Games of the Carlsen-Karjakin W.C.C. Match

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Games of the Carlsen-Karjakin W.C.C. Match

Games of the Carlsen-Karjakin W.C.C. Match

November 18, 2016

Game Six

Loek van Wely and Eric Hansen are the commentators.

A relatively uneventful draw and the standing still remains equal (3-3).

I had a bit of a scare. I turned away from the broadcast for a few minutes and when I came back the screen was frozen and the computer evaluation was 8.2 for White. Carlsen was going to be mated in less than 25 moves.

I checked the official site and chessbomb and there was nothing out of the ordinary there so what must have happened was the transmission froze during a piece of favorable analysis for Karjakin!

Tomorrow is a rest day. Eric says that this was a marvelous opportunity to comment with the eyes of the world on him but he is going back to Canada.
________

Magnus said that in Game Five he had lost track of one move and when he played what he thought was his 39th move, he got extra time and couldn’t think why this was. Actually, it was because he had made his 40th move. He decided to make one more move and go to the washroom. He played 41.Kg2 which was a giant mistake but Karjakin did not take full advantage of it.

[41.Kg2 hxg4 42.hxg4 d4! 43.Qxd4 Bd5? 44.e6!]

https://chess24.com/en/read/news/car...gnus-screws-up

From:

https://www.nrk.no/sport/carlsen-gjo...ekk-1.13233362

Carlsen had thus reached move 40 without knowing it, for he had just written up 39 moves.
It confused him violently, directly under the party because he did not understand why on earth he suddenly got so much time.
The video images showed that he was staring at the scoresheet as he pondered his way to what had happened.

And it was then, with all the concentration on the paper sheet and the move order, he made an absolutely lousy move. A move that should have cost him the game

- I just thought that I should make a move for safekeeping and go to the bathroom. And then there was the move a giant mistake.

- It was just luck that I didn't lose because of this

Magnus Carlsen escaped without loss when Sergey Karjakin made an imprecise move.

Finally, after much rumination, Carlsen managed to determine which move he had forgotten to write up, but he had lost his concentration, and a completely harmless position had suddenly become dangerous.
_________

World Championship 2016
New York City
Game 6, Nov. 18, 2016
Karjakin, Sergey – Carlsen, Magnus
C88 Ruy Lopez, Closed (8.h3)

[1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.h3 Bb7 9.d3 d5 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Nxe5 Nd4 12.Nc3 Nb4 13.Bf4 Nxb3 14.axb3 c5 15.Ne4 f6 16.Nf3 f5 17.Neg5 Bxg5 18.Nxg5 h6 19.Ne6 Qd5 20.f3 Rfe8 21.Re5 Qd6 22.c3 Rxe6 23.Rxe6 Qxe6 24.cxb4 cxb4 25.Rc1 Rc8 26.Rxc8+ Qxc8 27.Qe1 Qd7 28.Kh2 a5 29.Qe3 Bd5 30.Qb6 Bxb3 31.Qxa5 Qxd3 32.Qxb4 Be6 1/2-1/2
_________

(Nigel Short) – Sergey’s great strength – a narrow but very well-analysed repertoire – is a liability when his opponent has months to prepare for it.

(Nigel Short) - Don't complain. The first K-K match was arse-numbingly tedious for months on end. This is better

Carlsen: "It was forced pretty quickly. There was nothing there. Nothing to play for."

- Commentary-wise, Peter is better than Loek drinking his tea.

[John Coleman]

Re: Games of the Carlsen-Karjakin W.C.C. Match

Games of the Carlsen-Karjakin W.C.C. Match

- Commentators missed a spectacular win for Karjakin

After 44. Kg3 the line goes Rh8 Rh2 Rf8 Rf2?? Qb1!! and checkmate to follow. White is in Zugzwang and cant move.

I dunno, after 45. Kg3 (not 44), 45 ...Rh8 has the significant downside of 46.QxR+

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Games of the Carlsen-Karjakin W.C.C. Match

Games of the Carlsen-Karjakin W.C.C. Match

November 17, 2016

Game Five

Peter Svidler and Eric Hansen are on board as usual.

Following the online chat comments gives you some idea as how the game is going:

- I paid for the official coverage and going back and forth between this site and the official site as the analysis is far superior on this site.

