Carlsen gerði jafntefli við Nepo á afmælisdaginn

   [Event "FIDE World Chess Championship 2021"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2021.11.26"]  [Round "4"]  [White "Carlsen, Magnus"]  [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]  [Result "1/2-1/2"]  [ECO "C42"]  [WhiteElo "2885"]  [BlackElo "2782"]  [Annotator "samsh"]  [PlyCount "65"]  [EventDate "2021.??.??"]   {The fourth game of the World Championship match ended in a draw. While the  result was not surprising to me, the game definitely did not go as expected.  For starters, Magnus chose 1.e4 when he had played 1.d4 on the first move in  game two. This is not a huge shocker, as he is capable of playing both moves  and probably wants to test the water and see what Nepo has in mind in both  cases. But I was very surprised by the response he received.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3  Nf6 $5 {The Petroff is a very good opening, but it has a notable contrast with  what Nepo chose in game two. There, he played into a very sharp line of the  Catalan, where things quickly get extremely messy, but against e4, he goes  with one of the solidest and driest options available. It feels a bit strange  to me—Magnus, now, will be able to choose his direction more easily, and if  he decides he wants a sharper game, or a quieter game, he knows which first  move to choose.} 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. c4 c6  9. Re1 Bf5 10. Qb3 Qd7 (10... Na6 {In recent times this move has been tried a  bunch, but the text is surely fine as well.}) 11. Nc3 Nxc3 12. Bxf5 Qxf5 13.  bxc3 (13. Qxb7 {A lot of games have seen this move. It quickly reaches an  interesting endgame after} Qd7 14. Qxd7 Nxd7 15. c5 Bxh2+ $1 16. Nxh2 Ne4 17.  Bf4 {I never checked this position too closely, but I always felt like White  should be somewhat for choice. With that said, the position is simplified  enough that Black might just be able to brute-force his way to a draw with the  machine. I would not be surprised if Nepo managed something to this effect.})  13... b6 14. cxd5 cxd5 15. Qb5 Qd7 16. a4 Qxb5 17. axb5 a5 {So far, all of  this has been seen in correspondence games. Now, Magnus found a new idea.} 18.  Nh4 $5 {This is a somewhat risky decision. White allows Black to keep a  protected passed pawn with a rook behind it, but hopes to improve his  worst-placed piece and target the d5-pawn while Black's knight struggles to  get into the game.} (18. bxa6 Nxa6 19. Ba3 Bxa3 20. Rxa3 Nc7 {The machine  prefers this continuation and offers White a small edge, but Black is  extremely solid and it is hard to imagine him losing if he is reasonably well  prepared.}) 18... g6 19. g4 $1 {The knight is heading for e3.} Nd7 20. Ng2 Rfc8  $1 {The machine prefers 20...Nf6, but this feels super inhuman to me. I think  this natural human move is a much more convincing route to an acceptable  position. Nepo has impressed me in his black games—both times, he got  outprepared to some degree, and both times, he reacted very well.} (20... Nf6 {  Apparently this is fine for Black, but it looks scary. After} 21. Bh6 Rfc8 22.  Ne3 $1 Rxc3 23. g5 Nd7 24. Nxd5 {I would be very uncomfortable on the black  side of this position.}) 21. Bf4 Bxf4 22. Nxf4 Rxc3 23. Nxd5 Rd3 $1 {Rook  behind the passed pawn. Black has everything under control and now his a-pawn  will start running. When I let the machines run, they claim Black is  absolutely fine.} (23... Rb3 {The machine claims this is fine, too, but I much  prefer Nepo's move for its simplicity.}) 24. Re7 Nf8 25. Nf6+ {This is more  ambitious than going pawn-grabbing, but I can't imagine Magnus was wildly  optimistic about his winning chances.} (25. Nxb6 Rb8 $1 26. Nd5 Rxb5 {The  position quickly simplifies to a draw.}) 25... Kg7 26. Ne8+ Kg8 {The position  looks a little dangerous for White to me, strategically, and I half-expected  Magnus to just make a draw right here. He chose to continue the game, but  Black is absolutely fine by making the most direct move every single time.} 27.  d5 {Now, Black's a-pawn is coming. As long as he doesn't do anything too fancy  and just starts shoving it down the board, I really can't imagine White  getting any winning chances.} a4 28. Nf6+ Kg7 29. g5 {Now, in theory, if Black  were to fall asleep at the wheel here, he could get into some trouble. The  computer gives h5 as a reasonable move, but there could be difficult decisions  to make down the road in some lines. Much easier is to keep pushing the passed  pawn, and there's nothing for White to do.} a3 {I think most players would  choose this move in a bullet game as well. The most natural decision for Black  at every juncture is good enough.} 30. Ne8+ Kg8 31. Nf6+ (31. d6 {If White  wanted to keep playing, he could have tried this one, but Black has more than  one move that holds without particular trouble.} Ne6 {This seems easiest. The  d-pawn is still well under control and I don't see any reason for White to  think he is better. Black is the one with his rooks behind the passed pawns,  after all.} 32. h4) 31... Kg7 32. Ne8+ Kg8 33. Nf6+ {Magnus did not get much  against the Petroff, and the moral victor of the day was certainly Nepo for  making an easy draw with Black even when he was hit with a new idea. There  wasn't even that much to say about the game, or that many variations to  explain—it was all very straightforward. Still, I think Magnus has some  practical advantage now in that he knows what to expect against both 1.e4 and  1.d4, while Nepo does not enjoy the same luxury. It will be interesting to see  if he can leverage this later on by choosing to consistently go in one  direction or the other, though I would not be surprised to see 1.c4 thrown out  as well. Time will tell!} 1/2-1/2