World news – MCI 7: Magnus self-destructs after an epic battle

Ian Nepomniachtchi will play Anish Giri at Magnus
Carlsen Invitational Final after a spectacular end to Day 2 of the semi-finals.
Magnus had to win two games on call after losing to Nepo.
but he did it after a clutch win in a thriller with a smooth play to force
a playoff. However, the good work was undone in the last blitz game as Magnus
overwhelmed and crashed to defeat. He will now play his perennial rival Wesley So
Only for 3rd place after Anish Giri mistook the US champion
her last game.

Magnus Carlsen tried one last trick, but it’s Ian Nepomniachtchi playing the final against Anish Giri

You can repeat any of the games from the Magnus Carlsen Invitational Knockout using the choices below.

The the last day of the semi-finals was all we could
I was hoping that both games would go wrong. So-Giri was decided
in the last fast game, while Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi ended in the second blitz
Playoff game just when it seemed like we were going to Armageddon!

« I thought I shouldn’t let the crowd down and let them down
watch a Wesley So vs. Magnus Carlsen match! « joked Anish Giri after the production
it up to the finals in a dramatic final game, though before the games
were never as quiet as it seemed.

Both players had real but fleeting chances in the first two
draws. 36.h4! would have given Wesley a dominant position in Game 1 while
14.Nf6! It is possible that Anish was even stronger than 14.Nd6 in Game 2. Game 3
saw Wesley with his last chance to play for the win he needed with the white man
Pieces, but our commentator Peter Leko wondered if 4.c4 !? was kind of
Mouse slide. 6 minutes on the clock with a worse position after 8 moves sure
wasn’t what Wesley had hoped for.

However, he held things together so that everything collapsed
a game in which Wesley had to win with Black if necessary to force a playoff.

Up to a point, Anish controlled the game, but the position
was already tricky before he hit 26.g4 !? played, one of these moves continued to balance
the line between folly and genius.

I kind of made up my mind, let’s get started with this crazy move g4.
but it was so, so dubious and so inappropriate, so inappropriate!

However, it has worked like an absolute dream since then
For almost 3 minutes Wesley played 26… Qc7 ?, a logical move with only one major disadvantage – 27.Rxe6! won the game and match on site! After 27… Rxe6
White has 28.Qxf5 and wins the rook back with an additional piece.

Remarkably, I actually saw this bug. It is such a
ridiculous move, but I actually considered it for him, and actually I was
I hope he’d fall for it, but of course it’s crazy, I don’t even really have it
a threat, and there is so much movement that he can push my tower back – it’s very
not clear.

These final, decisive rounds, nobody is himself – even him
The best players become a shadow of themselves! You are of course an adult and
you were there, did that, so it’s not consciously there, it’s not you
I think every minute, oh my god, I should win or I shouldn’t lose, but it is
just kinda in the back of your mind and it messes up your brain. It is a
peculiar phenomenon – I think it should be investigated.

Anish has been advised to have said this in the past
Winning tournaments is actually not that important to him. He explained:

In all honesty, I should probably take care of the tournament
Win because the people around me seem to care! Because
Honestly, like I told you, it’s the way it is. I am dissatisfied with this last game, but happy
with many things and my process just never stops. Every day when I wake up I turn around
I look at new ideas on my chess software, prepare myself and then play a tournament.
then I go back again. It’s a continuous thing and whatever happens to the machine
will keep moving, so for me it doesn’t really concern anything, but people
around me it will probably be happier if I win! The whole purpose is of course too
win is the whole goal of it all, but some things are below you
Control and some are out. But I think I’ll have a good shot.

Anish will face Ian Nepomniachtchi in the final
Saturday and Sunday after the Russian No. 1 and Candidate Tournament Director
managed to hold out in an incredible match against Magnus Carlsen.

This match was only quiet for one game, the first in which the
Weltmeister comfortably dressed in black and even enjoyed the rare luxury of
a clear lead on the clock against his notoriously fast opponent.

After losing day 1 of the final, Magnus used his
is hoping for the white games on day two but was surprised in game 2
Move 5 and burn up over 4 minutes on the watch before landing in one
uncomfortable position. Everything seemed to go on Nepomniachtchi’s way until
he went for 19 … h4 ?!

