World Chess Championship 2021

Opponents of the 2021 World Chess Championship

	Magnus Carlsen	Jan Nepomnyashchi
nation	Norway	Russia
status	Defending champion, world champion since 2013	Challenger, Candidates Tournament Winner
old	30–31 years	31 years
Elo rating	2855	2782
Points	7½	3½
Games played
Victories	4th	0
Draws	7th
total	11th
◄ 2018		2022 ►

The 2021 World Chess Championship was held under the auspices of FIDE between Magnus Carlsen , the reigning world chess champion , and Jan Nepomnyashchi , the winner of the Yekaterinburg 2020/2021 Candidates Tournament . The media company World Chess is the commercial partner and organizer of the World Cup .

The start of the World Cup was originally scheduled for December 20, 2020 in Dubai as part of the Expo 2020 . Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , however, like the Expo, it has been postponed to 2021 and scheduled for the period from November 24 to December 16, 2021. The world championship ended on December 10th, as Carlsen won the competition, which was scheduled for 14 games, prematurely after 11 games with 7.5: 3.5 and successfully defended his title for the fourth time.

Previous relationship between the counterparties

Carlsen and Nepomnyashchi have known each other since they were young. Like Carlsen and Sergei Karjakin , who was also born in 1990, Nepomnyashchi is considered one of the outstanding chess talents of his generation. Initially, Nepomnyashchi, who was a few months older, was also the more successful of the two players. He won the U12 European Championship both in 2001 (Carlsen did not take part) and 2002 - here he won his game against Carlsen, who finished 6th in the end. Nepomnjaschtschi also won the U12 World Cup in 2002 before Carlsen tied on points, their game there ended in a draw. The next win against Carlsen succeeded Nepomnyashchi at the U14 World Cup in 2003 - in the end he was third, Carlsen ninth.

But already at the beginning of next year Carlsen showed himself to be the stronger and more stable player. His victory in group C of the Corus chess tournament caused a sensation in January 2004 . In April 2004 he became the second youngest player after Karjakin to become a grandmaster - Nepomnyashchi won this title only in 2007. While Carlsen developed into the dominant player in the world, Nepomnyashchi's performances fluctuated strongly depending on his daily form, his career stagnated in comparison. In retrospect, Nepomnyashchi attributes this to a lack of professionalism, as he spent a lot of time playing computer games and not chess.

Nevertheless, before the match, Nepomnyashchi was one of the few players (and the only current world class grandmaster) who had a positive record against Carlsen in classic tournament games (+4, −1, = 6), not only because of his youthful successes. Nepomnyashchi scored another victory at the Tata Steel chess tournament in 2011, the last so far at the London Chess Classic 2017. Carlsen's only victory for the time being, and thus the last decisive long game between the two, came at the Croatian tournament of the Grand Chess Tour 2019.

In rapid and blitz chess , Carlsen has a clearly positive record against Nepomnyashchi. Most recently, however, Nepomnyashchi beat Carlsen in the semifinals of his invitation tournament Magnus Carlsen Invitational in March 2021 with a total score of (+2, −2, = 4) in the rapid chess games and (+1, −0, = 1) in the blitz chess tiebreak. Nepomnyashchi is one of the few who could have a realistic chance against Carlsen here. This is of great importance for the world championship, since the chess world championships 2016 (challenger Sergei Karjakin) and 2018 (challenger Fabiano Caruana ) were even in the long games and Carlsen was only able to win them clearly in the rapid chess tiebreaker. In both competitions, Carlsen, relying on this superiority in each of the twelfth and last long game, sought a quick, risk-free draw to the disappointment of the audience; In 2018 he even offered it in a clearly better position and with more time on the clock. This provoked a lot of criticism and a long-lasting debate about the tournament mode, which ultimately led to the rule changes at the 2021 World Cup.

The relationship between the two opponents is considered to be friendly. Carlsen brought Nepomnyashchi into his second team for the 2013 World Chess Championship , in which he, with Nepomnyashchi's support, won the title. The Spiegel journalist Florian Pütz therefore commented: "It would be a certain irony if he of all people were to take the title off Carlsen again."

