Carlsen loses twice in a row

http://en.chessbase.com/post/gashimov-r5-new-leader-emerges

Originally posted by vishyanand
http://en.chessbase.com/post/gashimov-r5-new-leader-emerges

these were amazing games, unbelievable! thanks for posting.

Does Vishy smell blood in the water I wonder???
I haven't seen the games, but there could be potential weaknesses opening up to exploit for the WCC rematch!

Or at least I'm hoping so... love to see a fight 🙂

Here are the two games.

Magnificent battle by Carlsen tryiing to save lost positions with pure trickery.
I hope he keeps this style going, this is good fun chess.

Fabiano Caruana vs Magnus Carlsen




Magnus Carlsen vs Teimour Radjabov

GP: I hope you have time to make some notes on the Fabiano Caruana vs Magnus Carlsen game. It looks to me like a Spanish Exchange Variation (by transposition): White gets a 4 - 3 pawn majority on the kingside vs. Black's 4 - 3 majority on the queenside, with the critical difference that Black's 4 pawns contain a doublet which cannot produce a passer by force (not without help, anyway, from some pieces). Caruana wins a pawn on move 25, but it is one of Carlsen's doubled pawns, so that by itself shouldn't have materially affected the outcome--White's winning chances were always going to be on the other wing anyway. Specifically, why does White not take the unprotected f7 pawn on move 38/39? That would have given White a connected passer. He shillyshallies around and picks it up on move 42 instead--makes no sense to me, but maybe I'm missing something.

In the second game, why Carlsen did not take c6 pawn after 35..c6?

Originally posted by vishyanand
In the second game, why Carlsen did not take c6 pawn after 35..c6?

36. dxc6 Qd3+ 37. Qxd3 cxd3. Black has two connected passed pawns and the Nf5 is a problem. The rooks will come off after Ng3 which I think is forced (black is threatening to double up the rooks on the pinned knight). Whites position looks grim after all that.

Originally posted by vishyanand
In the second game, why Carlsen did not take c6 pawn after 35..c6?

I concur: 36. cxd6, Qd3+ forces a queen trade giving Black connected passers on the d and e files, which look unstoppable. White's lone c-pawn will never promote and the h6 pawn is dead (once the Qs are off, ... Bxh6 is playable immediately, as the White N is pinned). Looks grim for White.

Originally posted by moonbus
GP: I hope you have time to make some notes on the Fabiano Caruana vs Magnus Carlsen game. It looks to me like a Spanish Exchange Variation (by transposition): White gets a 4 - 3 pawn majority on the kingside vs. Black's 4 - 3 majority on the queenside, with the critical difference that Black's 4 pawns contain a doublet which cannot produce a passer by force ...[text shortened]... round and picks it up on move 42 instead--makes no sense to me, but maybe I'm missing something.

there are quite extensive notes in the op's reference to the other games, although even after reading them I am not entirely sure I understand what is going on.

Thanks, robbie, I'll give it a gander.

Originally posted by moonbus
GP: I hope you have time to make some notes on the Fabiano Caruana vs Magnus Carlsen game. It looks to me like a Spanish Exchange Variation (by transposition): White gets a 4 - 3 pawn majority on the kingside vs. Black's 4 - 3 majority on the queenside, with the critical difference that Black's 4 pawns contain a doublet which cannot produce a passer by force ...[text shortened]... round and picks it up on move 42 instead--makes no sense to me, but maybe I'm missing something.

Time controls. ( Daniel King told me this ). He is reviewing the games on YouTube.

"GP: I hope you have time to make some notes on the Fabiano Caruana vs Magnus Carlsen game."

😕

The trick is not to look at postions and games where you are on thin ice.
(ie.don't know what you are talking about.)

Here. (I see some of you lot are posting analysis without diagrams
again...pointless, especially when there are two games posted back to back.)


Carlsen played 24....Kc8 and after a few minutes Caruana played 25.Nxc7.
Black cannot take the Knight due to the discovered e6+ check which slaughters him.

Black played 25....Kd8 within seconds of White playing 25.Nxc7.

(ah-ha - it's what Carlsen wanted.)

I post on chessgames that this is a pawn sac to give the e7 Bishop some
squares on Queenside. Club players would never play such a sac and stay
with a bad Bishop etc....blah...blah...bloody blah.

In the after game interview Carlsen admits his 25th move was a blunder.

😕

The fool.

So I'm OK with under 2000 games if it's tacticl and blunderful.
Over that and I'm on thin ice. So although it is flooded with wee tricks
and traps towards the end and I reckon given a whole day I may be able
to note up 80% of it fairly well, I think I'll leave this one alone.

Here, White to play.


".....why does White not take the unprotected f7 pawn on move 38/39?
That would have given White a connected passer. He shillyshallies around
and picks it up on move 42."

White was in severe time trouble here - very severe.
He reached move 40, nulled all the threats and took the pawn.

ghost variations, sound and unsound would have running running through his mind.
He is an unsound one, that turns into a mess if he takes the pawn.
White was making moves in seconds. You do see or sense these things
when you are winning and time is low.



-----------------------------------------

Carlsen has stopped the rot and won his next game.

Carlsen has just beaten Nakamura (again....)

Smashing game - Carlsen is Black.

Nakamura must be tearing his hair out, trying to figure out why he can't beat Carlsen. +0-10 is a little hard to take.

Originally posted by sundown316
Nakamura must be tearing his hair out, trying to figure out why he can't beat Carlsen. +0-10 is a little hard to take.

sometimes chess players have their nemesis i think, perhaps Nakamura has found his