Magnus Carlsen Invitational 2020

[Wayne Komer]

Magnus Carlsen Invitational 2020

April 24, 2020

Round Four

Daniil Dubov has joined the English commentary. He is still in Yekaterinburg. He decided it was a better idea than returning to Moscow with the virus situation. He was commentator on the official site there with Miro.

He was subject to a lot of comment a few months ago when he wore a designer Balenciaga sweater for all his over- the-board games. In Canada, the price of that piece of apparel starts at $1450!

On the Russian “channel” Evgenyi Bareev is talking with Jan Nepomniachtchi. Ilya Levitov is his co-host. It is interesting to look at the background of the various players and commentators. MVL has a tree in the window back of him. Another has a bookcase in back of him and I have been trying to read the titles on the spines. If I had one wish, it would be for Evgenyi to have the CN Tower in the background.

Round 4, April 24
Game 1
Carlsen, Magnus – MVL
B54 Sicilian Defence

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Bc4 e6 6.O-O Be7 7.Bd3 Nc6 8.Nxc6 bxc6 9.c4 O-O 10.Nc3 e5 11.Be3 Be6 12.Qe2 Nd7 13.Rfd1 Qc7 14.b4 a5 15.a3 axb4 16.axb4 Rxa1 17.Rxa1 Rb8 18.Rb1 Nf6 19.h3 d5 20.cxd5 cxd5 21.exd5 Nxd5 22.Nxd5 Bxd5 23.b5 e4 24.Qh5 exd3 25.Qxd5 Rd8 26.Qe4 Bf8 27.b6 Qc2 28.Rc1 Qb3 29.Qf3 d2 30.Rd1 h6 31.b7 Rb8 32.Rxd2 Rxb7 33.g4 Rb8 34.Kg2 Re8 35.Rd7 Qe6 36.Qd5 Qxd5+ 37.Rxd5 g6 38.h4 Bg7 39.h5 g5 40.Kf3 Bf6 41.Ke2 Kg7 42.Kd3 Ra8 43.f4 gxf4 44.Bxf4 Ra3+ 45.Ke4 Ra6 46.Kf5 Bb2 47.Rb5 Rf6+ 48.Ke4 Re6+ 49.Kf5 Rf6+ 50.Ke4 Re6+ 51.Kf5 Rf6+ 1/2-1/2

Round 4, April 24
Game 2
MVL – Carlsen, Magnus
E60 King’s Indian Defence

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.h4 Bg7 4.Nc3 d6 5.e4 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.dxe5 dxe5 8.Qxd8 Rxd8 9.h5 c6 10.Bg5 Na6 11.Nf3 Nc5 12.hxg6 hxg6 13.Rh4 Ne6 14.Be3 Nd4 15.Nxd4 exd4 16.O-O-O Ng4 17.Bxg4 Bxg4 18.Rxg4 dxe3 19.fxe3 Bxc3 20.bxc3 Rxd1+ 21.Kxd1 Re8 22.Kc2 Re5 23.Rf4 Ra5 24.Kb3 Kf8 25.Rh4 Kg7 26.Rf4 Rg5 27.Rf2 Kf8 28.Kc2 Ke7 29.Kd3 b6 30.Kd4 Ke6 31.Kd3 f6 32.Rd2 Ra5 33.Rf2 Rh5 34.Rb2 Ra5 35.Rf2 Ra4 36.g4 Ra5 37.Rh2 g5 38.Rf2 a6 39.Rh2 b5 40.c5 Ra4 41.Rh7 Rc4 42.Ra7 Rxc5 43.Rxa6 Kd6 44.a4 bxa4 45.c4 Re5 46.Kd4 a3 47.Rxa3 c5+ 48.Kd3 Re8 49.Ra6+ Ke5 50.Rc6 Rd8+ 51.Ke2 Rh8 52.Rxc5+ Kxe4 53.Rf5 Rh2+ 54.Rf2 Rh3 55.Kd2 Rxe3 56.Rxf6 Rg3 57.c5 Rxg4 58.c6 Kd5 59.c7 Rc4 60.Rf5+ Ke4 61.Rxg5 Rxc7 1/2-1/2

Round 4, April 24
Game 1
Firouzja, Alireza – Caruana, Fabiano
D11 Queen’s Gambit

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Qc2 dxc4 5.e4 b5 6.b3 cxb3 7.axb3 e6 8.Bd3 Bb7 9.O-O Be7 10.Rd1 h6 11.Nc3 a6 12.h3 Nbd7 13.Be3 Rc8 14.e5 Nd5 15.Nxd5 cxd5 16.Qd2 Nb8 17.b4 Rc4 18.Rab1 Nd7 19.Ne1 Nb6 20.Qe2 Rxb4 21.Rxb4 Bxb4 22.Bxb5+ Nd7 23.Nd3 axb5 24.Nxb4 O-O 25.Qxb5 Qb6 26.Qxd7 Qxb4 27.Ra1 Qb6 28.Qe7 Bc6 29.Rc1 Bb5 30.Rc7 Bd3 31.Kh2 Bg6 32.Qc5 Qa6 33.Bf4 Rb8 34.Bg3 Rb1 35.Bh4 Bh5 36.Rc8+ Kh7 37.Qc2+ Bg6 38.Qc5 Qf1 39.Bf6 Be4 0-1

Round 4, April 24
Game 2
Caruana, Fabiano – Firouzja, Alireza
D12 QGD Slav

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4 Be4 7.f3 Bg6 8.Qb3 Qc7 9.Bd2 Be7 10.g3 Nbd7 11.cxd5 cxd5 12.Rc1 Qd8 13.Nxg6 hxg6 14.Qxb7 O-O 15.Bb5 Nb6 16.Qa6 g5 17.Be2 e5 18.O-O exd4 19.exd4 Ne8 20.b3 Nd6 21.Nb5 Bf6 22.Bb4 Nxb5 23.Bxb5 Bxd4+ 24.Kg2 Qf6 25.Bxf8 Rxf8 26.Bd3 g6 27.a4 g4 28.fxg4 Qg5 29.Be2 Nd7 30.Qd3 Be3 31.Rc3 d4 32.Rc7 Qd5+ 33.Bf3 Qd6 34.Rc6 Qe7 35.Bd5 Ne5 36.Qe4 Kg7 37.Rcf6 1-0

Some of the commentator chat:

- Grischuk was taught that a rook is worth 4.5 pawns

- Dubov was told that a queen is worth 12 pawns!

- Grischuk: "I was told recently that 4 knights win easily against the queen - I was surprised by that"

- Dubov: "2 knights against the queen is most likely to be a draw"

- Peter: It all started yesterday when [Grischuk] declared open season on me with his Top 2 Complainers

Jan: Yesterday when you spent 5 minutes complaining about being called a complainer?

Peter: Yes, exactly & now there's no way back. I'm living in some kind of dystopian new reality

- Alexander Grischuk says Magnus is "humiliating" his opponents by showing them he can play all their favourite openings!

Round 4, April 24
Game 3
Carlsen, Magnus – MVL
D12 QGD Slav

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bf5 5.Nf3 e6 6.Nh4 Be4 7.f3 Bg6 8.Bd2 Be7 9.Nxg6 hxg6 10.Qb3 Qc7 11.O-O-O dxc4 12.Bxc4 b5 13.Be2 a6 14.Ne4 Nxe4 15.fxe4 c5 16.Kb1 Nc6 17.e5 cxd4 18.Bf3 Rc8 19.Rc1 Qd7 20.Qc2 Na7 21.Qxc8+ Nxc8 22.Bc6 Nb6 23.Bxd7+ Kxd7 24.exd4 Nd5 25.h4 Rxh4 26.Rxh4 Bxh4 27.Rh1 Be7 28.Rh7 Bf8 29.Rh8 Ke7 30.Kc2 f6 31.exf6+ gxf6 32.Rh7+ 1-0

- Magnus wins smoothly to take a 2:1 lead over MVL - the French no.1 must now win Game 4 with White to force an Armageddon decider!

Round 4, April 24
Game 3
Firouzja, Alireza – Caruana, Fabiano
D11 Queen’s Gambit

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Qc2 e6 5.Nbd2 c5 6.cxd5 cxd4 7.Nxd4 Nxd5 8.a3 Be7 9.N2f3 O-O 10.e4 Nf6 11.e5 Nd5 12.Bd3 h6 13.Qe2 Nd7 14.Qe4 f5 15.exf6 N7xf6 16.Qe2 Qb6 17.O-O Bd7 18.Bc4 Bd6 19.Rd1 Rac8 20.Ba2 Rfe8 21.h3 Qa6 22.Qxa6 bxa6 23.Bd2 e5 24.Ne2 Be6 25.Ba5 Rc2 26.Rd2 Rxd2 27.Nxd2 Nf4 28.Bxe6+ Rxe6 29.Nxf4 exf4 30.Kf1 Nd7 31.Nc4 Be7 32.Rd1 Nb6 33.Nd2 Na4 34.b3 Nb6 35.a4 Kf7 36.Nf3 Bf6 37.Rc1 Nd5 38.Bd2 Rb6 39.b4 g5 40.Rc4 Ke6 41.Ne1 Rd6 42.a5 Ne7 43.Nf3 Rc6 44.Re4+ Kd5 45.Re1 Rc2 46.Rd1 Kc6 47.Re1 Kd5 48.Rd1 Kc6 49.Be1 Nd5 50.Rd4 Rc1 51.Re4 Kd6 52.Ke2 Rb1 53.Kd3 Rb3+ 54.Kc4 Rb1 55.Re8 Ne7 56.Kd3 Rb3+ 57.Ke4 Rb1 58.Ra8 Nc6 59.Kf5 Bd8 60.Bc3 Rc1 61.Bg7 Kc7 62.Nd4 Nxb4 63.Ne6+ 1-0

Position after White’s 63.Ne6+

[fen]R2b4/p1k3B1/p3N2p/P4Kp1/1n3p2/7P/5PP1/2r5 b - - 1 63[fen]

"That is actually cool!" (Dubov) Alireza Firouzja finds a nice trick to end a sequence of 5 losses to beat Fabiano Caruana and keep his hopes in the match alive!

Grischuk on the last MVL-Carlsen game: "It's painful to watch. It's like you're already knocked out & the guy keeps punching you. You want to give up the match but the guy says no!"

Dubov: "You can do Firouzja style & play random moves & resign?"

Dubov: "Do you think in candidate moves - I have these 3 options and I look at them one after another?"

Grischuk: "I'd be taking 2 hours per move if I did that!"

Dubov: "I thought that was what you were doing" :)

Round 4, April 24
Game 4
MVL – Carlsen, Magnus
D23 QGA, Neo-Mannheim

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Qc2 dxc4 5.Qxc4 g6 6.g3 Bg7 7.Bg2 O-O 8.O-O b5 9.Qc2 Bf5 10.Qd1 c5 11.Nc3 Nc6 12.Nh4 cxd4 13.Nxf5 gxf5 14.Bxc6 Rc8 15.Nxb5 Rxc6 16.Qxd4 a6 17.Qxd8 Rxd8 18.Na3 Ne4 19.Kg2 Rxc1 20.Raxc1 Bxb2 21.Nb1 Bxc1 22.Rxc1 Rd4 23.f3 Nf6 24.Kf2 Ra4 25.a3 Kg7 26.Rc3 Nd5 27.Rb3 Rc4 28.Nd2 Rc2 29.Rd3 Nc3 30.f4 e6 31.Kf3 Ne4 32.Nxe4 fxe4+ 33.Kxe4 Rxe2+ 34.Kf3 Rxh2 35.Rd6 a5 36.Ra6 Rh5 37.a4 Rc5 38.Ra8 h5 39.Ra6 Kg6 40.Kg2 Kf5 41.Ra7 f6 42.Kh3 Rd5 43.Ra8 e5 44.fxe5 fxe5 45.Rh8 Kg5 46.Ra8 e4 47.Kg2 Kg4 48.Rg8+ Kf5 49.Ra8 Ke5 50.Kf2 Kd4 51.Ke2 Rg5 52.Rd8+ Kc3 53.Re8 Rxg3 54.Rxe4 Rg4 55.Re5 Rxa4 56.Kf3 Ra2 57.Kg3 a4 58.Re4 Kd3 59.Rf4 Ke3 60.Rf3+ Ke4 61.Rf4+ Ke5 62.Rb4 Ra1 63.Kh2 a3 64.Rb3 Kd4 65.Rf3 Kc4 66.Rf4+ Kd3 67.Rf3+ Ke4 68.Rb3 h4 69.Rc3 Ra2+ 70.Kh1 Ra1+ 71.Kh2 Ra2+ 72.Kh1 Ra1+ 73.Kh2 1/2-1/2

Final Position



This is an endgame database draw

Carlsen immediately comes on to the show and starts commentating with the guys on Caruana-Firouzja.

(to be continued)

[Wayne Komer]

Magnus Carlsen Invitational 2020

April 24, 2020

Round Four (continued)

Round 4, April 24
Game 4
Caruana, Fabiano – Firouzja, Alireza
E60 King’s Indian, Fianchetto variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3 O-O 5.Bg2 d6 6.O-O Ne4 7.Qc2 f5 8.Nbd2 Nxd2 9.Bxd2 e5 10.dxe5 dxe5 11.Bb4 Re8 12.Rad1 Qf6 13.Bc3 Nc6 14.Ne1 Qe7 15.Bd5+ Kh8 16.Nf3 Nb4 17.Qb3 Na6 18.Ne1 e4 19.Bxg7+ Qxg7 20.c5 c6 21.Bc4 Nxc5 22.Qa3 Nd7 23.Ng2 Ne5 24.Bb3 b6 25.Nf4 g5 26.Nh5 Qg6 27.Qd6 Ba6 28.Rfe1 Qxd6 29.Rxd6 Rad8 30.Rf6 Bc8 31.Rd1 Rxd1+ 32.Bxd1 Rd8 33.Bb3 c5 34.Bd5 c4 35.a4 Bd7 36.f4 gxf4 37.gxf4 Ng4 38.Rd6 Ne3 39.Be6 Re8 40.Rxd7 1-0

- Firouzja had good chances but then blundered

- sad finish for firouzja

- Alireza Firouzja came very close but stumbled at the end and allowed Fabiano Caruana to seal a 3:1 victory!

- No Armageddon today as world nos 1 and 2 Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana pick up the full 3 match points!

Another bonus, Fabiano joins the discussion and Magnus leaves

- Fabiano Caruana is live now: "I was really worried!"

After analyzing his games, Fabiano is asked which player in the tournament he would like to be quarantined with.

Fabiano: I guess Maxime. He’s easy to get along with and we could play blitz from time to time.

Jan: I think all the other players would want to play blitz is you were quarantined together.

Round Four Results

Carlsen-MVL 2.5-l.5
Caruana-Firouzja 3-1

Standings after Round 4, Day 1

1 Carlsen 11 points
2 Caruana 8 points
3 Nakamura 7 points
4 Ding Liren 6 points
5 MVL 5 points
5 Nepo 5 points
7 Giri 0 points
7 Firouzja 0 points

[Wayne Komer]

Magnus Carlsen Invitational 2020

April 25, 2020

Round Four (continued)

The commentators initially are Gustafsson, Trent and Carlsen.

They are concerned about the fact that both Firouzja and Giri have not yet won a match. Lawrence says that Alireza is just sixteen, a super talent but still raw in experience. He asks if there were other 16-year olds who would have done well in this tournament. The two most obvious are Fischer and Kasparov. Magnus agrees about Kasparov but wonders if Fischer would have done well?
Lawrence reminds him that Fischer played in the 1959 Candidates at Bled/Zagreb and tied for 5-6 behind Tal, Keres, Petrosian, Smyslov and Gligoric. Carlsen feels that he was completely outclassed by the Soviets.

Round 4, April 25
Game 1
Nakamura, Hikaru – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
C18 French, Winawer, Advance

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.Qg4 cxd4 8.Qxg7 Rg8 9.Qxh7 Qc7 10.Qd3 dxc3 11.Nf3 b6 12.h4 Ba6 13.Qd4 Bxf1 14.Kxf1 Nd7 15.h5 Rc8 16.h6 Qc4+ 17.Qxc4 Rxc4 18.Bg5 Rh8 19.g3 Rh7 20.Kg2 Nc6 21.Rae1 b5 22.Bf6 Nxf6 23.exf6 Rg4 24.Rh5 Rg6 25.Rxd5 Rxf6 26.Rc5 Ne7 27.Rxb5 Rfxh6 28.Rb8+ Kd7 29.Ne5+ Kc7 30.Reb1 Nc6 31.R8b7+ Kd6 32.Nxf7+ Rxf7 33.Rxf7 1-0

- One of those inexplicable Nepo games when he plays so fast he has more time than he started with... but he's also close to dead lost!

- "That wasn't pretty!" (Magnus)

Nepomniachtchi still has almost 13 minutes left on his clock when he resigns the first game against Nakamura!

Round 4, April 25
Game 2
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Nakamura, Hikaru
D37 QGD, Hastings variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 Nbd7 7.c5 c6 8.h3 b6 9.b4 a5 10.a3 h6 11.Qc1 Bb7 12.Bd3 Qc8 13.O-O Ba6 14.Bxa6 Rxa6 15.Qc2 Qb7 16.Rab1 axb4 17.axb4 Rfa8 18.Rfc1 b5 19.Qb2 Ne4 20.Ra1 Qa7 21.Rxa6 Qxa6 22.Nxe4 dxe4 23.Nd2 f5 24.Nb3 Nf6 25.Bd6 Bd8 26.Ra1 Qb7 27.Ra3 Ra4 28.Qa2 Qa7 29.Rxa4 Qxa4 30.Qxa4 bxa4 31.Nc1 Nd5 32.Na2 g5 33.g3 Kf7 34.Kf1 Bc7 35.Bxc7 Nxc7 36.Ke2 Nd5 37.Kd2 h5 38.Nc3 a3 39.Kc2 Nxb4+ 40.Kb3 Nd3 41.Nd1 h4 42.gxh4 gxh4 43.Kxa3 Ke7 44.Kb3 Ne1 45.Nc3 Nd3 46.Nd1 f4 47.exf4 Nxf4 48.Nc3 Nxh3 49.Nxe4 Nf4 50.Kc2 h3 51.Ng3 Kf6 52.Kd2 Kg5 53.Ke3 Kg4 54.Nf1 Nd5+ 55.Ke4 Nc3+ 56.Ke3 Nd1+ 57.Ke2 Nb2 58.Ke3 Nc4+ 59.Kd3 Kf3 60.Kxc4 Kxf2 61.Nh2 Kg2 62.Ng4 Kg3 63.Ne3 Kf3 64.Nf1 Kf2 65.Nh2 Kg2 66.Ng4 Kg3 67.Ne3 Kf3 68.Nf1 Kf2 1/2-1/2

Position after White’s 53.Ke3



Nakamura played 53…Kg4? But should have played Ng2+


- The 2nd games have begun, with Nakamura playing the same system with black that got him into trouble against Firouzja

- Magnus describe's Nepo 19.Qb2 as "awful", allowing "Black's one idea" of 19...Ne4!