He called it « an absolutely terrible decision » and stated that he would do it
I just missed that after 20.gxh4 Qf6 21.h5! could play. He described it
as a « more or less happy moment for me that I don’t lose immediately ».

It
Apparently Magnus had better opportunities to punish 21… c5 !? than the one he found in the
Game, but he still had an additional pawn and every chance of winning until 34 … Kf8:

35.Rc7! and Magnus would likely have ended up in a safe
ends with a passed pawn and chances of winning, but instead 35.a5 !? was a
a little too slow. Just like Peter Leko pointed out, you have to be a computer
To navigate such positions perfectly, Ian found the computer’s choice of 35… f6! and
after 36.Re6 Nf5! It was suddenly Black who had the bigger threats.

Magnus gave up his h-pawn with 37.h6! temporarily relieve
the pressure, but it was high time to put the emergency brake on and play
exclusively for a tie. Magnus either didn’t want to or couldn’t find a clear way.
and below we saw a familiar story from the day before, as he found
little time and over-calculated. The final mistake of 42.Rxa7 was made
with less than a minute on the clock, and Ian had soon woven a mating web.

That left Magnus a mountain to climb since he was now
required to win both of the remaining games on demand to reach the playoffs. Just Ian
took a draw with the white pieces to get the win, but as he commented:

Obviously I couldn’t do anything today because there
are like 1001 ways to tie with white and I thought let’s play a
normal game so I don’t want to draw and at some point I was I think.
Almost winning from the opening, but ok this is only very typical when a player is
has nothing to lose and another player has everything to lose, usually a
Miracle is coming!

Magnus chose an unusual Sicilian and gradually equalized,
but his king was weak and on move 31 Ian had a great chance of winning.

31.Nxg7! is the move. When black does it with z. 31… Qe7
32.Nf5 he has just lost a pawn, but if he plays 31 … Kxg7 White answers 32.Qf6 and forces a tie with a perpetual check. The point is that trying to run
with the king with 32… Kf8 loses against 33.Qh8 Ke7 34.Rxf7! Kxf7 35Qh7, picking
the queen on c7.

Instead 31.Nxd4 ?! allowed Magnus to take over, and
Although more mistakes were followed from both sides, there was also brilliance.

The bishop’s defense does not give Black more than a tie, however
Magnus unleashed the piece sacrifice 39… d3!

The computer has no worries in the world since it is
sees that there can be his bishop for the c-pawn and stop the d-pawn with the rook –
For example, after 45.Be4 Rc1 White plays 46.Bd5 and 47.Bb3.

is white
Survive only with the smallest margin and after 45.Kh4? Kf8 it
was suddenly over. There is no longer a bishop’s check for d5 to allow that
Bishop to reach b3, and 46.Bf3 wasn’t a fortress. Magnus soon did it
The hardest trick to win with the black pieces if necessary.

Today was really, really poor and it’s not that kind of game
I want to show that at all … The thing is, I actually played very badly
The first black game I had to win. I made a few mistakes there in particular
early and later too, so I had the feeling that he was more likely to stumble there
when I’m doing something great.

Magnus still had to win one game on demand, but
this time with the white pieces he made it look incredibly easy. He played 6.a4
in Najdorf and followed with the 8.g3, with which Giri defeated Nepo
the preliminary
Stages of the Opera Euro Rapid.

“If Magnus wins and plays my own idea
that will be nice, ”Anish said before explaining that this was the“ only problem ”
with Najdorf is the d5-square “and as long as you can control it with Black
everything should be fine. He also pointed out that the only thing you don’t want is to get
a position with a wonderful white bishop on d5 against your imprisoned bishop
g7 … that’s exactly what happened in the game!

The second game I won upon request was easy, yes,
ok i played decent but i didn’t have to make a single difficult move so i did
I don’t think that was anything special.

Ultimately, the match decided he managed to hold
His head was pretty still in the lightning bolt, and I certainly didn’t, and it was me
obviously happy to get to lightning, but still feeling dubious about me
I knew the job was far from over, even if I had won a few games
There I had the feeling that I was still not playing great. And in his case, he was still playing
with house money there because he knew even though he had collapsed and lost it
In the last two games he was still able to start over in the tiebreaks.

At least once we finally reached the Magnus Blitzbühne
had something to lose, so something on his side was at stake. I
I think that’s why the odds were more or less the same.

