Carlsen vs. Nepomniachtchi: World Championship – Game 6 Part 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 6 was the first decisive game of the 2021 World Championship game. Magnus Carlsen beat the Russian challenger grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi in a game that I can only describe as being historic both in terms of its length and importance. So historic in fact, that I will be breaking it up over three videos.

The first time control of Game 6 was a rollercoaster ride with Carlsen using a non-forceful opening setup with the white pieces to avoid opening theory in favor of actually playing chess. On move 17, Nepo rejecting an opportunity to swap queens and later offered Magnus Calrsen the opportunity to trade his queen for two rooks. Carlsen agreed to this exchange which created mega imbalances. A fierce skirmish ensued with both players so low on time that they were both literally seconds away from immediately losing. Under this extreme time pressure, Carlsen uncharacteristically missed some important opportunities and when the dust settled on move 40, both players received an additional hour to continue the fight from an equal yet wonderfully imbalanced position.

Now, without further ado, let’s take a close look at Part 1 of 3 from game 6 of the Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi Match!

I hope you enjoyed today’s special presentation of part one of game 6 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 next time with a special presentation of part 2 of game 6 from the Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi Match.

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Date: December 3, 2021
Location: Dubai UAE
Tournament: FIDE World Championship Match 2021
Round: 6
Opening:
Submitted by:
Published on: December 6, 2021
Tags: World Champion Magnus Carlsen, Game 6 of the Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi match, Daily Chess Musings’ Special Coverage of the 2021 FIDE World Championship Match between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi, Game 6, Daily Chess Musings’ Special Coverage, Daily Chess Musings’ Special Coverage of the 2021 FIDE World Championship Match, 2021 FIDE World Championship Match between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi, Match between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi, Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi match, Catalan, second game of the FIDE World Championship had plenty of drama and surprises, https://fideworldchampionship.com, Daily Chess Musings YouTube channel, FIDE, Chris Torres, Ruy Lopez, Daily Chess Musings, Petroff variation, DailyChessMusings.com, Petroff defense, Ian Nepomniachtchi, GAME5-EricRosen
Categories: Daily Chess Musings, Magnus Carlsen, Ian Nepomniachtchi, FIDE Chess World Championship 2021

[Event "FIDE World Championship Match 2021"] [Site "Dubai UAE"] [Date "2021.12.03"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Carlsen Magnus (NOR)"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi Ian (RUS)"] [Result "*"] [Annotator "Chris Torres"] [ECO "D02"] [Eco "D02"] { [ QUEEN'S PAWN GAME,D02] Carlsen Magnus (NOR) +31 =12 -4 Nepomniachtchi Ian (RUS) +5 =6 -4 Carlsen Magnus (NOR)-Nepomniachtchi Ian (RUS) +0 =1 -0 } 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.g3 { Magnus steers the game into an offbeat Queen Pawn Opening. } 3...e6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.b3 { Had Carlsen played 6. c4 and then dxc4 we would be returning to the Catalan as in game 2. With 6. b3, it seems Carlsen is avoiding