- The engine saying its equal but its pretty sharp and complicated and there’s not that much time for remaining moves

- so many experts here in chat, why we need peter and eric?

- Svidler has perfect command of the English language. It's a pleasure to listen to him speak.

- Karjakin stepping on the brake again. as usual

- just because it's level doesn't mean it's drawn. You guys would be better off reading a chess book than posting silly comments here

- warum schreiben plötzlich alle Englisch. Ist Trump hier?

- uh no he does not speak english better than most people - he probably has the vocabulary of a 16 year old at best.

- Next to reading the Bhagavid Gita this match has brought me great happiness

- judith polgar does not commentate anymore on official stream, only some idiots there now, better to listen to Svidler now

(Nigel Short) - Whatever the engines say, I think Sergey will psychologically be happy to draw this one & move on to his white

(Nigel Short) - Fascinating! Sergey has buggered his queenside pawn formation again!

(Nigel Short) - Magnus has a free shot at goal again. Passive play by the Russian

- As Ben Finegold would say, Black is only margarinely butter here.

-in soviet russia you fight bear at 12 and become man if you live

[At move 46 the chess engine evaluates the position as -0.08]

- Stockfish 8 shows 0.00 in top 5 lines

- My toaster says this is heading for a draw

- Qc7 with check looks good to me, but what do I know?

- Sergey has been thinking over 8 minutes

- This World Chess Championship contest so far really reminds me of the book "The Royal Game" by Stephan Zweig- A chess prodigy is beaten by slowly wearing him down and playing slowly..

- Magnus has about 30 minutes, Sergei approaching 16 minutes

- WC will probably stay boring through the Giri era as well. I'm waiting for Wei Yi - Pragnanananananda 2034

- cant wait to see game Monday LIVE..i remember watching Fisher-Spassky on public TV with Shelby Lyman

-Peter any other books you recommend besides the hitchhikers guide?

- Commentators missed a spectacular win for Karjakin

After 44. Kg3 the line goes Rh8 Rh2 Rf8 Rf2?? Qb1!! and checkmate to follow. White is in Zugzwang and cant move.

- hands have been shaken

- ok game over, draw

- After a very shaky series of moves around first time control Carlsen starting to play the optimal moves again.

[Peter says that there was a time near the first time control when Sergey had real chances. Jan Gustafsson returns Sunday to commentate with Peter]

World Chess Championship
New York City
Game Five, Nov. 17, 2016
Carlsen, Magnus – Karjakin, Sergey
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 O-O 6.a4 d6 7.c3 a6 8.b4 Ba7 9.Re1 Ne7 10.Nbd2 Ng6 11.d4 c6 12.h3 exd4 13.cxd4 Nxe4 14.Bxf7+ Rxf7 15.Nxe4 d5 16.Nc5 h6 17.Ra3 Bf5 18.Ne5 Nxe5 19.dxe5 Qh4 20.Rf3 Bxc5 21.bxc5 Re8 22.Rf4 Qe7 23.Qd4 Ref8 24.Rf3 Be4 25.Rxf7 Qxf7 26.f3 Bf5 27.Kh2 Be6 28.Re2 Qg6 29.Be3 Rf7 30.Rf2 Qb1 31.Rb2 Qf5 32.a5 Kf8 33.Qc3 Ke8 34.Rb4 g5 35.Rb2 Kd8 36.Rf2 Kc8 37.Qd4 Qg6 38.g4 h5 39.Qd2 Rg7 40.Kg3 Rg8 41.Kg2 hxg4 42.hxg4 d4 43.Qxd4 Bd5 44.e6 Qxe6 45.Kg3 Qe7 46.Rh2 Qf7 47.f4 gxf4+ 48.Qxf4 Qe7 49.Rh5 Rf8 50.Rh7 Rxf4 51.Rxe7 Re4 1/2-1/2

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Games of the Carlsen-Karjakin W.C.C. Match

Games of the Carlsen-Karjakin W.C.C. Match

November 15, 2016

Game Four

Nigel Short is mentioned several times since he is watching the match and tweeting away. I rather like this one:

- Thanks to all my followers! Now up to 20K although I will only be truly happy when I can fill Lords Cricket Ground (cap. 28,000) :)

- Strangely, the tactical 16...c5!? is also possible for Magnus. But I prefer to drink some wine and let these guys suffer

- 18.Bxh6 is the more chaotic option. 18.Ng4 was sensible, but less sexy :)

- Quite frankly, this is just very poor play by Sergey. It is easy to sit here & criticise, but it is true

- I am guessing that yesterday's near-death experience for Sergey took more out of him than we realized
_________

You can follow the course of the game through the wealth of tweets and comments from others coming in:

Svidler after Bxc4: "I really don't understand this."

