Carlsen-Caruana World Championship 2018

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  • #31
    Originally posted by Stephen Wright View Post
    Interesting, your round 8 diagram has everything shifted one file to the left, with the a-file wrapping round to the h-file ...
    I think it's more than that, the h-file (as shown, really the a-file) is also shifted one rank

    Comment


    • #32
      Carlsen – Caruana World Championship 2018

      November 19, 2018

      Round Eight (continued)

      Diagram now corrected. Thank you Stephen and John

      Comment


      • #33
        Carlsen – Caruana World Championship 2018

        November 21, 2018

        Round Nine

        Antonio Pereira on ChessBase: After saving a draw in the previous game, Magnus Carlsen recovered by getting a clean advantage with the white pieces for the first time in the 2018 World Championship match. He pushed for a win in a no-risk opposite-coloured bishops position, but a pragmatic Fabiano Caruana found enough resources to salvage the half point. So we have seen nine straight draws and there is almost no room for mistakes now, with only three classical games to go.

        https://en.chessbase.com/post/world-...ip-2018-game-9

        Round 9, Nov. 21
        Carlsen, Magnus – Caruana, Fabiano
        A29 English, Bremen

        1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Bc5 7.O-O O-O 8.d3 Re8 9.Bg5 Nxc3 10.bxc3 f6 11.Bc1 Be6 12.Bb2 Bb6 13.d4 Bd5 14.Qc2 exd4 15.cxd4 Be4 16.Qb3+ Bd5 17.Qd1 Bxf3 18.Qb3+ Kh8 19.Bxf3 Nxd4 20.Bxd4 Qxd4 21.e3 Qe5 22.Bxb7 Rad8 23.Rad1 Qe7 24.h4 g6 25.h5 gxh5 26.Qc4 f5 27.Bf3 h4 28.Rxd8 Rxd8 29.gxh4 Rg8+ 30.Kh1 Qf6 31.Qf4 Bc5 32.Rg1 Rxg1+ 33.Kxg1 Bd6 34.Qa4 f4 35.Qxa7 fxe3 36.Qxe3 Qxh4 37.a4 Qf6 38.Bd1 Qe5 39.Qxe5+ Bxe5 40.a5 Kg7 41.a6 Bd4 42.Kg2 Kf6 43.f4 Bb6 44.Kf3 h6 45.Ke4 Ba7 46.Bg4 Bg1 47.Kd5 Bb6 48.Kc6 Be3 49.Kb7 Bb6 50.Bh3 Be3 51.Kc6 Bb6 52.Kd5 Ba7 53.Ke4 Bb6 54.Bf1 Ke6 55.Bc4+ Kf6 56.Bd3 Ke6 1/2-1/2

        Position after Black’s 52….Ba7




        Anish Giri and Peter Svidler were the commentators today with Alexander Grischuk joining them. It was a master class in analysis. Some comments by the team:

        Probably the first time in his life that Peter Svidler has been accused of speaking slowly:

        Svidler: "I know you, but the speed with which you talk is a revelation..."

        Giri: "Unfortunately it's not proportionate to the speed with which I think, so your thoughts are still better, despite the slow speed with which they come out of your mouth!"

        Giri has the perfect solution to monetize chess24 commentary:

        It remains free, but when Grischuk appears he's muted, unless you click the button: "Go Premium - unmute the Grischuk!"

        ________

        John Saunders – Carlsen enters the ring with his right eye bandaged. In the land of Chess, the one-eyed man is king

        (Carlsen got the injury playing football on the day off)

        Giri on Carlsen's black eye: "Who, who plays football with Magnus at this tense time in the match... you're his friend... who would go for a collision with Magnus? Who are you? What kind of person are you? You definitely won't get to play with him again!"

        Giri, when asked for a prediction: "I'm just afraid that Fabi is going to play 3 very good games now, not be able to break through and then just be destroyed in the rapid"

        ________

        Yannick Pelletier - For the 1st time in the match, I found and took some time to listen to live commentary. This was @polborta (Svidler) and @anishgiri at @chess24com. Fantastic! Frankly, this is just free classes from top GMs. Thx, I learned a lot!

