Magnus versus 'The Madman'
This is a match-up that I've been looking forward to for some time, perhaps even more so than the highly anticipated duel between Magnus Carlsen and Gukesh Dommaraju which ended with a victory for the world number 1.
The reason why this one is especially exciting for me is not just that both players appear to be in good form, with Magnus in second place and Arjun in shared third.
What makes it a fascinating clash of styles is that Magnus is more of a hybrid player, excelling in all facets of the game but perhaps shining brightest in strategically nuanced battles and - famously - in the later stages of the game.
Arjun, for his part, approaches matters very differently. Where Magnus often avoids main line theory in order to 'just play', Erigaisi instead shows a preference for entering into well-chartered waters and relying on the sheer depth of preparation combined with his prodigious memory. But it's far from only this. The other area where Arjun stands out to me is his incredible speed of calculation. By the time the opening has concluded he is often far ahead on the clock, sometimes only taking his first long think of the game beyond move 20.
Lastly, the type of positions that Arjun tends to go for are that bit sharper than the ones where Magnus feels most at home. Which leaves us with the question: whose strategy will succeed today?
Will Magnus exploit the White pieces to force the type of position that favors his approach to the game? Or will Erigaisi put his opening knowledge on display once again and take Magnus into deep dark waters?
That's certainly something that Magnus will be all too aware of. After all, some time back the world number 1 shared the following opinion on the 21-year old Indian: "Arjun is just a complete madman at the board. He wants to kill you in every single game.“
Just a quarter of an hour or so to go until the games begin. Let's hope we're in for another exciting round of chess!
An interesting choice by Magnus, and perhaps not too surprising. He goes for the flexible English Opening, one that offers a path to less theory-heavy terrain. It looks like Magnus may be eager to avoid a direct confrontation!
Erigaisi goes for symmetry
He mirrors Carlsen's choice of move. No surprises here again, as it's one of the sharper responses to the English Opening.
Magnus looks to fianchetto
He sets about developing his kingside pieces, carving out a square for his bishop to occupy the long diagonal.
Erigaisi does likewise!
The symmetry is kept for now, with Arjun also looking to plant his bishop on the longest diagonal.
Magnus completes the fianchetto
The logical follow-up to his previous move.
And again!
Erigaisi also stays consistent, developing his bishop.
Magnus turns to the queenside
His strategy so far is to dominate the central light squares, with the knight combining well with his bishop.
Erigaisi follows suit!
And still symmetry! Arjun is adopting the counterpart strategy of taking control over the dark squares in the center.
A rare choice!
Magnus lands the first small opening surprise. The move is not so unusual, but generally it's a path that is followed later on in the game. The idea is to step the rook away from the sights of the enemy bishop, while also preparing an eventual pawn push to try to dominate the queenside.
Erigaisi plays it safe
After a slight pause, he continues with normal development. The hesitation seems to suggest that he may not be overly familiar with the rare approached favored by Magnus.
Magnus threatens a pawn break
He lifts his edge pawn forward one square, preparing to make contact with Arjun's own pawn next.
Erigaisi shuts down the idea
He's got no interest in allowing Magnus to follow through on his plan. This move does have the drawback of ceding an outpost on the queenside, a factor that could become an issue in the long run.
Magnus consolidates his center
He defends his most advanced pawn, at the same time opening up the diagonal for his dark-squared bishop.
Cautious play continues
The game is still very much taking shape, with quiet pawn moves and slow maneuvering. This is not surprising in the English Opening, where there is less piece and pawn tension than in other more direct options like king's pawn systems.
Magnus prepares to castle
He brings the last of his kingside pieces out, and now he's ready to castle on the next move.
Erigaisi brings his king to safety
He's the first to castle. Soon, the focus will likely turn towards the queenside, as both sides will have to decide what to do about their respective bishops - the only minor pieces that are yet to be developed.
Magnus delays castling
Instead, he steps his bishop out and immediately targets Erigaisi's undefended pawn.
Erigaisi keeps things flexible
For now, he avoids defining his pawn chain further. Instead, he chooses to defend against the threat by stepping out his queen.