Hansen: "This is horrible. Shocking. Significantly better for black"

(Robert Ris) - Karjakin's 19.Bxc4 is a clear sign that Magnus is the huge favorite to win the match! What a terrible positional mistake

(Fabiano Caruana) - The bishop pair, the center and the terminally weak b2-pawn. This is bad news for Sergey.

(Jonathan Tisdall) - Of course there's no reason to get hysterical here. This is still within Karjakin's defensive suffering range

(Pavel Eljanov) - Can't understand some experts who claiming that Magnus is out of form. He is slow starter but playing better now than in Chennai and Sochi

(Nigel Short) – The worst thing about Sergey’s position is that it is exactly the sort of situation Magnus loves, in total control

(Jonathan Tisdall) – Hammer, I believe, has called Karjakin’s position ‘the saddest one for White in a title match in ten years’

(Tarjel J. Svensen) – Hammer: The only thing White can try to do here, is to try to survive.
_________

- praggnanandhaa is better than Carlsen
- Only 1975 Karpov can challenge Magnus positional understanding of chess right now
- Peter is the least russian russian I know
- What would make Peter more Russian?
- If, after yesterday, Karjakin also escapes from this, he will make Houdini look like a bloody amateur.
- guys, we want to make you laugh, so we will not stop with toblerone + James Bond comments until you do so
- peter needs Jan or Lawrence to drag him away from the analysis occasionally
- Yeeeah, Bb6 played!
- tell them not to make a move... I have to take a leak
- Time to make myself a coffee before I start staring at the ceiling like Eric does during long thinking pauses
- 6.40 am here in Vietnam. Think faster guys I need some sleep
- magnus is on fire today, I hope we will see blood
- Magnus keeps punching Sergey but he wont fall down.
- Was Peter clean-shaven when the stream began?
- Peter's beard is growing with the game
- The little Karjakin that could
- this is a beautiful fortress
- i think it's officially a fortress
- Stockfish doesn't understand fortressess, this is still a draw

[At this point, the game is five and a half hours old and at move 61. Stockfish gives Black an evaluation of 2.24 and everyone is afraid it is going to another draw! Peter says he is totally baffled. Carlsen plays 61.Bd3 almost ensuring the draw. Then Karjakin plays 62.Nh3 and Black is much better again.]

- Hey, if the Russians could handle a 1500km wide front with 4 million German soldiers attacking, they can defend anything!

- I hope they play until move 100 so I get two more hours of reading chessbomb trolling and adult men moaning about how it's a draw, yet continue watching

- Eric, I am a Canadian from Winnipeg Manitoba. Have you ever played our best player, Kevin (Jingtian) Li?

[73..Bf4 was another blunder]

The game is drawn.

Mark Crowther summarizes at TWIC:

Magnus Carlsen outplayed Sergey Karjakin with black and again achieved a winning position before failing to convert this advantage to a win in game 4 of the World Chess Championship in New York. This followed Karjakin's save in drawing the previous game.

There was a classical Ruy Lopez and Karjakin's 14.Ng3 was a novelty. 19.Bxc4 was a serious error from Karjakin leaving him under serious pressure. Carlsen kept fine control until 45...f4?! which left him with a stable advantage but one not sufficient for a win. Carlsen's first comment after the game was that he thought this won by force. 45...Be6 or 45...gxf4 should have led to a decisive advantage.

Carlsen tried for a long time after this but Karjakin held the fortress and the game was drawn in 94 moves.

It's hard to say who has the psychological advantage. Carlsen who failed to win two games in a row where he should have or Sergey Karjakin who managed to save these positions.

Standings after game 4 Carlsen 2 Karjakin 2.