Round 4, April 25
Game 1
Ding, Liren – Giri, Anish
D32 QGD, Tarrasch Defence

1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.e3 e6 5.d4 d5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Bb5 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bd7 9.O-O Bd6 10.b3 O-O 11.Bb2 Re8 12.Nce2 Be5 13.Nxc6 bxc6 14.Bxe5 Rxe5 15.Bd3 c5 16.Rc1 Qb6 17.Qd2 Rc8 18.Rfd1 a5 19.Nf4 a4 20.Rc3 axb3 21.axb3 Rce8 22.h3 d4 23.exd4 cxd4 24.Rc4 Qxb3 25.Rxd4 Qxd1+ 26.Qxd1 Re1+ 27.Qxe1 Rxe1+ 28.Kh2 Re7 29.Nd5 Nxd5 30.Rxd5 g6 31.Rd4 Be6 32.Bc4 Bxc4 33.Rxc4 Kg7 34.g3 h5 35.Kg2 Re6 36.h4 Re7 37.Rc3 Re6 38.Rc4 Re7 39.Rc3 Re6 40.Rc4 1/2-1/2

Round 4, April 25
Game 2
Giri, Anish – Ding, Liren
D86 Grunfeld, Exchange, Classical variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2 Nc6 9.Be3 O-O 10.O-O b6 11.Rc1 Bb7 12.Bb5 cxd4 13.cxd4 Rc8 14.Qd2 e6 15.Rfd1 Na5 16.Rxc8 Qxc8 17.Bg5 Qc7 18.d5 exd5 19.exd5 Qc5 20.Qd3 Qd6 21.Bf4 Be5 22.Bxe5 Qxe5 23.d6 Rd8 24.d7 Nc6 25.Nc3 a6 26.Bxa6 Bxa6 27.Qxa6 Qxc3 28.Qc8 Qc2 29.Re1 Qd2 30.Re8+ Kg7 31.h3 Qd1+ 32.Kh2 Qd6+ 33.g3 Rxd7 0-1

Peter Svidler is on the Russian broadcast with Bareev and Levitov and it is an opportunity to hear him speak Russian. I watch for a while because on the English broadcast they are trying to match up chess players with all-time great NBA stars like Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.

Round 4, April 25
Game 3
Nakamura, Hikaru – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
B51 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O a6 6.c4 e5 7.d3 g6 8.Nc3 Bg7 9.a3 O-O 10.b4 h6 11.Rb1 Qc7 12.Bd2 b6 13.Ne1 Nb8 14.Nc2 Nc6 15.bxc5 bxc5 16.Bxc6 Qxc6 17.Ne3 Ra7 18.Ncd5 Nh5 19.Rb6 Qd7 20.Rb8 Rb7 21.Nb6 Qe6 22.Rxc8 Rxc8 23.Nxc8 Qxc8 24.Nd5 Kh7 25.Qa4 Rb2 26.Bc3 Rb8 27.Bd2 Nf6 28.Nc3 Nd7 29.Qc2 h5 30.Rb1 Bh6 31.Be1 Nf8 32.Nd5 Ne6 33.Bc3 Nf4 34.Nxf4 Bxf4 35.Rxb8 Qxb8 36.Qb2 Qxb2 37.Bxb2 Kg7 38.h3 Kf6 39.Bc3 Bc1 40.a4 Ke6 1/2-1/2

Round 4, April 25
Game 3
Ding, Liren – Giri, Anish
E60 King’s Indian

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.e3 O-O 5.Be2 c5 6.d5 d6 7.Nc3 e6 8.Nd2 Na6 9.O-O Re8 10.e4 b6 11.dxe6 Bxe6 12.Nb3 Qe7 13.Bf4 Rad8 14.Qd2 Nb4 15.Rad1 Qb7 16.f3 Qa6 17.a3 Nc6 18.Nb5 Qa4 19.Qc2 Na5 20.N3d4 Qxc2 21.Nxc2 Bxc4 22.Bxc4 Nxc4 23.b3 a6 24.bxc4 axb5 25.cxb5 d5 26.Ne3 dxe4 27.Bc7 Rd3 28.Rfe1 Rxa3 29.Nc4 Rb3 30.Nd6 Ra8 31.Bxb6 Nd7 32.Bc7 Bd4+ 33.Kh1 e3 34.Nc4 Ra4 35.Nd6 Ra2 36.Nc4 Rc2 37.Rc1 Rxc1 38.Rxc1 Rxb5 39.Bf4 e2 40.g4 Nb6 41.Nd2 Rb2 42.Re1 Nd5 43.Bh6 Nc3 44.Kg2 f5 45.Nc4 Rb4 46.Nd6 fxg4 47.fxg4 Be5 48.Bd2 Bxd6 49.Bxc3 Rxg4+ 50.Kf3 Rh4 0-1

Position after White’s 34.Nc4



BREAKING NEWS: Anish Giri wins his first game in the #MagnusInvite supertournament at his 15th attempt!

__________

In these days of social distancing, one does not get a haircut. A guy in chat remarks on how much hair Fabiano has and another compares him to Barton Fink. This was a character in a film (1991) of the same name, played by John Turturro. To those who know entertainment in the first half of the 20^th century, Barton’s haircut is modeled on that of George S. Kaufman.

Round 4, April 25
Game 4
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Nakamura, Hikaru
D37 QGD, Hastings variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 Nbd7 7.a3 c5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Nxd5 exd5 10.dxc5 Nxc5 11.Be5 Bf6 12.Be2 Bf5 13.Bxf6 Qxf6 14.Qd4 Qd6 15.Rd1 Rfd8 16.Qd2 Nb3 17.Qc3 Qb6 18.Nd4 Nxd4 19.Qxd4 Qxd4 20.Rxd4 Rac8 21.g4 Rc1+ 22.Rd1 Rxd1+ 23.Bxd1 Be6 24.f4 f5 25.gxf5 Bxf5 26.Bb3 Kf8 27.O-O d4 28.Rd1 d3 29.Kf2 Rd6 30.Kf3 Rb6 31.Bd5 Rxb2 32.e4 Bd7 33.Rxd3 Rxh2 34.Rd4 Rh3+ 35.Kf2 Rxa3 36.Bxb7 Ra2+ 37.Ke3 Ra3+ 38.Kd2 Ra2+ 39.Kc3 Ke7 40.Bd5 Ra3+ 41.Kd2 Ra4 42.Rd3 Be6 43.Ba8 Ra2+ 44.Ke3 Rb2 45.f5 Bf7 46.Kf4 g6 47.Ra3 gxf5 48.Rxa7+ Kf8 49.exf5 Rb4+ 50.Kg5 Rb6 51.Be4 h6+ 52.Kg4 Rb4 53.Kf3 h5 54.Ke3 Bb3 55.Rh7 Ba2 56.Rxh5 Bb1 57.Bd5 Kg7 58.Be6 Kf6 59.Bd7 Ke5 60.Bc8 Rb3+ 61.Kf2 Rb8 62.Bd7 Rd8 63.Be6 Bxf5 64.Bxf5 Rf8 65.Ke3 Rxf5 66.Rxf5+ Kxf5 1/2-1/2

Nakamura wins the match

Nepo-Nakamura 1.5-2.5

- Hikaru Nakamura is just 1 point behind Magnus (3 match wins and that Armageddon loss to Carlsen) in 2nd place after beating Ian Nepomniachtchi 2.5:1.5!

- Nakamura after beating Nepomniachtchi: "I think the match was very smooth... at some point I was winning in every game"

Round 4, April 25
Game 4
Giri, Anish – Ding, Liren
D41 QGD, Semi-Tarrasch

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 cxd4 8.cxd4 Bb4+ 9.Bd2 Bxd2+ 10.Qxd2 O-O 11.Bc4 Nd7 12.O-O b6 13.d5 Nc5 14.Rfe1 Bb7 15.Rad1 Rc8 16.h4 Qf6 17.Qe3 exd5 18.exd5 a6 19.h5 b5 20.Bf1 h6 21.Rd4 Rfd8 22.Qd2 Rd6 23.Rc1 Qd8 24.Qb4 Na4 25.Rxc8 Bxc8 26.Ne5 Bb7 27.Bc4 Qe7 28.Bb3 Qxe5 29.Re4 a5 30.Qe1 Qxh5 31.Re8+ Kh7 32.Bc2+ f5 33.Qe5 Rxd5 34.Qe6 Nc5 35.Qg8+ Kg6 36.Re3 Rd1+ 37.Bxd1 Qxd1+ 38.Kh2 f4 39.Re7 Qh5+ 40.Kg1 Qd1+ 41.Kh2 Qh5+ 42.Kg1 Qd1+ 43.Kh2 1/2-1/2

Match Score

Giri-Ding 2-2

(to be continued)

[Wayne Komer]

Magnus Carlsen Invitational 2020

April 25, 2020

Round Four (continued)

Armageddon

White has 5 minutes, Black has 4 minutes
Black wins the match in case of a draw
Colors determined by drawing of lots
Match winner: 2 points, loser gets on point

Ding Liren wins the draw and chooses Black

Round 4, April 25
Armageddon
Giri, Anish – Ding, Liren
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Nbd2 O-O 7.Qe2 Re8 8.Nc4 b5 9.Ncxe5 Qd6 10.Bf4 Nh5 11.g3 Nxf4 12.gxf4 f6 13.d4 Bxd4 14.Nd3 Bf5 15.e5 fxe5 16.fxe5 Bxd3 17.Qxd3 Bxe5 18.O-O-O Bf4+ 19.Kb1 Qxd3 20.Rxd3 Rad8 21.Rc3 Rd6 22.a3 Re2 23.Rf1 g5 24.h3 Kf7 25.Rc5 Kf6 26.Rg1 h6 27.h4 Rxf2 28.hxg5+ hxg5 29.Nxg5 Bxg5 30.Rcxg5 Ke6 31.Rg7 Rf7 32.Re1+ Kf6 33.Rg8 Re6 34.Rd1 Rd6 35.Rh1 a5 36.a4 bxa4 37.Rh4 Ke7 38.Rxa4 Rd5 39.Re4+ Kd7 40.Ree8 Rf1+ 41.Ka2 Rf2 42.Rd8+ Ke7 43.Rge8+ Kf7 44.Rf8+ Ke7 45.Rfe8+ Kf7 46.Rf8+ Ke7 47.Rxd5 Rxf8 48.Rxa5 Kd6 49.Rh5 Rf3 50.c3 c5 51.Kb3 Rf4 52.Rh6+ Kd7 53.Rh7+ Kc6 54.Rh8 Kb6 55.Rb8+ Kc6 56.Ra8 Kb6 57.Ra1 Kc6 58.Re1 Kb6 1/2-1/2

Giri-Ding 2-3

Alexander Grischuk: "This is a farce. Another Armageddon farce. There are bullet games by Nakamura or Alireza better than this." And he then logged off: "See you tomorrow."

Standings After Round Four, Day Two

1 Carlsen 11 points
2 Nakamura 10 points
3 Caruana 8 points
3 Ding 8 points
5 MVL 5 points
5 Nepo 5 points
7 Giri 1 point
8 Firouzja 0 points

Round Five Pairings

Sunday, April 26

Giri-Carlsen
MVL-Firouzja

Monday, April 27

Caruana-Nakamura
Nepo-Ding

[Wayne Komer]

Magnus Carlsen Invitational 2020

April 26, 2020

Round Five

The commentators today – Svidler, Trent and Gustafsson

Round 5, Apr. 26
Game 1
Giri, Anish – Carlsen, Magnus
E04 Catalan, open

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.g3 dxc4 5.Bg2 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 a5 7.a3 Bd6 8.Qa4+ Bd7 9.Qxc4 Bc6 10.Bg5 Nbd7 11.O-O O-O 12.Nc3 h6 13.Bxf6 Nxf6 14.Rfe1 Bd5 15.Qd3 Bxf3 16.Bxf3 c6 17.Qc2 Qe7 18.Red1 Rfd8 19.Rac1 g6 20.e3 Kg7 21.Kg2 h5 22.h4 Rac8 23.Qa4 Bc7 24.Qb3 Rb8 25.Rc2 e5 26.dxe5 Bxe5 27.Rcd2 Rxd2 28.Rxd2 Qc7 29.Ne4 Nxe4 30.Bxe4 Re8 31.Bf3 Re7 32.a4 Rd7 33.Rxd7 Qxd7 34.Qc2 Qe7 35.b3 Qb4 36.Qd3 Qd6 37.Qxd6 Bxd6 38.Be2 f5 39.Bc4 Kf6 40.Kf3 Bb4 41.Ke2 Bd6 1/2-1/2

Round 5, Apr. 26
Game 2
Carlsen, Magnus – Giri, Anish
D38 QGD, Ragosin variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bf4 Ne4 7.Rc1 Nc6 8.Nd2 g5 9.Be3 Nxc3 10.bxc3 Ba3 11.Rb1 f5 12.g3 Bd6 13.Rg1 O-O 14.h4 f4 15.gxf4 g4 16.Rb5 Ne7 17.f5 h5 18.Bg5 c6 19.Rb2 Rxf5 20.e4 Rxg5 21.hxg5 Ng6 22.e5 Bf8 23.Bd3 Nf4 24.Nf1 Qxg5 25.f3 Nxd3+ 26.Qxd3 Qc1+ 27.Kf2 Qxb2+ 28.Nd2 Bf5 29.Qxf5 Qxd2+ 30.Kg3 Qxc3 31.Kh4 Qxd4 32.Rg3 Bg7 33.f4 Rf8 0-1

Position after Black’s 24…Qxg5



- Terrible poker face by Magnus as he's blundered a rook - 25...Nxd3+! 26.Qxd3 Qc1+! - and Giri has played it!

- Anish Giri, a 16-1 underdog against Magnus Carlsen, just won a rook off Magnus and might win with black.

- A horrible blunder from the world champion has ruined a special game featuring an unusual concept.

Round 5, Apr. 26
Game 1
MVL – Firouzja, Alireza
E39 Nimzo-Indian, Classical, Pirc variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 c5 5.dxc5 O-O 6.Nf3 Na6 7.a3 Bxc3+ 8.Qxc3 Nxc5 9.Bg5 Nce4 10.Bxf6 Nxf6 11.g3 b6 12.Bg2 Bb7 13.O-O Rc8 14.Rac1 Rc7 15.Rfd1 Qe7 16.Qd2 Bxf3 17.exf3 Rfc8 18.Bf1 g6 19.Rc3 d5 20.cxd5 Nxd5 21.Rxc7 Rxc7 22.Bd3 Qc5 23.h4 h5 24.Be4 Nf6 25.Qh6 Rd7 26.Rxd7 Nxd7 27.Bxg6 fxg6 28.Qxg6+ Kf8 29.Qxe6 Qd4 30.Qh6+ Qg7 31.Qxh5 Qxb2 32.Qf5+ Ke7 33.h5 Nf6 34.Qg5 Qxa3 35.h6 Qd3 36.Qg7+ Ke6 37.Qxa7 Qxf3 38.Qxb6+ Kf5 39.Qb1+ Qe4 40.g4+ Kg6 41.Qxe4+ Nxe4 42.h7 1/2-1/2

Round 5, Apr. 26
Game 2
Firouzja, Alireza – MVL
D12 QGD Slav

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4 Be4 7.f3 Bg6 8.Qb3 Qc7 9.Bd2 Be7 10.Rc1 dxc4 11.Bxc4 a6 12.O-O b5 13.Be2 Nbd7 14.a4 Qb6 15.Be1 O-O 16.axb5 axb5 17.Bf2 b4 18.Nxg6 hxg6 19.Ne4 c5 20.dxc5 Nxc5 21.Nxc5 Bxc5 22.g3 Rfc8 23.Rc4 Bf8 24.Rfc1 Qb7 25.e4 Nd7 26.Kg2 Ne5 27.Rxc8 Rxc8 28.Rxc8 Qxc8 29.f4 Nd7 30.Bb5 Nf6 31.Bd3 Ng4 32.Qc4 Qxc4 33.Bxc4 Nxf2 34.Kxf2 Bc5+ 35.Kf3 Bd4 36.b3 Kf8 37.e5 Ke7 38.h4 Bc3 39.Bd3 Be1 40.Be2 f5 41.Bc4 1/2-1/2

A Seville variation of the Grunfeld is being played in Game 3. This has the moves:

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 O-O 8. Ne2 c5 9. O-O Nc6 10. Be3 Bg4 11. f3 Na5 12. Bxf7+

It was featured in the World Championship match of Karpov vs Kasparov in Seville, Spain in Oct-December, 1987.

