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Magnus Carlsen vs Levon Aronian
Sinquefield Cup (2013), Saint Louis, MO USA, rd 6, Sep-15
Spanish Game: Closed Variations (C84)  ·  1-0

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Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 21 OF 22 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Sep-16-13  whiteshark: <RedShield> Daniel ♔ said in his video around <47...Kb7>


click for larger view

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i66f... see at 08m45s

Sep-16-13  csmath: <At what move did Aronian offer the draw?>

After 44th move.

Another thing - it is not enough to have a brilliant opening to beat Magnus obviously. As Ivanchuk did in London you have to beat him in the opening, in the middlegam and in the ending. It is quite an effort and has to be done in full force throughout the whole game.

Sep-16-13  csmath: <<RedShield> Daniel said in his video around <47...Kb7> >

He is probably right, I am just using my memory from watching live video. :-)

Sep-16-13  Absentee: Wasn't it Carlsen who offered the draw?
Sep-16-13  csmath: No. Aronian offered a draw in worse position expecting Magnus would take it to be done with the tournament. Magnus spent some time thinking, he looked a bit unnerved, and then made the most logical move without responding meaning he simply refused the draw offer.

I think Bobby Fischer and Korchnoi used to do the same but they would both look at the opponent. Magnus is more polite. :-) Kasparov, according to Seirawan, would put his wrist watch on when he was ready for a draw.:-)

Sep-16-13
Premium Chessgames Member
  chancho: Carlsen deserves all the kudos and then some...

I can't see him losing that match in November.

He's too damn good!

Sep-16-13  Pulo y Gata: <Sep-16-13 chancho: Carlsen deserves all the kudos and then some...>

Girls, guns, gold?

Sep-16-13  RedShield: In <Dallas> they referred to the 3 Bs: birds, booze and booty.
Sep-16-13  DrAttitude: This is the second time in two years that, with black, Levon Aronian obtained an advantage in the Ruy Lopez and then lost the game. Of course he was fighting Magnus Carlsen each time.

I expect a great battle in the World Championship.

Sep-16-13  Ulhumbrus: <csmath: 1. Aronian played brilliant opening completely outplaying Magnus' fishy idea [a5 pawn] 2. Aronian misevaluated position after 25 moves and went for pawn grab but getting frozen in the process.

3. Magnus played magnificent defence when needed seeing everything and protecting everything.

4. Aronian could not let it go and started playing without a plan and probably got tired allowing Magnus to get the upper hand.

5. Magnus finished Aronian with a machine precision.

Anand is in serious trouble, how do you beat this guy?>

Partly by avoiding mistakes number 2 and 4 above, mis-evaluating the win of a pawn and then overlooking something when trying to win a drawn position

If the question is really how you can become a more proficient player, the only answer is to sink in a lot of work and the right kind of work, if you have the talent and the means for it

Sep-16-13  dehanne: <Anand is in serious trouble, how do you beat this guy?> Not blundering badly would be a good start.
Sep-16-13
Premium Chessgames Member
  chancho: A game of Chess (as just about everyone here knows) is decided by errors.

They can be outright howlers/blunders or miniscule positional errors that gradually lead to an advantage for the winning side.

Carlsen saw that he was down a pawn, and he played to avoid tilting the equilibrium any further to Aronian.

Aronian should have offered the draw much earlier, but decided to play on, overestimating his advantages, and he started to self destruct.

By the time Levon finally offered the draw, Carlsen could see that he had some concrete advatanges worth playing for, and that there was no real risk in continuing.

The end result: a decisive win in a very strong tournament.

Anand knows he is in for the fight of his chessic life come November.

Sep-16-13  Everett: I think Black's choice on 28... is a great chess lesson. There are times to squeeze and times to cash in, and this is definitely the case of the former. Players like Petrosian, Karpov and Carlsen, playing Black, would simply play a line suggested by Houdini at chessbomb. <28..Nd6> to ... Nb5 and improve the k-side pawns until White is paralyzed. Perhaps Black will not be able to break through, but there would be no chances for White.