        Von Blade - It's not a shock that the 5th, 9th and 19th rated players in the world make for great commentary, but damn the @chess24com coverage of #CarlsenCaruana is mind-blowing.

        Giri: "I almost dropped this very hot cup of tea after he played 17...Bxf3!"

        Jose Corona - Alexander Grischuk's story about Magnus Carlsen elbowing his balls playing basketball might have been more entertaining than the World Championship match up to this point.

        Anish Giri – Just had my first day of commentary. generally, well received!

        Steven Giddins in reply to Anish Giri: You showed everything expected of a @chess24com commentator - accurate variations, subtle positional assessments and jokes about Lawrence Trent

        Comment


        • #34
          Carlsen – Caruana Championship 2018

          November 22, 2018

          Round Ten

          Round 10, Nov. 22
          Caruana, Fabiano – Carlsen, Magnus
          B33 Sicilian, Pelikan (Lasker-Sveshnikov) variation

          1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Nd5 Nxd5 8.exd5 Nb8 9.a4 Be7 10.Be2 O-O 11.O-O Nd7 12.b4 a6 13.Na3 a5 14.bxa5 Rxa5 15.Nc4 Ra8 16.Be3 f5 17.a5 f4 18.Bb6 Qe8 19.Ra3 Qg6 20.Bc7 e4 21.Kh1 b5 22.Nb6 Nxb6 23.Bxb6 Qg5 24.g3 b4 25.Rb3 Bh3 26.Rg1 f3 27.Bf1 Bxf1 28.Qxf1 Qxd5 29.Rxb4 Qe6 30.Rb5 Bd8 31.Qe1 Bxb6 32.axb6 Rab8 33.Qe3 Qc4 34.Rb2 Rb7 35.Rd1 Qe2 36.Re1 Qxe3 37.Rxe3 d5 38.h4 Rc8 39.Ra3 Kf7 40.Kh2 Ke6 41.g4 Rc6 42.Ra6 Ke5 43.Kg3 h6 44.h5 Kd4 45.Rb5 Rd6 46.Ra4+ Ke5 47.Rab4 Ke6 48.c4 dxc4 49.Rxc4 Rdxb6 50.Rxe4+ Kf7 51.Rf5+ Rf6 52.Rxf6+ Kxf6 53.Kxf3 Kf7 54.Kg3 1/2-1/2

          Position after Black’s 21…b5






          Position after White’s 45.Rb5





          Tweets
          • Should we be worried that Alexander Grischuk and Anish Giri (the two AGs) have both memorized the Ezekiel 25:17 speech from Pulp Fiction?
          • Svidler on why he can't stay at the board after a move: "When I'm thinking about my move I feel that the board is my personal space, and I don't like people in my personal space. But when I make a move I feel like it's their space, so I get up..."
          • wild theory: Caruana has been throwing rapid and blitz games for years to lull Carlsen into thinking that that he is the favorite in the tiebreaks
          • I told you, Caruana's strategy is to win in game 12


          Jonathan Rowson - 21...b5! is a resolute move requiring a lot of confidence at this stage in the match. In chess lingo it is an attempt to "wrestle the initiative"..

          Carlsen: "I think it was a case of too complicated and too much at stake. I think I could've played better.

          Carlsen: "I felt I had a promising attack, but there were probably many improvements for both. Then I almost lost the game in the end ..."

          Comment


          • #35
            Carlsen – Caruana Championship 2018

            November 24, 2018

            Round Eleven

            Giri, Svidler and Grischuk are in good form today and the discussion is funny and interesting.

            Grischuk – Who are the five greatest players of all time (in order)?

            Svidler – Kasparov, Carlsen, Fischer, Alekhine, Capablanca/Karpov

            Giri – Kasparov, Alekhine, Fischer, Carlsen, Tal

            Grischuk – Kasparov, Carlsen, Fischer, Karpov, Botvinnik/Anand

            Giri says that he has recently reread Alekhine and was surprised how modern he was. He brought modern chess in.