Magnus adds to the pressure against the pawn
This move will force Erigaisi to push up his central pawn in order to guard against the threat. And you have to wonder what exactly is Carlsen's intention. It could well be to jump on to the weak square in order to win the bishop pair, though he may have something else in mind.
Erigaisi covers against the threat
Forced, since there was no other good way of defending the pawn.
Magnus completes his development
Interestingly, he decides against the immediate knight jump. It might be a case of him feeling that 'the execution is stronger than the threat'. Meaning that for the next moves, Erigaisi will have to contend with this possibility, and that tension could be uncomfortable.
Erigaisi anticipates the knight jump
What's more, now that his rook is on this new square, Arjun is threatening to push the pawn up and in this way take away Carlsen's possibility of claiming the bishop pair. It's crunch time for Magnus, as he has to decide whether he wants to grab it or not.
It's far from obvious whether it's worth winning the bishop or not. While the two bishop usually confers an advantage, in this case Arjun's light-squared piece is very passive and still sits on its starting square.
Magnus goes a different route!?
It's a natural move, expanding in the center. But it's not clear what he intends on following up with if Erigaisi now just defends his pawn one more time. At that point it really feels like Arjun will have solved the last of his minor opening issues and will absolutely not stand worse.
Interestingly, Erigaisi takes very little time to make a decision. And it's a bit of a surprising one, since it feels to me like it plays into Carlsen's hands. Now all of a sudden Magnus enjoys a big boost in piece activity.
Magnus takes back
He captures with the knight, since he would not want to lose his dark-squared bishop.
Erigaisi quickly trades off the knights, and it begins to be more clear what the Indian grandmaster has in mind. He wants to justify the placement of his rook in a different way: by pushing the queenside pawn forward on the next move!
Magnus takes back
He recovers his piece with the bishop. Taking with the queen would be far too risky, as she would then find herself in the sights of the enemy bishop.
Erigaisi clarifies matters!
He's looking for a way to bring his bishop to life and to resolve the pressure against his queenside. So he pushes the pawn forward, breathing life to his pieces.
Magnus captures
Both knight and pawn were under fire, so it's an easy decision for Magnus.
Erigaisi takes back
Now his rook is a little precariously placed, a detail that Magnus might make use of either now or in the future.
Magnus hits the rook
His knight has 'done its job' on the edge of the board, so he brings it back towards the center with a gain of time against Erigaisi's rook.
Overall some positive developments for Magnus Carlsen in recent moves. Had Arjun Erigaisi taken a different tack, the world number 1 would have been left with little to play for. But the decision to trade off some material has left him with the more active pieces and the potential to create a passed pawn on the queenside down the line. Overall though, the game continues to hang in the balance.
Erigaisi drops his rook back
He hesitated briefly, but I don't think he ever seriously considered another square. Moving it along the rank would have been far too risky as it would have been an easy target.
Magnus cranks up the pressure!
All of a sudden, Erigaisi might be feeling the squeeze a bit. He has no good way of defending his isolated pawn. The computer doesn't panic, suggesting to just trade light-squared bishops and then expand pawns in the center. But for a human, such a plan seems very dangerous as Magnus is going to emerge with two connected passed pawns on the left hand side.
Aaaah, he does have one idea that keeps the material balance. He can push his central pawn forward now to target the enemy bishop. And then he can bring his light-squared bishop out to dislodge Carlsen's left hand rook. that way he'll be able to win the pawn that that piece is currently defending.
To his credit, he finds what looks to be the best plan in the position. He's willing to give up his edge pawn but in return he's going to strip Magnus of his strongest piece and also complete his development. Soon he'll hope to prove compensation due to his better grip on the center.
Magnus trades bishops
He initiates the exchange, since if he allowed Arjun to do so then his king would be left exposed along the diagonal.
Erigaisi takes back
He captures with the queen, a move that Magnus will have expected. From here she is well-placed, pressuring along both the file and the long diagonal.
Magnus snatches the pawn
He's up a pawn, but the position remains very complex. Erigaisi has a lot of compensation due to the possibility of pushing forward in the center.
The right idea!
Erigaisi turns his attention to the center, and begins to roll the pawns forward. Once Magnus drops the bishop back, it's almost certain that he will push his other pawn. That will not only set up an ideal center, it will also come with a deadly threat of a knight fork!
