At Tata Steel:
[Event "Tata Steel Masters"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.01.16"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Van Foreest, Jorden"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2612"]
[BlackElo "2835"]
[Annotator "DH"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 {Carlsen sticks to his repertoire from the recent World
Championship match.} 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Nd5 {The
first surprise of the game. Van Foreest is a very principled player who often
favours direct openings, especially with White. However it seems excessively
brave to take on Carlsen in this line. While Van Foreest might have spent
several hours preparing this position, it is likely that Carlsen and his team
(assisted by powerful engines) had spent many weeks analysing the following
labyrinthine varitions for the World Championship. In hindsight it would have
been wiser to choose something which would have been less fresh in Carlsen's
memory.} (7. Bg5 {is the main line of the Sveshnikov Sicilian. Play could then
continue:} a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Nd5 (9. Bxf6 gxf6 10. Nd5 {leads to many long
complex variations with chances for both sides.}) 9... Be7 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. c4
({or} 11. c3) 11... b4 12. Nc2 {with a strategic battle ahead.}) 7... Nxd5 8.
exd5 Ne7 {This was played twice by Carlsen in his recent match against Caruana.
} (8... Nb8 {also featured in two games from the World Championship match.}) 9.
c4 Ng6 10. Qa4 Bd7 11. Qb4 Qb8 {Carlsen shows his ambitious intentions.} (11...
Bf5 {featured in Game 12 of the World Championship, but it allows a repetition
of moves:} 12. Qa4 Bd7 13. Qb4 Bf5 14. Qa4 (14. h4 {was Caruana's choice in
the aforementioned game and was also played by Kramnik at the 2018 Olympiad.}))
12. h4 h5 {With the inclusion of the h-pawn moves it appears that neither king
will find a safe haven on this side of the board.} 13. Be3 a6 14. Nc3 f5 $5 {
Not quite a novelty, but Carlsen displays his opening expertise by unleashing
a rare idea.} (14... a5 {was Carlsen's choice in one of the decisive tie-break
games against Caruana:} 15. Qb3 a4 16. Qd1 Be7 17. g3 Qc8 18. Be2 Bg4 19. Rc1
Bxe2 20. Qxe2 Qf5 {and despite Carlsen's victory, White holds the upper hand.}
21. c5 (21. O-O $14 {would have left White with a long-term edge due to his
structural superiority on the queenside.}) 21... O-O $1 22. c6 bxc6 23. dxc6
Rfc8 24. Qc4 Bd8 25. Nd5 e4 $2 26. c7 Bxc7 $1 27. Nxc7 Ne5 28. Nd5 $2 Kh7 $1 {
0-1, Caruana-Carlsen, London 2018.}) 15. O-O-O $146 {A natural choice, if
somewhat risky.} (15. g3 {looks like a safe option}) ({while} 15. Be2 {is also
playable.}) (15. Na4 $5 {was mentioned by Van Foreest after the game, and
indeed this move would have led to interesting positions which would have
suited his style:} f4 $1 16. Bd3 Nxh4 $1 {(apparently this was suggested by
Carlsen in the post mortem. Further proof of the depth of his preparation)} 17.
Rxh4 fxe3 18. Bg6+ Kd8 {with a very double-edged position. As usual, the
engine eventually assesses this as 0.00 but neither king is safe and fireworks
are likely to ensue.}) 15... Be7 16. g3 O-O $5 {An interesting pawn sacrifice,
most likely still part of Carlsen's preparation.} (16... e4 {would have been
my first thought. Black intends to land the knight on e5 as quickly as
possible.}) ({Meanwhile the immediate} 16... b5 $5 {is also worthy of
consideration.}) 17. Be2 {Now the h5-pawn is indefensible.} e4 18. Bd4 $6 {A
step in the wrong direction.} ({Snatching the pawn with} 18. Bxh5 {was of
course critical:} Ne5 19. Be2 b5 20. cxb5 axb5 $44 {it is clear that Black has
compensation here. There is a simple plan of ...Rf8-c8 and ...Be7-d8-a5 while
the white king is a target. However, the b5-pawn will soon fall and if an
attack fails then White should convert his extra pawn.} 21. Bg5 $1 {looks like
White's most accurate move to nullify the black initiative.}) ({If White was
too afraid to capture on h5, then} 18. f4 {was another option:} exf3 19. Bxf3
Ne5 20. Be2 b5 21. cxb5 axb5 22. Bd4 $132 {and, compared to the game, Black's
e5-knight lacks stability.}) 18... Bf6 19. Bxf6 Rxf6 20. Qb6 $2 {Van Foreest's
plan is understandable; he wishes to prevent Black from opening the queenside.
Unfortunately queens are known to be poor blockaders, and this short-term
measure soon fails.} (20. Bxh5 {was now essential. Play could continue:} Ne5
21. Be2 b5 22. cxb5 Bxb5 $1 {(forcing the exchange of White's strong knight)}
23. Nxb5 axb5 24. a3 (24. Kb1 $6 Qa7 $15) 24... Rf8 25. Bxb5 Qc7+ 26. Kb1 Rfb8
$44 {with yet another position that is difficult to evaluate. Objectively
chances are still equal, although in practical terms it feels easier to play
Black.}) 20... Ne5 21. Kb1 Be8 $1 $15 {Black re-routes the bishop and intends
to kick the white queen away from b6.} 22. Rd2 Nd7 23. Qd4 Qc7 24. Nd1 {The
start of a poor manoeuvre, but it is not easy to offer any constructive
alternatives. White's position is strategically dubious - it lacks purpose,
while Black can slowly prepare the b7-b5 or f5-f4 pawn breaks.} Ne5 {Black's
knight is incredibly powerful here. It simply cannot be challenged.} 25. Ne3 f4
$1 {Simple and strong.} 26. gxf4 Rxf4 27. Rg1 (27. Ng2 {does not help:} Rf8 28.
Qe3 Qf7 29. Rf1 (29. Qxe4 Qxf2 $19) 29... Rc8 $17 {and Black holds an obvious
advantage.}) 27... Bg6 28. Ka1 ({It is a sad situation when the engine
suggests jettisoning material with moves such as} 28. Rxg6 {although Black's
conversion task is not so easy:} Nxg6 29. Ng2 Rf5 $17 30. Qxe4 Qf7 31. Bd3 {
and the game continues.}) 28... Raf8 29. c5 {Desperation, but otherwise f2
falls without compensation.} Rxf2 {Black simply gobbles the pawn.} (29... dxc5
{is also sufficient:} 30. Qc3 Qd6 $17) 30. Qc3 (30. c6 $5 {would have been my
final attempt at creating confusion.}) 30... Qxc5 31. Qxc5 dxc5 32. d6 Kh7 33.
d7 Nf3 {Winning material. A brutal victory from Carlsen, who pounced upon his
opponent's indecisiveness to score his first win of the tournament.} 0-1
https://en.chessbase.com/post/tata-steel-chess-2019-round-5
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