Elo development

Candidates tournament

In the Yekaterinburg 2020 Candidates Tournament, eight qualified players played in double-rounds for Carlsen's challenge from March 16, 2020. Nepomnjaschtschi was eligible to start as runner-up in the FIDE Grand Prix 2019, together with the winner Alexander Grishchuk . He wasn't a favorite. This role fell to Fabiano Caruana , the winner of the 2018 Candidates Tournament and thus the challenger at the 2018 World Chess Championship , with 2842 Elo behind Carlsen and a clear lead over the rest of the world in second place. One of the favorites was Ding Liren , with 2805 Elo alongside Caruana, the only player over 2800 who had defeated Caruana twice in long games in 2019. The other players - Grishchuk, Nepomnyashchi, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave , Anish Giri and Wang Hao  - had ratings of 2762-2777, the wildcard player Kirill Alexejenko 2698.

In fact, Nepomnyashchi took the lead in the first game with a Black win against Giri, initially shared with Wang. He did not give up his place in the leading group on points until the end of the tournament - with later victories over Wang and Ding he took one point ahead. A setback meant at the end of the first round his defeat against Vachier-Lagrave, who caught up with Nepomnyashchi and took the lead after a second ranking (direct encounter). After that, the tournament was interrupted on March 26, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The second round started on April 19, 2021. Since Vachier-Lagrave lost his opening game against Caruana, Nepomnjaschtschi a draw against Giri was enough for the sole lead, which he did not give up until the end of the tournament. His victory over Alexejenko again meant a full point lead. Giri was the first pursuer to come within half a point. When Giri lost to Grishchuk in the penultimate round, Nepomnjaschtschi made it clear that he had won the tournament early with a draw against Vachier-Lagrave. Nepomnyashchi's final defeat against Ding did not detract from this - however, the Chinese maintained 3rd place in the world rankings, which would otherwise have fallen to Nepomnyashchi. The final score of the tournament was:

place	Surname	Elo	Point
1	Jan Nepomnyashchi	2774	8½
2	Maxime Vachier-Lagrave	2767	8th
3	Anish Giri	2763	7½
4th	Fabiano Caruana	2842	7½
5	Ding Liren	2805	7th
6th	Alexander Grishchuk	2774	7th
7th	Kirill Alexejenko	2698	5½
8th	Wang Hao	2762	5

mode

In principle, the competition runs through the majority of points from 14 tournament games - instead of twelve, as has been the case since the reunification fight in 2006 . Agreed draws are not allowed before move 40 (instead of before move 30), except for repetitions. Both are reactions to the course of the 2018 World Chess Championship , in which all twelve tournament games ended in draws. Since a single lost game takes on the character of a preliminary decision in a short competition, the players are usually more concerned with risk minimization.

The cooling-off time is 120 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 60 minutes for the next 20 moves; From move 61, the players have 15 minutes plus 30 seconds per move. In contrast to the previous World Championships, the time increment does not start with the 1st move. This makes time emergency situations before move 40 and move 60 more likely.

As in the previous World Championships, there will be a tie-break from four rapid chess games if necessary, further blitz chess games and, as a final decision, an Armageddon game .

The main judge is Mahdi Abdulrahim from the United Arab Emirates.

The prize fund is $ 2,000,000; FIDE had guaranteed a minimum of € 500,000. The money is paid out at a ratio of 60:40 in favor of the winner, or 55:45 if a tie-break is necessary. Each player will receive $ 200,000 as an advance on their prize money prior to the match. $ 100,000 would have been set aside as compensation for one player if the World Cup had been held in the other's home country.

course

During the World Cup, Nepomnyashchi was not allowed to play under the Russian flag, as the World Anti-Doping Agency was still banned . Nepomnyashchi won the lot and started the first game with White.