            Svidler – Tal is very dear to my heart as a person and as a player.

            Grischuk – Carlsen holding the three titles of classical, rapid and blitz champion at the same time was an incredible achievement. Vishy won titles in all sorts of formats.

            Giri – Name one of the most promising Russian juniors

            Grischuk – I am torn between Artemiev (20) and Esipenko (16)

            Svidler – See Esipenko vs Karjakin at Riyadh last year. He is very mature and not afraid of much higher rated players – playing black vs Karjakin. See

            http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1904002

            He is working with Sergey Shipov, who is recognized as the go-to guy for young Russians wanting to progress.

            Giri – I worked in training sessions with Shipov and my favorite time was listening to his lectures.

            The guys talk about other young players such as Maghsoodloo, from Iran, the World Junior Champion, Praggnanandhaa, Sarin and Vincent Keymer.

            ___________

            Grischuk: "So again a very miserable preparation by Magnus with White. Again he sort of chooses to play on his opponent's ground, like playing away in some sports like football or basketball"

            Grischuk: "Another miserable preparation by Magnus with White...This 10...c5 is nothing new. I think it's an idea by my friend Alexander Riazantsev."

            Mercifully Game 11 is over, and the 2018 #CarlsenCaruana World Championship match will come down to the final classical game on Monday!

            https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-to...ip-2018/1/1/11

            If that's drawn, tiebreaks will follow on Wednesday

            Svidler: "This will be my easiest recap of the match. We've just had Thanksgiving so I'm thankful for the players for giving me a reasonably light workload"

            Tarjei J. Svensen –

            Carlsen's 9 out of 9 playoff wins since 2007:

            2018: 1,5-0,5 vs Giri
            2017: 1,5-0,5 vs MVL
            2016: 3-1 vs Karjakin
            2015: 2-0 vs Yu
            2015: 1,5-0,5 vs MVL
            2015: 3-2 vs Naiditsch
            2012: 2-0 vs Caruana
            2011: 1,5-0,5 vs Ivanchuk
            2007: 3-2 vs Onischuk


            Round 11, Nov. 24
            Carlsen, Magnus – Caruana, Fabiano
            C42 Petrov, Nimzowitsch Attack

            1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 Be7 7.Be3 O-O 8.Qd2 Nd7 9.O-O-O Nf6 10.Bd3 c5 11.Rhe1 Be6 12.Kb1 Qa5 13.c4 Qxd2 14.Bxd2 h6 15.Nh4 Rfe8 16.Ng6 Ng4 17.Nxe7+ Rxe7 18.Re2 Ne5 19.Bf4 Nxd3 20.Rxd3 Rd7 21.Rxd6 Rxd6 22.Bxd6 Rd8 23.Rd2 Bxc4 24.Kc1 b6 25.Bf4 Rxd2 26.Kxd2 a6 27.a3 Kf8 28.Bc7 b5 29.Bd6+ Ke8 30.Bxc5 h5 31.Ke3 Kd7 32.Kd4 g6 33.g3 Be2 34.Bf8 Kc6 35.b3 Bd1 36.Kd3 Bg4 37.c4 Be6 38.Kd4 bxc4 39.bxc4 Bg4 40.c5 Be6 41.Bh6 Bd5 42.Be3 Be6 43.Ke5 Bd5 44.Kf4 Be6 45.Kg5 Bd5 46.g4 hxg4 47.Kxg4 Ba2 48.Kg5 Bb3 49.Kf6 Ba2 50.h4 Bb3 51.f4 Ba2 52.Ke7 Bb3 53.Kf6 Ba2 54.f5 Bb1 55.Bf2 Bc2 1/2-1/2

            Final position



            Peter wanted 12.Bg5 and a bloodbath!