Round 5, Apr. 26
Game 3
Giri, Anish – Carlsen, Magnus
D87 Grunfeld, Exchange, Seville variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2 Nc6 9.Be3 O-O 10.O-O Bg4 11.f3 Na5 12.Bxf7+ Rxf7 13.fxg4 Rxf1+ 14.Kxf1 Qd6 15.e5 Qd5 16.Ng1 Nc4 17.Qe2 cxd4 18.cxd4 b5 19.Nf3 a5 20.Bg5 Rf8 21.Rd1 e6 22.h4 a4 23.Kg1 b4 24.h5 b3 25.axb3 axb3 26.hxg6 h6 27.Bf6 Bxf6 28.exf6 Rxf6 29.Ne5 Nxe5 30.dxe5 Qc5+ 31.Kh1 Rf8 32.Rf1 Rxf1+ 33.Qxf1 Qe7 34.Qb5 Kg7 35.Qxb3 Qh4+ 36.Kg1 Qxg4 37.Qd3 h5 38.Qd8 Qf5 39.Qd6 Kxg6 40.g3 Qb1+ 41.Kh2 Qc2+ 42.Kh3 Qc4 43.Qd1 Qe4 44.Qa1 Kf5 45.Qd1 Kg6 46.g4 Qe3+ 47.Kh4 Qf2+ 48.Kh3 Qe3+ 49.Kh4 Qg5+ 50.Kh3 Qxe5 51.Qd3+ Kh6 52.gxh5 Kxh5 53.Kg2 Kg4 54.Qf3+ Kg5 55.Qg3+ Kf5 56.Qf3+ Qf4 57.Qh5+ Ke4 58.Qe2+ Qe3 59.Qc4+ Kf5 60.Qb5+ Kf4 61.Qf1+ Kg5 62.Qc4 e5 63.Qg8+ Kf4 64.Qf7+ Ke4 65.Qb7+ Kd3 66.Qb3+ Ke2 67.Qb2+ Kd3 68.Qb3+ Ke4 69.Qb7+ Kd3 70.Qb3+ 1/2-1/2

Score: Carlsen-Giri 1-2

Round 5, Apr. 26
Game 3
MVL – Firouzja, Alireza
E39 Nimzo-Indian, Classical, Pirc variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 c5 5.dxc5 O-O 6.a3 Bxc5 7.Nf3 d5 8.Bg5 Be7 9.Rd1 Qa5 10.e3 h6 11.Bxf6 Bxf6 12.cxd5 exd5 13.b4 Qc7 14.Rc1 Qd8 15.Qd2 Be6 16.Be2 Nc6 17.O-O a5 18.b5 Ne7 19.Na4 Qd6 20.Nc5 Rfc8 21.Nxe6 fxe6 22.e4 Ng6 23.exd5 Nf4 24.Bc4 Nxd5 25.a4 Kh8 26.g3 Qb4 27.Bxd5 Qxd2 28.Nxd2 exd5 29.Nb3 Rc4 30.Rfd1 Rxa4 31.Nc5 Rb4 32.Nxb7 a4 33.Rc2 a3 34.Ra2 Rb2 35.Rd2 Rxd2 0-1

Score: MVL-Firouzja 1-2

- Alireza Firouzja has won with Black against MVL and is now guaranteed at least his first match point - Maxime must win the final rapid game with Black to force
Armageddon!

- There is a snooker player called Judd Trump who looks just like Trent

- And Giri picks the Najdorf in a game he only needs to draw!

Round 5, Apr. 26
Game 4
Carlsen, Magnus – Giri, Anish
B95 Sicilian, Najdorf

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f3 Be7 8.Qd2 O-O 9.O-O-O b5 10.a3 Bb7 11.Kb1 Nbd7 12.Qe1 Rc8 13.h4 Qc7 14.Rh3 Rfe8 15.h5 Nxe4 16.Bxe7 Nxc3+ 17.bxc3 Rxe7 18.Nf5 exf5 19.Qxe7 Qxc3 20.Bd3 Nc5 21.Bxf5 Nb3 22.Ka2 Nc1+ 23.Kb1 Nb3 24.Ka2 Nc1+ 25.Kb1 Nb3 1/2-1/2

Position after Black’s 15….Nxe4



- 12...Nxe4! seems to have been a serious chance for Giri!

- Jan after Giri finally does play Nxe4: "How does Magnus keep missing this - and us, by the way!"

Final Score

Giri-Carlsen 2.5-1.5

Round 5, Apr. 26
Game 4
Firouzja, Alireza – MVL
D13 QGD Slav, Exchange variation

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.cxd5 cxd5 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bf4 Nh5 7.Bd2 g6 8.e3 Bg7 9.Be2 O-O 10.O-O Nf6 11.Rc1 Bf5 12.Qb3 Rb8 13.Rfd1 Qd6 14.Nb5 Qe6 15.Qa3 Ne4 16.Be1 Rfc8 17.Nc3 Qd7 18.Nxe4 dxe4 19.Nd2 h5 20.Nb3 b6 21.Bb5 Qd5 22.Bxc6 Rxc6 23.Qxa7 Rbc8 24.Rxc6 Rxc6 25.Qxe7 Bf6 26.Qb4 h4 27.Rc1 h3 28.Rxc6 Qxc6 29.Bc3 hxg2 30.Nd2 Be6 31.a4 Bd5 32.Kxg2 Bh4 33.Qb5 Qe6 34.Qe2 f5 35.h3 Kh7 36.Kg1 Kh6 37.Bb4 g5 38.a5 bxa5 39.Bxa5 f4 40.Qg4 Qa6 41.Qf5 Qxa5 42.Qf6+ Kh7 43.Qf5+ Kg7 44.Qe5+ Kg6 45.exf4 gxf4 46.Qxf4 Bf6 47.Qg4+ Kf7 48.Qd7+ Kf8 49.Nf1 Bf7 50.Ng3 e3 51.Qc8+ Kg7 52.Nf5+ Kh7 53.Nxe3 Bxd4 54.Qd7 Qg5+ 55.Ng4 Qf4 56.Kg2 Qe4+ 57.Kg3 Kg7 58.b4 Qd3+ 59.Kg2 Qc4 60.Ne3 Bxe3 61.fxe3 Qe2+ 62.Kg3 Qxe3+ 63.Kg2 Kf6 64.Qd8+ Ke5 65.Qc7+ Kf6 66.Qc6+ Kg7 67.Qd7 Qc3 68.b5 Qe5 69.b6 Kf6 70.Qd8+ Kg6 71.Qc7 Qe2+ 72.Kg3 Qe3+ 73.Kg2 Qe2+ 74.Kg3 Qe3+ 75.Kg2 Bd5+ 76.Kf1 Qf3+ 77.Ke1 Qe3+ 78.Kf1 Qxh3+ 79.Ke2 Qf3+ 80.Kd2 Be4 81.Qd6+ Kg5 82.Qe5+ Kh6 83.Qe6+ Kh5 84.Qe5+ Kh4 85.Qh8+ Kg5 86.Qe5+ Kg6 87.Qe6+ Kh7 1/2-1/2

Giri came on and the guys vociferously analyzed the endgame. Rather exciting with Alireza playing on increment and trying to fend off Armageddon.

- Give it up MVL. You’re not going to flag Alireza

Firouzja-MVL 2.5-1.5

Alireza comes on to the show and receives Lawrence’s congratulations.

Standings after Round 5, Day 1

1 Carlsen 11 points
2 Nakamura 10 points
3 Ding 8 points
3 Caruana 8 points
5 MVL 5 points
5 Nepo 5 points
7 Giri 4 points
8 Firouzja 3 points

[Wayne Komer]

Magnus Carlsen Invitational 2020

April 27, 2020

Round Five (continued)

During the first game Jan and Peter keep referencing characters in The Lord of the Rings and then mention a British science fiction comedy called Red Dwarf. Just the usual banter from the guys but perhaps unintelligible to some viewers.

This was followed by reference to the series I Am Weasel. This is said to the adventures of a highly intelligent, talented and rather generous weasel and a stupid baboon who has no talent at most things. Other cartoon series that Peter likes are Johnny Bravo, Samurai Jack and Primal.

Sometimes it is hard to keep up with the pop culture references of these guys!

Round 5, Apr. 27
Game 1
Caruana, Fabiano – Nakamura, Hikaru
D37 QGD, Hastings variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 Nbd7 7.c5 c6 8.h4 b6 9.b4 a5 10.a3 Ne4 11.Nxe4 dxe4 12.Ne5 Nxe5 13.Bxe5 Qd5 14.Be2 Ba6 15.O-O Bxe2 16.Qxe2 axb4 17.axb4 bxc5 18.bxc5 Bxc5 19.Bxg7 Kxg7 20.dxc5 Qe5 21.Rad1 Ra5 22.Rd4 Kh8 23.g3 Rxc5 24.Rb1 Rd5 25.Rc4 c5 26.Qc2 f5 27.Ra4 Rfd8 28.Rb7 R5d7 29.Ra8 Rxb7 30.Rxd8+ Kg7 31.Kg2 Rc7 32.Qa4 Qf6 33.Qe8 Kh6 34.Rd6 Kg7 35.Qb8 Rf7 36.Rc6 Rd7 37.Rc8 Kh6 38.Rxc5 Rg7 39.Rc6 Re7 40.Rc8 Rf7 41.Re8 Re7 42.Qd8 Rf7 43.Qd6 Kh5 44.Rxe6 Qg7 45.Qf4 Rf6 46.g4+ Kxh4 47.g5+ 1-0

- Alexander Grischuk joins the show and points out says Caruana played "better than the engines" with 23.g3!? in the 1st game, a very practical choice

Round 5, Apr. 27
Game 2
Nakamura, Hikaru – Caruana, Fabiano
D23 QGA

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Qc2 dxc4 5.Qxc4 Bf5 6.g3 e6 7.Bg2 Be7 8.O-O O-O 9.Qb3 Qb6 10.Nbd2 Nbd7 11.Nc4 Qa6 12.Bf4 Nb6 13.Bd6 Rfe8 14.Nfd2 Rad8 15.Bxe7 Rxe7 16.e3 Nxc4 17.Nxc4 Be4 18.Rfc1 Bxg2 19.Kxg2 c5 20.dxc5 Qc6+ 21.Kg1 Qxc5 22.Qa3 Rc7 23.Qxc5 Rxc5 24.Nd6 Rxc1+ 25.Rxc1 g5 26.Rc8 Rxc8 27.Nxc8 a6 28.Nd6 b5 29.Nb7 Kf8 30.Nc5 a5 31.Nb3 a4 32.Nd4 b4 33.Nc6 a3 34.b3 Nd5 35.f3 Nxe3 36.Nxb4 Nd1 37.Kf1 Nc3 38.Ke1 Ke7 39.Kd2 Nb5 40.Kd3 e5 41.Nc2 Ke6 42.Kc4 Nd6+ 43.Kc5 h5 44.Nxa3 g4 45.fxg4 hxg4 46.Nc2 f5 47.Ne3 Ne4+ 48.Kc6 Nf6 49.a4 f4 50.Nf1 f3 51.a5 Nd5 52.Kc5 e4 53.Kd4 Kd6 54.Kxe4 Kc5 55.a6 1-0

"Very nicely done by Hikaru" (Svidler)

Nakamura hits straight back to level the score with Caruana at 1:1!

Round 5, Apr. 27
Game 1
Nepponiachtchi, Ian – Ding, Liren
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Nbd2 O-O 7.Qe2 Re8 8.Nc4 Nd7 9.Bd2 Bf8 10.h4 b5 11.Ne3 Nc5 12.h5 a5 13.g4 Ne6 14.Nf5 a4 15.a3 c5 16.Rg1 Nf4 17.Bxf4 exf4 18.Qd2 c4 19.Qxf4 Ra6 20.d4 Bb7 21.e5 Qd5 22.Rg3 c5 23.Ne3 Qe4 24.Qxe4 Bxe4 25.c3 cxd4 26.cxd4 f6 27.g5 Bxf3 28.Rxf3 fxe5 29.O-O-O e4 30.Rf5 b4 31.axb4 Bxb4 32.Rb5 Bd6 33.Kb1 Rf8 34.Nxc4 Rxf2 35.Re1 Rf4 36.g6 hxg6 37.hxg6 Rf6 38.Rg5 Bc7 39.Rc5 Rac6 40.Rxe4 Rxg6 41.Re8+ Kf7 42.Rc8 Rxc5 43.dxc5 Bf4 44.c6 Ke7 45.Nb6 Kd6 46.Ka2 Be5 47.Nxa4 Rg4 48.Ka3 Rc4 49.Nb6 Rxc6 50.Nc4+ Kd5 51.Ne3+ Kd6 52.Nc4+ Kd5 53.Rxc6 Bxb2+ 54.Kxb2 Kxc6 55.Ne3 g5 56.Kc3 g4 57.Nxg4 1/2-1/2

Round 5, Apr. 27
Game 2
Ding, Liren – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
D70 Neo-Grunfeld Defence

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.f3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nb6 6.Nc3 Bg7 7.Be3 O-O 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.O-O-O Qd6 10.Nb5 Qd7 11.Kb1 a6 12.Nc3 Rd8 13.d5 Qe8 14.Qc1 Na7 15.h4 Nb5 16.Nge2 e6 17.h5 exd5 18.hxg6 fxg6 19.Bxb6 cxb6 20.Nxd5 Be6 21.Nef4 Bf7 22.Bxb5 axb5 23.a3 g5 24.Nc7 Qe5 25.Nxa8 Rxa8 26.Nd5 h6 27.Qc3 Qe6 28.Qb4 Kh7 29.Rd2 Rc8 30.Qe7 Qg6 31.Qxb7 Rc6 32.Qd7 Rc5 33.Ne7 Qf6 34.Nf5 1-0

- Once again Ian Nepomniachtchi seems to have blundered away a game with more than his starting time still on his clock! As Svidler said in the pre-show, "Ding Liren isn't someone you can bluff by playing fast":

- Another complete debacle of a game by Ian Nepomniachtchi as Ding Liren takes the lead!

Round 5, Apr. 27
Game 3
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Ding, Liren
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Nbd2 O-O 7.Nc4 Re8 8.a4 a5 9.Bd2 b6 10.Bc3 Ng4 11.O-O f6 12.Bd2 g5 13.h3 Nh6 14.h4 Nf7 15.hxg5 fxg5 16.Nh2 Re6 17.Ne3 Rg6 18.Nf5 Bxf5 19.exf5 Rf6 20.Qg4 h6 21.Qh3 Qd7 22.Ng4 Rxf5 23.Nf6+ 1-0

Final Position




"I don't think I've seen Ding blunder this much in 1 move ever!" (Svidler)

Nepo levels the match at 1.5:1.5 after Ding Liren blunders in a difficult position

- Ding blundered bigtime

- Ding meltdown

- This is worse than MC’s blunder yesterday

Lawrence speaking about how quickly Nepo plays and how many times Grischuk gets in time trouble, says that these two are the Yin and Yang of chess time management and what Jan is trying to do is to keep the celestial equilibrium in line.

Sasha: Yury Dokhoian, the national coach said that is you could combine me and Jan you would get quite a decent chess player!

Round 5, Apr. 27
Game 3
Caruana, Fabiano – Nakamura, Hikaru
D37 QGD, Hastings variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 Nbd7 7.c5 c6 8.h4 b6 9.b4 a5 10.a3 Ne4 11.Nxe4 dxe4 12.Ne5 Nxe5 13.Bxe5 Qd5 14.Be2 Ba6 15.Bxa6 Rxa6 16.O-O Rfa8 17.cxb6 Rxb6 18.Bc7 Rba6 19.Bxa5 Bxh4 20.Rc1 Be7 21.Rc3 Bd6 22.Qc2 h5 23.Rc1 Rc8 24.Qe2 Rca8 25.Rc5 Bxc5 26.Rxc5 Qb3 27.Qxh5 f5 28.g3 Qxa3 29.Kg2 Rf8 30.Qe2 Qd3 31.Qxd3 exd3 32.Rc3 d2 33.Rd3 Kf7 34.Rxd2 Rh8 35.Rc2 g5 36.g4 Kg6 37.gxf5+ exf5 38.Rc5 Re8 39.Bc7 Rc8 40.Ba5 Re8 41.Bc7 Rc8 42.Ba5 Re8 1/2-1/2

The score after Game Three by each player

Caruana-Nakamura 1.5-1.5
Nepo-Ding 1.5-1.5

Round 5, Apr. 27
Game 4
Nakamura, Hikaru – Caruana, Fabiano
D23 QGA (Neo-Mannheim)

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Qc2 dxc4 5.Qxc4 Bf5 6.g3 e6 7.Bg2 Be7 8.O-O O-O 9.Qb3 Qb6 10.Nbd2 Rd8 11.Nc4 Qa6 12.Bd2 Nbd7 13.Rfc1 Be4 14.Bb4 c5 15.dxc5 Nxc5 16.Qa3 Qxa3 17.Bxa3 Rac8 18.Ne1 Kf8 19.Bxe4 Nfxe4 20.f3 Nf6 21.Kf2 Nd5 22.Ne3 Nxe3 23.Kxe3 a5 24.f4 Nd7 25.Bxe7+ Kxe7 26.Nd3 Nb6 27.Kf3 Nc4 28.a4 Rc6 29.b4 axb4 30.Nxb4 Rc7 31.a5 Rdc8 32.Kf2 Nd6 33.Rxc7+ Rxc7 34.a6 bxa6 35.Rxa6 Ne4+ 36.Ke3 Nc5 37.Rc6 Rxc6 38.Nxc6+ Kd6 39.Ne5 f6 40.Nf3 Nd7 41.Nd2 1/2-1/2

Round 5, Apr. 27
Game 4
Ding, Liren – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
A05 Reti Opening

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 c5 3.Bg2 Nc6 4.O-O e5 5.e4 Nxe4 6.Re1 Nf6 7.Nxe5 Be7 8.c4 O-O 9.Nc3 Nxe5 10.Rxe5 d6 11.Re1 Be6 12.Bxb7 Rb8 13.Bg2 Bxc4 14.d4 Be6 15.b3 Rb4 16.dxc5 dxc5 17.Qxd8 Rxd8 18.Ba3 Rbb8 19.Na4 Rdc8 20.Rac1 Nd7 21.Bd5 Bxd5 22.Rxe7 Bc6 23.Nxc5 Nxc5 24.Rxc5 a6 25.f4 h6 26.Kf2 Bb5 27.Ke3 Rd8 28.Rcc7 Rd3+ 29.Ke4 Rd2 30.Rxf7 Re8+ 31.Kf5 Bd3+ 32.Kg4 Rxh2 33.Rxg7+ Kh8 34.Bd6 Rf2 35.Bc5 Rd2 36.Bb4 Rc2 37.Rxc2 Kxg7 38.Rc7+ Kg6 39.Rc6+ Kf7 40.Rxh6 Re2 41.Rd6 Re3 42.Kh4 Be2 43.g4 Rf3 44.Rd4 Rf2 45.Kg5 1-0

Position after Black’s 35…Rd2



- Ding Liren "missed" mate-in-13 with 36.f5! but our commentators think he should have no problem winning technically anyway:

- Ding Liren beats Nepomniachtchi 2.5:1.5 and joins Magnus Carlsen on 11 points after two recklessly fast moves by Nepo with the black pieces condemned him to defeat!

