kd3 Kf7 32.Rb1 Bb4 33.Ne1 f5 34.Nc2 Be7 35.Rb5 g6 36.d5 Rf6 37.Nd4 Bc5 38.Ne6 Rxe6 39.dxe6+ Kxe6 40.Rb2 Ke5 41.g3 f4 42.Re2+ Kf5 43.Re4 g5 44.gxf4 g4 45.Re8 h5 46.Rh8 h4 47.Rxh4 Bxf2 48.Rh7 g3 49.Rf7+ Kg4 50.Rg7+ Kf5 51.Rf7+ Kg4 52.Ke2 Bd4 53.Rf8 g2 54.Rg8+ Kh3 55.Kf3 g1=Q 56.Rxg1 { ...0-1, Ganguly Surya Shekhar (IND) 2573 - Saptarshi Roy (IND) 2417 , New Delhi 1/21/2006 It (open) } ) 17.axb5 a5 { Advancing the backward pawn with the expectation that Carlsen will capture with bxa6 en passant. } 18.Nh4 { ! Magnus embarks on a very risky strategy. The idea is for the knight to move to f5 where it can threatn black's bishop and then to e7 where it can have a check and fork of the king and isoalted d-pawn. It's brilliant but also risky in that he is allowing Ian to have a protected outside passed pawn on a5. } 18...g6 { Nepomniachtchi responds with g6 to put a stop to the menacing knight. } 19.g4 { Magnus Carlsen is unveiling a novel new approach in a World Championship game. His idea is to move his knight to the now vacant g2 square in order to reposition the knight onto a square where it can again threaten black's isolated queen's pawn. Brilliant stuff! } 19...Nd7 { Regardless of Carlsen's intentions, it obviously makes sense for Ian to develop a knight and unify the rooks. } 20.Ng2 { As expected. } 20...Rfc8 { And Ian is first to engage one of the key pawn targets. } 21.Bf4 { But Carlsen dvelops with a threat against the bishop on d6. } 21...Bxf4 22.Nxf4 { And then recaptures with a knight threat against black's isoalted queen's pawn. So both competitors have simulatneously threatened eachother's weak pawn targets. } 22...Rxc3 { Ian is first to capture as defending d5 with Nf6 fails because of... } ( 22...Nf6 23.g5 Ne8 24.Nxd5 Rcb8 25.Kf1 Nd6 26.Ke2 Nxb5 27.Reb1 Nd6 28.Rxb6 Rxb6 29.Nxb6 Rb8 30.Nd5 Rb2+ 31.Kd3 Rxf2 32.Rxa5 { and white will win from here. } ) 23.Nxd5 { But with Magnus' capture, white's knight is in a perfect position to cause trouble for Ian. } 23...Rd3 { Ian moves his rook out of danger while placing behind Carlsen's passed pawn. } 24.Re7 { Carlsen responds by placing his rook into the seventh while threatening the knight on d7. These themes are familiar to anyone who has studied the famous Thirty Rules of Chess. } 24...Nf8 { This is tactically forced. } ( 24...Rd8 25.Rxd7 Rxd7 26.Nf6+ Kg7 27.Nxd7 Rb3 28.Nxb6 Rxb5 29.Nc4 Rb4 30.Rc1 { and white will win. } ) ( 24...Nb8 25.Nxb6 { The rook on a8 is trapped. } 25...Rxd4 ( 25...Nc6 26.bxc6 Rd8 27.d5 ) 26.Nxa8 Nd7 ) 25.Nf6+ Kg7 26.Ne8+ Kg8 27.d5 { Beautiful! Magnus defends his pawn with a potential fork. } 27...a4 { So Ian pushes his passed pawn. } 28.Nf6+ { Repositioning the knight with check. } 28...Kg7 29.g5 { Magnus supports the knight while introducing the idea some potential checkmating schemes into the discussion. } 29...a3 30.Ne8+ { Pawn to d6 is a tense alternative for white. } ( 30.d6 Ne6 31.d7 Rb8 32.Re8 Rd8 33.Kf1 R3xd7 34.Rxe6 fxe6 35.Nxd7 Rxd7 36.Rxa3 { but would be a draw with optimum play. } ) 30...Kg8 31.Nf6+ { And after playing several brilliant and tricky innovations, Magnus Carlsen will have to settle for a draw on his 31st birthday. } 31...Kg7 32.Ne8+ Kg8 33.Nf6+ { The draw is official. Magnus was brilliant in game 4 but Ian Nepomniachtchi was unshakable. } 1/2-1/2