            Carlsen – Caruana 5.5 - 5.5

            Comment


            • #36
              Carlsen – Caruana World Championship 2018

              November 25, 2018


              DeepMind's AlphaZero on Carlsen-Caruana Games 1, 3, 5 & 8 (Sicilian Defence)

              2-time British Chess Champion Matthew Sadler uses DeepMind's AlphaZero to analyse Games 1, 3, 5 & 8 (the Sicilian Defence) of the 2018 World Chess Championship between Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana.


              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeqbDMzi_IY


              Comments

              Wow, what a treat!! Amazing video and it's really great to see GM Sadler, I loved his books on the Slav and QGD from years ago but I sadly heard that he'd given up chess. And now he's back, writing a new book about Alpha Zero and he has access to the AI?! Fantastic stuff!

              In game 1 it’s interesting how both SF and Lc0 wanted to go 14. a4 Nd7 and 15. Nf3 instead of a5
              Neither SF nor Lc0 think very highly of b4 in game 5. Surprising that Alpha-zero likes it.
              In game 8 Lc0 wanted to go 14... e4 not f4.
              I love it when top engines disagree

              Something tells me the Nd5 sideline in the Sveshnikov is going to become the mainline now that everyone knows it is AZ's favourite.

              This is such a well-produced video and provides great insight. Thanks Matthew Sadler and all involved.

              Comment


              • #37
                Carlsen – Caruana World Championship 2018

                November 26, 2018

                Round Twelve

                Round 12, Nov. 26
                Caruana, Fabiano – Carlsen, Magnus
                B33 Sicilian, Pelikan (Lasker-Sveshnikov) variation


                1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Nd5 Nxd5 8.exd5 Ne7 9.c4 Ng6 10.Qa4 Bd7 11.Qb4 Bf5 12.h4 h5 13.Qa4 Bd7 14.Qb4 Bf5 15.Be3 a6 16.Nc3 Qc7 17.g3 Be7 18.f3 Nf8 19.Ne4 Nd7 20.Bd3 O-O 21.Rh2 Rac8 22.O-O-O Bg6 23.Rc2 f5 24.Nf2 Nc5 25.f4 a5 26.Qd2 e4 27.Be2 Be8 28.Kb1 Bf6 29.Re1 a4 30.Qb4 g6 31.Rd1 Ra8 1/2-1/2

                Final position




                After twelve games the Match is tied at 6-6, forcing a playoff

                On-line Comments

                Grischuk: "All three of us play the Najdorf on a regular basis... and Magnus doesn't"

                Svidler: "Fabi has a lot more experience in these types of games than Magnus does"

                Kramnik on air at the moment on http://chess-news.ru/ .
                "Never in my life would I have played f2-f3, like Caruana."

                Grischuk: "It looks like Fabiano had Topalov syndrome in this game - just avoiding normal moves to avoid a draw"

                Mig Greengard Retweeted Jonathan Tisdall
                Carlsen is used to winning without taking many risks, and he can still pull it off and may well do it here, but after years it has clearly impacted his overall level & success rate.

                Grischuk: "It's a little bit like a Maroczy where everything went wrong for White"

                Giri: "I feel that both players feel that the position is equal - from their moves"
                Grischuk: "No, Black is in the driving seat, with the time situation and everything"

                Svidler after 29.Re1: "People in chat are saying Black is much better because Sesse says so"
                Giri: "Yeah, but in this kind of position where it's all locked the engine often sees the far-advanced pawn on e4 & often can say Black is better without having a plan"

                Kramnik: 'Magnus is trying to be completely safe...he is trying lazy chess...he knows very well that his moves are not the best.'

                Grischuk "Magnus seems unable to calculate things clearly today"
                Giri "Not even trying, probably. So far he hasn't tried to calculate anything long, he just plays very positionally"
                Svidler "I think we don't even know, because when possible he avoided any concrete decision"

                Pelletier - Juicy position, better time... what more can Magnus ask for?

                Stunning, as just when the tension was building to its height it turns out Magnus had offered a draw and Fabiano accepted! Tiebreaks it is!

