Magnus Carlsen is the new World Blitz Chess Champion. On the second day of the tournament in Dubai he scored 8 points out 10 games, making a total of 17 out of 21!
Carlsen went into the second day with half a point lead, but things were not so easy, especially since Ian Nepomniachtchi was on a roll today starting with six wins in a row(!) and Carlsen only drawing against such cracks as Anand, Aronian, Morozevich and Grischuk. This even meant that after the 16th round Nepo had taken over the lead by half a point.
In round 17 Nepo and Carlsen beat Yudin and Dreev respectively keeping Nepo in the lead. Also in round 18 the standings did not change when both matadors drew their games against Mamedov and Morozevich. But after round 19 Carlsen had leveled the field again by beating Mamedov when Nepo only drew against Korobov. All was to be decided in the last two rounds!
In round 20 Carlsen quickly beat tournament revelation Yudin while Nepo… lost to Aronian! So, being a point ahead, a draw was sufficient for Carlsen to win the tournament. In the 21st and last round Carlsen however, played a coldblooded Capablance-like game beating Korobov and making him the new World Blitz Chess Champion!
Carlsen lost only one game this tournament, against first day tournament revelation Lu Shanglei from China. At the press conference when asked what’s left in chess to achieve, Carlsen answered: “Well, I can do it again!” He also stated that he would like to retain his titles for a long time to come.
Below you can find all of Carlsen’s games from the 2nd day. I have annotated them lightly:
[pgn]
[Event “World Blitz 2014”]
[Site “Dubai”]
[Date “2014.06.20”]
[Round “12.1”]
[White “Meier, Georg”]
[Black “Carlsen, Magnus”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “A05”]
[WhiteElo “2663”]
[BlackElo “2837”]
[Annotator “Waldemar Moes,Better Your Chess”]
[PlyCount “94”]
[EventDate “2014.06.20”]
[WhiteClock “0:00:05”]
[BlackClock “0:00:27”]
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 Bg4 4. c4 c6 5. O-O e6 6. d3 Bd6 7. h3 Bh5 8. Qb3
Qe7 9. Bg5 Na6 10. Nbd2 Nc5 11. Qc2 Ncd7 12. e4 Bxf3 13. Bxf3 d4 14. Bg2 h6 15.
Bxf6 Nxf6 16. Rac1 Nd7 17. f4 e5 18. f5 (18. Nf3) 18… a5 $1 $15 19. Kh2 a4
20. h4 Kd8 $6 (20… a3) 21. Bh3 (21. f6 $1 Nxf6 22. c5 Bc7 23. Bh3 {[%csl Yd8]
}) 21… Kc7 22. Nf3 (22. f6 $1 gxf6 (22… Nxf6 $4 23. c5) 23. Bxd7 Kxd7 24.
c5 Bc7 25. Rf5 $14) 22… Bc5 23. Kg2 Nf6 24. Nh2 {Here Magnus thought for a
long time and finally went for complications. If he keeps the position closed
it will be difficult for him to win.} g5 $6 25. fxg6 fxg6 26. Rf3 a3 27. b3 Bb4
28. Rcf1 Raf8 29. Qf2 $14 {Magnus’ risky decision to open up the position has
given White the advantage.} Ne8 $2 {After this move, Black’s position becomes
critical.} (29… Nh5 30. Rf7 $2 Rxf7 31. Qxf7 Nf4+ $1 {That’s the difference!}
) 30. Rf7 $1 Rxf7 31. Qxf7 Qxf7 32. Rxf7+ Kb6 33. Ng4 Bd6 34. Nh2 $2 (34. c5+
$1 Bxc5 (34… Kxc5 $4 35. Rxb7 $18) 35. Nxe5 $16) 34… Nc7 $11 35. Rf6 Rd8
36. Rxg6 Na6 $1 37. Ng4 Nb4 $19 38. c5+ Kxc5 39. Nxh6 Bb8 40. Nf7 Rf8 41. Ng5
Kb6 42. Ne6 Rh8 43. Rf6 Nxa2 44. Rf1 Nb4 45. Bf5 $2 (45. Ra1) 45… Nxd3 46.
