Sicilian Bb5(+)
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.Bxd7+ Nxd7!?
Garry Kasparov played this and 4...Qxd7, but Magnus Carlsen, as far as I am aware, has only played the latter.
5.0-0 Ngf6 6.Qe2 e6
Developing the black king's bishop to e7 is much more popular than fianchettoing it.
7.c4 Be7
Black can prevent White setting up a Maróczy Bind by playing 7...e5!?, but the loss of tempo and the fact Black is left with a very bad bishop gives White at least a slight edge, according to Stockfish15 and Komodo13.02.
8.Nc3!?
Giving Black another chance to prevent a Bind. Carlsen in this position with white preferred 8.d4 in a 2016 blitz game against Hikaru Nakamura, which ended in a 77-move draw.
8...a6
Preventing the Bind with 8...e5!? favours White, according to the engines, but Black can instead play 8...Ne5!?, when 9.d4? Nxf3+ 10.Qxf3 cxd4 is bad for White, and 9.Rd1 can be met by 9...Rc8, when 10.d4!? cxd4 11.Rxd4 looks awkward but seems playable. Instead White can reply to 9...Rc8 with 10.b3, but then 10...Qb6 again prevents a quick d4.
9.d4!?
Strong players have tended to prefer 9.b3 or 9.Rd1, but the engines like the text.
9...cxd4 10.Nxd4 0-0
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| Now both sides have castled, how would you assess the position? |
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White has a Maróczy Bind without having a bad (light-square) bishop. The Bind is generally considered to work better when Black has played ...e6 and ...Be7, as here, rather than ...g6 and ...Bg7. In Black's favour is that a pair of minor pieces has been exchanged, which leaves Black less cramped than would otherwise be the case. The engines reckon White is slightly better.
11.Be3 Rc8 12.Rac1
Not 12.b3? b5.
12...Nc5 13.f3 Qc7 14.Rfd1 Rfd8 15.Bf2 Qd7!? 16.f4 Ne8 17.e5!?
The engines strongly dislike this, preferring 17.b3 or 17.f5.
17...Qc7!?
This is the engines' top choice.
18.Nf3 Nd7 19.b3 dxe5 20.fxe5 Bc5 21.Ne4?
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| Black to play and gain a large advantage |
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21...Bxf2+?
Black is on top after 21...Ba3, eg 22.Rb1 Nxe5 or 22.Rc2 Nxe5.
22.Nxf2 Qc5 23.Kh1 Nb6
The engines prefer 23...h6.
The engines prefer 23...h6.
24.Ne4 Qc7 25.Rf1 h6!?
The engines reckon 25...Nd7 is necessary.
26.Rcd1
The engines give 26.c5!? followed by Nd6, claiming a large advantage for White.
26...Rd7
Black more-or-less equalises with 26...Nd7, according to the engines.
27.Rxd7
Better, according to the engines, is 27.Rc1 or 27.Rde1, the idea being to continue with c5.
27...Nxd7 28.Nf2 Rd8 29.Rd1 Nb8 30.Rxd8 Qxd8 31.Qd3 Qc7 32.Qe3 Nc6 33.Nd3 b6 34.Qe4 Qd7 35.Qe3 Qc7 36.c5!? b5
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| The position is now completely equal, according to the engines |
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37.Nd4 Ne7 38.b4 Nc6 39.Qe4 Nxd4 40.Qxd4 Qc6 41.Nf2 Qd5!?
The engines are OK with this, but after ...
42.Qxd5 exd5
... Black has an IQP that appears harder to defend than White's isolani.
43.Nd3 Kf8 44.Kg1 Ke7 45.Kf2 Ke6
The engines prefer 45...d4!? 46.Kf3 f5 47.exf6+ Nxf6, albeit with at least a slight edge for White.
46.Ke3 Nc7 47.Kd4 Kd7!
The only move to keep the game going.
48.g3
The point of Black's last move is 48.Nf4 can be met by 48...Ne6+, forcing 49.Ke3 (49.Nxe6? fxe6 is dead-drawn because both sides have a protected passer) Kc6, although both 50.Ne2 and 50.g3 give White at least a slight edge, according to the engines.
48...Kc6 49.Nf4 g6
The engines reckon the text and 49...Ne6+, transposing to the previous note, are equally good.
50.h4 h5 51.Nh3 Ne6+ 52.Kd3 Kd7 53.Ng5 Ke7?
Black is at worst only slightly down after 53...Nd8!?, according to the engines.
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| White to play and win |
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54.c6?
Best may be 54.Nxe6!? (the engines reckon 54.Nf3 is also strong) fxe6 55.Ke3, eg 55...Kf7 56.Kf4 Ke7 57.g4 hxg4 58.Kxg4 Ke8 59.Kg5 Kf7 60.c6 Ke7 61.a3! Kd8 62.Kxg6, after which Black queens first but White queens with check and is completely winning, according to the engines. Black's best chance may be 55...Kd7 56.Kf4 Kc6 57.g4 hxg4 58.Kxg4 a5!?, but 59.bxa5 Kxc5 60.Kg5 b4 (better than 60...d4?! 61.Kf4, according to the engines) 61.a6 Kb6 62.Kxg6 d4 63.h5 d3 66.h6 d2 67.h7 d1=Q 68.h8=Q gives White a winning queen-and-pawn ending, according to the engines, although there is a lot of play left in the position. These lines are difficult to calculate, even for engines, and perhaps 54.Nf3 would be the best practical choice. Either way, the text is a mistake.
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| Black to play and draw |
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54...Nc7?
Black draws with 54...Ke8, and even 54...Kd8?! is better than the text, according to the engines, the point being the 54...Nc7? lets the white king invade Black's position.
55.Kd4 f6 56.exf6+ Kxf6 57.Kc5 Ke7 58.Kb6 Kd8 59.Nf7+ Kc8 60.Ne5 d4 61.Nd3
Black's position is hopeless.
61...Kd8 62.Kb7 Nd5 63.Kxa6 Kc7 64.Kxb5 Nc3+ 65.Kc4 Nxa2 66.b5 Kb6 67.Nb4 Nc1
If 67...Nc3 then 68.Kxd4 Nxb5+ 69.Ke5 Kc5 70.Nd5 Kxc6 71.Ne7+ etc, but not 68.Nd5+? Nxd5 69.Kxd4 (69.Kxd5?? d3 etc) Ne7 (or 69...Nc7) with a draw.
68.Nd5+ Ka7 69.b6+ Kb8 70.c7+ Kb7 71.Ne7 1-0
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