                Hammer: "Extremely cowardly"
                Agdestein: "The biggest shock ever"

                Kramnik on the draw by Magnus "as a human as a World Champ this is simply not allowed"! "I would not sleep for one month!"

                This draw is one of the most inexplicable decisions by a World Champion in a World Championship match. Only Fischer's no show in the 2nd game, and Botvinnik - Bronstein come to mind

                Grischuk suggests making the World Championship an "unlimited match to 6 wins" and if there's no winner before the next Candidates Tournament both players are out of the cycle

                The last game was a thriller... until it suddenly wasn't... but we've ended with 12 draws and tiebreaks to follow on Wednesday!

                If Carlsen loses the tiebreaks on Wed we'll say he deserved it for betraying Caissa with this draw offer, but he's still the favorite and the favorite can get away with spitting in the goddess's eye on occasion.

                NewInChess

                Tie-breaks in #CarlsenCaruana on Wednesday:
                - four 25+10 rapid games
                - two 5+3 blitz games
                - four more blitz mini-matches of two games…

                Grischuk: "Maybe if you purely speak about the quality it's maybe the best match ever - at least in terms of the number of mistakes"

                Smart decision by Carlsen. No need to risk everything in one game when he can play four on Wednesday

                Kasparov - In light of this shocking draw offer from Magnus in a superior position with more time, I reconsider my evaluation of him being the favorite in rapids. Tiebreaks require tremendous nerves and he seems to be losing his.

                Giri: "At some point Magnus had a lot of possibilities but he wanted a draw, and he never really switched gear"

                Comment


                • #38
                  You can add me as being puzzled. Black had a natural attack on white's king position and everything to play for. But draw?! So its headed to playoffs. Stay tuned til Wednesday.

                  Comment


                  • #39
                    Carlsen – Caruana World Championship 2018

                    November 27, 2018

                    Round Twelve (continued)

                    With all games of the Match drawn, the question arises, “Should the format be changed?”

                    The commentators continued the broadcast, addressing this question. I am indebted to Martin Benjamin posting on the ecforum for his transcription of this discussion :

                    https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic...e9c4ef#p224730

                    “Interesting discussion between Peter Svidler, Anish Giri and Alexander Grischuk during Chess 24 coverage of game 12 after the draw was agreed.

                    Svidler stated that a match of 12 draws has not been good in terms of promoting the game, and the discussion was what (if anything) needs changing for a World Championship match.

                    Grischuk argued strongly for the whole match to be FischerRandom; Svidler was in favour of retaining the classical starting position, but with a quicker time limit; and Giri was firmly in favour of no change, because he saw no problem with enjoying high quality chess. Pros and cons to all three.

                    Grischuk made an interesting point that if people want to watch accurate play at classical time limits, then there are websites where they can watch top computers playing each other. I think something has to change, because the quality of computers + top GMs assisting with preparation, allied with the ability of the likes of Carlsen and Caruana to play with barely any mistakes in familiar types of position, make winning exceedingly difficult in a match, when both players have lots of time and resources for very deep preparation.

                    For now, I think Svidler's suggestion is the best, because I don't think we are quite at the death of chess at the very highest level by forced draw, but a FischerRandom World Championship cycle (rather than just the final) is an attractive option.”

                    Comment


                    • #40
                      Originally posted by Wayne Komer View Post
                      Svidler stated that a match of 12 draws has not been good in terms of promoting the game, and the discussion was what (if anything) needs changing for a World Championship match.
                      This moment has been waiting to happen for many years, and was inevitable as I predicted.


                      Originally posted by Wayne Komer View Post
                      Grischuk argued strongly for the whole match to be FischerRandom...
                      FischerRandom is an appealing option, but the appeal is deceptive. It only buys about another 10 or 15 years, because all it requires is accurate assessment of opening play. Once equal middlegames are entered, you have the same old problem all over again. And in those 10 or 15 years, chess at the highest levels will not grow -- it may not shrink either, but it will not grow.