Rest day Wednesday 16th November 2016.

http://theweekinchess.com

World Championship 2016
New York City
Game 4, Nov. 15
Karjakin, Sergey – Carlsen, Magnus
C88 Ruy Lopez, Closed

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.h3 Bb7 9.d3 d6 10.a3 Qd7 11.Nbd2 Rfe8 12.c3 Bf8 13.Nf1 h6 14.N3h2 d5 15.Qf3 Na5 16.Ba2 dxe4 17.dxe4 Nc4 18.Bxh6 Qc6 19.Bxc4 bxc4 20.Be3 Nxe4 21.Ng3 Nd6 22.Rad1 Rab8 23.Bc1 f6 24.Qxc6 Bxc6 25.Ng4 Rb5 26.f3 f5 27.Nf2 Be7 28.f4 Bh4 29.fxe5 Bxg3 30.exd6 Rxe1+ 31.Rxe1 cxd6 32.Rd1 Kf7 33.Rd4 Re5 34.Kf1 Rd5 35.Rxd5 Bxd5 36.Bg5 Kg6 37.h4 Kh5 38.Nh3 Bf7 39.Be7 Bxh4 40.Bxd6 Bd8 41.Ke2 g5 42.Nf2 Kg6 43.g4 Bb6 44.Be5 a5 45.Nd1 f4 46.Bd4 Bc7 47.Nf2 Be6 48.Kf3 Bd5+ 49.Ke2 Bg2 50.Kd2 Kf7 51.Kc2 Bd5 52.Kd2 Bd8 53.Kc2 Ke6 54.Kd2 Kd7 55.Kc2 Kc6 56.Kd2 Kb5 57.Kc1 Ka4 58.Kc2 Bf7 59.Kc1 Bg6 60.Kd2 Kb3 61.Kc1 Bd3 62.Nh3 Ka2 63.Bc5 Be2 64.Nf2 Bf3 65.Kc2 Bc6 66.Bd4 Bd7 67.Bc5 Bc7 68.Bd4 Be6 69.Bc5 f3 70.Be3 Bd7 71.Kc1 Bc8 72.Kc2 Bd7 73.Kc1 Bf4 74.Bxf4 gxf4 75.Kc2 Be6 76.Kc1 Bc8 77.Kc2 Be6 78.Kc1 Kb3 79.Kb1 Ka4 80.Kc2 Kb5 81.Kd2 Kc6 82.Ke1 Kd5 83.Kf1 Ke5 84.Kg1 Kf6 85.Ne4+ Kg6 86.Kf2 Bxg4 87.Nd2 Be6 88.Kxf3 Kf5 89.a4 Bd5+ 90.Kf2 Kg4 91.Nf1 Kg5 92.Nd2 Kf5 93.Ke2 Kg4 94.Kf2 1/2-1/2

[Gordon Ritchie]

Re: Games of the Carlsen-Karjakin W.C.C. Match

BTW I enjoy Hansen and Svidler but a lot of their analysis is pure fantasy. At one point they seriously considered a line resulting in mate in two. On the official website, Judit is more reserved but also more accurate in her analysis. Nice to have some choices. Kudos to Eric.

[Gordon Ritchie]

Re: Games of the Carlsen-Karjakin W.C.C. Match

Another amazing game in which Magnus grabbed the opportunity of a weak move by Sergey to apply relentless pressure but in the end could not find the coup de grace. Another draw in over 70 moves and now the players go to a well-earned rest. Magnus is secure in the knowledge that he has never been in the slightest danger of losing a game. Sergey, in the knowledge that he has successfully fought off the most relentless attacker in the game not once but twice. It should be a great contest.

[Brad Thomson]

Re: Games of the Carlsen-Karjakin W.C.C. Match

Svidler and Hansen are fantastic together! The deference and humility shown by Hansen commands my respect.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Games of the Carlsen-Karjakin W.C.C. Match

Games of the Carlsen-Karjakin W.C.C. Match

November 14, 2016

Game Three

Peter Svidler and Eric Hansen are the commentators on chess24.com. Fiona Steil-Antoni takes over for them when they are on breaks.

There has been a lot of buzz on the Internet about how boring the match is. Here are some of the comments online at chess24 during the first two hours:

"Pit two players against each other who both have perfect technique, who both avoid weaknesses, and what is left? -a sorry caricature of chess" -Emanuel Lasker

- Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat - Sun Tzu

- a cricket match would be more lively than this match so far and that is quite telling

- You know Silman moved to Japan, maybe he saw the Trump win before everyone else

- Karjakin happy to draw and draw; hoping to take 1-0 lead and hold it

- Apparently, Sergey K spent 1 million on this......Could have spent it on some good food but no.