Kh3 Bd6 47. g4 Bb4 0-1
[Event “World Blitz 2014”]
[Site “Dubai”]
[Date “2014.06.20”]
[Round “13.1”]
[White “Carlsen, Magnus”]
[Black “Anand, Viswanathan”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[ECO “C65”]
[WhiteElo “2837”]
[BlackElo “2827”]
[Annotator “Waldemar Moes,Better Your Chess”]
[PlyCount “96”]
[EventDate “2014.06.20”]
[WhiteClock “0:00:31”]
[BlackClock “0:00:57”]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Nbd2 Nd4 6. Nxd4 Bxd4 7. c3 Bb6 8.
O-O c6 9. Ba4 O-O 10. Bb3 d5 $11 {Black has equalized.} 11. h3 dxe4 12. dxe4
Qe7 13. Qf3 Be6 14. Nc4 Nd7 15. Ne3 Bxe3 $6 {A slightly risky decision to
trade bishop for knight.} (15… Nc5) 16. Bxe3 Rfd8 17. Rfd1 (17. Bc2 {to play
with the 2 bishops was also possible.}) 17… a6 $6 {This weakens the b6
square, allowing at some moment the white bishop to control the d8 square and
fight for the d-file. Therefore, the black knight is rendered slightly passive
since it has to keep guard of b6 for now.} 18. Bxe6 $1 {Quite amazing how
Carlsen finds these positional plans even in blitz. He goes for the
aforementioned scenario.} Qxe6 19. Qg4 Qxg4 20. hxg4 h6 21. a4 Kf8 $1 {Yes,
the saving grace, the king will support the d8 square.} 22. a5 {fixing b6, the
advantage is symbolical however.} Ke8 23. f3 Nf8 24. Bb6 Rxd1+ 25. Rxd1 Nd7 {
Attacking the bishop again to allow for the other rook to come to d8.} 26. Be3
Rd8 27. Kf2 f6 28. Ke2 {White’s play on the d-file never materialized, so now
he tries his luck on the king side. But before ding so, he first defends all
the entry points on the d-file with his king.} Nf8 29. Rh1 Ne6 30. g3 Nf8 31.
f4 Ng6 32. g5 {By opening up the position Carlsen hopes that his bishop might
be a bit better than Anand’s knight.} exf4 33. gxf4 fxg5 34. fxg5 hxg5 35. Bxg5
Rd7 36. Rg1 Kf7 37. Be3 Nf8 38. Bd4 Ne6 39. Ke3 {No, there is not enough
advantage, so the rook endgame maybe?} Rd8 {Anand does not oblige.} (39… Nxd4
$6 40. cxd4 {and White can push for some time.}) 40. Be5 Rh8 41. Rg3 $6 {
Letting the black rook become active!} (41. b4 Rh3+ 42. Bg3 $11) 41… Rh1 ({
Maybe Carlsen hoped for:} 41… Rh2 $4 42. Rf3+ $18) (41… Rh5 {[%csl Ya5,Ye5]
[%cal Gh5a5] was stronger, hitting both the bishop and the a-pawn.} 42. Rf3+
Kg6 (42… Ke7 43. Rf5) 43. Rg3+ Kh7 44. Bd6 Rxa5 {and who knows what will
happen.}) 42. Rf3+ Ke7 43. b4 Re1+ 44. Kd3 Rd1+ 45. Ke2 Rh1 46. Ke3 Re1+ 47.
Kd3 Rd1+ 48. Ke2 Rh1 1/2-1/2
[Event “World Blitz 2014”]
[Site “Dubai”]
[Date “2014.06.20”]
[Round “14.1”]
[White “Carlsen, Magnus”]
[Black “Polgar, Judit”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “E81”]
[WhiteElo “2837”]
[BlackElo “2673”]
[Annotator “Waldemar Moes,Better Your Chess”]
[PlyCount “77”]
[EventDate “2014.06.20”]
[WhiteClock “0:01:11”]
[BlackClock “0:00:41”]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O 6. Be3 a6 7. Nge2 c6 8. a4 a5
9. Ng3 Na6 10. Be2 Qc7 11. O-O e5 12. d5 h5 13. Qd2 h4 14. Nh1 Nh5 15. Nf2 f5
$2 16. Nd3 (16. exf5 Bxf5 (16… gxf5 17. Bg5 $14 {and the h4 pawn is in
trouble.}) 17. Bd3 $14 {and White nicely controls the e4 square}) 16… f4 17.
