Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana Draw Second Game of the Match
The score is 1-1.
The second game of the World Championship Match between Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana took place in London on November 10. The World Champion, who played with the white pieces, started the game with the queen's pawn. The challenger chose the Queen's Gambit which appeared to be a certain surprise for the Norwegian grandmaster. He played the opening plainly and then made an inaccuracy after which Black gained the initiative.
However, Caruana could hardly get any serious edge, because he was seriously lagging development. After a series of simplifications, an objectively drawish rook endgame with an extra pawn for Black appeared as it had happened in the previous game. Unlike Magnus, Fabiano decided not to examine his opponent's skills and nerves during several hours and offered a draw quite soon.
The score is 1-1. The third game is to be played on Monday, November 12. Fabiano Caruana will have the white pieces.
One of the leading players of the world, Ian Nepomniachtchi shared his thoughts on the game.
-Today, the game went on for about three moves. In the opening tabiya,which took shape after 9…Qa5 10.Rd1 Rd8, instead of the most popular move 11.Nd2, Carlsen played 11.Be2. Magnus chose unusual positions twice in a row- probably, he had reasons to do so, but after 12…Nxc3, the White should not have anything. Maybe the computer would give them a slight “plus”, but the position of the Blacks is all right.
After this, Carlsen played a sub-optimal move 15.Ne5, which necessitated a certain level of precision afterwards. Of course, the White hasa lot in reserve, since the Black hardly advanced in development, while the white pawn structure has its problems but is devoid of fatal flaws. And then everything was exchanged. So, in essence, the game went on for two-three moves.
During the broadcast, I looked the database and studied historical games Petrosian - Lutikov and Doroshkevich - Gipslis, where the Whites preferred 11.Nd2 to 11.Be2…Carlsen was clearly unprepared for this line; I doubt that he prioritised the preparation for the Queen’s Gambit. Magnus must have meant something when he chose the 5.Bf4 line, but Caruana equalized with relative ease. However, 10…Rd8 is not the most common answer to 10.Rd1.
- Was it a fairly unexciting game comparing with the first one?
- There was a risk that the opponents would spend another three hours playing a rook endgame “four vs. three” or “three vs. two”, but we were spared of this!
- So far, have the openings for the Black impressed you more?
-Yes, the Black openings have thus far been superior
- Ian, what is the channel where you commentate on games?
- It is my personal channel, while the broadcast is organised thanks to support from Chess.com. I am in friendly terms with the website, but I make my own broadcast, I do not adopt theirs. I work from home, with my cat beside me.
- Is that your personal initiative?
-I don’t do it for free, but overall, yes, it is my initiative. I have commented on the preceding Candidates Tournament in a similar manner. I think that we lack good content. Yes, there is Sergey Shipov’s stream, but he seems to be more in the genre of conversation to me, while I make an effort to emphasize points related to chess.
- Will you continue working together with your cat for the rest of the match?
- I don’t know, maybe I’ll invite someone. I don’t have a studio, just a computer with a web-camera, so that rather limits my opportunities. But I hope someone will join me. Because it does get boring on one’s own- even with a cat!
- Vladimir Potkin said that he expected an open battle with multiple decisive games during this match. What is your prediction?
-I would say that there will be at least three decisive games. But if the level of realisation is the same as on the first day, then the match may dry up like Carlsen vs. Karjakin. There were a few missed open goals there and then the nerves set in before the traded blows.
Calrsen exerts pressure in every game and extracts something from every opening where he can induce his opponent to fight. He could not do it today, but he did it yesterday. If Caruana survives the opening successfully, a "drought" may come. It’s impossible to predict.
- Can the contender consider himself the victor of the start of the match?
- Yes. In general, Caruana played atrociously in the first round and he should have many questions for himself. But today he was better, no doubt about it!
Interview by Vladimir Barsky
Tournament page
Official website
Broadcast by Ian Nepomniachtchi
Photos by Press service of the World Chess