Instead Aronian created targets in his own camp and damaged his coordination, all for a pawn. Not worth it. Good lesson.

Sep-16-13
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: <Everett: There are times to squeeze and times to cash in.....>

Whatever the objective truth of this position, the excerpt above is one attribute which separates the very greatest players from merely strong grandmasters, as well as rank-and-file players from GMs.

Sep-17-13  lost in space: Only with the help of the live commentary at the official site and with the help of my silicon monster I was able to "see" that White was o.k. round about move 30 (especially after 32. f3). Without this help I thought on the long run (King march to b7 or b6) the (solid) white position is lost as Black would be able to activate his extra a-pawn.

And only with the same help I was able to see that after the sequence from 44...Rd8 to 47...Kb7 (the moment where Arionian offered draw) Black was already lost.

31. Ne1 was such a surprising and nice defensive move!

The knight march 48. Nd1 49. N1b2 50. Nc4 was the turnaround of the game (after the inaccuracies 44...Rd8 45...Kb7 and the blunder 48...Kc8)

Simply amazing how deep Carlsen's understanding of the position was. This guy reminds me more and more on Lasker (opening play, saving nearly lost positions) and Capablanca (wining even and superior endgames; so far with the exception of pure rook + pawn endgames)

Sep-17-13  EGarrett: I would subtitle this game "The World Is Not Enough," since Magnus refused the draw offer which would have assured him the tournament victory.
Sep-17-13  lost in space: <<whiteshark:> <RedShield> Daniel said in his video around <47...Kb7>>

That's right, Magnus moved 48. Nd1 and with that refused the draw offer.

Sep-17-13  sambo: I really don't understand 54...b3 -- why not 54...Nd4 instead? It's easy to believe that black is still lost but it seems like a far stiffer defense, even threatening a rook fork if, e.g., 55. Ra8 or 55. Nxe5.
Sep-17-13  SoUnwiseTheKnight B4: If 54...Nd4
a) 55.Ra8-Nc2ch 56.Ke2-Ra8 57.Ra8ch-Ke7 58.Ne5 or b)56..Na1 57.Rb8ch-Ke7 58.Ne5. black's rook is trapped in both lines.
Sep-17-13  erdeky: * reply to maxiumburn:
After 31.Nxd4, engine Stockfish 4 (32) scores the game, after 20 minutes, as -1.79 in favor of black.
Sep-17-13  Mudphudder: I have a super new respect for Magnus. Who (in the right mind) would decline a draw when all you need is a draw to secure first place???!! Only Magnus-THE-BEAST-Carlsen baby!!!!!!
Sep-18-13
Premium Chessgames Member
  tpstar: <Girls, guns, gold?>

Is it ever gonna be enough?

<Who (in the right mind) would decline a draw when all you need is a draw to secure first place???!!>

Who indeed.

Sep-18-13  phil6875: But Carlsen did make it harder for himself 56. Rxe6 was a lot stronger.

56. Rxe6 Kc8 57. Kd2 c1Q+ 58. Rxc1 Ra8 59. Rxg6

surely Aronian would have resigned.

Oct-31-13  Everett: Looking at this game reminds me of something strong players say: it is easier to play a with a positional advantage than a material advantage. Starting at move 25.., Aronian chooses to reverse this advice.

Ultimately it may be an issue of assessment. Aronian saw no issues with the future half-open a-file. Especially with the doubled pawns, is an extra pawn worth anything here?

Finally, it bears noting that Aronian played very creatively to have all the chances after 24 moves. His Rb5-c5 maneuver was inspired, atypical and strong. It is a shame he didn't go "Karpov" and just squeeze his opponent for a while afterward.

Dec-21-13  EGarrett: The draw offer was directly after 46... Kb6.

Here's a direct link to the moment in the official coverage:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPrU...

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