Bf2 Ng3 $5 {Polgar boldly sacrifices her knight for an attack.} 18. Rfd1 (18.
hxg3 hxg3 {is dangerous for White.}) 18… c5 $2 {Un ugly anti-positional move,
taking away the c5 square for the knight and handing over b5 to White.} 19.
hxg3 {With this latest change in the position, Magnus feels more secure now to
take on g3.} hxg3 20. Bxg3 (20. Be1 Qe7 $1 {is not really the way to go.})
20… fxg3 21. Qg5 $14 {It is White who has influence on the king side!} Qf7
22. Nb5 {That was to be expected sooner or later.} Qf6 23. Qxg3 Bh6 24. Kf2 {
Preparing to activate his rooks.} Nb4 $2 {Black should think about finishing
development and addressing the situation on the h-file.} (24… Kg7) (24… Bd7
) 25. Rh1 $16 Kg7 26. Qh4 $6 (26. Rxh6 $1 Kxh6 27. Qh2+ Kg7 28. Rh1 Nxd3+ 29.
Bxd3 Kf7 30. Qh7+ Qg7 31. Nxd6+ $16 {would have been very strong. It is all
possible because of the white knight on b5.}) 26… Qxh4+ $2 (26… Nxd3+ 27.
Bxd3 g5) 27. Rxh4 {With the queens off, a pawn up, control of the only open file
and a superb knight on b5, White is close to winning.} Bg5 28. Rh2 Be3+ $2 {An
example of a tactic that seems to work, but does not on a deeper level.} 29.
Kxe3 Nc2+ 30. Kd2 Nxa1 31. Kc3 $1 {The knight is buried!} Ra6 32. Rh1 Bd7 33.
Rxa1 Bxb5 34. cxb5 Raa8 35. b3 {Preparing to bring the knight to c4.} Rh8 36.
b6 Rh2 37. Rg1 Ra6 38. Nb2 Rxb6 $2 {The last mistake in a losing position.} 39.
Bb5 {And also arresting the rook! Polgar resigned.} 1-0
[Event “World Blitz 2014”]
[Site “Dubai”]
[Date “2014.06.20”]
[Round “15.1”]
[White “Grischuk, Alexander”]
[Black “Carlsen, Magnus”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[ECO “D37”]
[WhiteElo “2801”]
[BlackElo “2837”]
[Annotator “Waldemar Moes,Better Your Chess”]
[PlyCount “111”]
[EventDate “2014.06.20”]
[WhiteClock “0:00:10”]
[BlackClock “0:01:13”]
1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. Bf4 c6 6. e3 Nh5 7. Bg5 Be7 8. Bxe7
Qxe7 9. Bd3 O-O 10. Qc2 Nhf6 11. cxd5 exd5 12. g4 $6 Re8 $1 13. h3 (13. g5 Ne4)
13… Nb6 14. O-O-O Be6 15. Ng5 h6 16. Nxe6 Qxe6 17. Bf5 Qe7 18. h4 {
Threatening g5! with a strong attack.} Ne4 $1 $11 {The correct antidote:
counterplay in the center.} 19. Bxe4 dxe4 20. g5 h5 {Naturally Black keeps the
position closed.} (20… hxg5 $2 21. hxg5 Qxg5 $2 22. Rdg1 {and Black is in
mortal danger.}) 21. g6 Nd5 (21… fxg6) 22. gxf7+ Qxf7 23. Nxe4 Nb4 {
Attacking the defender of Ne4} 24. Ng5 {Counterattacking is in 99% of the
cases the best defense!} Nxc2 25. Nxf7 Nxe3 {And a desperado!} 26. fxe3 Kxf7
$11 {And again the game is in the balance.} 27. Rdf1+ Kg8 28. Kd2 Re4 29. Rf5
Rae8 30. Rh3 g6 31. Rf6 Kg7 32. Rd6 R8e7 33. Kd3 Rg4 34. b4 Rg2 35. a4 a6 36.
b5 axb5 37. axb5 cxb5 38. Rb6 Ra2 39. Rg3 Ra3+ 40. Kd2 Ra2+ 41. Kd3 Ra3+ 42.
