Hikaru Nakamura won a pressure-packed Armageddon game to win the fifth set and moved to within a game of taking the champion’s belt in the ongoing Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour being played at the chess24.com server.
Nakamura’s 4-3 fifth set victory left Carlsen with no option but to win the sixth and seventh sets if he wants to take the championship himself. However, with the way Nakamura is playing, there will be no surprise if he takes the sixth set and the title.
In the fifth set, the two drew the four regulation rapid games with very little drama. The tension began in the rapid where the two traded wins – Carlsen winning the first and Nakamura winning the second – to take the set to a final pressure-packed Armageddon game which the American player, who was never in trouble playing the black pieces, won.
Nakamura, H (2736)-Carlsen, M (2863) [C67]
chess24.com (2.53) 2020
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Nxe4 5.Re1 Nd6 6.Nxe5 Be7 7.Bf1 Nf5 8.Nf3 0-0 9.d4 d5 10.Nc3 Bb4 11.Bg5 f6 12.Bc1 Nce7 13.a3 Bxc3 14.bxc3 Nd6 15.Nd2 Bf5 16.c4 c6 17.a4 Re8 18.c5 Nf7 19.Nb3 Qd7 20.Bf4 Ng6 21.Rxe8+ Rxe8 22.Bg3 h5 23.h4 Bg4 24.f3 Bf5 25.a5 a6 26.Qd2 Nh6 27.Re1 Rxe1 28.Bxe1 Be6 29.Bd3 Bf5 30.Bf1 Be6 31.Bd3 Bf5 32.Bf1 ½-½
Carlsen, M (2863)-Nakamura, H (2736) [D02]
chess24.com (2.54) 2020
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Bf4 c5 4.e3 Qb6 5.c4 cxd4 6.Qxd4 Nbd7 7.Nc3 Qxd4 8.exd4 dxc4 9.Bxc4 Nb6 10.Bb3 e6 11.Ke2 Bb4 12.Rac1 0-0 13.Ne5 Rd8 14.Rhd1 Bd7 15.Nxd7 Rxd7 16.a3 Be7 17.Be5 Ng4 18.Bg3 Nf6 19.Na4 Nxa4 20.Bxa4 b5 21.Bxb5 Rb7 22.a4 a6 23.Bc6 Rxb2+ 24.Rd2 Rxd2+ 25.Kxd2 Rd8 26.Kd3 Rc8 27.Rc4 Nh5 28.Be5 f6 29.Bg3 Nxg3 30.hxg3 a5 31.Bd7 Rxc4 32.Bxe6+ Kf8 33.Kxc4 Bb4 34.g4 Ke7 35.Bg8 h6 36.Kd5 Be1 37.f3 Bc3 38.Ke4 Bb2 39.Bc4 Bc3 40.d5 Bb4 41.Kf5 Bc5 42.Kg6 Kf8 43.f4 Bd6 44.g5 hxg5 45.fxg5 fxg5 46.Kxg5 Bb4 ½-½
Nakamura, H (2736)-Carlsen, M (2863) [B03]
chess24.com (2.55) 2020
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.f4 dxe5 6.fxe5 Bf5 7.Nc3 e6 8.Nf3 Bb4 9.Be2 c5 10.a3 Bxc3+ 11.bxc3 Nc6 12.0-0 0-0 13.Be3 Na5 14.Nd2 Bg6 15.Qe1 Na4 16.Nf3 Nb2 17.Bg5 Qd7 18.Qh4 cxd4 19.cxd4 Nbxc4 20.Qg4 Qd5 21.Rae1 Rac8 22.h4 h5 23.Qg3 Nxa3 24.Bf6 Nc2 25.Bd3 Nxe1 26.Rxe1 Qd7 27.d5 Rc3 28.Re3 Rxd3 29.Rxd3 exd5 30.e6 Qxe6 31.Bd4 Nc6 32.Rd2 Qg4 33.Qf2 Be4 34.Ne5 Nxe5 35.Bxe5 Rc8 36.Kh2 f6 37.Bd4 b6 38.Ra2 Rc2 39.Rxc2 Bxc2 40.Bxf6 gxf6 41.Qxc2 Qxh4+ 42.Kg1 Qe1+ 43.Kh2 Qe5+ 44.Kh1 Kg7 45.Qc6 d4 46.Qb7+ Kh6 47.Qxa7 d3 48.Qd7 Qe1+ 49.Kh2 d2 50.Qd8 Qh4+ 51.Kg1 Qf4 52.Qh8+ Kg5 53.Qg8+ Kh4 54.Qd5 Qe3+ 55.Kh2 Qe5+ 56.g3+ Qxg3+ 57.Kh1 Qe1+ 58.Kg2 Qe2+ 0-1