Magnus drops back
Another straightforward decision for him, since there were no other good squares. But things are likely to heat up very soon.
No surprises!
He pushes the other pawn forward, and now Magnus will be forced to act quickly if he wants to avoid losing a piece! His best bet is to try to exchange off the now clumsy bishop for the enemy knight. That would allow him to seize control over the light squares in the center.
Magnus threatens a second pawn
His idea is to take the knight next. The tempo of the game has increased substantially, and now each move starts to carry a lot more weight. Arjun must react immediately.
The most aggressive approach!
No surprises so far as Arjun continues to play in his hallmark style, combining aggression with speed of decision making.
A necessary intermezzo (in-between move). Now Magnus will be able to move forward with his hanging knight, rather than back.
Erigaisi takes back.
Magnus jumps forward!
This is the culmination of Carlsen's well-known idea of exchanging bishop for knight. If he hadn't done so, his knight would have had to land on a very passive square deep within his own camp. Now however, it's a pretty strong piece. Plus, it gains time due to the attack on Arjun's bishop.
Erigaisi settles on the active square
He was likely deliberating whether to drop it back to its original square in front of his king, which would be the safer choice. But of course, it's Arjun! So he goes for the more aggressive option. One benefit is that it takes away the entry square for Carlsen's rooks along the open file.
It's a very high quality game so far from both sides. Magnus finds the right maneuver, easing the pressure against his queenside pawns while also targeting Erigaisi's center.
Erigaisi decides to force simplifications
From this point forward, Magnus runs close to zero risk of losing. But Arjun's judgment that it should be possible to hold a draw seems accurate, in spite of remaining a pawn down for the foreseeable future.
Magnus takes the pawn
He's about to lose one on the queenside due to the pin against his knight, so he had little choice.
Erigaisi liquidates the minor pieces, and is now betting on holding the ensuing queen and rook endgame.
Magnus recaptures.
Erigaisi wins back one of his pawns. It will be tricky for Magnus to get the full point here with such a small material advantage, but he is likely to try for a long time! We could be in for one of those famous Magnus endgame grinds, or at least an attempt to do so :)
Magnus targets the weak pawn
In so doing, he's effectively offering a transition to a pure rook endgame.
Erigaisi hits the queen and the pawn
This is what I meant by a transition to a rook endgame. Now Magnus has his queen under fire, and so he'll likely take the pawn in the center. That would allow Erigaisi to trade queens if he wishes, and then win back a pawn on the next move.
Magnus has other ideas!
It seems the world number 1 considers his chances of grinding out a win to be better if the queens are kept on the board. That makes sense, since in general the defending side benefits from simplifications.
An eye for an eye! Erigaisi snaps up the pawn. It's essential to keep the material deficit down to just one pawn, since two would lead to a winning advantage for Magnus.
Magnus takes with the rook, in order to avoid the queen trade.
Erigaisi drops back with his queen, placing her along the diagonal in order to keep an eye on the enemy king.
Magnus also finds a menacing position for his queen, hoping that Erigaisi will blunder some tactics that would allow him to launch a quickfire assault on his king.
Erigaisi goes slightly wrong, and now he allows Magnus to trade a pair of rooks to get a very favorable version of a queen and rook endgame!
He wastes little time in playing the only move that keeps an edge. Erigaisi could be in more trouble than he thought!
Erigaisi takes back, since a rook trade was anyway forced.
Magnus takes back and, importantly, gains time by giving a check.
Again forced, with the king moving to the only legal square.
This is the issue that Erigaisi may be underestimating. Now Magnus establishes the queen on an ideal central square and does so with a gain of time against the king. Next, he can begin to advance his extra pawn!
Erigaisi drops back, not wanting to block the check with his rook (as that would leave it pinned) or with his pawn (as that would undermine the pawn cover around his king.
Magnus begins the march of his pawn. Erigaisi still has chances to hold the draw, but it's not an enviable task against the player who is considered by many to be the best endgame player of all time.
Erigaisi pushes his pawn forward, a typical move to slightly improve the pawn structure in the endgame.