Kd2 Ra2+ 43. Kd3 Ra3+ 44. Kd2 Ra2+ 45. Kc3 Ra3+ 46. Kb4 Raxe3 47. Rgxg6+ Kf7
48. Rgf6+ Ke8 49. Rxb5 R3e4 50. Rxh5 Rxd4+ 51. Kc5 Rde4 52. Rff5 Kd7 53. Kb5
Kc7 54. Rc5+ Kb8 55. Rc4 Rxc4 56. Kxc4 1/2-1/2
[Event “World Blitz 2014”]
[Site “Dubai”]
[Date “2014.06.20”]
[Round “16.2”]
[White “Aronian, Levon”]
[Black “Carlsen, Magnus”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[ECO “E15”]
[WhiteElo “2863”]
[BlackElo “2837”]
[Annotator “Waldemar Moes,Better Your Chess”]
[PlyCount “170”]
[EventDate “2014.06.20”]
[WhiteClock “0:00:08”]
[BlackClock “0:00:25”]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 d5 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Bg2 Bb4+ 8. Bd2
Bd6 9. O-O O-O 10. Nc3 Nbd7 11. Re1 Re8 12. Qc2 Rc8 13. a4 c6 14. a5 bxa5 15.
e4 dxe4 16. Nxe4 Nxe4 17. Rxe4 Rxe4 18. Qxe4 Nf6 19. Qf5 Rb8 20. Rxa5 Bc8 21.
Qc2 Be6 22. Rxa7 Bxb3 23. Qxc6 Bd5 {Due to his blockade, Black has some
compensation for the pawn.} 24. Qc1 h6 25. Nh4 Bxg2 26. Kxg2 Bf8 $2 {Probably
afraid of sacrifices on h6, Magnus plays passively.} 27. Qc4 Qd5+ 28. Qxd5 Nxd5
29. Ra5 {Now Aronian has good winning chances.} Nf6 30. Nf5 h5 31. Bg5 Ne4 32.
Ne7+ Bxe7 33. Bxe7 Re8 (33… Rb2 $1 {Counterattack!}) 34. Bc5 Nf6 35. Bd6 Rd8
36. Be7 Rxd4 37. Bxf6 gxf6 38. Rxh5 Kg7 39. Rh4 $2 Rd2 $2 {And Magnus believes
him, but is this pawn end game really a win? I’m not so sure.} (39… Rxh4 40.
gxh4 Kg6 41. Kg3 Kh5 42. f3 f5 43. f4 Kg6) 40. Rf4 Kg6 41. g4 Ra2 42. h4 Rb2
43. Rc4 Kg7 44. Kg3 Rb3+ 45. Kf4 Rb2 46. f3 Rh2 47. h5 Ra2 48. Ke4 Ra5 49. Kf4
Rb5 50. Rd4 Ra5 51. Ke3 Ra3+ 52. Rd3 Ra4 53. Rd4 Ra3+ 54. Ke4 Ra5 55. f4 Ra1
56. Rd5 Ra6 57. Kf5 Rb6 58. Ra5 Rc6 59. Rd5 Ra6 60. Ke4 Ra4+ 61. Rd4 Ra5 62.
Rd5 Ra4+ 63. Kf5 Ra6 64. g5 fxg5 65. fxg5 Ra1 66. h6+ Kh7 67. Kf6 Rf1+ $2 {a
losing move.} ({There was a very difficult and hidden resource:} 67… Kg8 68.