- oh for goodness sakes guys...these are unbelievable players with pretty much error free chess...what else do we expect from a WC match ?

- Magnus will win this match in the rapid

- Speed chess tiebreaks are an atrocity

- It's like Karpov playing himself. There's too much prophylaxis, though. They should be more tactical instead of POSITIONAL.

- This game........time passes like a kidney stone when you watch this.

- the interaction between Peter and Eric is really comfortable--great combination of commentators

- the Master and Padawan commenting

- This is what chess has become at the top levels. All prep, no fight
___________

Mark Crowther at TWIC - Magnus Carlsen will be cursing himself after allowing Sergey Karjakin to escape with a draw after a nearly 7 hour game.

Carlsen found an unusual idea on the white side in a normally drawish variation of the Berlin Defence to the Ruy Lopez. Carlsen probably wasn't accurate after setting Karjakin serious problems but his main idea was eventually rewarded after inaccuracies before move 40 which allowed Carlsen to win a pawn.

Carlsen had a favourable position but he again didn't play accurately. Late in the game the position was clearly winning for Carlsen again but tiredness set in and mutual mistakes followed.
_________

- With no adjournment playing straight through, today's game was simply astounding in its quality.

- Both players have basically been chess pros since at least age 12, more than half their lives. One has to learn something with that devotion to one's craft ...

- sergey won't always have chance to escape like today

- This type of narrow escape IS Karjakin's game as Black.

- If MC can't win positions like these...
this will haunt him if he loses the match.

- I think it was an incredible feat of concentration for 6+ hours. It helps both men well under age 30.

Carlsen: "Maybe I could've won at some point, Didn't see a forced win. It wasn't easy at any event Certainly disappointing"

(Teymur Rajabov )

- Last 7 moves of Carlsen's technical part in today's game, are the worst I have seen in ages from him. Others yes, almost everyday, but him..

- It's crazy, 3.58 am

- I do not regret a single minute spent today without sleep, because I love this game

World Championship 2016
New York City
Game 3, Nov. 14, 2016
Carlsen, Magnus – Karjakin, Sergey
C67 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence, Open Var.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.Re1 Nd6 6.Nxe5 Be7 7.Bf1 Nxe5 8.Rxe5 O-O 9.d4 Bf6 10.Re2 b6 11.Re1 Re8 12.Bf4 Rxe1 13.Qxe1 Qe7 14.Nc3 Bb7 15.Qxe7 Bxe7 16.a4 a6 17.g3 g5 18.Bxd6 Bxd6 19.Bg2 Bxg2 20.Kxg2 f5 21.Nd5 Kf7 22.Ne3 Kf6 23.Nc4 Bf8 24.Re1 Rd8 25.f4 gxf4 26.gxf4 b5 27.axb5 axb5 28.Ne3 c6 29.Kf3 Ra8 30.Rg1 Ra2 31.b3 c5 32.Rg8 Kf7 33.Rg2 cxd4 34.Nxf5 d3 35.cxd3 Ra1 36.Nd4 b4 37.Rg5 Rb1 38.Rf5+ Ke8 39.Rb5 Rf1+ 40.Ke4 Re1+ 41.Kf5 Rd1 42.Re5+ Kf7 43.Rd5 Rxd3 44.Rxd7+ Ke8 45.Rd5 Rh3 46.Re5+ Kf7 47.Re2 Bg7 48.Nc6 Rh5+ 49.Kg4 Rc5 50.Nd8+ Kg6 51.Ne6 h5+ 52.Kf3 Rc3+ 53.Ke4 Bf6 54.Re3 h4 55.h3 Rc1 56.Nf8+ Kf7 57.Nd7 Ke6 58.Nb6 Rd1 59.f5+ Kf7 60.Nc4 Rd4+ 61.Kf3 Bg5 62.Re4 Rd3+ 63.Kg4 Rg3+ 64.Kh5 Be7 65.Ne5+ Kf6 66.Ng4+ Kf7 67.Re6 Rxh3 68.Ne5+ Kg7 69.Rxe7+ Kf6 70.Nc6 Kxf5 71.Na5 Rh1 72.Rb7 Ra1 73.Rb5+ Kf4 74.Rxb4+ Kg3 75.Rg4+ Kf2 76.Nc4 h3 77.Rh4 Kg3 78.Rg4+ Kf2 1/2-1/2