opening theory in favor of just playing chess. } 6...c5 { Nepo replies to his opponent's unambitious opening by taking a bolder approach toward the center. } ( 6...Nbd7 7.Bb2 b6 8.c4 Bb7 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.Nbd2 c5 11.Rc1 Rc8 12.Nc4 b5 13.Nce5 N7f6 14.dxc5 Rxc5 15.Rxc5 Bxc5 16.Nd3 Be7 17.Qa1 b4 18.Rc1 Qa5 19.Nfe5 Rd8 20.Nc6 Bxc6 21.Rxc6 Ne8 22.Rc2 Bf6 23.Rc5 Qa6 24.Bxd5 exd5 25.Kf1 Be7 26.Rc2 Qe6 27.Qc1 h6 28.Kg1 Nf6 29.Bd4 a5 30.Nf4 Qf5 31.Rc7 Bd6 32.Bxf6 Qxf6 33.Nxd5 Qe6 34.Nf4 Qe8 35.Rc2 Qe4 36.Nd3 Re8 37.Qd2 h5 38.Ne1 Bf8 39.Nf3 g6 40.Qd3 Qe7 41.Qb5 Qe4 42.Rd2 Bg7 43.Qd3 Qe7 44.Kg2 Bc3 45.Rc2 Rd8 46.Qc4 { ...1/2-1/2, Kurajica Bojan (CRO) 2555 - Spraggett Kevin (CAN) 2610 , Dos Hermanas 7/??/2006 It (open) (active) } ) 7.dxc5 { Carlsen captures the c5 pawn losing his center pawn but coaxing black to spend a second opening tempo on his dark bishop. } 7...Bxc5 8.c4 { Now ow, Carlsen attacks the center. } 8...dxc4 { Ian captures the pawn losing his center pawn as well. } 9.Qc2 { Carlsen side steps the trade of queens by activating his queen to c2 as he did in the deceptively similar game 2 Catalan. I say deceptively similar because the differences between this and what happened in game 2 are not small as white has a pawn on b3 instead of a Ne5 and black has bishop on c5 with no pawn on b5. In chess, a couple of small differences make a world of difference. } ( 9.bxc4 Qc7 10.Bf4 Qe7 11.Nbd2 Nc6 12.Nb3 Rd8 13.Qc2 e5 14.Bg5 Be6 15.Nxc5 Qxc5 16.Rab1 b6 17.Bxf6 gxf6 18.Nd2 Nd4 19.Qd3 Rac8 20.Rfc1 Bg4 21.Nb3 Nxe2+ 22.Qxe2 Bxe2 23.Nxc5 Rxc5 24.Rb4 Rdc8 25.Bb7 Rxc4 26.Rbxc4 Rxc4 27.Rxc4 Bxc4 28.a3 Kf8 29.f4 Ke7 30.Kf2 Kd6 31.Ke3 a5 32.fxe5+ fxe5 33.Ke4 b5 34.Ba6 Bd5+ 35.Kf5 b4 36.axb4 axb4 37.h4 e4 { 0-1, Peschke U 2040 - Von Herman Ulf (GER) 2380 , Berlin 1995 It (open) } ) 9...Qe7 { Ian activates his queen in support of the bishop on c5. } 10.Nbd2 { Now that black's bishop on c5 is defended, by playing Nbd2 Carlsen is basically offering Nepomniachtchi the chance to capture an extra pawn with cxb3. } 10...Nc6 { Nepo declines the offer. } ( 10...cxb3 11.Nxb3 Ba3 ( 11...Bb6 12.a4 { Threatening a5 and the Ba3 skewer. } 12...Qc7 13.Qxc7 Bxc7 14.Ba3 Rd8 15.Nfd4 { Opening up the Bishop on g2 and looking slightly better for white. } ) ( 11...Bd6 12.Nfd2 Nc6 13.Nc4 Rd8 14.Nxd6 Qxd6 15.Bb2 { Looks equal. } ) 12.Bxa3 Qxa3 13.Ne5 Nbd7 14.Nc4 Qe7 15.Rfc1 { Is the never before seen gambit that Carlsen likely had in mind where white definately gets developmental compensation for the sacrificed pawn. } ) 11.Nxc4 { With his gambit declined, Carlsen captures the c4 pawn with the knight which can, from c4, jump to the e5 square. } 11...b5 { Nepo wants to get his c8 bishop in the game so he plays b5 threatening white's knight on c4. } 12.Nce5 { As expected, Carlsen's knight moves to a more traditional post on e5. } 12...Nb4 { This is really nice threatening move prepares for Bb7. } ( 12...Bb7 13.Nxc6 Bxc6 14.b4 Bxf3 15.Bxf3 Bd4 16.Bxa8 Bxa1 { Gives white an edge as its more difficult for black to retreat their bishop out of harms way. } ) 13.Qb2 { The only draw back with placing the queen on the a1-h8 diagonal could be that it is interfering with the c1 bishop doing the same. } 13...Bb7 { Ian solved the dilemma of his light bishop and unified his rooks. } 14.a3 { Carlsen sends black's knight back home. } 14...Nc6 15.Nd3 { Magnus clearly doesn't want a draw and choses to not trade, thus keeping more complexity. } 15...Bb6 16.Bg5 { With his queen still occupying b2, Magnus develops his bishop to g5 with a knight pin while