While waiting for the Nakamura-Caruana draw, Jan asks Sasha his standard question, “If you had to be marooned on a desert island with one of the players here, who would it be?”

Sasha: Botvinnik was once asked a similar question. If he were to be on a desert island with either Karpov or Kasparov, who would it be? And he replied: I would rather be alone.

But if I had to here, it would be MVL. He is easy to get along with.

(to be continued)

[Wayne Komer]

Magnus Carlsen Invitational 2020

April 27, 2020

Round Five (continued)

Armageddon

In the meanwhile, Peter slipped out to have a quick supper of smelt and Sasha, Jan and Lawrence remained to talk about fish and their names! I believe that the Russian for smelt is корюшка.

Nakamura won the coin toss and chooses Black.

Round 5, Apr. 27
Armageddon
Caruana, Fabiano – Nakamura, Hikaru
D37 QGD, Hastings variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 Nbd7 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Nxd5 exd5 9.Bd3 c5 10.O-O c4 11.Bc2 b5 12.b3 a5 13.bxc4 bxc4 14.Rb1 Bb4 15.h3 Ra6 16.Qe2 Nf6 17.Ne5 Be6 18.f3 Nd7 19.Ng4 Re8 20.Rfd1 Bxg4 21.hxg4 Bd6 22.Bxd6 Rxd6 23.Rb7 Nf8 24.Qf2 Rf6 25.Rdb1 Qd6 26.g5 Rfe6 27.e4 Qa3 28.e5 R6e7 29.R7b5 Qc3 30.Rxd5 Ne6 31.Ba4 Rf8 32.f4 g6 33.Rd6 Ng7 34.Bc2 Ne8 35.Rc6 Rd7 36.Rd1 Nc7 37.Be4 Rfd8 38.Qf3 Qxf3 39.Bxf3 Ne6 40.d5 Nxf4 41.d6 Nd3 42.Bg4 Ra7 43.d7 Kf8 44.Rxc4 Nb4 45.e6 fxe6 46.Bxe6 Ra6 47.Rc8 Ke7 48.Bg4 Ra8 49.Re1+ Kf7 50.Re8 1-0

Final Position with rooks lined up



Caruana-Nakamura 3-2

Seconds after he wins, Caruana is talking to the guys. He should have passed because he is asked the inevitable question by Lawrence about the weak mustache that he has grown. Fabi says that he is locked In the apartment, so to speak, and doesn’t feel like shaving.

Standings After Round Five, Day Two

1 Ding 11 points
1 Nakamura 11 points
1 Carlsen 11 points
4 Caruana 10 points
5 MVL 5 points
5 Nepo 5 points
7 Giri 4 points
8 Firouzja 3 points

Pairings tomorrow

Carlsen-Nepo
Firouzja-Giri

Lawrence Trent won’t be on the broadcast tomorrow because it is his birthday. He was born April 28, 1986 and will tell us on Wednesday what festivities he took part in.

[Wayne Komer]

Magnus Carlsen Invitational 2020

April 28, 2020

Round Six

Nakamura joins the commentating team today, and when he has to go off to play in an online match, Fabi comes in.

Round 6, Apr. 28
Game 1
Carlsen, Magnus – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
B54 Sicilian Defence

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Bc4 Nxe4 6.Qh5 e6 7.Nxe6 Bxe6 8.Bxe6 Qe7 9.Bxf7+ Qxf7 10.Qe2 Qe7 11.O-O Nf6 12.Be3 Nc6 13.Nc3 d5 14.Qf3 O-O-O 15.Rfe1 Qd7 16.Nb5 a6 17.a4 Qg4 18.Qxg4+ Nxg4 19.Bb6 axb5 20.axb5 Nb8 21.Bxd8 Kxd8 22.h3 Nf6 23.Ra7 Kc7 24.Re6 Bc5 25.b6+ Bxb6 26.Re7+ Kd6 27.Raxb7 Nbd7 28.Rxg7 Kc6 0-1

Position after White’s 7.Nxe6




- What on earth is going on? Magnus Carlsen has banter blitz and bullet openings (including the Norwegian Rat) better than this...

Svidler: "This is the most confusing game I've seen between top chess players in quite some time!"
Magnus got a lost position in 7 moves with the white pieces

Round 6, Apr. 28
Game 2
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Carlsen, Magnus
B00 KP, Nimzowitsch Defence

1.e4 Nc6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.c3 e6 5.Nf3 Qd7 6.Nh4 Be4 7.Nd2 O-O-O 8.Bb5 a6 9.Ba4 f6 10.Nhf3 Nge7 11.O-O Ng6 12.Re1 Bf5 13.b4 fxe5 14.dxe5 b5 15.Bc2 d4 16.Bxf5 exf5 17.c4 Bxb4 18.cxb5 axb5 19.Rb1 Rhe8 20.a4 Qd5 21.axb5 Bxd2 22.Bxd2 Ncxe5 23.Nxe5 Rxe5 24.b6 Rxe1+ 25.Qxe1 Kd7 26.bxc7 Rc8 27.Rb4 Rxc7 28.Qa1 Ke8 29.Rxd4 Qe6 30.h4 Rd7 31.Qa4 Ne5 32.Bf4 Nc6 33.Rc4 Ne7 34.Rc7 Nd5 35.Rc6 Qe1+ 36.Kh2 Kf7 37.Qa2 Qe4 38.g3 h6 39.h5 Qf3 40.Kg1 Kg8 41.Rc8+ Kh7 42.Qa8 Qd1+ 43.Kh2 Qxh5+ 44.Kg1 Qd1+ 45.Kh2 Nxf4 46.Rh8+ Kg6 47.Qe8+ Kg5 48.gxf4+ Kxf4 49.Rf8 Kg5 50.Qe3+ Kg6 51.Qe6+ Kh7 52.Qg8+ Kg6 53.Qe6+ Kh7 54.Qg8+ Kg6 55.Qe6+ 1/2-1/2

Nakamura: "This is insane!"
First Nepo misplayed a drawn position, then Magnus spoilt a completely winning game and it's going to be a draw!

Round 6, Apr. 28
Game 3
Carlsen, Magnus – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
A45 Queen’s Pawn game

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 c5 3.d5 d6 4.Nc3 a6 5.a4 e5 6.Bd2 e4 7.h3 h5 8.Bf4 Bf5 9.e3 Nbd7 10.a5 h4 11.Nge2 Ne5 12.Nc1 Nfd7 13.Nb3 Bg6 14.Nd2 f5 15.f3 exf3 16.gxf3 Bh5 17.Rg1 Nf7 18.Be2 Qf6 19.Nc4 g6 20.Bh2 Nde5 21.Nb6 Rd8 22.f4 Nd7 23.Bxh5 Rxh5 24.Nc4 Bg7 25.Qd3 Kf8 26.O-O-O Re8 27.Rg2 Kg8 28.e4 fxe4 29.Nxe4 Qe7 30.Re1 Kh8 31.Rxg6 Nf6 32.Qc3 Rh7 33.Qf3 Nxd5 34.f5 Nf6 35.Bxd6 Qd8 36.Kb1 Rxe4 37.Rxe4 Nxd6 38.Nxd6 Qxd6 39.Re6 Qf8 40.Qxb7 Ng8 41.Qe4 Qf7 42.Re8 Rh6 43.Rxh6+ Bxh6 44.Qe6 Kg7 45.Qxf7+ Kxf7 46.Re6 Bd2 47.Rxa6 Ne7 48.c3 c4 49.f6 Ng6 50.Rc6 Ne5 51.Rc7+ Kxf6 52.a6 Be3 53.a7 Bxa7 54.Rxa7 Kg5 55.Rg7+ Kf4 56.Ka2 1-0

Game 3 is just as bizarre, with Jan comparing it to the strange puzzles in which you try to create a stalemate position by move 20

Carlsen-Nepo 1.5-1.5

Round 6, Apr. 28
Game 1
Firouzja, Alireza – Giri, Anish
E51 Nimzo-Indian

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.e3 O-O 6.Bd2 b6 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Rc1 Bb7 9.Nb5 Bxd2+ 10.Nxd2 c6 11.Nc3 Re8 12.Be2 Ba6 13.O-O Bxe2 14.Nxe2 Qd6 15.Qa4 a5 16.Rc3 Ra7 17.Rfc1 Rc7 18.Ng3 Rec8 19.Nf3 Nbd7 20.Ne1 g6 21.Nd3 h5 22.f3 h4 23.Nf1 Kg7 24.a3 h3 25.g4 c5 26.Nf4 Rh8 27.Ng3 Nf8 28.dxc5 bxc5 29.Qxa5 N8d7 30.g5 Nh7 31.Nxh3 Rb7 32.b4 cxb4 33.axb4 Rxb4 34.f4 Nhf8 35.Nf2 Ne6 36.Rc6 Qe7 37.Qxd5 Nef8 38.Qd3 Rh4 39.Nfe4 Kh7 40.Rc7 Qe6 41.Nf2 Rb3 42.R7c3 Rb2 43.Nge4 Rb6 44.Kg2 Rh5 45.Kg3 Qf5 46.Ng4 Kg8 47.Nef6+ Nxf6 48.Qxf5 gxf5 49.Nxf6+ Rxf6 50.gxf6 Kh7 51.Rc8 Ne6 52.Rd1 Kg6 53.Rd5 Kxf6 54.e4 Ng7 55.e5+ Kg6 56.Rg8 Kh7 57.Rdd8 1-0

Round 6, Apr. 28
Game 2
Giri, Anish – Firouzja, Alireza
B12 Caro-Kann, Advance variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 Ne7 6.c3 h6 7.O-O Nd7 8.Nbd2 a5 9.a4 g5 10.Ne1 Qc7 11.Bh5 c5 12.f4 cxd4 13.cxd4 Nc6 14.Ndf3 gxf4 15.Bxf4 Be7 16.Kh1 O-O-O 17.Bxf7 Rdf8 18.Bh5 Kb8 19.Rc1 Qb6 20.Qd2 Qb3 21.Bxh6 Rc8 22.Ng1 Bb4 23.Qf4 Qxb2 24.Nef3 Nb6 25.h3 Nxa4 26.Bg4 Bxg4 27.hxg4 Rcf8 28.Qe3 Nxd4 29.Nxd4 Rxf1 30.Rxf1 Bd2 31.Rf8+ Rxf8 32.Qxd2 Rh8 33.Nh3 Qa1+ 34.Kh2 Nc5 35.g5 Ne4 36.Qe3 Rg8 37.Nf4 a4 38.Nc6+ Kc7 39.Nd4 a3 40.Nb5+ Kc6 41.Nxa3 Qxe5 42.Nc2 Kd7 43.Nd4 Re8 44.g3 Qc7 45.Qb3 Nd6 46.Nh5 Ra8 47.Nf6+ Kc8 48.Qe3 Ra2+ 49.Kh3 Qf7 50.Nxe6 Nf5 51.Qc5+ Kb8 52.Qxd5 Rf2 53.Nd7+ Kc8 54.Nb6+ Kb8 55.Qd8+ 1-0

Firouzja seemed to be cruising to a 2:0 lead but instead Giri struck back in a thriller to level the scores at 1:1!

Round 6, Apr. 28
Game 3
Firouzja, Alireza – Giri, Anish
D85 Grunfeld, Exchange variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Be3 c5 8.Rc1 O-O 9.Qd2 e5 10.d5 Qd6 11.f3 f5 12.Qc2 Nd7 13.Nh3 f4 14.Bd2 Nb6 15.Nf2 c4 16.Be2 Bd7 17.O-O Qc7 18.Rb1 Nc8 19.a4 Rf6 20.Rb4 Nd6 21.Rfb1 g5 22.Qa2 Rc8 23.a5 h5 24.h3 Rg6 25.Kf1 Bf6 26.Bd1 Bd8 27.Ra1 Rb8 28.Be1 b5 29.axb6 axb6 30.Qb1 Qb7 31.Rb2 b5 32.Rba2 Bb6 33.Ra6 Kf7 34.R1a2 Rgg8 35.Qa1 Qc7 36.Be2 Bc8 37.Ra8 Rxa8 38.Rxa8 Qc5 39.Qa3 Bd7 40.Qxc5 Bxc5 41.Ra6 Ke7 42.Nd1 Rb8 43.Bf2 Bxf2 44.Kxf2 g4 45.h4 b4 46.cxb4 Rxb4 47.Ke1 g3 48.Ra8 Bc8 49.Kd2 Rb6 50.Kc2 Rb7 51.Nb2 Rc7 52.Ra4 Bd7 53.Rb4 Ra7 54.Nxc4 Nxc4 55.Bxc4 Ra1 56.Rb6 Rg1 57.Rh6 Rxg2+ 58.Kc3 Rf2 59.d6+ Kf8 60.Rg6 Rxf3+ 61.Kb4 1-0

"A beautiful swindle" (Caruana) Giri was dominating almost from start to finish but Firouzja takes the lead after trapping the black king in a mating net!

Firouzja-Giri 2-1

Jan’s little daughter comes and talks to him on camera. She is very blonde and the spitting image of Jan.

Round 6, Apr. 28
Game 4
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Carlsen, Magnus
B30 Sicilian Defence

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Be3 c5 8.Rc1 O-O 9.Qd2 e5 10.d5 Qd6 11.f3 f5 12.Qc2 Nd7 13.Nh3 f4 14.Bd2 Nb6 15.Nf2 c4 16.Be2 Bd7 17.O-O Qc7 18.Rb1 Nc8 19.a4 Rf6 20.Rb4 Nd6 21.Rfb1 g5 22.Qa2 Rc8 23.a5 h5 24.h3 Rg6 25.Kf1 Bf6 26.Bd1 Bd8 27.Ra1 Rb8 28.Be1 b5 29.axb6 axb6 30.Qb1 Qb7 31.Rb2 b5 32.Rba2 Bb6 33.Ra6 Kf7 34.R1a2 Rgg8 35.Qa1 Qc7 36.Be2 Bc8 37.Ra8 Rxa8 38.Rxa8 Qc5 39.Qa3 Bd7 40.Qxc5 Bxc5 41.Ra6 Ke7 42.Nd1 Rb8 43.Bf2 Bxf2 44.Kxf2 g4 45.h4 b4 46.cxb4 Rxb4 47.Ke1 g3 48.Ra8 Bc8 49.Kd2 Rb6 50.Kc2 Rb7 51.Nb2 Rc7 52.Ra4 Bd7 53.Rb4 Ra7 54.Nxc4 Nxc4 55.Bxc4 Ra1 56.Rb6 Rg1 57.Rh6 Rxg2+ 58.Kc3 Rf2 59.d6+ Kf8 60.Rg6 Rxf3+ 61.Kb4 1-0

- Magnus Carlsen survives some shaky moments to draw the 4th game against Ian Nepomniachtchi and we're going to Armageddon!

Round 6, Apr. 28
Armageddon
Carlsen, Magnus – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
A48 King’s Indian, London System

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Bf4 Bg7 4.Nbd2 O-O 5.c3 d6 6.h3 c5 7.dxc5 dxc5 8.e4 Nc6 9.Be2 b6 10.O-O Bb7 11.Re1 Qd7 12.Qc2 Rad8 13.Rad1 Qc8 14.e5 Nd5 15.Bg3 Nc7 16.Qa4 Ne6 17.Qh4 Ba6 18.Bxa6 Qxa6 19.Qe4 Qb7 20.Nc4 Rxd1 21.Rxd1 Rd8 22.Rxd8+ Ncxd8 23.Qxb7 Nxb7 24.a4 Kf8 25.Kf1 Ke8 26.Ke2 Kd7 27.Kd3 Nbd8 28.Ng1 Nc6 29.Ke4 h5 30.f4 f5+ 31.exf6 exf6 32.f5 Ng5+ 33.Kd3 gxf5 34.Ne3 Ne7 35.Ne2 Ne6 36.Kc4 Kc6 37.b4 cxb4 38.cxb4 Bh6 39.b5+ Kd7 40.Nd5 Nxd5 41.Kxd5 f4 42.Bf2 Bf8 43.Nd4 Nc5 44.Nc6 Nxa4 45.Nxa7 Nc3+ 46.Kc4 Nd1 47.Bxb6 Ne3+ 48.Bxe3 fxe3 49.Kd3 Bc5 50.Nc6 Kd6 51.Na5 Ke5 52.Ke2 Kf4 53.Nc4 Kg3 54.Nxe3 h4 55.Kd3 Ba7 56.Ke4 f5+ 57.Nxf5+ Kxg2 58.Nxh4+ Kxh3 59.Nf5 Kg4 60.Ne7 Kg5 61.Ke5 Kh6 62.Ke6 Kg7 63.Nc8 Bf2 64.Nd6 Kf8 65.Kd7 Bg1 66.Ne4 Kf7 67.Kc6 Ke7 68.Nc5 Kd8 69.b6 Bh2 70.b7 Bb8 71.Na6 Bf4 72.Nc5 Bb8 73.Ne6+ Ke7 74.Nc7 Kd8 75.Nd5 Bg3 76.Nf6 Bh2 77.Ne4 Bb8 78.Nc5 Bh2 79.Ne6+ 1-0

Final Position, White wins in 10 moves after 79…Ke8



Carlsen-Nepo 3-2

Round 6, Apr. 28
Game 4
Giri, Anish – Firouzja, Alireza
B12 Caro-Kann, Advance variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 Ne7 6.c3 h6 7.O-O Nd7 8.Nbd2 Bh7 9.b4 a5 10.Nb3 axb4 11.cxb4 Nc8 12.Bd2 Ncb6 13.Nc5 Nxc5 14.bxc5 Nc4 15.Bc3 Be7 16.a4 b6 17.cxb6 Qxb6 18.a5 Qb5 19.Nd2 O-O 20.Ra2 c5 21.Nxc4 dxc4 22.Rb2 Qc6 23.Bf3 Be4 24.Bxe4 Qxe4 25.Re1 Qd3 26.Qxd3 cxd3 27.dxc5 Rfc8 28.Rd2 Rxc5 29.Rxd3 Rxc3 30.Rxc3 Bb4 31.Rcc1 Bxe1 32.Rxe1 Rxa5 33.h4 h5 34.g3 g6 35.Kg2 Kg7 36.f4 Ra2+ 37.Kf3 Ra3+ 38.Re3 Ra1 39.Re2 Ra3+ 40.Re3 Ra1 1/2-1/2

Giri-Firouzja 1.5-2.5

- After a rollercoaster match Magnus Carlsen wins Armageddon and is definitely in the Final 4, while Ian Nepomniachtchi can no longer make it!

