Heimsmeistaraeinvígið: Fimmta jafnteflið í röð

   [Event "FIDE World Chess Championship 2021"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2021.12.01"]  [Round "5"]  [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]  [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]  [Result "1/2-1/2"]  [ECO "C88"]  [WhiteElo "2782"]  [BlackElo "2855"]  [Annotator "samsh"]  [PlyCount "85"]  [EventDate "2021.??.??"]   {Game five saw the fifth draw, but in my opinion, it was the most interesting  one yet and one that should give Magnus a lot of confidence moving forward.} 1.  e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4 Rb8  {Magnus is the first to deviate from game 3.} (8... Bb7 {This was his choice  previously. He got an awkward-looking position but equalized without a ton of  trouble. Given that he shifted gears as early as move eight this time, I  wonder if he also would have shifted gears against 8.h3 and not repeated the  ending from game one.}) 9. axb5 axb5 10. h3 d6 11. c3 b4 {Magnus was playing  fast enough that this was certainly still preparation. He is taking a very  different route to preparing than I would have expected—the machine is  reasonably enthuastic about White's chances here, and while eventually it  calms down a bit, it does feel like he should be a little better. It's hard  for me to imagine that Magnus did not reach the same conclusion, but he seems  completely unfazed and not to care about what the computer is saying. This is  quite a refreshing style to see sometimes!} 12. d3 bxc3 13. bxc3 d5 14. Nbd2 {  Computers claim this is the best move, though White could also take on d5.} (  14. exd5 Nxd5 15. Qc2 {I'm not the biggest expert on the Spanish or Italian,  but this seems like a really dangerous version for Black to me. He is a very  long way from solving the problem of the misplaced c6-knight and the e5-pawn  is annoying to defend... This feels like real pressure to me.}) 14... dxe4 15.  dxe4 Bd6 16. Qc2 h6 17. Nf1 Ne7 18. Ng3 Ng6 $6 {This is a very automatic move,  but probably also inaccurate. Black would have been well-advised to try to get  his bishop to e6 as soon as possible.} (18... Bd7 $1 {Black is ready for Qc8  and Be6 next. He is still a bit worse but I like his chances of equalizing  better than what occurred in the game.}) 19. Be3 {Now White has the  not-so-subtle plan of pushing c4-c5, gaining a ton of space and getting ready  to cause direct problems on the d-file. Around here, I was sitting in a  restaurant with a strong GM friend and watching the game without the machine  running, and when we sparred a bit and played some sample moves, we felt the  position was extremely uncomfortable for Black. This plan of c4-c5 is  incredibly hard to stop, both white bishops are better than their black  counterparts, black's queen has real trouble finding a sensible square—it  all seems very unpleasant. But this is why Magnus is so strong. When he has a  solid position without immediate weaknesses, it's almost like watching a  magician the way he can coordinate his pieces. Not only did he hold—he made  it look easy! I would imagine anyone else would have a really tough time on  the black side of this position.} Qe8 (19... Qe7 {The computer prefers this  move, with the point that after} 20. Nf5 {The black queen can come back to d8,  and apparently the knight on f5 could be misplaced because 21. c4 will be met  with 21...Nxe4, pointing out the knight is no longer on g3 to take back.  Humans do not play chess like this.} Qd8 $1 21. c4 $2 Nxe4 $1) 20. Red1 $6 {  This is too ambitious. I suspect Nepo wanted c3-c4, intending c4-c5 without  allowing c7-c5 in response, but this was too slow.} (20. c4 {This should have  been preferred, but now and only now, after White has blocked in his bishop,  Black can respond with ...c7-c5.} c5 $1 {Neither bishop is too great, and after  } 21. Red1 Qc6 $1 {Black is ready for Be6 next. The machines still give White  a nice plus, but Black is super solid and it will be very hard to make any  further progress.}) 20... Be6 $1 {Black now trades off one bad bishop for a  good one.} 21. Ba4 Bd7 22. Nd2 Bxa4 23. Qxa4 Qxa4 $1 {And now he trades off  the queens too. Two of his problem pieces have been traded for two of White's  superior ones. Black now only has one bad bishop, and that bad bishop protects  good pawns. There are no weaknesses and, just a few moves after, I thought  Magnus could be in real trouble. It is very equal.} 24. Rxa4 Ra8 25. Rda1 Rxa4  26. Rxa4 Rb8 27. Ra6 Ne8 28. Kf1 Nf8 29. Nf5 Ne6 30. Nc4 Rd8 {White's position  looks impressive, but all of his pieces are already on their best squares and  it cannot be built up any further. It is a very bad sign for his winning  chances that the machine recommends Nf5-g3.} 31. f3 f6 32. g4 Kf7 33. h4 Bf8  34. Ke2 Nd6 35. Ncxd6+ Bxd6 36. h5 Bf8 {Black has a clear fortress. No further  progress will be made.} 37. Ra5 Ke8 38. Rd5 Ra8 39. Rd1 Ra2+ 40. Rd2 Ra1 41.  Rd1 Ra2+ 42. Rd2 Ra1 43. Rd1 {Today was the first time that Nepo got a clear  edge with no counterplay whatosever. I'm not convinced Magnus equalized in  game 1, but the bishops offered good practical counter-chances and he quickly  found himself better. Nepo was better in game 2, but it was a wildly  complicated position and White's incredibly active pieces gave him plenty to  fight back with. But today, Black's position just looked miserable. The fact  that Magnus held almost effortlessly is a very good sign for the World  Champion and should hopefully convince him that he can take more risks,  knowing that his defensive skills will offer him good saving chances in case  ambitious play backfires. Tomorrow is a rest day, and now that Magnus knows  what team Nepo has planned for both 1.e4 and 1.d4, he will have a lot of time  to choose a direction he feels appropriate and try to make trouble. Call me  crazy, but I expect we will get a much more lively game in the 6th round.}  1/2-1/2