unifying his rooks. } 16...Rfd8 17.Bxf6 { Carlsen offer Ian two paths. Retaking with the queen seems most natural but will result in a trade of queens and perhaps place this game on the path toward another draw. The other otion, retaking with gxf6 exposes black's king but even with the weakened pawn shield, black's bishops seem better poised for a kingside attack than any of Carlsen's pieces. } 17...gxf6 { Especially withe queens still on the board, Ian chooses the less natural path with greater risk and imbalances. } 18.Rac1 { Carlsen improves his rook to the open c-file. } 18...Nd4 { and Nepo advances his knight to d4. } 19.Nxd4 { Carlsen wisely decides to remove black's knight. } 19...Bxd4 { But that decision comes at a cost of allowing Nepo to be powerfully placed on the d4 square where it shares a diagonal with white's king and immediately threatens white's queen. } 20.Qa2 { Carlsen moves his queen to safety and also where it defends a3 from immediate capture. } 20...Bxg2 { Nepomniachtchi get's rid of white's fianchetto bishop which is of fundamental improtance in positons where someone is castled behind his fiachetto. } 21.Kxg2 Qb7+ { So after 17... gxf6, Nepomniachtchi has managed to improve his pieces at the expense of Carlsen's. } 22.Kg1 Qe4 { and Nepo continues to display his advantage in force by placing his queen where it has tremendous scope and especially when compared to Carlsen's queen. } 23.Qc2 { Carlsen's queen is much happier on c2. } 23...a5 { Taking b4 from Carlsen's knight. } 24.Rfd1 { To which Carlsen responds by improving his rook. } 24...Kg7 { Ian moves his king closer to the action for the eventual endgame while making so that if there is a trade of rooks on d8 his king will not be checked. } 25.Rd2 { A little move but not an inncocent one. Carlsen is planning on forming a queen and rook battery on the d-file and then playing e3. Black's bishop would need to retreat to b6 in order to defend the d8 rook a second time which would allow Carlsen to play Nf4 with the potential of a offensive queen move along the d1-h5 diagonal. Subtle and brilliant. } 25...Rac8 { But before any of that transpires, Ian proposes a queen for two rooks trade. } 26.Qxc8 { Carlsen accepts creating massive imbalances. } 26...Rxc8 27.Rxc8 Qd5 { The advantage of having the queen in such positions is that the queen can more easily threaten targets on both the kingside and queenside. } 28.b4 { Carlsen advances the pawn out of the queen's threat and would very much enjoy exchanging pawns as they are targets for black's queen. } 28...a4 { Nepo declines the trade and is now threatening to play Qb3 attacking white's backward pawn. } 29.e3 { But before Ian can attack the pawns he must first attend to the new threat from Carlsen on his bishop. } 29...Be5 30.h4 { This indirectly stops black from playing Qb3. But how? Let me show you! } 30...h5 { Ian senses the threat from h4 and stops it with h5. } ( 30...Qb3 31.Nxe5 fxe5 32.Rc7 Kg6 ( 32...Qxa3 { and things are much worse for black if he gets greedy! } 33.Rdd7 Qxb4 34.Rxf7+ Kg6 35.Rg7+ Kh6 36.Rcf7 Qe4 37.Rg5 Qg6 38.Rxg6+ Kxg6 39.Rb7 ) 33.Rdd7 Kf5 34.Rxf7+ Ke4 35.Rxh7 Qxa3 36.Kg2 Qxb4 37.h5 { and Carlsen's h-pawn will be hard to address for black where as white can easily place a rook behind black's passed pawns. } ) 31.Kh2 { Carlsen, who at this point was down to 3:06 on his clock, moves his king to safe square on the second rank which could be useful if Ian plays 31... Qxb3 and then 32. Nxe5 fxe5 33. Rc7 Qxa3 34 Rdd7 when white's king would be uncheckable. } 31...Bb2 { ? Nepo was also short