Carlsen, M (2863)-Nakamura, H (2736) [E94]
chess24.com (2.56) 2020
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.Nc3 0-0 5.e4 d6 6.Be2 Nbd7 7.0-0 e5 8.Be3 Ng4 9.Bg5 f6 10.Bh4 h5 11.h3 Nh6 12.Bg3 Kh7 13.Qc2 c6 14.Rad1 Qe7 15.c5 dxc5 16.d5 Nb6 17.dxc6 bxc6 18.Na4 Nxa4 19.Qxa4 Rb8 20.b3 Rb4 21.Qxc6 Bb7 22.Qd7 Rf7 23.Qxe7 Rxe7 24.Nd2 Bxe4 25.Nxe4 Rxe4 26.Bc4 Rd4 27.f3 Red7 28.Ra1 Nf5 29.Bf2 Bh6 30.Rfe1 Bd2 31.Bxd4 cxd4 32.Red1 Be3+ 33.Kh2 h4 34.b4 Bf4+ 35.Kg1 Ne3 36.Rdc1 d3 37.Bb5 Rd4 38.Rc7+ Kh6 39.Rd7 Rxb4 40.Bxd3 Rb2 41.Bf1 Nf5 42.a4 Be3+ 43.Kh2 Bd4 44.Rc1 Ne3 45.a5 Rf2 46.Kg1 Ra2 47.a6 Nxf1+ 48.Kxf1 Rf2+ 49.Ke1 Rxg2 50.f4 Rg1+ 51.Kd2 Be3+ 52.Kxe3 Rxc1 53.fxe5 Re1+ 54.Kf3 Rxe5 55.Rxa7 Ra5 56.Ra8 Ra3+ 57.Kg4 Ra4+ 58.Kf3 Kg5 59.a7 Ra1 60.Ke3 Ra3+ 61.Ke4 Ra2 62.Kf3 Ra6 63.Ke4 Ra3 64.Kd5 Kf4 65.Rh8 Rxa7 66.Rxh4+ Kf5 67.Rh8 Rd7+ 68.Kc5 g5 69.Rh6 Ke5 70.h4 gxh4 71.Rxh4 Rc7+ 72.Kb6 Rc2 73.Rh1 f5 74.Re1+ Kf4 75.Rf1+ Ke4 76.Re1+ Kf3 77.Rf1+ Rf2 78.Rd1 f4 79.Kc5 Kg2 80.Kd4 f3 0-1
Carlsen, M (2863)-Nakamura, H (2736) [E29]
chess24.com (2.57) 2020
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.a3 Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 c5 6.e3 Nc6 7.Bd3 0-0 8.Ne2 b6 9.e4 Ne8 10.0-0 Ba6 11.f4 f5 12.exf5 exf5 13.dxc5 bxc5 14.Be3 d6 15.Ng3 g6 16.Re1 Nf6 17.Bf2 Qd7 18.Nf1 Na5 19.Bh4 Rae8 20.Rxe8 Qxe8 21.Bxf6 Rxf6 22.Qf3 Re6 23.Rb1 Bxc4 24.Bxc4 Nxc4 25.a4 Kg7 26.Qb7+ Qf7 27.Qa6 Re7 28.Rb8 Kh6 29.h3 Qe6 30.Ra8 Nd2 31.Rd8 Nxf1 32.Qxf1 Qe3+ 33.Kh2 Re4 34.Rxd6 Qxf4+ 35.Qxf4+ Rxf4 36.a5 Rc4 37.Ra6 Rxc3 38.Rxa7 Ra3 39.Kg1 c4 40.Kf2 Ra2+ 41.Ke3 Rxg2 42.Kd4 Rh2 43.a6 Rxh3 44.Kxc4 Rh1 45.Rd7 Ra1 46.Kb5 Kg5 47.Rd4 f4 48.Ra4 Rxa4 49.Kxa4 f3 50.a7 f2 51.a8Q f1Q 52.Qd5+ Qf5 53.Qd2+ Qf4+ 0-1
*******
PUZZLERS
WHITE TO MOVE,
MATE IN TWO.
The key to our last problem is 1.Qb7! Black’s futile options are 1…gxh6 2.Qh7#; 1…Rxb6/d5 2.B(x)d5#; 1…Rxb4 2.Rc3#; 1…exf4 2.Re6#; 1…Be3/f2/g1/c3/b2/a1/xb6 2.Rc4#; 1…Bc5+ 2.Rd6#; 1…Rxc6 2.Bb1#./PN
