Carlsen vs. Nepomniachtchi: World Championship – Game 8

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.

In the eighth game of their 2021 World Championship Match, Magnus Carlsen defeated Ian Nepomniachtchi again taking a two-point lead in the match score. Carlsen had white and Nepomniachtchi returned to the Russian Game. This time, however, Magnus used the 3. d4 line to reach a completely symmetrical position against Nepo after 8 moves. Still a point down in the match, Ian gambled a bit with 9…. h5 and Carlsen punished his risky play by playing for the win. After a couple of dubious moves by Nepo, Magnus Carlsen used perfect technique to win a queen and pawn endgame. Now at a two-point deficit against Magnus Carlsen, the door is quickly closing on Ian Nepomniachtchi’s bid to become the World Chess Champion.

I hope you enjoyed today’s special presentation of round 8 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 Friday after their day off with a special presentation of round 9 from the Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi Match.

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Date: December 5, 2021
Location: Dubai UAE
Tournament: FIDE World Championship Match 2021
Round: 8
Opening:
Submitted by:
Published on: December 6, 2021
Tags: Daily Chess Musings, second game of the FIDE World Championship had plenty of drama and surprises, DailyChessMusings.com, https://fideworldchampionship.com, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Daily Chess Musings YouTube channel, World Champion Magnus Carlsen, FIDE, Daily Chess Musings’ Special Coverage of the 2021 FIDE World Championship Match between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi, Ruy Lopez, Daily Chess Musings’ Special Coverage, Petroff variation, Daily Chess Musings’ Special Coverage of the 2021 FIDE World Championship Match, Petroff defense, 2021 FIDE World Championship Match between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi, GAME5-EricRosen, Match between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi, Game 8 of the Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi match, Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi match, Game 8, Chris Torres, Catalan
Categories: Daily Chess Musings, FIDE Chess World Championship 2021, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Magnus Carlsen