on time though he made this move with 14:18 left on his clock. Perhaps that factored into him makeing a mistake here by leaving his queen vulnerable to attack. } ( 31...Qb3 { also threatens white's a3 pawn but doesn't give white the attacking initiative against black's queen. } 32.Nxe5 fxe5 33.Rc7 Qxa3 34.Rdd7 Kg6 35.Rxf7 Qb2 36.e4 Qe2 37.Rg7+ Kh6 38.Rh7+ Kg6 39.Rcg7+ Kf6 40.Rf7+ Kg6 41.Rhg7+ $10 { and in fact, would have resulted in a draw. } ) 32.Rc5 { Now down to three minutes and three seconds, Magnus siezes the opportunity to target black's queen which is also pinned to the weak h5 pawn. All this why the bishop on b2 is under threat by two pieces. } 32...Qd6 { Ian moves his queen to a safe square while maintaining the pin on d3 so that neither Carlsen's knight or rook on b2 can capture the bishop on b2 without an at least even exchange. } 33.Rd1 { ?? With exactly 3 minutes left and no increment to play 8 moves or automatically lose, Carlsen misses a winning opportunity. } ( 33.Rcc2 Ba1 ( 33...Bxa3 34.Nf4 Qf8 35.Rd7 Kg8 36.Rdc7 Qxb4 37.Rc8+ Kg7 38.Nxh5+ Kg6 39.Nf4+ Kg7 40.R2c7 Qe4 41.Rd7 Bb2 42.Rcc7 { and white would win easily from here. } ) 34.Nf4 { Threatening black's king and queen simultaneously. } 34...Qa6 35.Nxh5+ Kh6 36.Nf4 Qb7 37.Rd8 f5 38.Rcd2 Qe4 39.R2d7 Be5 40.Nh3 Kg7 41.Re8 Qg4 42.Ree7 Kg6 43.Rxf7 ) 33...Bxa3 { Nepo gladly takes on a3 creating an outside passed pawn. } 34.Rxb5 { Carlsen creates his own passed pawn. } 34...Qd7 { Ian plays a really nice move which threatens an undefended rook. } 35.Rc5 ( 35.Rb6 { ? } 35...Qc7 36.Ra6 Qc2 { Wins material and should win the game. } ) 35...e5 { ?! In time trouble himself down to 3:35, Ian makes another innacuracy. This takes f4 from Carlsen's knight and prepares to move forward to e4 but the more natural Bxb4 was just more accurate. When your opponent is in time trouble it is always better to play more accurately than rapidly as accurate play will require time to respond in kind. } ( 35...Bxb4 { !? } 36.Rcc1 Be7 37.Nf4 Qb7 38.Nxh5+ Kh6 39.Nf4 a3 40.Rd2 f5 41.Rcd1 Qf3 42.Rc1 Bb4 43.Ra2 Bd6 44.Rca1 Qb7 45.Rxa3 Bxa3 46.Rxa3 Qb2 { Wins for black. } ) 36.Rc2 { ?! Down to 1 minute and 10 seconds, Carlsen plays a close second best. } ( 36.e4 { !? } 36...Qd4 37.Ra5 Qc4 38.Rxa4 Qb3 39.Rxa3 Qxa3 40.b5 Qb3 41.Rd2 Qxb5 42.f3 Qa5 43.Re2 Qc3 44.Ne1 Qc4 45.Re3 f5 ) 36...Qd5 { ?! Whether it was the result of trying to be tricky or trying to rush Carlsen, Nepomniachtchi makes continues to playimprecisely. Better again was simply playing Bxb4. } ( 36...Bxb4 { !? } 37.Rcc1 ) 37.Rdd2 { Carlsen wisely connects his rooks and now his knight can move. Also now, white is threatening Ra2. } 37...Qb3 38.Ra2 e4 { ? With 30 second left to make three moves Ian errors. } ( 38...f5 39.Ra1 f4 40.exf4 exf4 41.Rda2 fxg3+ 42.fxg3 Qxd3 43.Rxa3 Qd2+ 44.Kh1 Qd5+ 45.Kg1 Qd4+ 46.Kg2 Qd2+ ) 39.Nc5 Qxb4 40.Nxe4 { ? With 29 seconds left Carlsen makes the time control and one more innacuracy. } ( 40.Rdc2 { Keeps more pressure on the pinned Bishop and a4 pawn. Fo that matter, black's queen would have been glued to defending those targets from white. } 40...f5 41.Nxa4 Qxa4 42.Rc3 Qd1 43.Rcxa3 { This favors white as his rooks can start ganging up on black's weak pawns. } ) 40...Qb3 { Ian plays the accurate Qb3 giving him equal chances. Now that both players have reached move 40, thhey are awarded another hour to make 20 moves and they will be playing with an increment. } ( 40...Qxe4 { ?? } 41.Rxa3 Qb4 42.Rda2 { and white wins by targeting black's weak pawns with two rooks while black only has 1 queen to defend. } ) *