Rd8+ Kh7 69. Kxf7 Ra5 $1 {and Black regains a pawn.} 70. g6+ Kxh6 71. g7 Ra7+
$11) 68. Rf5 $18 Ra1 69. Kxf7 Ra7+ 70. Kf6 Ra6+ 71. Ke5 Ra5+ 72. Kf4 Ra4+ 73.
Kg3 Kg6 74. Rf8 Ra3+ 75. Kg4 Ra4+ 76. Rf4 Ra6 77. Rb4 Rc6 78. Re4 Rb6 79. Kf4
Ra6 80. Re8 Ra4+ 81. Ke5 $4 {But not like this, Aronian gives away his proud
pawns and Magnus makes a draw after all!} Ra5+ 82. Kf4 Rf5+ 83. Ke4 Rxg5 84.
Rg8+ Kxh6 85. Rxg5 Kxg5 1/2-1/2
[Event “World Blitz 2014”]
[Site “Dubai”]
[Date “2014.06.20”]
[Round “17.2”]
[White “Carlsen, Magnus”]
[Black “Dreev, Aleksey”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “B10”]
[WhiteElo “2837”]
[BlackElo “2701”]
[Annotator “Waldemar Moes,Better Your Chess”]
[PlyCount “115”]
[EventDate “2014.06.20”]
[WhiteClock “0:00:31”]
[BlackClock “0:00:05”]
1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Ne5 Nc6 6. Bb5 Bd7 7. Nxd7 Qxd7 8.
c3 a6 9. Bd3 Qg4 10. Qxg4 Nxg4 11. Bf4 e6 12. Nd2 Nf6 13. Nb3 Nd7 14. Ke2 Be7
15. a4 O-O 16. a5 Rfe8 17. Rhe1 e5 18. dxe5 Ndxe5 19. Kd2 Bd6 20. Bg3 Nc4+ 21.
Bxc4 dxc4 22. Bxd6 cxb3 23. Bc7 Rxe1 24. Rxe1 $14 {Magnus’ opening has not been
too ambitious, but as so often he has some pull in the endgame! All his pieces
are a bit better then Black’s.} f6 25. f4 Kf7 26. c4 Rc8 27. Bb6 Ne7 28. Re4
Rc6 29. Rd4 Nf5 30. Rd3 Rxc4 31. Rxb3 Nd6 32. Kd3 Rc6 33. g4 g6 34. Bd4 Nb5 35.
f5 gxf5 36. gxf5 Rc1 37. Bf2 Rh1 38. Bg3 Rf1 39. Ke4 Rc1 40. Kd5 Rd1+ $2 {
Dreev has defended succesfully, but now he lets the white king slip to the
queen side and attack the weak black pawns there.} 41. Kc5 Rf1 $2 {Giving up
on all defense. Black’s b7 pawn is far more important than White’s f5 pawn.
This is that 1% where passive defense was necessary ;-)} (41… Rd7) 42. Kb6
$18 Rxf5 43. Kxb7 Nd4 44. Rd3 Ne6 45. b4 Rb5+ 46. Kxa6 Rxb4 47. Bd6 Rb1 48. Rd5
Kg6 49. Rb5 Rd1 50. Rb6 Ra1 51. Kb5 Kf5 52. a6 Nd4+ 53. Kc4 Nf3 54. Kd5 $2 {
Magnus lets it slip.} (54. Kb5 $1 {to support the a-pawn!}) 54… h5 $2 {Dreev
returns the favor.} (54… Ne5 $1 {Taking away the c6 square. How should White
continue?}) 55. Kc6 {Yes, the king is in!} Nd4+ 56. Kb7 Ne6 57. a7 Nd8+ 58. Kb8
1-0
[Event “World Blitz 2014”]
[Site “Dubai”]
[Date “2014.06.20”]
[Round “18.2”]
[White “Carlsen, Magnus”]
[Black “Morozevich, Alexander”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[ECO “A56”]
[WhiteElo “2837”]
[BlackElo “2741”]
[Annotator “Waldemar Moes,Better Your Chess”]
[PlyCount “103”]
[EventDate “2014.06.20”]
[WhiteClock “0:00:09”]
[BlackClock “0:00:17”]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nf3 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Nc3 e6 6. e4 Qc7 7. a3 b6 8. Be3
Bb7 9. f3 Nc6 10. Rc1 Nxd4 11. Bxd4 Bd6 $1 {Morozevich uses the opportunity to
soften up white’s king side.} 12. g3 h5 13. Qd2 (13. Na4 {Counterattack!})
13… h4 14. g4 {and h2 is protected twice.} Bf4 15. Be3 Bxe3 16. Qxe3 Qc5 17.