- Magnus Carlsen says he can relax now as his Final 4 place is confirmed while Alireza Firouzja is up to 5th place after the 1st day of Round 6!

Standings After Round Six, Day One

1 Carlsen 13 points
2 Ding 11 points
2 Nakamura 11 points
4 Caruana 10 points
5 Nepo 6 points
5 Firouzja 6 points
7 MVL 5 points
8 Giri 4 points

In the post-game interview, Alireza is asked which participant he would prefer to be marooned on a desert island with and he chose Nepo because he plays lots of game and likes blitz.

[Wayne Komer]

Magnus Carlsen Invitational 2020

April 29, 2020

Round Six (continued)

Round 6, Apr. 29
Game 1
Nakamura, Hikaru – Ding, Liren
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Nbd2 Nd7 7.O-O O-O 8.Nc4 Re8 9.a4 a5 10.h4 b6 11.Be3 Bf8 12.g3 f6 13.Bd2 Nc5 14.Ne3 Ne6 15.h5 c5 16.Nh4 Nd4 17.Bc3 Bh3 18.Re1 Be6 19.Kg2 Qd7 20.b3 Rad8 21.Bxd4 cxd4 22.Nef5 Qc6 23.Rh1 Rd7 24.Kh2 Kf7 25.Qe2 Bd6 26.Raf1 Rg8 27.f4 Ke8 28.fxe5 Bxe5 29.Nf3 Kd8 30.Nxe5 fxe5 31.Rf2 Kc8 32.Rhf1 Kb7 33.Nh4 Qc5 34.Qd2 Rd6 35.Qg5 h6 36.Qe7 Rc6 37.Ng6 Bg4 38.Qxe5 Bxh5 39.Qxc5 Rxc5 40.Nf4 Bg4 41.Kg2 Rd8 42.Ng6 Rd6 43.Ne7 Re6 44.Nd5 Rec6 45.c4 dxc3 46.d4 Rxd5 47.exd5 Rd6 48.Rc1 Rxd5 49.Rf4 Bf5 50.g4 Bd7 51.Rxc3 g5 52.Re4 Rd6 53.Kf2 Bc6 54.Re7 Rxd4 55.Re6 Bd5 56.Rxh6 Rxg4 1/2-1/2

Position after Black’s 37….Bg4



38.Qh4!, hitting the g4-bishop and threatening the Ne7 fork would have won almost on the spot for Nakamura!

Round 6, Apr. 29
Game 1
Caruana, Fabiano – MVL
D12 QGD Slav

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4 Be4 7.f3 Bg6 8.Qb3 Qc7 9.Bd2 Be7 10.cxd5 cxd5 11.Nxg6 hxg6 12.O-O-O a6 13.Kb1 Nc6 14.Rc1 Rb8 15.Bd3 Rxh2 16.Ne2 Rxh1 17.Rxh1 b5 18.e4 Qb6 19.Qd1 Nb4 20.Bxb4 Bxb4 21.e5 Nd7 22.f4 Nf8 23.g4 Be7 24.Ng3 Rc8 25.Rh8 Kd8 26.Bc2 f5 27.exf6 gxf6 28.Bxg6 Kc7 29.Bc2 Kb8 30.Ne2 Qc7 31.a4 bxa4 32.Bxa4 Nd7 33.Rh7 Nb6 34.Bb3 Qd6 35.Qd3 Nc4 36.Bxc4 Rxc4 37.Qe3 Rc7 38.Nc3 Rb7 39.f5 exf5 40.gxf5 Bd8 41.Rxb7+ Kxb7 42.Na4 Ka7 43.Qe8 Bc7 44.Nc5 Qf4 45.Qc8 Qf1+ 46.Ka2 Qc4+ 47.Ka3 1-0

- MVL makes a swift exit as he loses the first game to Fabiano Caruana! If Maxime can't win this match then Carlsen, Nakamura, Ding & Caruana will have sealed their Final 4 spots

Jan has a gray curtain behind him with the chess24 logo on it. His daughter lifted up the curtain to see her daddy reminding me of the line from the movie where The Wizard of Oz told Dorothy to "pay no attention to that man behind the curtain" in an effort to distract her.

Round 6, Apr. 29
Game 2
Ding, Liren – Nakamura, Hikaru
E05 Catalan, open, Classical line

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.O-O dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.a4 Bd7 9.Qxc4 Bc6 10.Bf4 Bd6 11.Qc1 Nbd7 12.Re1 Qe7 13.Nc3 Bxf3 14.Bxf3 Bxf4 15.Qxf4 c6 16.a5 e5 17.dxe5 Nxe5 18.Bg2 Rfe8 19.Red1 Rad8 20.Rxd8 Rxd8 21.Ra4 Qd6 22.h3 h6 23.Kh2 Qc5 24.Ne4 Nxe4 25.Rxe4 Re8 26.b4 Qd6 27.h4 h5 28.Bh3 g6 29.Rd4 Qe7 30.Qc1 Qf6 31.Rf4 Qd6 32.Qc3 Qd1 33.Qb2 Qe1 34.Kg2 Kh7 35.Bc8 Qd1 36.Rd4 Qa4 37.Re4 Qb5 38.Qd4 f6 39.f4 c5 40.Qd5 Rxc8 41.fxe5 f5 42.Rc4 Re8 43.e6 Qc6 44.Rxc5 Qxd5+ 45.Rxd5 Rxe6 46.Rd7+ Kh6 47.Rxb7 Rxe2+ 48.Kf3 Re4 49.Rb6 Kg7 50.Rxa6 Rxb4 51.Rb6 Ra4 52.a6 Rg4 53.a7 Ra4 54.Rb7+ Kf6 55.Ke3 g5 56.hxg5+ Kxg5 57.Kd3 Ra1 58.Kc4 f4 59.gxf4+ Kxf4 60.Rh7 Kg4 61.Kb5 h4 62.Kb6 h3 63.Kb7 Rxa7+ 64.Kxa7 Kg3 65.Rxh3+ Kxh3 1/2-1/2

Round 6, Apr. 29
Game 3
Nakamura, Hikaru – Ding, Liren
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.O-O Nd7 7.Nbd2 O-O 8.Nc4 Re8 9.a4 a5 10.Be3 Bb4 11.Nfd2 b5 12.Na3 Ba6 13.f4 exf4 14.Rxf4 Bd6 15.Rf2 Qh4 16.h3 Nb6 17.axb5 cxb5 18.Qf3 f6 19.Nab1 a4 20.Nc3 Nd7 21.Qf5 Ne5 22.Nf3 Nxf3+ 23.Qxf3 Qg3 24.Qxg3 Bxg3 25.Rf3 Be5 26.Bf4 Bd4+ 27.Be3 Be5 28.Bf4 Bd4+ 29.Be3 Be5 1/2-1/2

Round 6, Apr. 29
Game 4
Ding, Liren – Nakamura, Hikaru
E05 Catalan, open, Classical line

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.O-O dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.a4 Bd7 9.Qxc4 Bc6 10.Bf4 Bd6 11.Qc1 Nbd7 12.Re1 Qe7 13.Nc3 Bxf3 14.Bxf3 Bxf4 15.Qxf4 c6 16.a5 e5 17.dxe5 Nxe5 18.Bg2 Rad8 19.Red1 h6 20.Rxd8 Rxd8 21.Ra4 Ng6 22.Qb4 Qc7 23.Ra1 Ne7 24.Na4 Ned5 25.Qe1 Qe7 26.Rc1 Nc7 27.Nc5 Ne6 28.Nd3 Nd4 29.e3 Nf3+ 30.Bxf3 Rxd3 31.Be2 Rd6 32.Rd1 g6 33.Rxd6 Qxd6 34.Qc3 Ne4 35.Qc4 Nd2 36.Qc3 Ne4 37.Qc4 Nd2 38.Qc3 Ne4 1/2-1/2

Grischuk on Ding Liren's 21.Ra1-a4 and 23.Ra4-a1 - "I think he played so deep he didn't understand himself!"

Match tied 2-2 so, on to Armageddon

Round 6, Apr. 29
Armageddon
Ding, Liren – Nakamura, Hikaru
A29 English, Bremen

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Nb6 7.O-O Be7 8.a3 O-O 9.d3 Be6 10.Be3 Nd5 11.Nxd5 Bxd5 12.Qa4 Re8 13.Rac1 a6 14.Rc3 Bf6 15.Rd1 Nd4 16.Rd2 Nxf3+ 17.Bxf3 Bxf3 18.exf3 c6 19.Kg2 g6 20.Qe4 Bg7 21.b4 f5 22.Qc4+ Kh8 23.d4 e4 24.d5 exf3+ 25.Kxf3 Qe7 26.Rcc2 cxd5 27.Rxd5 Rad8 28.Kg2 b5 29.Qd3 Qb7 0-1

- Nakamura pins and wins Ding Liren's rook to win the match and join Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana in the lead going into tomorrow's last round before the Final 4!

Nakamura-Ding 3-2

Round 6, Apr. 29
Game 2
MVL – Caruana, Fabiano
D31 QGD, Charousek variation

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Be7 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bf4 c6 6.e3 Bf5 7.h4 Nf6 8.Nge2 Ne4 9.Nxe4 Bxe4 10.f3 Bf5 11.g4 Be6 12.Bg3 O-O 13.Rc1 Nd7 14.Nf4 c5 15.Be2 Rc8 16.Kf2 Qb6 17.Qd2 cxd4 18.exd4 Bb4 19.Qd3 Ne5 20.Qe3 Nc4 21.Bxc4 dxc4 22.Kg2 Rfe8 23.Qf2 Bd6 24.Rhe1 Bxf4 25.Bxf4 f6 26.d5 Qxf2+ 27.Kxf2 Bxd5 28.Rxe8+ Rxe8 29.Rd1 Be6 30.Rd4 Kf7 31.Bd2 Rc8 32.a3 Ke8 33.Bc3 Rc5 34.Re4 Kf7 35.h5 Rd5 36.Rxc4 Rd2+ 37.Bxd2 Bxc4 38.Bc3 a6 39.Kg3 Bd5 40.Kf4 Bc6 41.Kg3 1/2-1/2

Round 6, Apr. 29
Game 3
Caruana, Fabiano – MVL
A88 Dutch, Leningrad, main variation

1.d4 f5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.O-O O-O 6.c4 d6 7.Nc3 c6 8.d5 e5 9.dxe6 Bxe6 10.b3 Na6 11.Bb2 Qe7 12.e3 Nc5 13.Qe2 Rad8 14.Rad1 h6 15.Qc2 Bf7 16.Ne2 Nce4 17.Nd2 Nc5 18.Nf3 Rfe8 19.Ned4 Nce4 20.Nd2 d5 21.cxd5 Bxd5 22.N2f3 Ng4 23.Rde1 c5 24.Nb5 Bxb2 25.Qxb2 a6 26.Nc3 Qg7 27.Rc1 Bc6 28.h3 Ngf6 29.Nxe4 Nxe4 30.Qc2 b5 31.Rfd1 Kh7 32.Nd2 Rc8 33.Nxe4 Bxe4 34.Bxe4 Rxe4 35.Rd6 c4 36.Rcd1 Re7 37.Rxa6 Rd7 38.Rxd7 Qxd7 39.bxc4 bxc4 40.Ra3 Rc7 41.Rc3 Qd5 42.a4 h5 43.a5 Qxa5 44.Rxc4 Rxc4 45.Qxc4 Qa1+ 46.Kh2 Qa7 47.Qf4 Qd7 48.Qe5 Qb7 49.Qd6 Qb2 50.Qe7+ Kh6 51.Kg2 Qb3 52.g4 hxg4 53.hxg4 fxg4 54.Qh4+ Kg7 55.Qxg4 Qd5+ 56.Kg3 Qc6 57.Qd4+ Kh7 58.e4 Qb7 59.e5 Qb3+ 60.f3 Qb1 61.Kf4 Qf5+ 62.Ke3 Qg5+ 63.Kd3 Qf5+ 64.Qe4 Qe6 65.Ke3 Kg7 66.Kf4 Qf7+ 67.Kg3 Qb3 68.Qd4 Qe6 69.Qd6 Qf5 70.Qe7+ Kg8 71.Qd8+ Kg7 72.Qc7+ Kg8 73.Qc4+ Kg7 74.Qf4 Qe6 75.Qd4 Kf7 76.f4 Qb3+ 77.Kh4 Qb7 78.Qd1 Kg7 79.Qa1 Qe7+ 80.Kg3 Qe6 81.Qa7+ Kg8 82.Qb8+ Kf7 83.Qc7+ Kg8 84.Qd6 Qf5 85.e6 Qe4 86.Kf2 Kg7 87.Qe7+ Kh6 88.Qd6 Kg7 89.Qc7+ Kh6 90.e7 Qd4+ 91.Ke2 Qe4+ 92.Kd2 Qd4+ 93.Kc2 Qa4+ 94.Kc3 Qa3+ 95.Kd4 Qb4+ 96.Kd5 Qb5+ 97.Kd6 Qd3+ 98.Kc6 Qe4+ 99.Kd7 Qd5+ 100.Qd6 Qb7+ 101.Ke6 Qc8+ 102.Kf7 Qf5+ 103.Qf6 1-0

Position after White’s 80.Kg3



Round 6, Apr. 29
Game 4
MVL – Caruana, Fabiano
A20 Amsterdam Attack

1.e3 e5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nge2 c6 5.a3 Ba5 6.b4 Bc7 7.d4 O-O 8.Bb2 d5 9.cxd5 cxd5 10.Nb5 e4 11.Nxc7 Qxc7 12.Rc1 Qe7 13.Nf4 Be6 14.Be2 Nbd7 15.O-O Rfc8 16.Qb3 Nb6 17.Rc5 Nfd7 18.Rd1 a6 19.a4 Rd8 20.Rc7 Qd6 21.Rdc1 Rac8 22.Rxc8 Rxc8 23.Rc5 Qe7 24.Rxc8+ Nxc8 25.b5 axb5 26.Qxb5 Nf6 27.h4 h6 28.Qc5 Qd8 29.Ba3 Bf5 30.Bb5 g5 31.hxg5 hxg5 32.Ne2 Kg7 33.Bb4 Be6 34.a5 b6 35.axb6 Qxb6 36.f4 exf3 37.Qf8+ Kg6 38.Bd3+ Bf5 39.Bxf5+ Kxf5 40.Qxc8+ Kg6 41.Ng3 Qxb4 42.Qf5+ Kg7 43.Qxg5+ Kf8 44.Qxf6 Qe1+ 45.Nf1 1-0

Result MVL-Caruana 1.5-2.5

MVL wins a consolation game with 16 minutes left on his clock, but Caruana wins the match 2.5:1.5.

Standings After Round Six, Day Two

1 Carlsen 13 points
1 Caruana 13 points
1 Nakamura 13 points
4 Ding 12 points
5 Nepo 6 points
5 Firouzja 6 points
7 MVL 5 points
8 Giri 4 points

Tomorrow’s Pairings

Ding-Carlsen
Nepo-Firouzja
MVL-Nakamura
Giri-Caruana

In this Round Seven, all four matches will take place simultaneously

[Wayne Komer]

Magnus Carlsen Invitational 2020

April 30, 2020

Round Seven

Lawrence is away again, so Tania commentates with Peter and Jan.

Round 7, Apr. 30
Game 1
Ding, Liren – Carlsen, Magnus
B00 KP, Nimzowitsch Defence

1.e4 Nc6 2.Nf3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.Nc3 Qa5 5.d4 Bg4 6.Bb5 O-O-O 7.Bxc6 bxc6 8.h3 Qh5 9.Be3 Nf6 10.Qe2 Bxf3 11.gxf3 e6 12.O-O-O Kb7 13.Rhg1 h6 14.Rd3 Rg8 15.Ne4 Be7 16.Rb3+ Kc8 17.Qa6+ Kd7 18.Rd1 Qxf3 19.Nd2 Qxh3 20.Nc4 Ke8 21.Ne5 Bd6 22.Nxc6 Ra8 23.Qb7 Kd7 24.Ne5+ Ke7 25.Bf4 Qf5 26.Nc6+ Kd7 27.Bxd6 Kxd6 28.Ne5 Qf4+ 29.Kb1 Rgf8 1-0

- Magnus Carlsen's struggles against Ding Liren in fast chess continue as he loses the first game of their match! Psychologically important going into the Final 4?

Round 7, Apr. 30
Game 1
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Firouzja, Alireza
B12 Caro-Kann, Advance variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 Ne7 6.c3 h6 7.O-O Nd7 8.Nbd2 a5 9.Re1 a4 10.Nf1 Bg6 11.Ng3 c5 12.Bb5 Qa5 13.Bxd7+ Kxd7 14.dxc5 Qxc5 15.Be3 Qb5 16.Nd4 Qd3 17.Qc1 Nc6 18.Rd1 Qc4 19.f4 Bc5 20.f5 Bxd4 21.Bxd4 Bxf5 22.Nxf5 exf5 23.Qf4 Ne7 24.Rab1 Ra6 25.b3 axb3 26.Rxb3 b5 27.Rdb1 Ra5 28.a4 Rha8 29.Qf3 Rxa4 30.Rxb5 Ra1 31.Rb7+ Ke6 32.Qd1 Rxb1 33.Qxb1 Ra6 34.h3 f4 35.Rb8 Qe2 36.Rb2 Qe4 37.Qf1 Rc6 38.Kh2 f3 39.Qxf3 Qxf3 40.gxf3 Nf5 41.Kg2 g5 42.Kf2 Ra6 43.Ke2 Nh4 44.Ke3 Ng6 45.Rb8 Nf4 46.Rh8 Kf5 47.Rf8 Kg6 48.Rg8+ Kh7 49.Rf8 Kg7 50.Rc8 Ra2 51.Bc5 Re2+ 52.Kd4 Rd2+ 53.Ke3 Rd3+ 54.Kf2 Nxh3+ 55.Kg3 Nf4 56.Bf8+ Kg6 57.Rc6+ Ne6 58.Kf2 Rd2+ 59.Ke3 Ra2 60.Rc8 h5 61.Be7 h4 62.Rh8 h3 63.Rxh3 d4+ 64.Ke4 Re2+ 0-1

Both Ian and Alireza have unusual chairs, white and black plastic – they look like dentist chairs from the view we see. Peter and Jan immediately point out that they are Racing Luxury Gaming Chairs. They run about $600. The advertiser’s blurb says: A true premium chair for the discerning user with enhanced seat comfort, cutting-edge ergonomics and a full panoply of luxury features dedicated to your well-being.

