Freestyle Chess Grand Slam - Paris
Commented by: Saravanan
When the whole world was expecting that special 'Magnus Grind' from an advantageous endgame, Carlsen played a couple of weak moves to give Nakamura counterplay. Just when it looked like Nakamura had found a way to effect counterplay and would be able to achieve a draw, he came out with a huge blunder, losing the game instantly.
All this drama, after an eventful game where Carlsen was better for the most part.
His imaginative pawn sacrifice in the opening set the mood of the game. Capturing the initiative early, Carlsen had Nakamura's king stuck passively in a corner, and enjoyed an initiative for the most part. Though play wasn't perfect from both sides, Carlsen's advantage was never in doubt.
A mistake by Nakamura just when the game was settling down to the final ending gave Carlsen very good chances to press for a win, but what followed was high drama as described above.
So, Carlsen wins the first game of the mini-match and will need just a draw in the final game to clinch the title of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam being held in Paris right now.
A discovered check, setting up a study-like win for White.
Now Black cannot stop the white pawn from advancing to the queening square.
A HUGE blunder by Nakamura, handing over the win on a platter to Carlsen! He should have captured White's flank pawn with his rook.
Now, Carlsen gets a chance to win the game by going for an attack on the black king.
White has no choice but to abandon his flank pawn, which can be captured by the black rook now.
The black rook gets extremely active now, and the white king loses most of its mobility.
This move is the reason why Carlsen's previous rook move was a mistake. Now, the white king is forced to the bottom ranks, where it will be continuously hounded by the black rook.
Incredibly, another mistake by Carlsen, probably throwing away much of his advantage.
Nakamura uses the opportunity and exchanges off a pair of pawns!
A blunder by Carlsen, allowing Nakamura to exchange off another pawn off the board.
Nakamura fights back admirably. Carlsen has to play carefully here to preserve his advantage.
This is the point of Black's pawn sacrifice: the white bishop is forced to move into this comparatively inactive square to defend his own pawn, thus severely limiting its mobility
The black king threatens to capture the white pawn.
White is forced to accept the pawn sacrifice, as otherwise a pair of pawns gets exchanged, enhancing Black's chances to achieve a draw.
Nakamura plays a great practical try and offers a pawn sacrifice. As compensation, the black king gets active, instead of being kept inside the corner prison.
To activate the king - the most important piece in any endgame.
Magnus Carlsen starts his favorite operation over the chessboard: winning a position that doesn't look easily winnable!
Black is forced to effect this capture, so as to activate his king, as well as enter into an endgame with opposite color bishops, the best piece break-up to try for a draw.
The black bishop moves back, defends the attacked pawn on the seventh rank.
The white rook captures the black pawn, now clearly stamping its domination of the position from the iconic seventh rank.
Believe it or not, this natural move is a mistake! Instead, Black had better defending chances by capturing with the pawn, and then exchanging off the white knight with his own dark-colored bishop. A long shot, affirmed by chess engines. But to play such a move over the board is another question.
White has no choice but to exchange off the knights.
Nakamura grabs the chance with both hands. After the exchange of knights now Black would have gotten rid of an important cramper of the black king.
Carlsen allows the black knight to move up and offer an exchange of knights. He could have instead moved his central pawn up by two squares, restricting the black knight.
Black tries to activate his rook
A small but beautiful prophylactic move: White stops the black knight from coming to a central square and attacks the white pawn on the flank. He also aims to push the central pawn forward, further restricting the black knight's mobility.
Black tries to protect the flank pawn with his knight.
The white rook captures the black pawn in the flank, and also achieves the iconic 'Rook on the Seventh rank' status - a formidable place in the endgame.
The attacked black bishop moves back.
A simple double attack by the white rook, threatening Black's bishop and the flank pawn at the same time.
Black bishop captures the white pawn, but now the white rook can effect a double attack and capture the farthest black pawn in the flank, and the other pawn in the flank may get lost too.
He declines to win the black rook for his bishop, and instead proposes an endgame where he has a considerable advantage. Only time will tell if this decision is justified or not.
Now Carlsen has a chance to win an exchange: Black's rook for his own dark-colored bishop.
Carlsen has to pull back his knight now, attack Black's light-colored bishop, at the same time get ready to attack the black rook with his dark-colored bishop.
White exchanges off the queens to enter an endgame.
He offers exchange of queens, or even an exchange sacrifice afterwards, and a complex endgame. Looks like a bit of a gamble!
As expected, the white knights moves out to attack the black queen, at the same time facilitating exchange of the dark-colored bishops.
The black queen captures the free white pawn, restoring material parity. But Nakamura doesn't look too happy on the board, getting ready to defend the unpleasant dark-square issues which will crop up now.
Magnus Carlsen's heartbeat suddenly rose to 112 per minute, while Nakamura's increased marginally to 109!
White brings out the rook correctly - the white king is quite safe now, a fundamental requirement for a chess player to feel peaceful on the board!