[Gordon Ritchie]

Re: Games of the Carlsen-Karjakin W.C.C. Match

Round three was a fascinating struggle lasting 78 moves in over 6:40 in which Magnus had winning chances but Sergey managed to hang on to draw. Magnus will be kicking himself this evening when, with the help of their high powered computers, his seconds show him where he missed the opportunity to take the lead. Sergey, on the other hand, may wait until the rest day to kick his seconds for failing to give him a clear answer to Magnus's rather unusual but not unprecedented opening line against the Berlin. Very interesting for the chess playing viewer. Rather like watching grass grow for the general public they are trying to attract.
I remain convinced that the only way to take high level chess to television is along the lines of the British series some years ago when the game was taped and then edited to cut the long thinks and to interlace the players' own commentaries.
Still, I found it thrilling and it whetted my appetite for the games to come. These are two very tough combatants.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Games of the Carlsen-Karjakin W.C.C. Match

Games of the Carlsen-Karjakin W.C.C. Match

November 13, 2016

Chess is often written up in the Philippine and Indian newspapers by sports columnists. This gives the descriptions a different flavor from which we are accustomed in the staid chess journals.

Now, I refer you to ESPN's sports column 538:

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/...-championship/

Draws and Politics at the World Chess Championship

by Oliver Roeder

A couple of excerpts:

This year’s chess venue is sparse and sleek, heavy on concrete and hypermodern black-and-white branding. Large flat-screen televisions dot the open floor, providing live views of the tense and slowly unfolding games. The sellout crowd mills around, stealing meaningful-looking glances at the game on TV, listening to live commentary on headphones, eating sandwiches and playing their own games of speed chess in the cafe’s Eames-style dining chairs.

The two grandmasters play alone in a separate room, accompanied only by two stoic match arbiters. On the inside, the room resembles the bridge of a sci-fi spaceship. To the spectators on the outside, though, it evokes a reptile house in a zoo. You enter the dark, hot and humid viewing gallery through thick black curtains. You’re hushed as you enter and reminded to silence your phone. The lights inside are dimmed, and an eerie purple light glows from behind the thick glass of the one-way mirror. You can see Carlsen and Karjakin, leaning in close to each other over the board in deep thought. They can’t see you.

In chess, and at this championship, what’s old is new again, and moves and characters are strangely familiar. Donald Trump made the ceremonial first move at a qualifying event for that 1995 New York championship, at Trump Tower. And Rudy Giuliani, then the mayor and now rumored to be high on the list to be Trump’s attorney general, made the ceremonial first move in those finals. (Giuliani was late — and made the wrong move.)

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Games of the Carlsen-Karjakin W.C.C. Match

Games of the Carlsen-Karjakin W.C.C. Match

November 12, 2016

World Championship
New York City
Round 2, Nov. 12, 2016
Karjakin, Sergey – Carlsen, Magnus
C84 Ruy Lopez, Closed

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a3 O-O 9.Nc3 Na5 10.Ba2 Be6 11.d4 Bxa2 12.Rxa2 Re8 13.Ra1 Nc4 14.Re1 Rc8 15.h3 h6 16.b3 Nb6 17.Bb2 Bf8 18.dxe5 dxe5 19.a4 c6 20.Qxd8 Rcxd8 21.axb5 axb5 22.Ne2 Bb4 23.Bc3 Bxc3 24.Nxc3 Nbd7 25.Ra6 Rc8 26.b4 Re6 27.Rb1 c5 28.Rxe6 fxe6 29.Nxb5 cxb4 30.Rxb4 Rxc2 31.Nd6 Rc1+ 32.Kh2 Rc2 33.Kg1 1/2-1/2

Colin McGourty at chess24:

After Game Two, Magnus pleaded for our understanding: “This is a long match and there aren't going to be fireworks every game!” That was almost an understatement. On move 3 he sparked hopes by responding to the Ruy Lopez with the classical 3…a6, not the infamous Berlin Defence, but after a tense few moves in which Karjakin seemed to be getting the upper hand he released all the tension and sent the game careening towards a draw. A solid start for both players, but little to write home about.