                      Originally posted by Wayne Komer View Post
                      ...Svidler was in favour of retaining the classical starting position, but with a quicker time limit...
                      Quicker time limits make chess more of a sport in the sense that results become more determined by mistakes made under pressure. That's typically what sports are about. A lot of NFL football games come down to a field goal, either made or missed. But of course football attracts an exponentially wider audience because the action leading up to that field goal is enjoyed by many who don't themselves play football. The game itself is a show. Chess is trying to do that with commentary, analysis and even some cheap stunts like monitoring players' heart rates, but it doesn't even come close to the physical action of most sports. With quicker time limits, analysis would be quickened as well, losing some value and accuracy.

                      There are some ways that chess can be made appealing to a much wider audience, and that is a different topic. On the matter of making the WC more interesting, quicker time controls seems to be the only way to go. My prediction is that the typical slow time controls are going to disappear from chess entirely, even at the club level, in years to come.


                      Originally posted by Wayne Komer View Post
                      ...Giri was firmly in favour of no change, because he saw no problem with enjoying high quality chess. Pros and cons to all three.
                      It's hard to see any problems when you and your wife are both enjoying a nice lifestyle from the status quo.


                      Originally posted by Wayne Komer View Post
                      Grischuk made an interesting point that if people want to watch accurate play at classical time limits, then there are websites where they can watch top computers playing each other.
                      I've been making that point for years. It's actually another argument in favor of quicker time controls, because the truth is, only Giri and a very few others want to watch accurate play at classical time limits.


                      Originally posted by Wayne Komer View Post
                      ...something has to change, because the quality of computers + top GMs assisting with preparation, allied with the ability of the likes of Carlsen and Caruana to play with barely any mistakes in familiar types of position, make winning exceedingly difficult in a match, when both players have lots of time and resources for very deep preparation.

                      For now, I think Svidler's suggestion is the best, because I don't think we are quite at the death of chess at the very highest level by forced draw, but a FischerRandom World Championship cycle (rather than just the final) is an attractive option.”
                      Much more exciting than FischerRandom is Option Chess, but I'm biased... as was Fischer....
                      Only the rushing is heard...
                      Onward flies the bird.

                      Comment


                      • #41
                        Carlsen – Caruana World Championship 2018

                        November 28, 2018

                        Tie-Breaks

                        The clearest statement of the tie-breaks is at:

                        http://ruchess.ru/en/news/all/carlse..._regular_time/


                        Magnus Carlsen will play with the white pieces in the first game.

                        Four (4) rapid games shall be played. The games shall be played using the electronic clock starting with 25 minutes for each player with an increment of 10 seconds after each move. If the scores are level after the games, then, after a new drawing of colors, a match of 2 games shall be played with a time control of 5 minutes plus 3 seconds increment after each move. In case of a level score, another 2-game match will be played to determine a winner. If still there is no winner after 5 such matches (total 10 games), one sudden-death game will be played.

                        On the same site are the comments of Vladimir Kramnik about the Match. A generous excerpt:

                        “– The final classical game was taking quite an underwhelming course for the candidate. Firstly, it was about his ineffective prep since 12...h5 has somehow escaped his attention. I employed 12.h4 against Roganovic at the Batumi Olympiad, and the opponent came back with 12...a6, which is probably the strongest in this position. I am amazed by his not having looked into 12…h5 at all. Something to say about his coaching staff’s work.

                        Fabiano’s followup performance was quite poor. I would have never played f2-f3 as a move contradicting the nature of the position. Tastes differ, as they say, and this complex position can be handled in many ways, but I am not a fan of f3. Another disappointer is 0-0-0…Although not devoid of logic, it became clear before long that the only side with attacking potential is Black.

                        However, it was followed by something weird. Somehow, Carlsen wanted to make a draw instead of winning the game. Even after а5-а4 the edge is still with Black, and the final setup looks very promising indeed. Meanwhile, Black’s play could have been sharper, including such ideas as b7-b5. White seems to have one foot in the grave already. Even the final position is quite unpleasant for White, at least from the practical point of view. Black can play Ra6, threatening a4-a3 and Rb6 ... In practical terms, White’s position is extremely unpleasant, coupled with his lack of thinking time. Carlsen’s decision defies logic and is hard to fathom. The World Champion is bound to persist in such positions.