After the inevitable exchange of the dark-colored bishops, Black will have a fresh weakness: the weakness of the dark squares around his king, due to the strong white pawn lodged advanced on the flank.
Clock Alert! ⏱️
Our protagonists have around 20 minutes each for themselves on the clock, which means near equality in thinking time in this tense position.
Black brings his queen out, attacking the white pawn on the flank. But now White can stabilize his position by bringing his rook out to the front.
White decides to recapture with his queen rather than his knight, and doesn't mind his king being checked by Black's light-colored bishop. Even though White has an extra pawn here, Black has the initiative on his side now.
Black decides on simplifications, possibly aiming to harass the white king and bring his own queen out in the future.
Black is down a pawn, but he has positional compensation, due to a certain lack of coordination among White's pieces. Also, the white king might have a problem with his safety here.
But, all said and done, it is important for Nakamura to find an active plan here. Otherwise, if White is allowed to consolidate or liquidate into an endgame, his extra pawn will have a say in the endgame.
White pawn moves up, supporting the white knight.
The attacked bishop moves back, and Black restates his dark bishop attacking the white knight in the flank, again.
Heartbeat rate Alert! 💟
Carlsen is cool at 85 beats per minute, whereas Nakamura shows a higher 107.
Momentarily ignoring the safety of the white knight on the flank. Of course, it is compensated by the white knight attacking the black bishop in the center.
White picks up the thread of the game again. Now, with this bishop move, he aims to exchange the dark-colored bishops. If he is further able to consolidate his position, White's extra pawn will be a big factor in the future.
A mild error? Black recaptures the white bishop with his bishop. He could have done better by recapturing with his rook, thus facilitating the black queen to come back into the game.
The time is ripe to find a likely match for the position on the board, and it looks like a Grunfeld Defense in classical chess.
And if we go strictly by the rules of a Grunfeld, one cannot help notice that the white pieces are not so well placed as in a traditional setup. So, even though the position is objectively equal, it is White who has to be careful than Black here. So, trying times for Magnus Carlsen?
Carlsen decides to simplify the position with piece exchanges.
Black recaptures the pawn, and the black knight comes back to the center.
Carlsen once again errs in a slightly better position! Even though Carlsen opts for a safe capture of Black's central pawn, he needed more creative ways to maintain his advantage here. He could have brought his queen out and attacked the black knight, for example.
After his exchange of another pair of pawns in the center, the black pieces get even more active, gaining a certain energy of being a coordinated unit. That gives Black ample compensation for White's extra pawn.
Even though chess engines prefer White's position currently, it is not all that easy for Carlsen on the board. Black's pieces are better developed and harmoniously placed than White's. Even though White has an extra pawn, his pieces do not seem to be coordinating well, and his kingside attack doesn't seem easy to develop. So, this particular moment may be very crucial Carlsen. What we call a Critical Moment for Carlsen on the board.
With a more than 10 minute thought currently, Carlsen has now consumed more time than Nakamura on the clock. After 10 moves, Carlsen has about 35 minutes on his clock (while still thinking) against Nakamura's 40. Is Carlsen facing hiccups in finding a way to further his advantage?
With this game as a case in point, Freestyle Chess seems to bring out a certain sense of fun to the fore in players. Freed up from the burden of humongous opening preparation, players seem to let their hair down, and use their intuitive decisions to come up with creative ideas.
In classical chess, sacrifices in the openings - pawns or even more - have almost been analyzed exhaustively. Which means, it is impossible to catch an opponent off-guard with sacrifices like the one by Carlsen in the current game. Whereas, in Freestyle Chess, it only requires a player's creativity, boldness, and enthusiasm to play around with such sacrifices.
Of course, there is an underlying psychological necessity to free-up a player's mind to launch such sacrificial play: Confidence!
Black calmly supports the attacked pawn in the center, at the same time developing a piece.
Aggressive! Though he made a small error earlier, Carlsen shows his aggressive intentions by opening up the flank in the kingside, thus aiming to pursue an attack against the black king.
This also opens up White's light-colored bishop, attacking Black's pawn in the center.
The black king moves away from the check.
The attacked knight moves away, gives a check to the black king.
Nakamura fights back admirably. This pawn move frees up his position, at the same time facilitating an attack on the white knight by Black's light-colored bishop.
Carlsen once again popped up at the confession booth (!), and had this to say about his pawn sacrifice, "Hikaru is a great defender. So, sacrificing a pawn early on doesn't seem like an obvious stylistic choice! Honestly, I hadn't thought much of the possibility of him playing ...e5 on the third move. It looked like, a little bit loose... Once I saw 4.b4 it was hard to resist!"
He opined that it was hard to find a safe option for Black here. That's a confident Carlsen! 🐐
Picture Courtesy: Screenshot of Freestyle Chess official Broadcast.
Carlsen misses an opportunity to exchange off Black's dark-colored bishop.