Kf2 Bc6 18. Be2 a5 19. e5 Ng8 (19… Nh7) 20. b4 $5 {Based on Black’s
undeveloped back rank.} (20. Nb5) 20… axb4 21. axb4 Qxb4 22. Ra1 Ne7 $4 {A
horrible blunder that goes unnoticed by both players.} 23. Rxa8+ $4 (23. Rhb1
$1 Qc5 24. Rxa8+ Bxa8 25. Qxc5 bxc5 26. Rb8+ $18) 23… Bxa8 $11 24. Rb1 Qa5
25. Qxb6 Qxb6+ (25… Qxc3 $4 26. Qb8+ Nc8 27. Qxc8+ Ke7 28. Qc5+ Ke8 29. Rb8#)
26. Rxb6 O-O 27. f4 g5 (27… Bc6) 28. fxg5 Ng6 29. Rb5 Bc6 30. Ra5 Rb8 31. Nb5
Nxe5 32. Nd4 Ng6 33. Ke3 Rb2 34. Rc5 Ne7 35. Ra5 Kg7 36. Ra7 Kg6 37. Nxc6 Nxc6
38. Rxd7 Ne5 39. Rd2 Rxd2 40. Kxd2 Kxg5 41. Ke3 Nd7 42. Bf3 f5 43. gxf5 Kxf5
44. Bc6 Ne5 45. Be4+ Kf6 46. c5 Ng4+ 47. Kf4 Nxh2 48. c6 Ke7 49. Kg5 Kd6 50.
Kxh4 Nf1 51. Kg5 Nd2 52. Bg2 1/2-1/2
[Event “World Blitz 2014”]
[Site “Dubai”]
[Date “2014.06.20”]
[Round “19.2”]
[White “Mamedov, Rauf”]
[Black “Carlsen, Magnus”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “C25”]
[WhiteElo “2766”]
[BlackElo “2837”]
[Annotator “Waldemar Moes,Better Your Chess”]
[PlyCount “70”]
[EventDate “2014.06.20”]
[WhiteClock “0:00:04”]
[BlackClock “0:00:20”]
1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 Bc5 4. Bg2 d6 5. Nge2 Be6 6. d3 Qd7 7. Nd5 Nge7 8. c3
a6 9. O-O Ba7 10. d4 O-O 11. Be3 Ng6 12. h4 f6 13. dxe5 fxe5 14. Bxa7 Nxa7 15.
f4 exf4 16. Nexf4 Nxf4 17. Nxf4 Nc6 18. e5 Kh8 {only move.} (18… Nxe5 $4 19.