Normally it would be a great thing for a chess venue to be packed with spectators, but it turned out that not only had the tickets been sold, but locals with complimentary tickets for one game had chosen to turn up as well. That exposed the limitations of the venue, with Agon’s trademark “industrial cool” design ethos apparently less appealing when you’re waiting for an hour to catch a glimpse of the players and don’t have anywhere to sit. The Star Tribune quotes Carl Fisher as saying, “This is the worst-organized event I've been to in my life”, before later adding that he’s 82 years old!

https://chess24.com/en/read/news/car...in-no-thriller
________

Tomorrow (Sunday) is a rest day.

Monday should be interesting on chess24.com – both Peter Svidler and Eric Hansen will be commentating on Game Three. Magnus will have the white pieces. Game starts at 2 p.m. EST.

[Gordon Ritchie]

Re: Games of the Carlsen-Karjakin W.C.C. Match

Game two ended in a forced draw after 33 moves as both players chose to play very conservatively, feeling one another out. For fun, I ran game one through the computer (Stockfish7 with 150 seconds per move) and the mighty silicon had no improvements to suggest. I expect the same will be true for today's contest.

[Brad Thomson]

Re: Games of the Carlsen-Karjakin W.C.C. Match

WTF you talking about?

He doesn't answer questions.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Games of the Carlsen-Karjakin W.C.C. Match

Games of the Carlsen-Karjakin W.C.C. Match

November 11, 2016

World Championship
New York City
Round 1, Nov. 11, 2016
Carlsen, Magnus – Karjakin, Sergey
A45 Trompovsky Attack

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 d5 3.e3 c5 4.Bxf6 gxf6 5.dxc5 Nc6 6.Bb5 e6 7.c4 dxc4 8.Nd2 Bxc5 9.Ngf3 O-O 10.O-O Na5 11.Rc1 Be7 12.Qc2 Bd7 13.Bxd7 Qxd7 14.Qc3 Qd5 15.Nxc4 Nxc4 16.Qxc4 Qxc4 17.Rxc4 Rfc8 18.Rfc1 Rxc4 19.Rxc4 Rd8 20.g3 Rd7 21.Kf1 f5 22.Ke2 Bf6 23.b3 Kf8 24.h3 h6 25.Ne1 Ke7 26.Nd3 Kd8 27.f4 h5 28.a4 Rd5 29.Nc5 b6 30.Na6 Be7 31.Nb8 a5 32.Nc6+ Ke8 33.Ne5 Bc5 34.Rc3 Ke7 35.Rd3 Rxd3 36.Kxd3 f6 37.Nc6+ Kd6 38.Nd4 Kd5 39.Nb5 Kc6 40.Nd4+ Kd6 41.Nb5+ Kd7 42.Nd4 Kd6 1/2-1/2

From Mike Klein at chess.com:

https://www.chess.com/news/carlsen-p...ound-draw-4191

Hollywood actor Woody Harrelson made the first move of the 2016 World Chess Championship, but his principled 1. d4 wasn't the story. Rather, it was what followed one move later.

Less than a minute into the biggest chess match of the year, World Champion GM Magnus Carlsen answered 1...Nf6 with 2. Bg5. The Trompowsky! The provocative opening rarely graces the Norwegian's board these days, as lately in a series of rapid and blitz games Carlsen has preferred to stop the bishop one square short on f4.

Forty moves later, the two reached an impasse and agreed to a draw in round one.

According to Chess.com's research, today was the very first time the Trompowsky has been played in a world championship match. That's a collection of almost 1000 games. Challenger GM Sergey Karjakin said he was not surprised by the line; he'd had plenty of time to study the champion's past catalogue.

"It was not a revolution to me," Karjakin said afterward.

Twitter was more surprised, and broke out in various puns of jokes like: "The U.S. has been Trumped and Tromped in the span of four days."

Carlsen Tromped a few opponents in open tournaments in his junior days, but he also selected 2. Bg5 to beat GM Vladimir Kramnik at the 2013 Tal Memorial. The opening led off the bullet game that generated the famous "Too weak, too slow" quip from Carlsen against his friend GM Laurent Fressinet.

https://www.chess.com/blog/SonofPear...-trash-talking

[Vlad Dobrich]

Re: Games of the Carlsen-Karjakin W.C.C. Match

At move 29 with just a maneuver or two to be played, it looks like a classic winning endgame for Carlsen.

WTF you talking about? Neither the GMs commenting the game nor Carlsen it seems saw any way to win. In the end the game was drawn.