[Event "FIDE World Championship Match 2021"] [Site "Dubai UAE"] [Date "2021.12.5"] [Round "8"] [White "Carlsen Magnus (NOR)"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi Ian (RUS)"] [Result "1-0"] [Eco "C43"] [Annotator "Chris Torres"] [Source ""] {[ PETROFF'S def.,C43] Carlsen Magnus (NOR) +2 =1 -1} 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 {Nepomniachtchi returns to the Russian Game as he did in game 4.} 3.d4 {But Carlen chooses the other main line this time. In game 3 Magnus continues with the classical Petroff 3. Nxe5. Here he chooses the other main line.} Nxe4 4.Bd3 d5 5.Nxe5 Nd7 { Black attacks the white knight's outpost in the center immediately trying to exchange White's active pieces. This continuation is the most popular nowadays, giving Black rich opportunities of active counterplay.} 6.Nxd7 {Developing with Nc3 is also a good move and Carlsen used that idea in his 2019 victory over Alexei Shirov.} ( 6.Nc3 Nxe5 7.dxe5 Nxc3 8.bxc3 Be7 9.O-O O-O 10.f4 f5 11.Be3 c5 12.Be2 Be6 13.Bf3 Qd7 14.a4 Rad8 15.Qe2 Qc7 16.Rfb1 b6 17.Rd1 g5 18.h3 Rd7 19.Rd2 Rfd8 20.Rad1 gxf4 21.Bxf4 d4 22.Qf2 Kh8 23.Kh1 Qc8 24.Kh2 Rg8 25.cxd4 cxd4 26.Rxd4 Rxd4 27.Rxd4 Bc5 28.c3 Bxd4 29.cxd4 Qd7 30.Qd2 Bd5 31.e6 Qxe6 32.Be5+ Rg7 33.Qc3 Bxf3 34.Qxf3 Qe8 35.Qxf5 Kg8 36.Bxg7 Kxg7 37.Qg5+ Kf8 38.Qf4+ Ke7 39.Qe4+ Kf8 40.Qxh7 Qxa4 41.Qf5+ Kg7 42.Qe5+ Kf7 43.h4 {1-0, Carlsen Magnus (NOR) 2870 - Shirov Alexei (LAT) 2666 , Douglas 10/15/2019 It "FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss"} ) Bxd7 {} $14 {/=} 7.Nd2 { This is a bit of a surprise as Almost always white castles here. In fact, Magnus had a really nice win over Yue Wang where he played 7. 0-0.} ( 7.O-O Bd6 8.Qh5 Nf6 9.Re1+ Kf8 10.Qe2 Ng4 11.h3 Qh4 12.Qf3 Bh2+ 13.Kf1 Nxf2 14.Qxf2 Bg3 15.Qd2 Qf6+ 16.Kg1 Bxe1 17.Qxe1 Qxd4+ 18.Kh2 Re8 19.Qg3 Qe5 20.Qxe5 Rxe5 21.Bf4 Re1 22.Bxc7 a6 23.Ba5 Rd1 24.a4 Ke7 25.Bd2 Rc8 26.c3 d4 27.c4 g6 28.Be2 Bxa4 29.Bb4+ Ke6 30.Bxd1 Bxd1 31.Nd2 Be2 32.b3 f5 33.Kg3 Rd8 34.Kf2 d3 35.Bc3 Kf7 36.Nf3 f4 37.Ng5+ Kg8 38.Ne6 {1-0, Carlsen Magnus (NOR) 2826 - Wang Yue (CHN) 2732 , Nanjing 10/22/2010 It "Pearl Spring" (cat.21)} ) Nxd2 8.Bxd2 Bd6 {So Carlsen and Nepo have reached a completely symetrical position.} 9.O-O {+0.29 CAP} h5 { Its important for black to break symmetry as they are 1 step behind white. Nepomniachtchi achieves this with the very provoactive h5. Also possible were:} ( 9...Qh4 10.Re1+ Be6 11.g3 Qxd4 12.Bc3 Qa4 13.Bxg7 Rg8 14.Bf6 Kd7 15.c3 Qf4 16.Bd4 Bg4 17.Qc2 Bh3 18.Bf1 Qh4 19.Bxh3+ Qxh3 20.Be5 Rg6 21.Bxd6 Kxd6 22.Rad1 Re6 23.Rxe6+ fxe6 24.f4 c6 25.Qe2 Qf5 26.Qd3 Rf8 27.Qxf5 Rxf5 28.Kg2 e5 29.fxe5+ Rxe5 30.Rd2 h5 31.h3 Re4 32.Kf3 Ke5 33.g4 hxg4+ 34.hxg4 c5 35.Rh2 Rf4+ 36.Kg3 Rf7 37.Re2+ Kd6 38.Rd2 b5 39.Rf2 Re7 40.Kf3 Re4 41.Re2 Re5 42.Re3 Rxe3+ 43.Kxe3 Ke5 44.b4 c4 45.g5 d4+ 46.cxd4+ Kf5 47.d5 Kxg5 48.Ke4 Kf6 49.Kf4 {...1/2-1/2, Ruben Lopez - Redondo Lucia, Spain 1996 Ch Spain (juniors)} ) ( 9...Qf6 10.Qe2+ Be6 11.c3 O-O-O 12.b4 Qh4 13.f4 Rde8 14.Qf2 Qh5 15.a4 Bg4 16.Rfe1 f6 17.b5 g5 18.a5 Kb8 19.c4 dxc4 20.Bxc4 gxf4 21.Bxf4 Rxe1+ 22.Rxe1 Bb4 23.Ra1 Re8 24.Qg3 Re7 25.Bxc7+ Ka8 26.Bd6 Bxd6 27.Qxd6 Qe8 28.Qxf6 Rc7 29.Bf1 Qe3+ 30.Kh1 Qc3 31.Ra2 Qb3 32.Rf2 Be6 33.Qe5 Rf7 34.Qh8+ Rf8 35.Qxf8+ Bc8 36.Qxc8# {1-0, Wu Xiaoxiao - Dong Mo, Suzhou/Jiangsu 2001 Ch China (team) (w)} ) ( 9...O-O {Copying one more move will give white the initiative and the advantage.} 10.Qh5 {a threat of mate.} f5 11.Bg5 {Improves the bishop with a threat against black queen} Qe8 12.Qf3 {Avoids exchanging queens and threatens d5.} c6 13.Rfe1 {Places a rook into the open file while threatening black's queen. White is playing for a win.} ) 10.Qe1+ { Carlsen chooses perhaps the safest continuation which may lead to a queen trade, a nice pin or black giving up his right to castle.} Kf8 {After h5 was played, I don't think Kf8 was a big surprise. Nepo wants all his pieces able to participate in a kingside assault.} 11.Bb4 {Magnus neutralises black's most dangerous piece with an absolute pin.} Qe7 {I am surprised Nepo played Qe7 which could easily lead to the trade of queens and a drawish position. Instead, Qf6 looks interesting...} ( 11...Qf6 12.Qc3 c6 13.Rae1 b6 {Hoping to play c5 to free the pin on d6 and perhaps even then sacrifice the bishop on h2.} 14.Bxd6+ Qxd6 {Keeps the position interesting.} ) ( 11...Bxb4 {?} {An obvious mistake that leads to a check and fork.} 12.Qxb4+ Kg8 13.Qxb7 c6 14.Rae1 {and white is winning.} ) 12.Bxd6 { Even already ahead by one point in the match, Carlsen is not going to play the queen exchange for a draw here. Instead, he is going to keep the queens on the board to take advantage of blacks oddly placed king and lack of rook coordination.