Nxe6 Qxe6 20. Bd5) (18… dxe5 19. Nxe6 Qxe6 20. Bd5) 19. exd6 cxd6 20. Qd2 (
20. Nxe6 Qxe6 21. Qd2 $14) 20… Bc4 21. Rfe1 Rad8 22. b3 Bg8 23. Rad1 Qg4 24.
Kh2 Ne5 $6 {A speculative pawn sacrifice.} 25. Bxb7 Rf6 26. Bg2 Rdf8 27. Rf1 g5
$4 {Carlsen goes berzerk and self-traps his queen.} 28. hxg5 $4 (28. Bh3 $1 $18
{would have won on the spot.} {For instance:} Nf3+ 29. Rxf3 Qxf3 30. hxg5 Rxf4
(30… R6f7 31. Bg2 Qg4 32. Qd4+ {One of the other points: also the black king
is not feeling happy in the corner.}) 31. gxf4 Qxf4+ 32. Qxf4 Rxf4 33. Kg3 Re4
34. Rxd6 $18) 28… Qxg5 {Now there remain some chances against White’s king.}
29. Bh3 Rh6 30. Ng6+ $2 {This does not work due to…} Qxg6 31. Rxf8 Qh5 {…
this counterattack.} 32. Qg2 $2 {The worst defense.} Qxd1 $19 {Ouch…} 33. Qa8
Ng4+ 34. Kg2 Qe2+ 35. Kg1 Qh2+ 0-1
[Event “World Blitz 2014”]
[Site “Dubai”]
[Date “2014.06.20”]
[Round “20.1”]
[White “Yudin, Sergei”]
[Black “Carlsen, Magnus”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “C50”]
[WhiteElo “2559”]
[BlackElo “2837”]
[Annotator “Waldemar Moes,Better Your Chess”]
[PlyCount “34”]
[EventDate “2014.06.20”]
[WhiteClock “0:02:02”]
[BlackClock “0:02:35”]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. Nbd2 d6 6. c3 O-O 7. O-O Be6 8. Bb3
Bxb3 9. Qxb3 Rb8 10. Nc4 Qd7 11. Be3 b5 $2 12. Ncd2 $2 {passive defense…} (
12. Ncxe5 $1 {eliminating the defender with a counterattack!} Nxe5 13. Nxe5
dxe5 14. Bxc5 $16) 12… Bxe3 13. fxe3 Ne7 14. Nh4 Qg4 15. Nf5 $2 {the players
must be tired.} (15. Nhf3) 15… Nxf5 16. Rxf5 Qe2 17. Qc2 $2 {White goes into
a self-pin.} (17. Qd1 {White must immediately challenge the intruder on e2!})
17… Ng4 {there is no defense against …Nxe3} 0-1
[Event “World Blitz 2014”]
[Site “Dubai”]
[Date “2014.06.20”]
[Round “21.1”]
[White “Carlsen, Magnus”]
[Black “Korobov, Anton”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “D45”]
[WhiteElo “2837”]
[BlackElo “2758”]
[Annotator “Waldemar Moes,Better Your Chess”]
[PlyCount “65”]
[EventDate “2014.06.20”]
[WhiteClock “0:00:47”]
[BlackClock “0:00:35”]
{A draw in the last round would have sufficed, but Carlsen very coldbloodedly
staves off Black’s offensive and reels in the whole point.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6
3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 a6 7. b3 Bd6 8. Be2 e5 9. cxd5 cxd5 10.
dxe5 Nxe5 11. Bb2 O-O 12. O-O Bg4 13. Nxe5 Bxe5 14. Bxg4 Nxg4 15. h3 Nf6 16.
Ne2 Rc8 17. Qb1 Qe7 18. Bxe5 Qxe5 {the position is absolutely equal.} 19. Nd4
Ne4 20. Qb2 f5 $5 {Trying to make White’s live difficult in this last round.}
21. Rac1 f4 $2 (21… Rxc1 22. Qxc1 f4) 22. exf4 $1 Qf6 (22… Rxc1 $4 23. fxe5
$18) (22… Qxf4 $4 23. Ne6 $18) 23. g3 $14 h5 24. h4 Rc6 {An interesting try
to keep the game going, but Magnus finds a nice technical move to untangle.}
25. Rfd1 $1 $16 {Takes over the defense of the knight from the queen!} Rfc8 26.
Rxc6 Rxc6 27. Qe2 $1 {A fantastic counterattack dubbed by live commentator
Dmitry Komarov as “Capablanca like tactics”. Did I already mention that
counterattacks are the best defenses in 99% of the case?} Rc3 28. Qxh5 Nxg3 $2
{A last desperate try to confuse the issue.} 29. fxg3 Rxg3+ 30. Kf2 Qxf4+ 31.
Nf3 {The only move, but a fine one. The knight is the king’s best friend!!} Rh3
32. Qxd5+ Kh7 33. Qh5+ 1-0
[/pgn]