Fischer-Spassky Game 6 World Championship 1972 analysis

Caruana-Carlsen 2018 Game 1 World Chess Championship London- Chess Analysis

Caruana-Carlsen 1/2-1/2 World Chess Championship (1) London 2018 Full Annotations Nov 9, 2018
please note the game went to move 115 but the position was dead draw after move 56

also available here
chessbase : Caruana-Carlsen-wch(1) 2018 annotated.html

Magnus Carlsen - Fabiano Caruana 2018 Altibox chess game analysis

Chessgames Link : Carlsen - Caruana 1-0 Norway Altibox 2018
https://chess24.com/en/read/news/norway-chess-1-carlsen-shows-caruana-who-s-boss

Here's the game to be replayed. Carlsen won in a fairly convincing manner
The world champion played the bishops' opening 1.e4 e5 2 Bc4, escaping the Spanish or Petroff.
Typical of Carlsen trying to find a position to play, not trying to play twenty moves of theory.

After 12 moves, White to play. Black just played ..b5 expanding on the queen side.
But Carlsen will find a way to fight back against these pawn advances.



Here, White played 13 a4! challenging Black pawns.
Caruana played 13..b4 and it followed
14 cb4 ab4 15 Ne3 Bb7 16 d4!? fixing black pawns.

Position after 26 Rc1

Here, Carlsen has sacrificed a pawn but obtained a clear blockade on dark squares.
Without the bishops on dark squares, Black with an extra pawn remains static defending d5 and b4.
With his last move, Carlsen can activate his rook with Rc1-c5 which would regain the pawn with benefits.

Black play 26 .. Rc7 ? which simply drops the b4 pawn right away. 26..Qa6 was the best defense for Black, aiming for e2 square.
26..Qd8 possible also

Position after 32 ..Qc1

Here Carlsen played 33 b4 with a strong advantage. after another 30 moves, he duly converted into a win. The candidate will have to step up his play when under pressure as Carlsen is deadly when having an advantage.

Full game analysis here: you can replay game and annotations

game 4 key moments

Position 1 after 17Nd3;Black to play

Karjakin

Carlsen

Carlsen just played 17Nd3

Solid position for white, controlling center and d5 square.

Karjakin tried to attack with..h5 

Position 2 after 34Nb5, Black to play

Karjakin

Carlsen

Here Black should play 34..Ra1 and its not clear what White should do. 35 Ra1 or 35 Kh1 waiting;
Instead 34..Rb3?! ran into 35 Nd4 forking Rook and Queen. White gains the exchange while still being in control

Black to play after 48 Kh1

Karjakin

Carlsen

Here Black played  48..Qf2?? which ran into 49Rc8+ Kh7 50 Qh6+!! Kh6 51 Rh8 Checkmate or gh6 51 Rf7 Checkmate

Black had to exchange queens but ending is riskless for white. The critical mistake was to sacrifice the exchange on move 34; 34..Ra1 was the only way to keep the game going for Black.

The final combination is easy to spot, and it is possible Karjakin saw it but went for anyway.

game 7 analysis (Draw) 11/20/2016

http://www.viewchess.com/cbreader/2016/11/20/Game28384515.html

Carlsen

Karjakin

White to play 17th move

Final position

Draw

Match is even

Carlsen has white next

worldchess.com

game5 : Carlsen-Karjakin drawn again but Karjakin had an advantage for the first time in match !

excellent recap in video here

By GM Peter Svidler from chess24.com

https://youtu.be/BRsWO0o10FI


Carlsen chose the italian opening

Things didnt go so well.

https://twitter.com/hashtag/CarlsenKarjakin?src=hash


see full recap at chess24.com
https://chess24.com/en/read/news/carlsen-karjakin-game-5-magnus-screws-up


Carlsen at the end, frustated, perhaps mad at himself. things didnt go his way and he will have black twice in a row, 6th and 7th games.

official site
worldchess.com

key positions Karjakin-Carlsen game 4 ( Draw)

Karjakin defended again with white against Carlsen, and managed to hold a difficult ending again, frustating Magnus Carlsen from his first win in the world championship in NYC.


Key Position #1

Carlsen

Karjakin

White to play 

In the position above, Karjakin had taken in h6 but Black defended with 18..Qc6!

Now white should retreat his bishop to c1, allowing black to win e4 , which is slightly better for Black.

However, Karjakin played 19 Bc4? which was answered by 18..bc4. Not only will Black win back e4 , but he gets bishop pair and weakness on b2 in any ending.