I guess if you are playing online games for hours at a time you need a very comfortable seat.

Round 7, Apr. 30
Game 1
MVL – Nakamura, Hikaru
A45 Trompovsky Attack

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 c5 3.d5 d6 4.Nc3 a6 5.a4 g6 6.e4 Bg7 7.Nf3 h6 8.Bf4 Bg4 9.Be2 Bxf3 10.Bxf3 Nbd7 11.O-O O-O 12.Qd2 Kh7 13.Be2 Qa5 14.Rfe1 Qb4 15.Ra2 b5 16.f3 Nb6 17.a5 Nc4 18.Bxc4 Qxc4 19.b3 Qb4 20.Nd1 Qxd2 21.Bxd2 e6 22.dxe6 fxe6 23.Nf2 Nd7 24.c3 c4 25.b4 Rfe8 26.Rd1 d5 27.Rc2 Ne5 28.Be3 Nc6 29.Bb6 d4 30.cxd4 Nxb4 31.Rcc1 Na2 32.Rc2 Nb4 33.Rcc1 Rac8 34.g3 h5 35.f4 Bf6 36.e5 Be7 37.Ne4 Nd5 38.Bc5 Bxc5 39.dxc5 Kg7 40.Kf2 Re7 41.Kf3 Nb4 42.Ke3 Nd3 43.Rxd3 cxd3 44.Kxd3 Rc6 45.Kd4 Kf8 46.h3 Rd7+ 47.Nd6 Rh7 48.Ne4 Ke7 49.Rd1 Rh8 50.Kc3 Rd8 51.Rd6 Rdxd6 52.exd6+ Kd7 53.Nf6+ Kd8 54.Kb4 Rc8 55.h4 1-0

Round 7, Apr. 30
Game 1
Giri, Anish – Caruana, Fabiano
A20 English Opening

1.c4 e5 2.d3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.a3 a5 7.Be2 Bd6 8.O-O O-O 9.Nc3 Be6 10.Qc2 Qe7 11.Re1 Kh8 12.Bd2 Nb6 13.Na4 Nd7 14.d4 exd4 15.exd4 Qf6 16.Be3 Qg6 17.Qxg6 hxg6 18.Rac1 f6 19.Nh4 Ne7 20.h3 g5 21.Nf3 Bd5 22.Nc3 Nb6 23.Nxd5 Nexd5 24.Bd2 g6 25.g3 Kg7 26.Kg2 c6 27.Bd3 a4 28.Re6 Rad8 29.Rce1 Rd7 30.h4 g4 31.Nh2 Nc7 32.R6e2 f5 33.f3 gxf3+ 34.Nxf3 Nbd5 35.Bc4 Re7 36.Rxe7+ Bxe7 37.Ng5 Bxg5 38.Bxg5 Re8 39.Rxe8 Nxe8 40.Kf3 Nd6 41.Bd3 b5 42.g4 fxg4+ 43.Kxg4 Nc4 44.Bc1 Kf6 45.Kf3 Kf7 46.Kg4 Kf6 47.Kf3 Nd6 48.Bg5+ Kf7 49.Kg4 Nc4 50.Bc1 Kf6 1/2-1/2

Round 7, Apr. 30
Game 2
Carlsen, Magnus – Ding, Liren
B2 Sicilian, Grand Prix Attack

1.e4 c5 2.f4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 Nc6 6.Be2 O-O 7.O-O b5 8.a3 d6 9.Kh1 a5 10.Be3 Bb7 11.Nbd2 b4 12.Qc2 e6 13.axb4 axb4 14.Rxa8 Qxa8 15.Nc4 Qb8 16.e5 Nd5 17.Bg1 dxe5 18.Bxc5 Nxf4 19.Bxf8 Bxf8 20.Re1 g5 21.Bf1 f6 22.Qf2 Ne7 23.Nfd2 Nf5 24.Ne4 Qd8 25.Qb6 Qxb6 26.Nxb6 Kg7 27.Nc4 Nh4 28.Ra1 Kg6 29.Ra7 Bd5 30.g3 f5 31.Nxe5+ Kh6 32.c4 1-0

Round 7, Apr. 30
Game 3
Ding Liren – Carlsen, Magnus
B30 Sicilian, Nimzowitsch-Rossolimo Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 h5 4.h3 e6 5.c3 Nf6 6.e5 Nd5 7.d4 cxd4 8.O-O dxc3 9.Nxc3 Nxc3 10.bxc3 Qc7 11.Re1 b6 12.Ng5 Bb7 13.Qf3 Nxe5 14.Qf4 Bd6 15.Rxe5 Bxe5 16.Qxf7+ Kd8 17.Ba3 a6 18.Rd1 Kc8 19.Rxd7 Bh2+ 20.Kh1 axb5 21.Rxc7+ Bxc7 22.Nxe6 Be5 23.Bf8 Bc6 24.Bxg7 Bd6 25.Bxh8 Rxa2 26.Qg8+ Kd7 27.Nf8+ 1-0

Round 7, Apr. 30
Game 4
Carlsen, Magnus – Ding, Liren
C34 King’s Gambit Accepted, Schallop Defence

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e5 Nh5 5.Qe2 Be7 6.d4 O-O 7.Nc3 d6 8.Bd2 Bg4 9.O-O-O Nd7 10.Qe1 c6 11.Be2 Re8 12.g3 dxe5 13.Nxe5 Nxe5 14.dxe5 f3 15.Bd3 Qd4 16.Qe4 Qxe4 17.Nxe4 f2 18.Rdf1 Bf3 19.g4 Bh4 20.gxh5 Rxe5 21.Ng3 Rae8 22.Bc3 Bg5+ 23.Kb1 Bxh1 0-1

Ding Liren beats Magnus Carlsen's King's Gambit and wins the match 3:1!

Ding-Carlsen 3-1

Round 7, Apr. 30
Game 2
Firouzja, Alireza - Nepomniachtchi, Ian
A81 Dutch Defence

1.d4 f5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 g6 4.Nd2 Bg7 5.e4 fxe4 6.Nxe4 Nxe4 7.Bxe4 O-O 8.Bg2 d6 9.Nf3 c6 10.O-O Bg4 11.c3 Qd7 12.Re1 Kh8 13.Qd3 Na6 14.Ng5 Nc7 15.Qe4 h6 16.h3 Bf5 17.Qh4 Kg8 18.Ne4 g5 19.Qh5 Nd5 20.h4 Bg4 21.Qg6 e6 22.Nd2 Bf5 23.Qh5 Nf6 24.Qe2 gxh4 25.gxh4 Rae8 26.Nf1 Bg4 27.Qd3 Qf7 28.Bf4 Nh5 29.Bg3 Nxg3 30.fxg3 Qf2+ 31.Kh2 e5 32.dxe5 Bf3 33.Ne3 Rxe5 34.Qf1 Bxg2 35.Nxg2 Qxb2 36.Qd3 Rf2 37.Rxe5 Rxg2+ 38.Kh3 Rh2+ 39.Kg4 dxe5 0-1

Round 7, Apr. 30
Game 3
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Firouzja, Alireza
B12 Caro-Kann, Advance variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 Ne7 6.c3 h6 7.O-O Nd7 8.Nbd2 a5 9.Re1 a4 10.Nf1 Bg6 11.Ng3 c5 12.Bb5 Qa5 13.Bxd7+ Kxd7 14.dxc5 Nc6 15.Be3 Bxc5 16.c4 Rhd8 17.Bxc5 Qxc5 18.Nh4 Qxc4 19.Nxg6 fxg6 20.Rc1 Qxa2 21.Ne4 Rf8 22.Nc5+ Ke7 23.Qg4 d4 24.Qxg6 Rf7 25.Nxb7 Qxb2 26.Nd6 Qxf2+ 27.Kh1 Nxe5 28.Qe4 Kxd6 29.Qxe5+ 1-0

Round 7, Apr. 30
Game 4
Firouzja, Alireza – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
A81 Dutch Defence

1.d4 f5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 g6 4.Nd2 Nc6 5.d5 Ne5 6.b3 Bg7 7.Bb2 Nf7 8.h4 c6 9.c4 O-O 10.Nh3 e5 11.dxe6 dxe6 12.Qc2 e5 13.O-O-O Qe7 14.e4 a5 15.a3 f4 16.gxf4 Bxh3 17.Bxh3 exf4 18.e5 Nh5 19.Nf3 Rad8 20.Bg4 Nxe5 21.Bxh5 gxh5 22.Rxd8 Nxf3 23.Rxf8+ Qxf8 24.Qe4 Bxb2+ 25.Kxb2 Qf6+ 26.Ka2 Nxh4 27.Qe8+ Kg7 28.Qxh5 Qc3 29.Qxh4 Qc2+ 30.Ka1 Qc3+ 31.Kb1 Qxb3+ 32.Kc1 Qxa3+ 33.Kd2 Qb2+ 34.Kd3 Qb3+ 35.Ke4 Qxc4+ 36.Kf3 Qd3+ 37.Kxf4 Qd4+ 38.Kg3 Qxh4+ 39.Kxh4 Kf6 40.Ra1 b5 41.Rxa5 Ke5 42.Ra6 c5 43.Ra5 1-0

Firouzja-Nepo 2-2

On to Armageddon

Round 7, Apr. 30
Game 2
Nakamura, Hikaru – MVL
A45 Trompovsky Attack

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 Ne4 3.Bf4 d5 4.e3 e6 5.Bd3 Bd6 6.Bxe4 Bxf4 7.exf4 dxe4 8.Nc3 Nc6 9.d5 Nb4 10.Qd2 O-O 11.Nxe4 exd5 12.Qxb4 dxe4 13.Ne2 Re8 14.O-O e3 15.fxe3 Rxe3 16.Rad1 Qe8 17.Ng3 b6 18.Rfe1 Bg4 19.Rc1 Rd8 20.Nf1 Rxe1 21.Rxe1 Qc6 22.Ne3 Bc8 23.Qe7 Re8 24.Nd5 Be6 25.f5 Kh8 26.Nb4 Qa8 27.Qxc7 Bxf5 28.Rxe8+ Qxe8 29.Kf2 h5 30.Nd5 Qe4 31.Ne3 Be6 32.b3 h4 33.Qxa7 Qf4+ 34.Ke2 Bg4+ 35.Nxg4 Qxg4+ 36.Kd3 Qxg2 37.Qb8+ Kh7 38.Qf4 Qd5+ 39.Kc3 Qc5+ 40.Kb2 Qe7 41.a4 g5 42.Qd4 f5 43.Qxb6 Qe5+ 44.Ka2 Qxh2 45.Qc5 Qg2 46.Qxf5+ Kg7 47.Qd7+ Kh6 48.Qe6+ Kg7 49.Qe7+ Kh6 50.Qf6+ Kh7 51.Qf7+ Kh6 52.Qf8+ Kh7 1/2-1/2

Round 7, Apr. 30
Game 3
MVL – Nakamura, Hikaru
A08 Reti, King’s Indian Attack

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 c5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.O-O e6 5.b3 Be7 6.Bb2 O-O 7.d3 Nc6 8.Nbd2 b6 9.e3 Bb7 10.c4 Qd7 11.Qe2 d4 12.exd4 cxd4 13.a3 a5 14.Rae1 Rad8 15.Nh4 Ne8 16.Nhf3 Qc8 17.Qd1 f6 18.Bh3 f5 19.Bg2 Bf6 20.c5 bxc5 21.Qc2 Be7 22.Nc4 Nc7 23.Bc1 Nb5 24.Bf4 Rde8 25.Nb6 Nxa3 26.Qe2 Qd8 27.Qxe6+ Kh8 28.Nd7 Bc8 29.Qxc6 Bxd7 30.Qd5 Nc2 31.Rxe7 Qxe7 32.Bd6 Qe6 33.Ng5 Qxd5 34.Bxd5 h6 35.Nf7+ Kh7 36.Bxc5 Rg8 37.Rc1 Ne1 38.Bxd4 Be6 39.Bxe6 Rxe6 40.Bc3 Nxd3 41.Rd1 Nc5 42.Bxa5 f4 43.b4 Nb3 44.Nd8 Re2 45.gxf4 Nxa5 46.bxa5 Rf8 47.a6 Ra2 48.Ne6 Rf6 49.Rd6 h5 50.Kg2 Ra3 51.h4 Kg6 52.Rd5 Kh6 53.f5 Rxa6 54.Ng5 Ra4 55.f3 Rf4 56.Kg3 R4xf5 57.Rd8 Kg6 58.Ra8 Rb5 59.Rc8 Ra6 60.Rc7 Rb1 61.Rd7 Rg1+ 62.Kf2 Rb1 63.Kg3 Re1 64.Rb7 Ra2 65.Rb6+ Kf5 66.Rb5+ Re5 67.Rb7 Ree2 68.Rb5+ Kf6 69.Rb6+ Ke5 70.Rb5+ Kd4 71.Ne4 Rg2+ 72.Kf4 g6 73.Rb6 Ra5 74.Rf6 Kd3 75.Rd6+ Kc2 76.Ng5 Ra4+ 77.Ne4 Rb4 78.Rd5 Rb8 79.Ra5 Kd3 80.Ra3+ Kc4 81.Ra4+ Kb5 82.Nc3+ Kc6 83.Ra6+ Rb6 84.Ra8 Rb4+ 85.Ne4 Rb1 86.Ng3 g5+ 87.hxg5 h4 88.Ne4 h3 89.Rh8 h2 90.Rh6+ Kd7 91.Rh7+ Kd8 92.Rh8+ Ke7 93.Rh7+ Kf8 0-1

Final Position



(to be continued)

[Wayne Komer]

Magnus Carlsen Invitational 2020

April 30, 2020

Round Seven (continued)

Round 7, Apr. 30
Game 4
Nakamura, Hikaru – MVL
A45 Trompovsky Attack

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 g6 3.Bxf6 exf6 4.e3 Bg7 5.Ne2 O-O 6.h4 h5 7.Nf4 d5 8.c4 dxc4 9.Bxc4 Kh8 10.Nc3 c6 11.d5 f5 12.dxc6 Qxd1+ 13.Rxd1 bxc6 14.Rc1 Nd7 15.O-O Ne5 16.Be2 Bf6 17.g3 Bb7 18.Na4 Rad8 19.Nc5 Bc8 20.Rc2 Rd6 21.Rfc1 Rfd8 22.b3 Rd2 23.Kg2 Be7 24.Kf1 Kg7 25.Ke1 Rxe2+ 26.Rxe2 Bxc5 27.Rxc5 Nf3+ 28.Kf1 Ba6 29.Kg2 Bxe2 30.Nxe2 Ne1+ 31.Kf1 Nf3 32.Ng1 Nxg1 33.Kxg1 Rd6 34.Ra5 Rd7 35.Kf1 Kf6 36.Ke2 Ke6 37.b4 Kd6 38.a3 Rc7 39.Kd3 Re7 40.Ra6 Kd5 41.Ra4 Rd7 42.Ra5+ Ke6+ 43.Kc2 f6 44.Ra6 Kd5 45.Kd3 Ke5+ 46.Ke2 Kd5 47.f3 Rc7 48.Kd3 Rd7 49.Ra5+ Kd6 50.Kc3 Re7 51.Kd4 Rd7 52.Kc4 Re7 53.Kd3 Rd7 54.Ke2 Re7 55.Kf2 Rb7 56.e4 fxe4 57.fxe4 Rc7 58.Ra6 Ke5 59.Ke3 c5 60.Ra5 Kd6 61.bxc5+ Rxc5 62.Rxa7 Rc3+ 63.Kf4 g5+ 64.Kf5 Rf3+ 65.Kg6 Rxg3 66.Kxf6 gxh4 67.e5+ Kc6 68.a4 Rf3+ 69.Ke6 Ra3 70.Rh7 Rxa4 71.Rxh5 Re4 72.Ke7 h3 73.e6 Re3 74.Rh6 Kc7 75.Kf7 Kd6 76.e7+ Kd7 77.Rxh3 Rxe7+ 78.Kf6 Re6+ 79.Kf5 Rd6 80.Re3 Rd5+ 81.Re5 Kd6 82.Rxd5+ Kxd5 1/2-1/2

MVL-Nakamura 2-2

Goes to Armageddon

Round 7, Apr. 30
Game 2
Caruana, Fabiano – Giri, Anish
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf, Byrne Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nf3 Be7 8.Bc4 Be6 9.Nd2 Nbd7 10.a4 Qc7 11.Bb3 O-O 12.O-O Rac8 13.a5 Nc5 14.h3 Nxb3 15.cxb3 d5 16.exd5 Nxd5 17.Nxd5 Bxd5 18.Re1 Bb4 19.Bb6 Qc6 20.f3 Rfe8 21.Ra4 Bxb3 22.Qxb3 Bxd2 23.Rd1 Qc2 24.Qxc2 Rxc2 25.Re4 Rxb2 26.Re2 Bc3 27.Rxb2 Bxb2 28.Rd7 Bd4+ 29.Bxd4 exd4 30.Rxd4 g5 31.Rd7 Re5 32.Rxb7 Rxa5 33.Kh2 h5 34.h4 gxh4 35.Rb4 Rb5 36.Rxh4 a5 37.Rc4 Rb8 38.Rc5 Ra8 39.Rxh5 a4 40.Kg3 a3 41.Rh1 a2 42.Ra1 Kg7 43.Kf4 Kf6 44.Ke4 Ra4+ 45.Kd5 Kf5 46.g3 Ra5+ 47.Kd6 Ra7 48.Kd5 Rd7+ 49.Kc4 Rd2 50.Rh1 Kg5 51.Ra1 Kf5 52.Rh1 Kg5 53.Ra1 f5 54.g4 f4 55.Rh1 Kg6 56.Ra1 Rf2 57.Kd4 Kg5 58.Ke4 Rb2 59.Kd4 Re2 60.Rh1 Kg6 61.Rc1 Re6 62.Ra1 Ra6 63.Kd3 Ra3+ 64.Ke2 Kf6 65.Kf2 Ke5 66.Kg2 Kd4 67.g5 Ke5 0-1