Nakamura might as well have accepted Carlsen's certain exchange sacrifice rather than opting for this modest bishop move. Now, Carlsen can exchange off the dark-colored bishops, and also enjoy a favorable situation in the center.
Carlsen spent two minutes on his clock and uncorked this beautiful knight sortie! Now, it might look as if White's central pawn on the dark square is up for grabs. But Carlsen might have sinister ideas against the move, even sacrificing the white rook for the black bishop! 😈
This castling move looks like a mild mistake. Even though the dark bishop's attack on the white knight in the center is real, now there is a chance that White might mount an attack on the black king.
Carlsen makes use of a nice tactic to open up the position in the center. It might look as if this is a mistake, as the white knight will remain attacked even after the pawn exchange in the center, but White has a small trick up his sleeve! It is based on White's dark bishop going all the way up the flank and giving a check to the black king.
Opening up the dark bishop's long diagonal and attacking the white knight at the same time
This should be in White's favor, strategically. After all, in the final analysis, White has traded his flank pawn for Black's central pawn, which is generally considered a good bargain. This should give Carlsen a slight strategic advantage.
He instead captures the offered pawn with his knight rather than a pawn, thus offering Carlsen to capture the black central pawn. Exchange of pawns, rather than accepting the sacrifice of a pawn!
Incredibly, Carlsen did not spend even a minute to decide on this sacrifice.
This is a typical pawn sacrifice in the English opening in classical chess, but it is so brave of Carlsen to decide on it in an unknown situation. Typically, the pawn offer slows down Black's activity in the center and frees up White's queen and dark-squared bishop to gain momentum easily.
One thing for sure: We are in for tactics today!🤺
Nakamura spent a whopping 23 minutes for his third move. But looking at how committal the move is, we can be rest assured that he has a clear cut dark square strategy for this game. We also expect his bishop flank pawn to be advanced next.
Overall, we can conclude that Nakamura has an aggressive match plan for the game today! 💪
Black's primary aim is to control the dark square, where White aims to expand in the center with his own pawn. On the minus side, this gives White firm control of the central light square, where his knight could land. On the plus side, Black always gets to push his bishop pawn of the kingside, thus aiming to create a space advantage. We have glimpses of Nakamura's aggressive strategy coming up, arleady!
Analyzing the position in detail, Carlsen revealed elaborate details of the position. And more than anything, he also told the whole world that many of these details were discussed between the 'White-bunch' who analyzed this position together just before the game!
He even mentioned getting ready for a pawn sacrifice in the center, which he had already analyzed before the game, and many small details exploiting the position of the black king. Incredible!
Picture Courtesy: Screenshot of Freestyle Chess live broadcast.
Carlsen might be planning to open up the center in the next move with a pawn thrust towards the dark central square, once again gaining a small control, just as he did against Caruana in the second game of their match.
We have some colorful graphics for our protagonists today, befitting the match!
This means instead of being proactive, and DO something on the board, many times he lets his opponents execute their plans and prefers to respond to them, trying to exploit the shortcomings of such plans, if any. In freestyle chess too, it's not surprising to see him play a slow opening setup as today.
Once again, another mirror image by Nakamura, following Carlsen's footsteps.
How is Carlsen going to develop his queen and the dark bishop? Is he going to set up a Queen+Bishop battery on the long dark diagonal?
Black follows suit, does a mirror image.
A symmetrical opening setup generally means a slow maneuvering game, as we predicted beforehand. This suits Carlsen better? Or is it too early to predict?!
White moves the bishop pawn two squares - a little bit of a surprise, as no bishop comes out through the move.
Carlsen had a long think of about five minutes for his first move, interestingly.
There is no symmetry in piece placement at all, which means it is impossible for both sides to plan a coherent strategy from the beginning. White's light-squared bishop and black's dark-squared bishop are already occupying a position of fianchetto - good for them!
Both the Queens occupy corner squares - they may find it difficult to come out easily. Both the Knights will not have any problems in getting deployed.
All in all, it looks like there will not be much of tactics in the beginnings today.
For the first game of the finals, it is going to be #103 Freestyle Position today!
Picture Credit: Screenshot of Freestyle Chess broadcast.
Someone is ready, of course!
The Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slam has thus brought the top two Elo-rated players of the world to the finals, a mouth-watering two-game match.
Both of them defeated their strong opponents with an identical 1.5-0.5 score in the semifinals.
After a long, well-fought draw in the first game, Carlsen defeated Caruana with a well-conducted, sustained press in the second.
Nakamura's match against Keymer was a messy affair. The first game ended in a draw after a violent clash; in the second game, Nakamura emerged on top after a tactical no-holds-barred fight. In the process, Nakamura inflicted the first defeat on Keymer in freestyle chess this year.
Thus, we have a got a great spectacle ahead of us today. Carlsen plays with White, which means that Nakamura may not be able to do the mess-up of tactics that he generally creates on the board, as he did in the semifinals. Let's see what these two great players are going to show us today!