Danger Zone! - Svidler vs Carlsen | Chess24 Legends Of Chess

Opening: English Opening
Title: Danger Zone! - Svidler vs Carlsen | Chess24 Legends Of Chess

Hello Chess Friends and Welcome to the Channel! At the Chess24 legends of Chess we are in the semi-finals and I'm glad to show you the beautiful game 1 played yesterday by Peter Svidler and Magnus Carlsen. The game is not long but is full of nice moments to review together. Let's get started

[Event "2020-chess24-legends-of-chess-final-4"]
[Site "http://www.chessbomb.com"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Svidler, Peter"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "0-1"]

1. c4 {the English} Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. g3 {the bishop will be played in
fianchetto} Bb4 {there are many good moves that white can play. Completing the
fianchetto with Bg2 is the most played} 4. e4 {is a sideline} Bxc3 5. bxc3 {
but Black can't win the central pawn} O-O {only 6 games in database. 3 of them
played by Carlsen with the white pieces in June at the Clutch chess. Now
instead of the natural moves Bg2or d3 and even Qc2, Svidler goes for} 6. f3 {
the same exact move that Caruana and Aronian played against Carlsen. Let's see
where he thinks to improve their game} Re8 7. d4 {this is the novelty. The
game is now original. The idea is good, of course because Black will never
capture, improving his pawn structure} d6 {this is the point where I would
have played different from Svidler} 8. Bd3 {but in my opinion d5 is the move
to play. Because with the white King that clearly will be always a bit in
danger, closing the center immediately will give white confidence to prepare a
kingside attack.} Nc6 9. Ne2 b6 {Svidler continues with another good idea} 10.
g4 {it seems that he didn't need d5 to have the confidence to attack} Nd7 {
preventing g5 with tempo and there is also the annoying Qh4+} 11. O-O {
prevents the check but surely the rook on the h-file will be missed. Stockfish
suggests us a different move to deal with the possible Qh4+ but let's watch
what happens} (11. Be3 {simple development that overprotects d4 and now if}
Qh4+ (11... exd4 12. cxd4 Nb4 {that goes after the bishop pair. Saving the
pair is a losing loss of time} 13. Bb1 (13. Nf4 Nxd3+ 14. Qxd3 {and this is
quite risky position where white will be again forced to castle short}) 13...
c5 14. a3 Nc6 {and Black is fine because now would be a mistake} 15. d5 Nce5 {
and white is more or less again forced to castle} 16. O-O Qf6 {with a great
advantage for Black.}) 12. Ng3 {but after Be3 there is another problem that is
not the queen check}) 11... Ba6 {Svidler goes directly for the kingside attack
with} 12. Ng3 {Carlsen captures} exd4 13. cxd4 Nxd4 {and Black wins a pawn} 14.
Bb2 Ne6 15. f4 {this is a dangerous attack, especially in a rapid game. Nd5
improving the Knight and targeting one of the attacking pieces looks like a
nice idea} g5 {with the idea that if white advances with f5} 16. fxg5 {best
answer} (16. f5 {Black is not only fine, but even better after} Nf4 {and the
second Knight coming to e5}) 16... Qxg5 {this is the critical moment of the
game because white has many attacking chances on the board. There is a natural
way of play that begins with} 17. Rf5 {is a mistake} (17. Nf5 Ne5 18. h4 Qxg4+
19. Qxg4+ Nxg4 20. Be2 Ne5 21. Nh6+ {this check gives great problems to Black
because if the king moves to the dark squares the Knight become pinned. But
unfortunately Kg7 is the best move because Kf8 loses on the spot} Kf8 (21...
Kg7 22. Nxf7 {will regain the lost pawn and white will play this endgame with
the bishop pair that is probably wining}) 22. Bxe5 {removes the defender and
wins a full piece because if} dxe5 23. Rxf7#) (17. h4 {the strongest and most
difficult idea to find because Black can't accept the pawn} Qxh4 18. Nf5 Qg5
19. Bc1 {attacking the queen and supporting the Knight check , this is almost
game over} Qg6 (19... Qd8 20. Nh6+ Kg7 21. Rxf7+ Kh8 22. e5 {and the attack is
too strong}) 20. Nh6+ Kg7 21. e5 {and the queen is lost}) 17... Qe3+ 18. Kh1
Ne5 19. Be2 {Carlsen can capture the c4 pawn but he goes for a more important
pawn with} Bb7 20. Qc2 {exchanging on e5 was the sturdiest defense} Nc5 {
three pieces are attacking the pawn and Svidler can't add a new defender} 21.
Bc1 Bxe4+ 22. Nxe4 Qxe4+ 23. Qxe4 Nxe4 {Carlsen is two pawns up. The only hope
for white is to make great use of the bishop pair} 24. Bb2 Re6 {with the idea
to double the rooks on the open file} 25. Raf1 {same idea} Rae8 26. g5 {
because is not possible to win f7} (26. Bxe5 Rxe5 27. Rxf7 Nd2) 26... Nd2 {
one piece out of the e-file with tempo} 27. R1f2 Nexc4 {Carlsen is three pawns
up and Svidler resigns. After} 28. Bxc4 Nxc4 29. Bc3 R8e7 {white has no chance
to draw this endgame} 0-1
Beautiful game played by both players but as usual is Carlsen that took the full point and won the first minimatch of the semifinals

Photos by:
Lennart Ootes
FIDE Master and Professional Photographer
You can follow him here:
@LennartOotes
https://lennartootes.com/

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