White to move. Can you find the knockout plan for white?
Carlsen v Karjakin (Norway Chess 2017)
Daily Chess Improvement: World Champion’s Knockout Tactic!
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White to move. Can you find the knockout plan for white?
Carlsen v Karjakin (Norway Chess 2017)
I had already already seen this game earlier today. Carlsen found the move to win- Karjakin had blundered with the previous move of Bd6 and ended up in a losing position from what the Stockfish analyzer on Chessbomb says was a dead even position.
It was Carlsen’s first win in this tourney in 8 rounds, I think. He had previously lost to Aronian and Kramnik.
If Yancey’s clue wasn’t enough ( I was so tired that I wasn’t seeing that the bishop was unprotected ) there’s a line where White seems to have lost the immediate initiative and is only a pawn up but look a little deeper for a possible attacking move.
No that was rubbish sorry, I’m getting some sleep.
Qc6…
Okay that’s not a great problem, try starting from the position after
1. Rh8+ Ng8 2. Qc6 Rd8?
Okay so what happened in the game was
1. Rh8 Ng8 Black thinks he’s stopped the skewer threat but it’s only just begun.
2. Re4! Qg7 ( So why not 2. … Qxd5 with the idea of following up with … f5 ? – White has 3. Qf3 threatening a discovered attack on the BQ with Re8+ or Rxg8+ Kxg8 Rg4+ )
3. Rxg8+ and Karjakin resigned because 3. … Qxg8 4. Rg4 Qh7 5. Rh4 Qg7 6. Rh8+ and the poor rook on a8 was hoping for a glorious rook ending that it could win in magnificent style but no.
If 6. … Qg8 7. Qf6 Bc5 ( 7. … Be7 8. Qh6+) 8. d6 Bxd6 9. Qxd6+ Ke8 ( 9. … Kg7 10. Qh6# ) 10. Rxg8#
5. .. Qg6 was obviously better, I didn’t see that the BQ was losing protection from the K after 5. … Qg7? 6. Rh8+ Ke7
White should play 4. Qf6 before chasing the BQ with the R, e.g.
4. Qf6 Qg6 5. Qh8+ Qf8 6. Qh6+ Qg7 7. Qxd6+ Kg8 8. Rg4
Great tactic. This is one hell of a tournament. Has there been a tournament with 10 of the top 12 rated players in the world ever? I doubt the old Candidates’ qualify, since they did not let in all of the top Soviet players and some Western players couldn’t afford to go.
Been following it most of the time during the days when I am awake, but the games start an hour before I rise here in the US, and I usually am away from the computer before they end.
It is the strongest tourney I have seen outside the candidates tourney, but that always necessarily excludes the champion. I also like the “no draw offers” rule, though the players can still tacitly agree to earlier ones I suppose by repeating moves in dry positions.