Round 7, Apr. 30
Game 3
Giri, Anish – Caruana, Fabiano
A80 Dutch

1.d4 f5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bg5 d5 4.e3 e6 5.Nf3 Be7 6.Bd3 O-O 7.O-O Ne4 8.Bxe7 Qxe7 9.Ne2 Nd7 10.c4 c6 11.Rc1 a5 12.a3 Nd6 13.Qc2 Nf6 14.Ne5 Bd7 15.cxd5 exd5 16.b4 Rfc8 17.Qc5 axb4 18.axb4 Be8 19.Ra1 Qd8 20.Ng3 g6 21.f3 b6 22.Qc3 Qe7 23.Rfe1 Rxa1 24.Rxa1 Nf7 25.Bf1 Nxe5 26.dxe5 Nd7 27.f4 Nf8 28.Ne2 c5 29.bxc5 bxc5 30.Nd4 Rb8 31.Nf3 Ne6 32.Ra6 c4 33.Qd2 Nc5 34.Qxd5+ Bf7 35.e6 Nxe6 36.Bxc4 Ng5 37.Qd3 Nxf3+ 38.gxf3 Re8 39.Kg2 Qc5 40.Bxf7+ Kxf7 41.e4 Re7 42.e5 Rb7 43.Ra2 Kg7 44.Qd8 Rb1 45.Qf6+ Kh6 46.Kh3 Qe3 47.Qg5+ Kg7 48.Qf6+ Kh6 49.Qh4+ Kg7 50.Qe7+ Kh6 51.Qh4+ Kg7 52.Rf2 Qc5 53.Qf6+ Kh6 54.Rg2 Rb8 55.Rg5 1-0

Round 7, Apr. 30
Game 4
Caruana, Fabiano – Giri, Anish
A20 Amsterdam Attack

1.c4 e5 2.e3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nge2 O-O 5.a3 Be7 6.b4 a5 7.b5 c6 8.d4 d6 9.Bb2 Be6 10.d5 cxd5 11.cxd5 Bc8 12.Ng3 Nbd7 13.a4 Nc5 14.Ba3 Qb6 15.Bd3 Bg4 16.Qb1 Nxd3+ 17.Qxd3 Rfc8 18.O-O Qd8 19.h3 Bd7 20.Bb2 Rc5 21.f4 exf4 22.Rxf4 Rac8 23.Raf1 Kh8 24.Nge4 1-0

Caruana-Giri 1.5-2.5

Armageddon Games

Round 7, Apr. 30
Armageddon
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Firouzja, Alireza
B12 Caro-Kann, Advance variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 Ne7 6.c3 h6 7.O-O Nd7 8.Nbd2 a5 9.Re1 a4 10.Nf1 Bg6 11.Ng3 c5 12.Bb5 a3 13.b3 Nc6 14.Qe2 cxd4 15.Nxd4 Qb6 16.Be3 Bc5 17.Bxc6 bxc6 18.b4 Bxd4 19.Bxd4 Qb5 20.Qg4 h5 21.Qh4 c5 22.bxc5 Nxc5 23.Ne2 Nd3 24.Rf1 Qc4 25.Ng3 Rb8 26.f4 Nc5 27.f5 exf5 28.Nxf5 Bxf5 29.Rxf5 Ne6 30.Raf1 Rb7 31.Rxh5 Rxh5 32.Qxh5 Nxd4 33.Qh8+ Ke7 34.Qh4+ Ke8 35.cxd4 Rb4 36.Qh8+ Ke7 37.Qxg7 Qxd4+ 38.Kh1 Qf2 39.Qg5+ Ke6 40.Qc1 Qe2 41.Qc6+ Kxe5 42.Qe8+ 1-0

Nepo-Firouzja 3-2

Round 7, Apr. 30
Armageddon
MVL – Nakamura, Hikaru
C54 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.d3 Bc5 4.Nf3 d6 5.c3 Nf6 6.O-O h6 7.Re1 O-O 8.h3 a5 9.Nbd2 Bb6 10.Bb3 Be6 11.Nc4 Ba7 12.Ne3 Ne7 13.Bc2 c5 14.d4 cxd4 15.cxd4 Ng6 16.Nf5 Re8 17.Be3 d5 18.dxe5 Nxe4 19.Bxa7 Bxf5 20.Bd4 Nf4 21.Be3 Ne6 22.Bb3 N4c5 23.Qxd5 Nxb3 24.Qxb3 Be4 25.Nd2 Bd5 26.Qd3 Bc6 27.Qxd8 Rexd8 28.Nc4 a4 29.Rad1 Rd5 30.f4 Rad8 31.Nd6 f6 32.Rxd5 Bxd5 33.Bb6 Rd7 34.Be3 fxe5 35.fxe5 Bxa2 36.Kf2 Rc7 37.Kg3 Rc2 38.Rd1 Rxb2 39.Nf5 Bb1 40.Rd8+ Kh7 41.Nd6 Nxd8 0-1

Nakamura-MVL 3-2

Standings After Round Seven

1 Nakamura 15 points
2 Ding 15 points
3 Carlsen 13 points
4 Caruana 13 points
5 Nepo 8 points
6 Firouzja 7 points
7 Giri 7 points
8 MVL 6 points

Semifinals, Day One
Friday, May 1

Nakamura-Caruana

Semifinals, Day Two
Saturday, May 2

Ding-Carlsen

[Wayne Komer]

Magnus Carlsen Invitational 2020

May 1, 2020

Final Four

Semi-Finals

This consists of semi-finals May 1-2 and the final on May 3

1^st vs 4^th, 2^nd vs 3^rd – so, Nakamura-Caruana and Ding-Carlsen

4 rapid games per match

Games start 5 minutes after the end of the previous game

In the case of a tie, blitz tie-breaks, then Armageddon

Man introduces the commentators this way:

We are back here with absolute chess greatness. World Champion, Magnus Carlsen, three-times Blitz World Champion, Alexander Grischuk, eight-times Russian Champion, Peter Svidler, and 4-times Essex Junior Champion, Lawrence Trent.

Semi-final, May 1
Game 1
Caruana, Fabiano – Nakamura, Hikaru
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 h6 7.Re1 O-O 8.h3 a5 9.d4 Bb6 10.Be3 exd4 11.cxd4 d5 12.exd5 Ne7 13.Nc3 Nexd5 14.Qd2 Nxe3 15.Rxe3 c6 16.Rd1 Nd5 17.Nxd5 cxd5 18.Bb3 Bf5 19.Ne5 a4 20.Bc2 Bxc2 21.Qxc2 Bc7 22.Rde1 Bxe5 23.Rxe5 Qd6 24.a3 Qc6 25.Qd1 Rae8 26.R1e3 Rxe5 27.dxe5 Re8 28.Qd2 Rc8 29.Kh2 Qe6 30.Qd3 Rc4 31.Re2 b5 32.b3 Re4 33.Rxe4 dxe4 34.Qxb5 Qxb3 35.Qe8+ Kh7 36.Qd7 e3 37.fxe3 Qxe3 38.Qf5+ Kg8 39.Qc8+ Kh7 40.Qf5+ Kg8 41.Qc8+ Kh7 42.Qf5+ 1/2-1/2

- Nakamura almost posed some problems with Black out of nowhere, but Caruana-Nakamura Game 1 ends in a draw!

Alexander Grischuk comes in:

Grischuk: "Sometimes I heard myself called the last Soviet School chess player, but the last Soviet School players are Fabiano and Anish!

Grischuk: "Hikaru is definitely not from Soviet Chess School"
Jan: "What chess school is he from?"
Grischuk: "I don't know... the computer chess school"
Magnus: "You shouldn't say those words with such disgust... it's the good school!"

Semi-final, May 1
Nakamura, Hikaru – Caruana, Fabiano
Game 2
D10 QGD Slav Defence

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.cxd5 cxd5 4.Bf4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.e3 Bf5 7.Qb3 Na5 8.Qa4+ Bd7 9.Qc2 e6 10.Bd3 Rc8 11.Nf3 Bb4 12.O-O Nh5 13.Be5 f6 14.Bg3 Nxg3 15.hxg3 Nc4 16.a3 Bxc3 17.bxc3 Nd6 18.a4 g6 19.Nd2 O-O 20.Rfc1 Qe7 21.Qb3 Rc7 22.Qa3 Rfc8 23.c4 dxc4 24.Rxc4 Bc6 25.Rc5 b6 26.Rc3 Bb7 27.Rxc7 Qxc7 28.Bf1 Qd7 29.a5 Bd5 30.axb6 axb6 31.Qb4 b5 32.Ra6 Rd8 33.Qa5 Rb8 34.Qb4 Rd8 35.Nb3 Bxb3 36.Qxb3 Rc8 37.Qb4 Nc4 38.Be2 Kg7 39.Bg4 f5 40.Be2 h5 41.Ra1 Nd6 42.Rb1 Qc7 43.Ra1 Qb6 44.Bd3 Kf7 45.Rb1 Rc7 46.Kh2 Rc8 47.Ra1 Kf6 48.f3 Kf7 49.Rb1 Qc7 50.e4 Nc4 51.Qxb5 Na3 52.Qb3 Nxb1 53.exf5 gxf5 54.Bxf5 Qd6 55.Bxb1 h4 56.f4 Rg8 57.Qb7+ Kf6 58.Qh7 hxg3+ 59.Kh3 Qf8 60.Qh4+ Kf7 61.Qh5+ Ke7 62.Qc5+ Ke8 63.Qb5+ Kf7 64.Qh5+ Ke7 65.Qc5+ Kf7 66.Qh5+ 1/2-1/2

Position after Black’s 51…Na3



Nakamura blunders 51...Na3!

Despite the blunder Hikaru Nakamura escapes with a draw, so it's 1:1 with two rapid games to go!

Semi-final, May 1
Game 3
Caruana, Fabiano – Nakamura, Hikaru
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 h6 7.Re1 O-O 8.h3 a5 9.Nbd2 Bb6 10.Bb3 Be6 11.Ba4 Nd7 12.Nf1 f5 13.exf5 Bxf5 14.d4 exd4 15.cxd4 Nf6 16.Ng3 Bh7 17.Bb3+ Kh8 18.a3 Ne7 19.Be6 c6 20.Bd2 Nfd5 21.a4 Nb4 22.Bxb4 axb4 23.Qb3 Ba5 24.Re3 Ng6 25.Bf5 Bg8 26.Qc2 Nh4 27.Nxh4 Qxh4 28.Qd3 Bb6 29.Re4 Qf6 30.Rg4 Ra5 31.Bg6 Be6 32.Ne4 Qxd4 33.Qxd4 Bxd4 34.Rd1 Bxb2 35.Rg3 Be5 36.Re3 Bd5 37.g3 Rxa4 38.f4 Ra1 39.Rd3 Rxd1+ 40.Rxd1 Bc3 41.Nxd6 Rf6 0-1

"It's inexplicable... he just didn't sense the moment," says Magnus of Caruana's 26.Qc2?! instead of 26.Be6, after which he was soon losing!

- Hikaru Nakamura takes the lead with just one rapid game to go - now Fabiano Caruana must win with the black pieces to take the match to a blitz playoff!

Semi-final, May 1
Game 4
Nakamura, Hikaru – Caruana, Fabiano
A46 Queen’s Pawn

1.Nf3 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 g6 4.Nc3 Bf5 5.Nh4 Bd7 6.e4 e5 7.Nf3 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Be2 Bg7 10.Be3 O-O 11.Nd2 c6 12.O-O Ne8 13.dxc6 bxc6 14.b4 Be6 15.Nb3 f5 16.f3 Nf6 17.Na5 Qd7 18.Rc1 Rac8 19.Qd2 Rfd8 20.Rfd1 Bf7 21.Bf2 h6 22.b5 c5 23.Bd3 f4 24.Nd5 Nexd5 25.cxd5 g5 26.Nc6 Re8 27.Kh1 g4 28.Bh4 Kh8 29.Be2 Bg6 30.Qe1 Nh7 31.a4 Ng5 32.Qf1 Bf6 33.a5 Nxe4 34.Bd3 Bxh4 35.Bxe4 Bxe4 36.fxe4 Rf8 37.b6 axb6 38.axb6 Qb7 39.Ra1 Ra8 40.Rxa8 Rxa8 41.Qb5 f3 42.g3 Bg5 43.Na5 Qf7 44.b7 Rb8 45.Rf1 Kg7 46.Qa6 Qg6 47.Qd3 h5 48.h4 Bxh4 49.gxh4 Qf6 50.Kg1 Qxh4 51.Qd2 Kg6 52.Nc4 Qf6 53.Na5 Qh4 54.Nc4 Qf6 55.Ne3 Qf4 56.Qf2 Qxe4 57.Re1 Rxb7 58.Ng2 Qd4 0-1

Position after White’s 48.h4?



Grischuk: "[Naka] looks visibly worried"
Magnus: "He's played a lot of King's Indians and he's won worse positions than this... 32.Qf1 is just a nervous move"

Svidler: "An unbelievably tense game!"

Carlsen: "This was amazing!"
Fabiano Caruana wins with the black pieces and now the #MagnusInvite semifinal against Hikaru Nakamura is going to at least two 5+3 blitz games!

Match Score Caruana-Nakamura 2-2

Blitz Tie-Breaks

- up to four blitz games and then Armageddon if needed

- The Italian opening seems to be not the best for the Italian

Blitz Tie-break, May 1
5 minutes+ 3, Game 1
Caruana, Fabiano – Nakamura, Hikaru
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 h6 7.Re1 O-O 8.h3 a5 9.Nbd2 Bb6 10.Nf1 Ne7 11.Ng3 Be6 12.Bxe6 fxe6 13.d4 exd4 14.cxd4 Ng6 15.Be3 a4 16.Qc2 Qe8 17.a3 d5 18.e5 Nd7 19.Nd2 Ba5 20.Rec1 c5 21.dxc5 Ngxe5 22.Rf1 Nc6 23.b4 axb3 24.Nxb3 Bc7 25.Nd4 Be5 26.Nge2 Ra5 27.Nxc6 bxc6 28.Ra2 Qe7 29.Rc1 Rfa8 30.a4 Bf6 31.Ra3 e5 32.Ng3 Qe6 33.Qg6 d4 34.Bd2 Rxa4 35.Rxa4 Rxa4 36.Ne4 Nf8 37.Qg3 Kh7 38.Rb1 Ra7 39.Qd3 Kg8 40.Rb8 Be7 41.Qf3 Qf7 42.Qg3 Qe6 43.Re8 Kh7 44.Rb8 Nd7 45.Qd3 Qg6 46.Rc8 Nf8 47.Rxc6 Qxc6 48.Ng5+ Kh8 49.Nf7+ Kg8 50.Nxe5 Qd5 51.Bf4 Bxc5 0-1

Position after Black’s 43….Kh7?



The game after move 47 was a mad scramble with winning positions for both players. Don’t play this over if you have a heart condition.

- Caruana blunders in another thriller and Nakamura takes the lead! Fabi must now do it all over again and win with Black again

Blitz Tie-break, May 1
5 minutes + 3, Game 2
Nakamura, Hikaru – Caruana, Fabiano
A46 Queen’s Pawn

1.Nf3 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.e3 g6 4.b3 Bg7 5.Bb2 O-O 6.Be2 Nbd7 7.O-O b6 8.c4 Bb7 9.Qc2 e6 10.Nc3 Qe7 11.e4 e5 12.dxe5 dxe5 13.Nd5 Nxd5 14.cxd5 Rac8 15.Bb5 Nb8 16.Bc6 Nxc6 17.dxc6 Ba6 18.Rfd1 Rcd8 19.a4 Rfe8 20.Rxd8 Rxd8 21.Rd1 Rd6 22.Rd2 f6 23.h4 Bh6 24.Rd5 Rxd5 25.exd5 Qd6 26.Qe4 Bc8 27.h5 Bf5 28.Qc4 Bf8 29.Nh4 Qc5 30.Nxf5 gxf5 31.Kf1 Kg7 32.Bc1 Qxc4+ 33.bxc4 f4 34.g3 Kh6 35.gxf4 Kxh5 36.Kg2 Kg4 37.fxe5 fxe5 38.f3+ Kf5 39.Bd2 a5 40.Be3 Bd6 41.Kh3 e4 42.f4 Kg6 43.Kg4 h5+ 44.Kg3 Kf5 45.Kh3 Kf6 46.Kg3 Kg6 47.Kh4 Be7+ 48.Kh3 Bd6 49.Kg3 Kf5 50.Kh3 h4 51.Kxh4 Bxf4 52.Bxf4 Kxf4 53.d6 e3 54.dxc7 e2 55.c8=Q e1=Q+ 56.Kh5 Qe5+ 57.Kg6 Qe4+ 58.Kg7 Qd4+ 59.Kg6 Qd3+ 60.Kg7 Qc3+ 61.Kg6 Qxc4 62.Qf5+ Ke3 63.Qe5+ Kd2 64.c7 Qc6+ 65.Kf7 Qc4+ 66.Ke7 Qh4+ 67.Kd7 Qg4+ 68.Qe6 Qg7+ 69.Kc6 1-0

- Is it all over? Maybe not! Caruana is better again with Black in his latest must-win game

- Hikaru Nakamura has done it! He reaches the final of the #MagnusInvite where he'll play either Magnus Carlsen or Ding Liren on Sunday

Match Score Nakamura-Caruana 4-2

later: last diagram corrected

[Wayne Komer]

Magnus Carlsen Invitational 2020

May 2, 2020

Final Four

Semi-Finals

Peter Svidler - Big day today - with Hikaru already in the finals, Magnus Carlsen and Ding Liren are about to go into battle for the right to challenge him for the title tomorrow. Judging by their recent record, it could be one for the ages - tune in

Patricia Llaneza - Forget about Blue Monday. The most depressing day of this year is gonna be May 4th, when #MagnusInvite is over. I'm gonna miss both games & commentaries, but there's a silver lining: I'll get my afternoons back!

