An unusual way to start a Queen's Gambit Declined! Nihal obviously tries to spice it up, getting into an original position, even with black pieces.
An unusual place to park the Black Knight, where it might not find much of a use. On the brighter side, Black will develop his light-squared bishop out early, an uphill task generally.
A perfectly level position, but White has a bishop! This is always an asset for a player like Carlsen, who is always aware of liquidating into a better endgame whenever the opportunity arises.
Magnus keeps it solid with his pawns and pieces. It is going to be a difficult task for Nihal to drum up any activity. Worse, he might find it troublesome to hold the game too, in an endgame.
Carlsen slowly starts to assert himself, first driving the black knight away from the kingside. His long-term plan should be to bring his bishop to an active diagonal, unchallenged as he is.
The problem for Nihal in such a position is that he cannot execute any active plan. With a point down in the match, Nihal will find it especially difficult to wait and watch for any of Magnus's activities.
Magnus is on the offensive! White decides on action on the queenside, where both the kings are parked. The difference between the two sides' offense is that White might be able to create weaknesses on the queenside.
An obvious blunder by Nihal, allowing a simple but pretty stroke from Magnus. Black's king will soon face a difficult existence now.
Sacrifice of a piece! Carlsen has obviously crashed through on the queenside, and Nihal is staring at a certain defeat now. Carlsen is too good to miss such a promising attack. The white bishop cannot be recaptured, as the white rook will penetrate into the queenside.
Though there seems to be no obvious immediate threat, the white rook on the seventh rank simply pulverizes black's position. Nihal simply resigns, handing over a quick 2.5-0.5 win to Carlsen.
Overall, the match was simply a case of Carlsen working patiently to exploit Nihal's inexact play, be it in the middlegame or the endgame. The third game was quite strange, as Nihal committed a huge blunder, but it was probably pressure more than anything.
Nihal under pressure, with a point less with two games to go!