} Qxd6 13.Qd2 { Carlsen unifies his rooks.Something black can not do short of placing his king into the open e-file which, of course, isn't an option.} Re8 {Ian gets a rook into the open file.} 14.Rae1 {But Carlsen is better prepared to fight for control of the e-file because his rooks are unified.} Rh6 {With the idea of Re6 and then black solves his rook coordination issues by forming a battery.} 15.Qg5 {But Carlsen wasn't about to allow black to stack rooks in the e-file. Now if Rhe6 then Qxh5!} c6 {Ian takes a moment to support his d5 pawn with c6 to free up his queen.} 16.Rxe8+ {By exchanging one rook, Carslen can use his other rook to take control of the e-file after black recaptures.} Bxe8 17.Re1 {as expected.} Qf6 {Ian would like to trade queens and any other pieces for that matter to move toward a draw..} 18.Qe3 {Carlsen avoids the queen exchange, takes more control of the e-file with a battery and is now threatening Qxe8 mate.} Bd7 {The obvious solution to white's threat.} 19.h3 {With control over the all important e-file, Carlsen takes a moment to creat a luft for his king.} h4 {Occupying h4 with a pawn could prove useful for black in the future.} 20.c4 {With all of his pieces superior to their black counterparts, Carlsen starts manufacturing action.} dxc4 {?!} { This allows Carlsen's bishop to move to the a2-g8 diagonal and thus be more threatening. Instead, Ian could have played pawn to g5.} ( 20...g5 {!?} {Creates potential for an attack with pawn to g4 followed h3 which could open up white's king for black remaining pieces.} 21.cxd5 cxd5 22.Bc2 Kg7 23.Qe5 {White would do best by trading queens here to avoid king safety issues.} Qxe5 24.Rxe5 Rb6 25.Rxg5+ Kf6 26.Rxd5 Be6 27.Rh5 Rxb2 28.d5 Rxc2 29.dxe6 Kxe6 30.a4 Rc4 {Would be good for the draw.} ) 21.Bxc4 b5 {?!} $14{Ian plays another dubious move. Better was Kg8 avoiding the check from Qa3.} ( 21...Kg8 {!?} 22.Qe7 {This looks dangerous at first.} Be6 {But Be6 seals off the trouble nicely.} 23.Qxf6 Rxf6 24.Bxe6 fxe6 25.Re4 Rh6 {White has a small advantage but a player of Ian's ability will have no trouble securing a draw.} ) 22.Qa3+ Kg8 {?!} {Played one move to late.} ( 22...Qd6 {!?} {Perhaps Ian's best bet at this point. If Carlsen trades queens he can play for a draw. If not...} 23.Qxa7 g5 {Black can get in that g5 move we discussed earlier.} 24.Bf1 Re6 25.Re5 f6 26.Re2 Rxe2 27.Bxe2 Qe7 {White's still winning but its ertainly no walk in the park.} ) 23.Qxa7 Qd8 {Ian defends his bishop and stops any back rank check threats.} 24.Bb3 {Carlsen moves his bishop back to a safe square while keeping it on the key diagonal.} Rd6 {Setting up a potential discovered battery on white's isolated d-pawn.} 25.Re4 {So Magnus adds a defender to d4 while placing a threat on black's h4 pawn.} Be6 {Ian doesn't like Carlsen's bishop or the fact that his queen is stuck defending h4 so he addresses both problems with this move.} 26.Bxe6 Rxe6 27.Rxe6 fxe6 { and now we have a queen and pawn endgame where Carlsen is up a pawn, has fewer weak pawns and has better king safety. Suffice to say, Magnus is winning. But Queen and pawn endings are notoriously tricky.} 28.Qc5 {Carlsen immediately centralizes his queen.} Qa5 { Ian also improves his queen. Perhaps his best bet in this endgame will be a perpetual check draw with his queen checking on the first rank and then on the b8-h2 diagonal. This type of outcome made possible by black's h4 pawn.} 29.Qxc6 Qe1+ 30.Kh2 Qxf2 {If it was Ian's move right now he could play the perpetual alternating between Qg3+ and Qe1+.} 31.Qxe6+ {But Magnus takes the initiative with Qxe6 check and just as important, is now guarding e1 so that black is no longer threatening a perpetual check.} Kh7 32.Qe4+ {and another check while keeping his queen in the e-file.} Kg8 33.b3 Qxa2 34.Qe8+ {Magnus goes after the b5 pawn first to create a passed pawn.} Kh7 35.Qxb5 Qf2 {Ian is once again threatening the perpetual.} 36.Qe5 {So Magnus again places his queen where it guards against checks from the black queen.} Qb2 37.Qe4+ Kg8 38.Qd3 {Carlsen's queen is ideally placed to defend b3 while advancing the d-pawn.} Qf2 {Ian tries again for the perpetual check.} 39.Qc3 {But Carlsen again guards the e1, g3 and c1 squares with his queen.} Qf4+ 40.Kg1 Kh7 41.Qd3+ g6 42.Qd1 { Magnus' endgame technique here is very instructive. His queen is guarding both passed pawns, the first rank, and the g4 square just in case black tries to attack with pawn to g4.} Qe3+ 43.Kh1 g5 44.d5 g4 45.hxg4 h3 46.Qf3 { Just beuatiful execution by Carlsen. His queen is guarding all of his pawns, stopping any threats of perpetuals, forking black's queen and remaining pawn, and threatening several checks. Ian resigns as Magnus has made it clear that white will win.} 1-0