                        I understand that he is rightfully considers himself a tiebreak favorite. However, there is no absolute certainty in that, in the first place: I think the chances of winning the final position were much higher than winning the tie-break itself. Even from a purely human point of view: the fact of everyone watching the match obliges to battle it out, which is especially true for a world champion. However, it has nothing to do with Fabiano, who came out to fight as White and refrained from repeating moves when running into 12 ... h5, which he clearly overlooked in his preparation. He did want to fight, but it just did not work out for him. As for Magnus, refusing to go on in a better position has had the entire world shocked! This is not the Magnus we have come to know. This said, a champion should act differently in situations like this, from my conservative point of view. Being too old-fashioned and conservative perhaps, I still think it is not the way to go - offering a draw in a better position in the most crucial of moments, with more thinking time at that. It does not raise to the status of world champion.”

                        Comment


                        • #42
                          Carlsen wins the first game.

                          Comment


                          • #43
                            Carlsen – Caruana World Championship 2018

                            November 28, 2018

                            Tie Breaks

                            Game 1

                            Game 1, Round 13, Nov. 28
                            Rapid 25 + 10
                            Carlsen, Magnus – Caruana, Fabiano
                            A22 English, Bremen, Smyslov System

                            1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 Bb4 4.e4 O-O 5.Nge2 c6 6.Bg2 a6 7.O-O b5 8.d4 d6 9.a3 Bxc3 10.Nxc3 bxc4 11.dxe5 dxe5 12.Na4 Be6 13.Qxd8 Rxd8 14.Be3 Nbd7 15.f3 Rab8 16.Rac1 Rb3 17.Rfe1 Ne8 18.Bf1 Nd6 19.Rcd1 Nb5 20.Nc5 Rxb2 21.Nxe6 fxe6 22.Bxc4 Nd4 23.Bxd4 exd4 24.Bxe6+ Kf8 25.Rxd4 Ke7 26.Rxd7+ Rxd7 27.Bxd7 Kxd7 28.Rd1+ Ke6 29.f4 c5 30.Rd5 Rc2 31.h4 c4 32.f5+ Kf6 33.Rc5 h5 34.Kf1 Rc3 35.Kg2 Rxa3 36.Rxc4 Ke5 37.Rc7 Kxe4 38.Re7+ Kxf5 39.Rxg7 Kf6 40.Rg5 a5 41.Rxh5 a4 42.Ra5 Ra1 43.Kf3 a3 44.Ra6+ Kg7 45.Kg2 Ra2+ 46.Kh3 Ra1 47.h5 Kh7 48.g4 Kg7 49.Kh4 a2 50.Kg5 Kf7 51.h6 Rb1 52.Ra7+ Kg8 53.Rxa2 Rb5+ 54.Kg6 Rb6+ 55.Kh5 1-0

                            Position After 24.Bxe6+. Magnus spent 9 min 25 sec on this move




                            Final position



                            White wins in 23 moves after 55…Rb5+

                            Carlsen leads Caruana 1-0 after the first game of four rapids

                            Comment


                            • #44
                              Putting on my tinfoil hat:

                              Maybe drawing all the regulation games then winning the tiebreaks was Carlsen's plan all along. Perhaps he wants to make future WC matches have quicker controls. What better way to accomplish that than producing tepid play with never-ending draws in regulation and more excitement with some decisive results in the tiebreaks? ;-)
                              Last edited by Tom O'Donnell; Wednesday, 28th November, 2018, 12:49 PM.
                              "Tom is a well known racist, and like most of them he won't admit it, possibly even to himself." - Ed Seedhouse, October 4, 2020.

                              Comment


                              • #45
                                Seems we'll not see the World Blitz championship this time LOL

                                Comment

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