Liang spends a lot of time in the opening trying to make sense of the position, and ends up developing his knight early. This move gives additional support to the dark squares in the center, where he is looking to expand his pawn structure at a later point.
No mirroring from Magnus, who decides to immediately give additional support to the light squares on the board.
This move would be needed at a later point in any case, as Liang will at some point bring his queen into the game along this color complex while at the same time threatening a pawn.
Liang goes for the same approach. Both players are spending a long time in the opening trying to figure out how to set up their pawns, but neither has made a committal decision in the center yet.
Magnus get's his queen into play, now influencing the center squares.
Play remains complex, as any pawn advancements in the center will create forcing play with difficult decisions for both sides.
This game is very likely to give dynamic chances, which is good news for Magnus if he wants to go for a win with black pieces.
Liang establishes control in the center
Liang finally makes a decision with one of his center pawns, now fighting for the light squares.
Magnus responds in the same fashion, but this allows Liang to now go for a pawn break.
Liang maintains a small edge out of the opening due to succeeding in solidifying his center control.
Liang prepares his pawn advancement in the center by castling, giving more support to his pawn with his rook.
Magnus once again mirrors Liang, a sensible option. We've reached a very similar position, but due to Liang's extra tempo with the white pieces, he will be the one getting extra space in the center at an opportune moment.
This is the way to play for an advantage, as sitting still would simply allow Magnus to keep mirroring Liang's moves and create an equal position.
With this move he's fighting for a space advantage andforcing Magnus to react. We will now get a dynamic pawn structure, and Liang is looking to come out of the complications slightly ahead.
Mirroring is out of he question here for Magnus, as this would leave him with a damaged pawn structure. Liang's move leaves Magnus with a big decision: Will he go for dynamic counterplay which entails big risk, or will he accept ending up in a slightly worse, but solid position?
Magnus goes for the solid option, allowing Liang to get more control over the center.
This move looks natural, but Magnus now has a very promising opportunity! If he tries to break down Liang's big center immediately, he will get dangerous counterplay.
Only one specific move will leave Magnus with an advantage. Has Magnus seen the way forward?
Magnus pounces on the opportunity and goes for a pawn sacrifice! This move pryes the position open, and Liang's king is now exposed.
Magnus is relying on the fact that Liang's pawn in the center is left weak. At the end of the critical variations, he will be able to regain the pawn that he lost.
Magnus takes the initiative
Liang quickly declines Magnus' offer, realizing that the variations don't work out in his favor.
With this move, however, Liang's pawns in the center are left weak. While he enjoys a space advantage for now, this setup can be broken down by Magnus.
The last moves have been a great success for Magnus, going from a slightly more passive position to gaining some clear strategic plans.
This is already looking rough for Liang, who will have to play precisely in order to prevent his position from falling apart.
This move puts immediate pressure on Liang's structure, and there are now piece sacrifices lurking!
It's essential for Liang to keep his dark squares under control now. If Magnus succeeds in breaking down his structure, Liang's king will be completely exposed.
It's far from easy for Liang to keep the position under control, as he is struggling to provide support to the dark squares. In addition, his queen in the corner could potentially get trapped if he decides to move his pawns on the queenside to help in the defense.
Finding a way to keep the game stable was insanely difficult, but this move allows Magnus to break down Liang's center.
Liang desperately tries to get his dark-squared bishop into play, but he isn't in time to prevent Magnus from breaking down his structure.
Liang if left with passive pieces, a weak pawn structure and his king will soon be under fire. Magnus is completely dominating the dark squares.
Magnus wastes no time, now looking to break down the center. There is no good solution for Liang here, as any attempt will leave Magnus with uncontested control over the dark squares.
This is a positional disaster for Liang, who will be suffering for the remainder of the game.
Liang tries to reinforce the dark squares in the middle of the board with his bishop.
After a quick series of trades, Liang is left with a very weak pawn in the center of the board. Liang's position remains passive, and Magnus will continue to apply pressure on the position.
Magnus goes for another trade, trying to break down the control of the pawn.
Liang had to recapture with the king, as taking with the rook would allow Magnus to win the pawn in the center.
While the material remains equal, Liang has failed to retain his center control. The result of this is that all his pieces are passified, leaving Magnus with incredible piece activity and the possibility to create an attack against Liang's king with no counterplay in sight.
Liang will have to rely on a series of mistakes from Magnus to keep his chances alive.
Liang finally gets his queen into the game, providing some much needed support to his pawn in the center.
One remaining problem to solve for Magnus is how to get his light-squared bishop into action.
While the position remains incredibly promising for Magnus, he still has some critical decisions to make in order to turn his advantage into a winning attack. Playing too pragmatically could give Liang the chance to get back into the game.
Magnus avoids complications
After a long think, Magnus finally decides to go for an expansion of the kingside. This is a positional approach, looking to deny Liang from fighting for control over the dark squares on that side of the board.