Magnus continues to push his pawn forward. No immediate danger for Arjun for now, but Magnus is going to continue to probe and test him for many moves.
Erigaisi blocks the advance of the pawn, a very natural move. But it's got one big problem: Magnus can now slide his rook over to threaten checkmate. And that would allow him to force a queen and pawn ending which appears to be winning!
The good news for Erigaisi is that that's a hard decision to make, even for Magnus. The reason why is that in queen and pawn endings it's very easy for the side down a pawn to find a way to draw by giving perpetual check. That's what Magnus is likely weighing up right now.
Magnus plays it! Looks like he's got the key idea on his mind!
Erigaisi has to block the threat of check, as that would lead to mate.
He spots the strong idea, transitioning to a queen and pawn endgame where he has massive chances of winning. Erigaisi in big trouble.
Erigaisi has no choice but to agree to the rook trade.
Magnus recovers his rook, and we're now entering the next stage of the endgame.
Erigaisi gives a check. His chances of saving half a point hinge on whether or not he can keep harassing the enemy king.
Magnus lifts his king up, the only move in the position.
Erigaisi continues to give checks.
Magnus zig-zags with his king. He has to do so in order to avoid a draw by perpetual (i.e. a draw due to a series of inescapable checks).
Erigaisi continues to give checks, hoping that Magnus will be unable to escape them.
Magnus is playing quickly. It's too early to know just how confident he is about whether or not the endgame is winning. But since there is no other square he can turn to that avoids perpetual check, he can quickly choose to go towards the center.
More checks!
Again a forced decision for Magnus. Moving to the left instead would not allow him to escape the checks.
Yet more checks! The problem for Erigaisi is that sooner or later the king will be able to hide. To do so, Magnus has to bring it all the way over to the queenside!
Magnus continues the slow march of his king further up the board.
This is the kind of route that Magnus will have in mind for his king! Erigaisi will be hoping that it's a case of 'you can run, but you can't hide!'. But Magnus has other intentions!
More running!
And more checking!
Still more running! It's all about whether the king finds refuge or not.
Erigaisi finally gives up on the checks. It makes sense, since by now it will have dawned on him that Carlsen's king does have a hiding place over on the left hand side. So instead he brings his own king forward.
Patient play to begin with from Magnus. He's not in any major rush to reorganize his queen and king in order to continue advancing his passed pawn.
Erigaisi moves his queen towards a central square, looking to cut off the king's transfer to the left hand side.
Magnus moves his queen from in front of the pawn, and is now ready to continue pushing it!
Desperation from Erigaisi, as he finds himself in a lost position with just seconds on the clock.
Before the game, I was speculating as to which player would be able to impose their style on the other. Would it be the type of game with Carlsen's footprint on it, one where high-stakes opening theory is largely avoided and instead it's more about getting a balanced but strategically rich middlegame? Or, would Arjun find a way to off-balance Magnus and bring the game into the kind of sharp calculation-heavy terrain that he thrives in?
From the outset, it became clear that Magnus was the one who would be able to dictate the tempo. He went for a smart opening choice by essaying the flexible English Opening, a reliable choice when the White side wants to avoid sharp opening theory. And while Erigaisi was able to maintain equality, you got the feeling that he never truly looked comfortable.
In his desire for tactical complications, he went for a forcing sequence involving a bunch of piece and pawn trades in the early middlegame. Objectively it was not a bad choice, but it did allow Magnus the chance to net himself a pawn without allowing Erigaisi full compensation.
And that's a dangerous place to find yourself in when your opponent is unquestionably the best endgame player of his day, and in many people's view the greatest of all time.
From there it was the show that chess fans have seen time and time again. Systematic and machine-like precision one move after another, until eventually the opponent cracks. Erigaisi made one inaccuracy which made his defensive task that much more tricky. And then came the decisive mistake. Magnus immediately pounced, and after that it felt like it was just a matter of time before Erigaisi would be forced to throw in the towel.
A great result for Magnus, who might end the day with the tournament lead, depending on the result in the Caruana game.
No chess tomorrow, as we move into the only rest day of the event. But we'll be back at the weekend, for more action from Stavanger, Norway. Hope to see you then!