Semi-finals, May 2
Game 1
Carlsen, Magnus – Ding, Liren
D02 Queen’s Bishop game

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Bf4 e6 4.Nbd2 Bd6 5.Bg5 Be7 6.e3 O-O 7.Bd3 b6 8.Qe2 Bb7 9.Bxf6 Bxf6 10.h4 Nd7 11.Ng5 h6 12.f4 c5 13.c3 Be7 14.g4 Nf6 15.a3 Rc8 16.Qg2 Bd6 17.Ngf3 cxd4 18.cxd4 Ne4 19.g5 h5 20.Ne5 Nxd2 21.Qxd2 g6 22.Kf2 Kg7 23.Rac1 Qe7 24.Qe2 Rc7 25.Rxc7 Qxc7 26.Rd1 Rc8 27.Rd2 Qc1 28.Qd1 Qxd1 29.Rxd1 Bxe5 30.fxe5 Kf8 31.Ke2 Ke7 32.Kd2 Rc7 33.b4 a6 34.a4 Rc8 35.Rf1 Rd8 36.Rf6 Rg8 37.a5 b5 38.Rf1 Rc8 39.Rc1 Rxc1 40.Kxc1 Bc6 41.Kd2 Kd7 42.Ke2 Ke7 43.Bxg6 fxg6 44.Kd2 Bd7 45.Ke1 Bc6 46.Kd2 Bd7 47.Ke1 Bc6 48.Kd2 1/2-1/2

Semi-finals, May 2
Game 2
Ding, Liren – Carlsen, Magnus
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 h6 7.Re1 O-O 8.h3 Re8 9.Nbd2 a6 10.a4 Be6 11.Bxe6 Rxe6 12.b4 Ba7 13.Qc2 Qd7 14.Nf1 d5 15.Be3 Bxe3 16.Nxe3 Ne7 17.a5 Ng6 18.g3 Rd8 19.Kg2 Qc6 20.Nf5 Ne7 21.Nxe7+ Rxe7 22.c4 dxe4 23.dxe4 Qe8 24.Rad1 c5 25.bxc5 Rc8 26.Nh4 Rxc5 27.Nf5 Rd7 28.Rxd7 Qxd7 29.Rd1 Qc7 30.Rd6 Rxc4 31.Qd3 Kh7 32.Rxf6 gxf6 33.Qe3 1-0

Position after White’s 31.Qd3



- An amazing moment as Magnus Carlsen spends 5 minutes on a move only to blunder into mate against Ding Liren!

- "An howler of unbelievable proportions" - Svidler on Carlsen's Kh7??.

- The English dictionary has no hard word sufficiently characteristic of the intensity of error here committed.

Semi-finals, May 2
Game 3
Carlsen, Magnus – Ding, Liren
D02 Queen’s Bishop game

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Bf4 e6 4.Nbd2 c5 5.e3 Qb6 6.Rb1 Bd6 7.c3 cxd4 8.cxd4 Bxf4 9.exf4 Nc6 10.Nb3 a5 11.a3 a4 12.Nc1 Bd7 13.Na2 Ne4 14.Nc3 Qc7 15.g3 Nxc3 16.bxc3 Na5 17.Rc1 Nb3 18.Rc2 Qd6 19.Bd3 Qxa3 20.O-O f6 21.Re1 O-O 22.Qb1 Qd6 23.Rce2 h6 24.f5 exf5 25.Nh4 Rae8 26.Nxf5 Bxf5 27.Rxe8 Nd2 28.Rxf8+ Kxf8 29.Qxb7 Nf3+ 30.Kh1 Nxe1 31.Bxf5 Nf3 32.Bg6 Ng5 33.Qc8+ 1-0

Position after Black’s 31…Nf3



Alexander Grischuk on Ding Liren "rushing" a move: "Why he didn't take time here? Look at me, I always take time until I have no time!"

Grischuk: "This is called returning the favour" Ding Liren now blunders into mate-in-4 - and Magnus Carlsen does a fist pump!

Match Score Carlsen-Ding 1.5-1.5

Semi-finals, May 2
Game 4
Ding, Liren – Carlsen, Magnus
D45 QGD, Semi-Slav

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Be2 Bd6 7.O-O O-O 8.b3 b6 9.Bb2 Bb7 10.a4 a5 11.Bd3 Rc8 12.Qe2 c5 13.Nb5 Bb8 14.Ne5 Qe7 15.f4 dxc4 16.bxc4 Ne4 17.Rad1 Rcd8 18.Ba3 Nxe5 19.fxe5 f5 20.Rb1 Qg5 21.Rb2 Rf7 22.Qe1 Rfd7 23.Re2 h6 24.Bb2 Bc6 25.Bc2 Kh8 26.Rf3 Qg6 27.Rh3 Qg5 28.Rf3 Nc3 29.d5 Nxe2+ 30.Qxe2 Bb7 31.Rg3 Qh4 32.d6 Be4 33.Bd1 Bc6 34.Rh3 Qg5 35.Rg3 Qh4 36.Rh3 Qg5 37.Nc3 Rf8 38.Qf2 Qd8 39.Ne2 Kh7 40.Nf4 Bxd6 41.Nxe6 Qe8 42.Nxf8+ Bxf8 43.Qxf5+ g6 44.Qf1 Bg7 45.Bc2 Rd2 0-1

Final Position




Romain Edouard - Looks like here White could have played 18.d5! exd5 19.Bxe4 dxe4 20.Nxd7 Rxd7 21.Bf6!! with some advantage. Just beautiful!

"What a trap by Ding!" Magnus is tempted into the move Peter suggested, 28...Nc3!?, winning the exchange, but now it seems White is fine & even better unless Magnus finds a perfect defence!

Grischuk "If you play that you kill your own trap"
Svidler "But this is probably slightly too large a beast to expect to catch with that trap"
Lawrence "It's hard to fit Godzilla in a net... it depends on the size of the net"
Svidler "Also the size of the Godzilla"

- Ding refuses to take the repetition near the end and loses

Final Score Carlsen-Ding 2.5-1.5

Magnus comes on to do a post-mortem on the match. It was obviously a hard contest and he seems relieved and happy. There was more tension in these games then in some over-the-board games. But, that is the way it was to be – not pleasant for the players in this format but great for the spectators.

Magnus wins a stunner against Ding Liren. In the final game Ding had a forced draw and opted to play for the win instead with 30 seconds on his clock. It didn’t work out, but you have to admire his heart!

Magnus hadn't spotted the winning 45...Rd2! until 2 seconds before he played it: "then I spotted Rd2 wins immediately - that's cool!"

Magnus Carlsen: "I haven't felt this kind of tension in a long time - this was real!"

"I haven't been in too many of these situations where I face a bunch of adversity - so I guess it's good for me!"

Carlsen: "Being 1.5:0.5 down and then almost lost in the opening as White - that's rough!

Magnus Carlsen: "That's the whole point of the format, it's not pleasant for the players at all. This was dead serious, & as far as tension goes as much as I've experience in a long time! I felt the same way as I felt after Game 10 of the match in London, just completely drained"

Carlsen: "It's going to be awesome tomorrow - I got away with something akin to murder today and I'm just happy to be here!"

Tomorrow, Carlsen meets Nakamura in the Final.

[Wayne Komer]

Magnus Carlsen Invitational 2020

May 3, 2020

Final

Svidler, Gustafsson, Trent and Grischuk are the commentators

"Good morning, America, good night, China!"

Alexander Grischuk appears during Game 1 and he's wearing a tie!

Final, May 3
Game 1
Carlsen, Magnus – Nakamura, Hikaru
A29 English, Bremen

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Nb6 7.O-O Be7 8.d3 O-O 9.Be3 Be6 10.Rc1 Nd5 11.Nxd5 Bxd5 12.a3 Re8 13.Qc2 Bf6 14.Nd2 Nd4 15.Bxd4 Bxg2 16.Kxg2 exd4 17.Qxc7 Rxe2 18.Qxd8+ Rxd8 19.Nc4 Rde8 20.Kf3 Bg5 21.Rb1 R2e6 22.a4 h5 23.b4 g6 24.b5 Kg7 25.Rb2 Be7 26.Rc1 g5 27.Kg2 g4 28.Rcc2 Bg5 29.b6 axb6 30.Rb5 Kg6 31.f4 gxf3+ 32.Kxf3 Bd8 33.Rd5 Bf6 34.Rb2 Ra8 35.Rxb6 Rxa4 36.Rxe6 fxe6 37.Rb5 Ra1 38.Rxb7 Rf1+ 39.Ke2 Rh1 40.h4 Rg1 41.Kf2 Rd1 42.Rb3 Ra1 43.Nd6 Be5 44.Ne4 Ra5 45.Kf3 Kf5 46.Nd2 Bf6 47.Nc4 Ra1 48.Nd6+ Kg6 49.Ne4 Re1 50.Kf2 Re3 51.Nd2 Re5 52.Ne4 Rf5+ 53.Ke2 Ra5 54.Rb6 Kf5 55.Kf3 Be5 56.Rb3 Ra1 57.Rb5 Re1 58.Nd6+ Kg6 59.Nc4 Bf6 60.Rb6 Kf5 61.Kf2 Rd1 62.Nd6+ Kg4 63.Ne4 Be5 64.Rxe6 Kf5 65.Ke2 Rg1 66.Rh6 Bxg3 67.Rxh5+ Kf4 68.Rh8 Re1+ 69.Kd2 Re3 70.h5 Be1+ 71.Kc2 Rh3 72.h6 Kf5 73.h7 Kg6 74.Rg8+ Kxh7 75.Nf6+ Kh6 76.Rh8+ Kg6 77.Rxh3 Kxf6 78.Kb3 Ke5 79.Kc4 Bf2 80.Rf3 Be3 81.Rf8 Ke6 82.Kc5 Bg1 83.Kc6 Be3 84.Re8+ 1-0

Position after Black’s 56…Ra1?



Magnus is looking sharp - he spotted the computer-approved trick with 29.b6!, with Rb5 to follow

Svidler: "Magnus is definitely making progress."

- Fantastic way to play "a dead draw"!

- Nobody plays "a dead draw" better than Magnus!

Grischuk: "I will be surprised if Hikaru saves this"

- how did carlsen win it? amazing

A classic Magnus Carlsen grind as he takes a 1:0 lead against Hikaru Nakamura in the #MagnusInvite final!

- Good Game Champ!

- Move 67 was the error. Equal until then

Position after White’s 67.Rxh5+



Oh, to speak Russian! Alexander Morozevich is commenting on the Russian chess24 channel. He looks as youthful as ever. His computer seems to be on a table in the kitchen because I can see the cabinets and counter behind him. Levitov has bookcases behind him. It is rather an art in this time of covid-19 to look behind celebrities broadcasting from home and try to figure out secrets of their life style.

Bareev has bookcases as well. I am on record saying I would pay good money to see the CN Tower through a window behind him or even a tree with cherry blossoms.

At this moment (the second game of the match), the number of viewers on the various services are:

English 25,184
German 3,097
Spanish 2,635
French 2,688
Russian 658
Turkish 362
Portuguese 255
Norwegian/English 219
Chinese 12

Sasha says that yesterday’s match is the best he ever seen for the tension involved.

Grischuk on Carlsen vs. Ding Liren: "The more I thought about it I think yesterday was the best chess match I ever saw!"

Final, May 3
Game 2
Nakamura, Hikaru – Carlsen, Magnus
D37 QGD, Hastings variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 Nbd7 7.c5 Nh5 8.Bd3 Nxf4 9.exf4 b6 10.b4 a5 11.a3 c6 12.O-O Ba6 13.Qe2 Bxd3 14.Qxd3 g6 15.Rfc1 Qc7 16.g3 axb4 17.axb4 Qb7 18.Rab1 Ra3 19.Qc2 Rfa8 20.Kg2 Bf6 21.Ne2 Ra2 22.Qd1 bxc5 23.bxc5 Qa6 24.Rc2 Rxc2 25.Qxc2 Rb8 26.Rxb8+ Nxb8 27.Nc1 Nd7 28.Nd3 Qb5 29.Qc3 h5 30.Qa3 Kg7 31.Nde5 Bxe5 32.fxe5 Qe2 33.Ng5 Qg4 34.h4 Nf8 35.Qd3 Qf5 36.Qxf5 exf5 37.Kf3 f6 38.exf6+ Kxf6 39.Ke3 Nd7 40.Nf3 Ke6 41.Ne1 Nb8 42.Nd3 Kf6 43.f4 Nd7 44.Ne5 Nf8 45.Nxc6 Ke6 46.Ne5 Ke7 47.Kd3 Kd8 48.Kc3 Kc7 49.Nd3 Nd7 50.Nb4 Nf6 51.Kb3 Kb7 52.Ka4 Ne4 53.Nxd5 Nxg3 54.Kb5 Ne4 55.c6+ Kc8 56.Kb6 Nd6 57.Ne7+ 1-0

Nakamura plays a model game and ties the match.

- Yes, Masterclass by Nakamura

- MC resigns

- true, great game by Naka and a pretty great match so far!

Final, May 3
Game 3
Carlsen, Magnus – Nakamura, Hikaru
D37 QGD, Hastings variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 Nbd7 7.Be2 dxc4 8.O-O c5 9.dxc5 Bxc5 10.Bxc4 a6 11.Ng5 b5 12.Bxe6 fxe6 13.Nxe6 Qe7 14.Nxf8 Qxf8 15.Ne4 Bb7 16.Nxc5 Qxc5 17.Rc1 Qd5 18.f3 Qxa2 19.e4 Nf8 20.Rf2 Rc8 21.Rxc8 Bxc8 22.Qd8 Qe6 23.Bd6 Qe8 24.Qxe8 Nxe8 25.Bb4 Ne6 26.Rd2 Kf7 27.Kf2 Nf6 28.Ke3 g5 29.Rd6 Nd7 30.g3 Ne5 31.b3 h5 32.h4 gxh4 33.gxh4 Ng6 34.Be1 a5 35.Rd5 a4 36.Rxh5 Nef4 37.Rg5 axb3 38.h5 Nf8 39.Bc3 b4 40.Bb2 N8e6 41.Rf5+ Kg8 42.Rxf4 Nxf4 43.Kxf4 Ba6 44.Kg5 Bd3 45.Kg6 Bb5 46.f4 Be8+ 47.Kg5 Bc6 48.e5 Bd5 49.f5 Kh7 50.e6 Bc4 51.Kf6 Be2 52.Ke7 1-0

Match Score after three games: Carlsen-Nakamura 2-1

Grischuk: "This Bb4 is maybe the move of the match so far!"

Black's queenside pawns are stopped and there could be suffering ahead for Hikaru

Grischuk: "For some reason Hikaru began to exchange pieces, and again he goes for a very bad endgame"

Grischuk as Magnus looks on course to convert another ending into a win: "What does the horse do, he does horse things - what does Magnus do, he does Magnus things!"

- Magnus Carlsen wins Game 3 and now Hikaru Nakamura will have to win Game 4 on demand to take the #MagnusInvite final into a blitz

Prizes

First Place $70,000
Second Place $45,000
Ding Liren (3) $30,000
Caruana (3) $30,000
Nepo $22,500
Firouzja $20,000
Giri $17,500
MVL $15,000

Final, May 3
Game 4
Nakamura, Hikaru – Carlsen, Magnus
D52 QGD, Cambridge Springs Defence, Rubinstein variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c6 5.Bg5 Nbd7 6.e3 Qa5 7.Nd2 dxc4 8.Bxf6 Nxf6 9.Nxc4 Qc7 10.Be2 Be7 11.a3 O-O 12.b4 Rd8 13.O-O b6 14.Bf3 Ba6 15.Qb3 Rac8 16.Rac1 c5 17.dxc5 Bxc4 18.Qxc4 bxc5 19.Na4 Nd7 20.Qb5 Qb8 21.Qxb8 Rxb8 22.bxc5 Rdc8 23.c6 Ne5 24.Rc3 Nxf3+ 25.gxf3 Kf8 26.Rd1 Ke8 27.Rd7 Bf6 28.Rc5 Rxc6 29.Rxa7 Rxc5 30.Nxc5 Be7 31.Ne4 f5 32.Ng3 g6 33.a4 Kf7 34.Ne2 Kf6 35.Ra6 Rb2 36.Nf4 Kf7 37.Nd3 Ra2 38.Ra7 Kf6 39.f4 Bd6 40.Ra6 Ke7 41.Ne5 Bxe5 42.fxe5 Kd7 43.Kg2 g5 44.Rd6+ Ke7 45.Ra6 Kd7 46.a5 h5 47.Rd6+ Ke7 48.a6 h4 49.Rb6 Kd7 50.Rd6+ Ke7 51.h3 Ra5 52.f4 g4 53.Rb6 Ra2+ 54.Kh1 Ra1+ 55.Kg2 Ra2+ 56.Kf1 Ra1+ 57.Kg2 Ra2+ 1/2-1/2

Final Match Result Carlsen-Nakamura 2.5-1.5

- Magnus seems to have solved all his problems with 16...c5!

Grischuk: "None of us but Magnus and the computer saw this..."

- Nakamura still has real chances of another comeback!

- Congratulations to World Champion @MagnusCarlsen on winning his own #MagnusInvite tournament after beating Hikaru Nakamura in a thrilling final that ended 2.5:1.5!

- Magnus Carlsen on the last game: "Happy to have pulled through!"

- "Magnus Carlsen wins the Magnus Carlsen Invitational brought to you by Magnus Carlsen!"

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

MC is good.

Svidler, Gustafsson, Trent and Grischuk are the commentators
...
Oh, to speak Russian! Alexander Morozevich & Bareev & Ilya Levitov

I looked at Shipov too.


My 2cnt conclusion -- a number of commentators does not increase the quality. It just too much distraction, especially jumping from on face to another. There are already two important faces to look at. Oh, and those commentaries by viewers scrolling like crazy.
Bring me back OTB :)