The first blitz game followed Magnus’ pattern
comfortably equalize with the black pieces until he could even think of it
push for victory. However, there were signs of nervousness when Magnus got it
except for only 2 seconds on his watch when he made the move 51… Rd4.

Magnus fans
could then breathe a sigh of relief as he converted the position to pure
Rook Knight versus Rook. It’s a theoretical draw that is much easier to defend
as rook bishop versus rook, but at least the worst that could happen was a
to draw? In the end, yes, but only after Magnus managed to slide his own with the mouse
Tower!

Fortunately for Magnus, Knight vs. Rook is still a tie, however
it meant the indignation of another 50 moves to mix the pieces in a
nominally inferior position.

Nevertheless, Magnus had the white pieces in the last blitz game
and couldn’t complain too much about the outcome of the opening. Peter Heine
Nielsen had shared a suggestion during recess, and Magnus chose it
somewhat fancy position.

In the end it didn’t come out too much, but Magnus was the only one
Person who is playing for a win, as Nepomniachtchi had significant weaknesses on b7 and
d5.

The world champion could probably have won a pawn with 28.Ra8
Kh7 29.Rd8 or just 28.Ra5, but instead chose 28.Qb6 !? and after 28… Qe7
29.Qa5 Qd6! suddenly Black’s position was much healthier. The queen is
perfectly placed on d6 and the white rook cannot leave first rank without admitting it
Mate-in-1.

It was still the same, of course, but what followed was
Reminiscent of Vladimir Kramnik in the last phases of his career when the 14th world chess champion was pushing for victory in any position.

Here would have been the logical end of the game
Repeat after 42.Kg1 Qc1 and we would have gone to Armageddon, but Magnus
instead played 42.g3 !? hxg3 43.Kg2 !? As with Kramnik’s adventures, this has
a touch of genius, but a taste of what was to come. Soon there was Ian
able to push his B-pawn, and even then Magnus kept looking for tricks,
next temporarily sacrifice his h-pawn.

There was still a lot of drawing leeway, but eventually
Without time or complicated lines, the door slammed. Nepo
won and Magnus’ final act of the game was to put his queen in the prize
A typical online trick – if Ian suddenly automatically defeated his B-pawn, Magnus would suddenly do it
win, but the Russian doesn’t make such a mistake. He took the free one
Queen and it was all over!

That means that since winning Altibox Norway Chess in
In mid-October 2020, Magnus did not win a tournament in six attempts: the speed
Chess Championship, Skilling Open, Airthings Masters, Tata Steel Masters, Opera
Euro Rapid and now one that can hurt even more because of its name, the Magnus
Carlsen Invitational. Some have asked the perhaps legitimate question whether it is us
Now, after a decade, there is a decline in Magnus at the top, but that seems to be going too far.

Although Magnus didn’t do his usual
Constancy this season could only claim his 3rd place opponent Wesley So to be more
consistent. Hikaru Nakamura failed last year’s tour
Magnus has managed to win every preliminary round of the Meltwater Champions Chess
Tour and will end its namesake event by finishing at # 2 behind Wesley in the
Tour leaderboard, whatever happens.

Ian Nepomniachtchi has now turned both of them off
Hikaru and Magnus, but continues to downplay his achievements:

Sure, it was a lottery today and I was the one who got it
Profitless. It wasn’t about chess, most of the games, most of the mistakes,
It is clear what is happening. I mentioned this before if you play a lot
Days in a row without a break. In the end, you make mistakes, mistakes all in one
and so on.

There is still a challenge for Ian as he takes on
Anish Giri for the $ 60,000 grand prize and a guaranteed place in the finals in
The headquarters of Tour Sponor Meltwater in San Francisco in September. He explained,
This # 1 goal is not to lose the social media battle!

I have to think of a quote for my Twitter, so don’t
Lose the Twitter battle before the game starts! I also read some tweets from
Magnus and von Anish, and for a second I thought it was probably these guys
Use these artificial intelligences only for tweeting, not for analysis
Positions. Some neural networks are only used to write tweets, others completely random
Words in a completely random order and I couldn’t understand either of them
So that was probably a deep reference to something and something and
something, but it was too deep for me so I thought maybe I’ll use this leela for this
Prepare yourself and they will use Leela to tweet.

If chess can live the tweets, you don’t want to miss out! Experience the action live here from the usual time of 5:00 p.m. CET
chess24.

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