Key Position 2 after 48..Bd5+

Carlsen

Karjakin

Here Karjakin had to play Ne4 but went 49 Ke2? retreating. Black was almost winning

Full analysis here

top10chess analysis of Karjakin-Carlsen (4)

top10chess analysis: Karjakin-Carlsen wch(2) Nov 12 2016

Game 2 Analysis

http://www.viewchess.com/cbreader/2016/11/12/Game93183890.html

Official Site:https://worldchess.com/nyc2016/

(515) Karjakin,Sergey (2769) - Carlsen,Magnus (2857) [C77]
AGON FWCM 2016 New York, 12.11.2016
[top10chess]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.d3 interesting spanish sideline 6...b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a3!? Diagram

[8.a4 move played by Carlsen as White. 8...Rb8 9.axb5 axb5 10.Nbd2 0-0 11.Re1 Bd7 12.c3 Ra8 13.Rxa8 Qxa8 14.d4 h6 15.Nf1 Re8 16.Ng3 Qc8 17.Nh4 Bf8 18.Ng6 Na5 19.Nxf8 Rxf8 20.Bc2 Re8 21.f4! 1-0 (32) Carlsen,M (2826)-Topalov,V (2803) Nanjing 2010] 8...0-0 [8...Na5 is the most played here. 9.Ba2 c5 10.Nc3 Be6 11.Bxe6 (11.Nh4!? 0-0 12.Nf5 Rc8 13.Bg5 White is building attack on kingside 13...Bxf5 14.exf5 Ne8 15.Be3 Bg5 Black is trying to exchange pieces to slow down white's kingside manoeuvers. the position is balanced) 11...fxe6 12.b4] 9.Nc3 Na5 10.Ba2 Be6! 11.d4
 Diagram

[11.Bxe6 fxe6 12.b4 Nc6 13.Bd2 here Black could play ..d5 or ..Qd7.] 11...Bxa2 12.Rxa2 Re8 13.Ra1 technically the novelty [13.Qd3] 13...Nc4 1576 14.Re1 694 14...Rc8 281 15.h3 717 [15.b3 Nb6 16.Bb2 Bf8 17.Qd3 exd4 18.Nxd4 c5 19.Nf3 again, Black is golding] 15...h6 120 16.b3 311 16...Nb6 17.Bb2 Bf8 

Diagram

the key position 18.dxe5 980. very important decision [18.Nh4!? exd4 19.Qxd4 c5 20.Qd3 c4; 18.Qd2 Nbd7 19.Rad1 c6 is balanced; 18.d5 c6 19.dxc6 Rxc6 20.a4 Rc5 21.axb5 axb5 22.Qd3 (22.Ra6?! Nbd7) 22...b4] 18...dxe5 19.a4 [19.Qxd8 Rcxd8 20.Na2 Bd6 solid for black] 19...c6 416 20.Qxd8 Rcxd8 21.axb5 axb5 22.Ne2 412 [22.g4!?] 22...Bb4 465 23.Bc3 269 23...Bxc3 24.Nxc3 Nbd7 25.Ra6 125 25...Rc8 26.b4 592 [26.Ra7!?] 26...Re6 738 27.Rb1 121 27...c5! dead draw now 28.Rxe6 fxe6 29.Nxb5 98 29...cxb4 30.Rxb4 Rxc2 31.Nd6 243 31...Rc1+ 32.Kh2 Rc2 33.Kg1 1/2-1/
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Critical positions from Anand-Kramnik match 2008

Anand-Kramnik (11), after 24..Be3 1/2 1/2

Kramnik-Anand(10) after 29 Qd6 1-0

Kramnik-Anand (8) after 32 e5

Anand-Kramnik (6) after 34..Nc4

Kramnik-Anand (5) after 35 Bf1




Kramnik-Anand (3) after 32..Bf5+

Anand World Champion ??

Anand is playing today game 10, which he needs only a draw to win the 2008 WorldChampionship against Kramnik.
Anand's wins in round 3, 5 and 6 , without suffering any loss confirmed he is soon to be the uncontested classical world chess champion (succeeding Kasparov and Kramnik). So far his performance in the match is close to perfect play.

It is remarkable to observe how he managed to win twice with the Black pieces, (games 3 and 5), with the same variation where he left his king in the center and attacked along the g-column and the a8-h1 diagonal. Kramnik's idea in playing the variation was probably to survive the middle-game and "win the endgame" with his a- and b- pawns. But he probably underestimated the initiative Black enjoys in this variation. 10 d5 instead of 10 e5 was worth a look.
Game 6 was a different story: 9 h3 and 10 g4 was an aggressive play by Anand, which was further neutralized by Kramnik who managed to swap the queens. However, 19 ..c5?! was a premature and eager sacrifice in my opinion, 19..Rfe8 was called for. Black never got enough play for the pawn in that game. It was too early to counter-attack with Black.