For the time being, Liang is fighting on. Magnus not going for an immediate attack against Liang's king allows him some time to at least get his pieces coordinated, but the position remains heavily in Magnus' favor.
Liang needed to get his queen into play, and immediately decides to get it into the game while at the same time threatening a pawn.
Magnus defends the pawn that was under attack. His light-squared bishop remains passive for now, but it does have long-term prospects.
Liang, sensing the danger, opts to reinforce the dark squares before Magnus can make more progress on that side of the board.
The positional edge and great attacking chances remain for Magnus, but he will need to find a way forward if he wants to seal the deal. If Liang is allowed to get in some stabilizing moves without having to worry about threats against his king, there's the chance that Magnus advantage will evaporate.
A very logical move from Magnus, taking control over the open file.
Liang's king steps out of the way of the check. His king is still incredibly vulnerable, having no pawns to protect it.
This move by Magnus is aiming to get his queen into play without allowing Liang to oppose it on the dark squares. In addition, this knight also putting pressure on Liang's weak pawn in the center.
Magnus' plans are dangerous, but this way to get his queen into action wasn't the best way forward. While he is still clearly pressing for a win, Liang has managed to at least gain some defensive coordination.
There's now some distant hope that Liang could be able to save the position with an incredibly precise defense, but finding the right way to save the position remains very difficult for him.
Good move by Liang, looking to give some much needed space for his king.
Both players are getting incredibly low on time, and this game could start getting out of hand for Magnus in time trouble!
Magnus targets Liang's pawn with a third piece, and it's now not possible to defend it!
Liang swings his queen over to the other side of the board, now creating a pin against Magnus' pieces should he decide to grab the pawn.
Magnus finally grabs the pawn, but now needs to recoordinate his pieces.
This is far from over!
Liang puts pressure on one of the defenders of Magnus' rook. Magnus is a pawn up now, but Liang is making things difficult for him.
One slip-up could cost Magnus the game here, and the clock is ticking!
Clever decision by Magnus to get out of the pin!
Magnus defends by moving his knight away from the line of sight of his bishop. Now he's able to get out of the pin by making an in-between move if Liang decides to take the knight.
After a bunch of exchanges, the character of the position has completely changed.
Magnus is left with an extra pawn in an endgame. Winning this will be a grind for Magnus, but he now has a stable advantage in the position.
Liang improves his queen while at the same time threatening a pawn at the edge of the board.
Magnus defends the pawn that was under attack.
Liang managed to escape a deadly attack at the cost of a pawn. While Magnus is in no danger of losing this endgame, this is going to be very tough to win for him.
To win this position, Magnus needs to somehow make progress on the queenside while not allowing Liang to get counterplay on the kingside. This is much easier said than done!
Magnus centralizes his queen, now targeting one of Liang's pawns on the queenside.
This defends the pawn on the kingside, but leaves a pawn ripe for the picking on the other side of the board!
This was Liang's point, now looking to create counterplay against Magnus' pawns on the kingside.
If Magnus trades queens now, Liang will be able to stir up enough trouble on this side of the board to equalize the game!
This was the way forward for Magnus, who manages to hold onto his material!
A strong attempt by Liang, who keeps putting pressure on the kingside. A trade of queens would still give him good drawing chances.
The clear best move in the position, creating counterthreats! Magnus maintains his decisive advantage with this move.
He does it again!!
Magnus keeps his winning streak going, now having won an asounding 6/6 games! Liang made a huge strategical error in the opening of this game which eventually cost him the game.
What seemed to be a solid opening from Liang quickly turned disastrous after weakening his pawn structure in the center. Magnus immediately realized the problem with Liang's move and quickly replied with a pawn sacrifice that lead to Liang ending up with a dreadful position.
In the middlegame that ensued, Magnus was never in trouble, but struggled to find the most precise way forward. Liang seemed to regain some hopes of saving a draw after defending Magnus' attack, but stabilizing the position came at the cost of a pawn. In the endgame, one final decisive blunder from Liang allowed Magnus to avoid an endgame grind, instead managing to completely break down Liang's structure and winning another pawn.
Magnus thus continues his tournament domination, and is looking completely unstoppable in the Freestyle format!
The position has been decided!
Due to the placements of the queens, play will revolve around the long diagonals early on. We're expecting a dynamic start from this one!
Welcome back to Grenke Freestyle Open!
Magnus Carlsen is on a roll of a lifetime, being the only player left with a 100% score after 5 rounds. In round 6, he now faces Awonder Liang with the black pieces.
Liang is one of the player who decided to switch from the Classical tournament to Freestyle, which was allowed prior to round 5. He then managed to defeat Daniel Dardha yesterday, ending up among the top!
Magnus is looking to keep his win streak up, but young Liang will not let him continue unopposed. Will he be able to stop Magnus' complete domination?