1. e4 Carlsen has preferred 1. d4 recently, but probably did not feel like another Grünfeld today.
1... e5 2. ♗c4 The Bishop's Opening is a rare guest at top level. When it is used, the idea is pretty much always to avoid the Petroff - 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 - an opening which Caruana never plays. So it's hard to fathom Carlsen's thought process.
2. ♘f3 ♘c6 3. ♗c4 leads to the Italian Game, but does not give Black the chance to play c6-d5 all that early.
2... ♘f6 3. d3 c6 The principled reaction - Black prepares d5 to hit the bishop without further ado.
3... ♘c6 is still possible here, when in my opinion White has nothing better than to transpose back into the Italian with 4. ♘f3 Hence my surprise about Carlsen granting Caruana the extra option used in the game.
4. ♘f3 d5 5. ♗b3 ♗b4+⁉ An odd-looking move, but with a sound idea. Before going Bd6 to defend his e-pawn, Caruana wants to provoke c3. With a pawn there, Nc3, attacking the d-pawn, is no longer possible.
6. c3 Carlsen goes along with the idea. I don't like this move. More critical is
6... ♗d6 7. ♗g5 Intending to clarify the situation in the center. Anish Giri once wrote something along the lines of, "all top players have one idea which they may like a little too much for their own good. Aronian likes to play g4 and to sac his queen, Anand likes his knights, Carlsen likes... the move Bg5 in Spanish structures". While it's hard to criticise here, the fate of this bishop will be less than glorious.
7... dxe4 8. dxe4 h6 9. ♗h4 ♕e7 10. ♘bd2 ♘bd7 By playing simple moves, Caruana has equalized comfortably.
11. ♗g3? It always feels wrong to assign question marks to moves by these guys. Maybe I just didn't get the idea? Well, I didn't get the idea. White gives up the pin voluntarily and more or less ensures that this bishop will be exchanged for the black knight after Nh5, leaving him struggling to hold the balance.
11... ♗c7 Stepping out of Nc4-attacks before going Nh5.
12. 0-0
12... ♘h5 13. h3⁈ Things have gone wrong in the opening and the World Champ switches to desperate measures. He urges Black to capture on g3 instantly - before the bishop finds a new home on h2 - and hopes to use the ensuing half-open f-file for counterplay. Giving up the two bishops, a weak king, an isolated e-pawn and the doubled g-pawns are a stiff price to pay, though.
13... ♘xg3 14. fxg3 ♘c5⁉ This choice shows how confident Caruana is these days. He provokes Carlsen into complications, having judged that they will favour him.
14... ♘f6 was a safe alternative.
15. ♗xf7+! It tends to be a good idea to change the course of a game that is not going well. Quiet play only promised suffering, so Carlsen uses this chance to make a mess out of it. At the price of a piece, the black king is forced into the wild.
15... ♔xf7
16. ♘xe5+
16. ♘h4+ was a serious alternative. The main difference to the game is that the e5-pawn remains on the board. In some lines, this works in White's favour, as the bishop on c7 remains passive. 16...♔g8 17. ♘g6 ♕g5 (17... ♕d6 18. ♖f8+ ♕xf8 19. ♘xf8 ♔xf8 is probably Black's best bet. He has two pieces and a rook vs a queen and pawn, a serious material advantage. Queens are strong, though. 20. ♕h5 ♗e6 and only Black can be better, but converting that into a full point is no easy task. 21. ♖f1+ ♔e7 22. ♘f3 Planning Nh4-Ng6.) 18. ♖f8+ ♔h7 19. ♖xh8+ ♔xg6 20. ♕f1! is one line where the pawn on e5 helps White. There is no battery of queen and bishop after Qxg3.
16... ♔g8 The only move.
17... ♕d6 18. ♖f8+ ♕xf8 19. ♘xf8 ♔xf8 20. ♕h5 is fine for White now, since the queen wins a tempo by attacking the knight on c5.
18. ♖f8+
18. ♘xh8 ♗xh3 just wins. (18... ♗e6 will do as well.) (19. ♕f3 ♗e6 20. ♘f7 ♕g6 and the poor horse is still trapped.)
18... ♔h7 19. ♘xh8 Quite a position! At the moment White is an exchange and two pawns up, but the main element of the position is that it's Black to move. He has many tempting choices that see his pieces spring to life and recapture material. Caruana copes admirably.
19... ♗g4
19... ♕e3+ 20. ♔h1 ♗g4 is the main alternative and should also favour Black after 21. ♕xg4♖xf8 22. ♘g6 ♖f7 His initiative will net some pawns back and lead to a better ending, e.g. 23.♘f1 ♕g5 24. ♘h4 ♕xg4 25. hxg4 ♘xe4 26. ♔h2 ♘f2
20. ♕f1 Forced yet again.
20... ♘d3‼ This might not be the computer's first choice, but it's an amazing move nevertheless. Carlsen himself was full of praise for it after the game as well and admitted he totally missed it. Instead of trying to win material back, Caruana puts another piece en prise by bringing his knight closer to Harald V.
21. ♕xd3 The most resilient move.
21. ♖f7 is beyond the scope of a human being. It doesn't necessarily save White, either: 21...♕e3+ 22. ♔h1 ♕xg3 23. ♖xc7 ♘f2+ 24. ♔g1 ♘xh3+ 25. ♔h1 ♕xc7 26. gxh3 ♗e6 and Black keeps a pleasant edge after finally picking up the stranded knight and restoring material equality.
21... ♖xf8 22. hxg4 ♕xg4 Caruana seems to be having fun leaving that h8 dude alive as long as possible.
22... ♔xh8 was perfectly fine as well.
24. e5+ ♔xh8 Let's take a quick breather and count. The material balance is magically equal, for the first time since move 15, but Black is better. The main factor is his safer king. Carlsen tries to get counterchances by throwing his passed e-pawn into the ring.
25. e6
25... ♗b6+ 26. ♔h1 ♕g4! He just doesn't make mistakes! The queen not only targets e6, but also eyes the h5-square, which could lead to a big check.
26... ♖f4? was suggested during the game by a bearded English IM who wants to remain anonymous.27. e7! ♖h4+ 28. ♘xh4 ♕xh4+ 29. ♕h3!
27. ♕d6
27... ♖d8!
28. ♕e5 ♖d5 29. ♕b8+ ♔h7 It should be pointed out that Carlsen has played a great game ever since move 15. He has been resilient and constantly found the best ways to complicate matters. His downfall in this game was his opening play, with Bg3 and h3 the main culprits.
31... ♖d1+ 32. ♖xd1 ♕xd1+ 33. ♘f1 ♕xf1+ 34. ♔h2 ♕g1+ Qe3+ is next, picking up the e-pawn. White resigned.
0-1
Former World Champion Veselin Topalov had a simple view on the "biggest contender" matter:
Number One losing to Number Two, it's not really a big surprise. To become World Champion, you just have to win the World Championship match.
Of course, one can speculate if Carlsen is distracted by the question of whether he actually wants to participate in the next World Championship match.
However, Carlsen himself pointed out his play in the first two rounds was good and that we should not draw too many conclusions yet.
However, Carlsen himself pointed out his play in the first two rounds was good and that we should not draw too many conclusions yet.
2 pictures say more than a 1000 words... | photo: Lennart Ootes
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