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ALL ANAND-KRAMNIK WCC GAMES SO FAR CAN BE PLAYED HERE:

http://games.top10chess.com/anandwch08.htm

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Anand-Kramnik : last 50 chess games / Openings / Prognosis

As Anand and Kramnik will face each other for the 2008 World Chess Championship in Bonn, with the first game starting on October 14th, I have collected their last 50 games played with each other.

The most recent games were played in Nice for the Amber 2008. The blind game was drawn, while Anand won convincingly the rapid game with the Black pieces ( Attack leading to Checkmate). The oldest game presented was played in 2001.

You can replay through the 50 games via this link:

http://games.top10chess.com/kramnikanandgames.htm



Obviously, their games are available for replay on http://www.chesslab.com/, http://www.chessgames.com/ or http://www.chesslive.de/, but I find it cumbersome to repeat the query.

The other advantage of the 50 games link above, is that you can play through the moves manually or automatically (choosing your speed between moves, and pausing if need). One other plus is that the JavaScript tool I am using allows for an engine to be displayed ( by clicking on the ? button, you can activate it and also move pieces on this extra analysis board). Simple but powerful tool, especially for combinations& tactics.

The other alternative is to play through the .pgn file on Fritz/ChessBase or Rybka/Chess Assistant but the JavaScript/HTML link is straightforward to use.

The games are not annotated but the JavaScript tool allows for comments/variations/evaluations ( it takes any annotated .PGN format game).

If anyone has any of these games annotated in .pgn format, I'll be happy to link or display these as well. ( thechesscorner "@" gmail . com )


Openings:

On the opening front, and if their history is any guide for their upcoming match, we would expect the following based on a cursory look at their previous games:

Anand with White would most certainly open with 1.e4. Kramnik has used 1..e5 and specifically the Berlin Defense ( 1e4 e5 2Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 Nf6) against Anand, even after the Kasparov-Kramnik 2000 world championship match.
Kramnik has also used the Petroff Defense ( 1e4 e5 2Nf3 Nf6), but lost quickly in 2005 against Anand with it. He also lost key games during the 2008 Dortmund tournament in the Petroff ( Most notably against Naidistch).

Kramnik has also tried the Sicilian Schveshnikov against Anand ( 1e4 c5 2Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 cd4 4Nd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 e5 6Ndb5 d6) with some success. I would expect him to try it again during their match, and even something like 4..e5 as well. The only caveat would be that Anand can also vary with 3Bb5, entering the Rossolimo.

Kramnik with White has favored 1.d4 or 1.Nf3.
Anand has responded with various systems over time. Currently he favors the Slav/Semi-Slav settings with ..d5 and ..c6.
In Mexico 2007, Anand chose the following for their important encounter :
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 h6
The game ended with a hard-fought draw.

Anand has also played the West-Indian defense ( 1.d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3Nf3 b6)
Finally, on 1.Nf3, Anand usually chooses 1..d5, and the game can go into Slav, or even Catalan or Queen's Gambit territory.

While opening surprises may occur, Kramnik prefers positional play while Anand favors open positions with dynamic play. Both players had a fantastic 2007 year but are below their top form in 2008. Anand finished last in Bilbao while Kramnik did below par in Dortmund.

Kramnik has in the recent years played more matches (Leko 2004, Topalov 2006) but Anand has played both Kasparov (1995) and Karpov (1998), so his preparation will be world-class.

Bottom line: 50/50 odds !

Kramnik-Anand tactical positions

Kramnik and Anand will compete in a world championship later on in 2008. Let's review four previous games between the two champions.

We will have 2 tactical positions won by Anand, and 2 won by Kramnik. Let's the best of these two exceptional chess players battle for the world chess title!

1. Black to play and win !

1. Kramnik-Anand Amber Nice (rapid) 2008

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2.White to play and win

2.Kramnik-Anand Corus Wijk-Aan-Zee 2007

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3. White to play and win

3. Anand-Kramnik, M-Tel Sofia 2005

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4. White to play and win

4. Kramnik-Anand Sparkassen Dortmund 2001

Replay all positions with annoted solutions on this link:

http://games.top10chess.com/kramnikanand.htm