overview

Car. = Carlsen
Nep. = Nepomnyashchi

No.	Date (2021) 1.30 p.m. CET	Game result		opening	ECO key	Trains	Intermediate result		link
Competitive games with classic time to think about it
		Car.	Nep.				Car.	Nep.
01	Fri., Nov. 26	½	½	Spanish (closed defense)	C88	045	½	½	Game 01
02	Sat., Nov. 27	½	½	Catalan opening (closed variant)	E06	058	1	1	Game 02
03	Sun, Nov 28	½	½	Spanish (closed defense)	C88	041	1½	1½	Game 03
1st day of rest
04th	Tue., Nov. 30	½	½	Russian Defense (Staunton Variation)	C42	033	2	2	Game 04
05	Wed., 0Dec. 1	½	½	Spanish (closed defense)	C88	043	2½	2½	Game 05
2nd day off
06th	Fri., 0Dec. 3	1	0	Queen's pawn game (pseudo- Catalan opening )	D02	136	3½	2½	Game 06
07th	Sat., 0Dec. 4	½	½	Spanish (closed defense)	C88	041	4th	3	Game 07
08th	Sun., 0Dec. 5	1	0	Russian defense (modern attack, center variant)	C43	046	5	3	Game 08
3rd day of rest
09	Tuesday, 0December 7th	1	0	English opening (Agincourt defense)	A13	039	6th	3	Game 09
10	Wed, 0Dec 8	½	½	Russian Defense (Karklins-Martinovsky variant)	C42	041	6½	3½	Game 10
4th day of rest
11th	Fri, Dec 10	1	0	Italian part (Giuoco Pianissimo)	C54	49	7½	3½	Game 11

1st game

Nepomnyashchi – Carlsen ½: ½

Dubai, November 26, 2021

Spanish Match , Closed Defense , C88

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0–0 Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 0–0 8. h3 Sa5 9. Nxe5 Nxb3 10. axb3 Bb7 11. d3 d5 12. exd5 Qxd5 13. Qf3 Bd6 14. Kf1 Rfb8 15. Qxd5 Nxd5 16. Bd2 c5 17. Nf3 Rd8 18. Nc3 Nb4 19. Tec1 Rac8 20. Ne2 Nc6 21. Be3 Ne7 22. Bf4 Bxf3 23. gxf3 Bxf4 24. Nxf4 Rc6 25. Re1 Nf5 26. c3 Nh4 27. Re3 Kf8 28. Ng2 Nf5 29. Re5 g6 30. Ne1 Ng7 31. Re4 f5 32. Re3 Ne6 33. Ng2 b4 34. Ke2 Rb8 35. Kd2 bxc3 + 36. bxc3 Rxb3 37. Kc2 Rb7 38. h4 Kf7 39. Tee1 Kf6 40. Ne3 Td7 41. Nc4 Re7 42. Ne5 Td6 43. Nc4 Rc6 44. Ne5 Td6 45. Nc4 ½: ½

The two opponents chose the closed defense of the Spanish opening . For the first time in games between the two, Nepomnyashchi played the normal move 6. Re1. With 8. h3 he avoided the Marshall gambit that can arise after 8. c3 d5. Carlsen immediately sacrificed a pawn in another way, namely 8.… Na5 9. Nxe5 Nxb3 10. axb3. He received the pair of bishops for the pawn , space advantage and, after exchanging queens, an endgame with sustained initiative, but no real advantage. Nepomnyashchi subsequently lost his extra pawn, but kept his position in equilibrium. On move 45, the game ended in a draw by repeating the position .

Nepomnyashchi – Carlsen, game 1   a b c d e f G H   8th 8th 7th 7th 6th 6th 5 5 4th 4th 3 3 2 2 1 1   a b c d e f G H   Position after 9.… Nc6 – a5 Carlsen sacrificed Be5 in order to secure the pair of bishops after 9. Nxe5 Nxb3 10. axb3.

Nepomnyashchi – Carlsen, game 1   a b c d e f G H   8th 8th 7th 7th 6th 6th 5 5 4th 4th 3 3 2 2 1 1   a b c d e f G H   Position after 40. Ng2 – e3 Carlsen played 40.… Rd7. According to his own statement, 40 ... Nf4 would be better, since the continuation 41.Ra4 Rb2 + 42. Kxb2 Nxd3 + Black would have won.

2nd game

Carlsen – Nepomnyashchi ½: ½

Dubai, November 27, 2021

Catalan opening , closed variant

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 0–0 6. 0–0 dxc4 7. Qc2 b5 8. Ne5 c6 9. a4 Nd5 10. Nc3 f6 11. Nf3 Qd7 12. e4 Nb4 13. De2 Nd3 14. e5 Bb7 15. exf6 Bxf6 16. Ne4 Sa6 17. Ne5 Bxe5 18. dxe5 Sac5 19. Nd6 Nb3 20. Rb1 Nbxc1 21. Rbxc1 Nxc1 22. Rxc1 Tab8 23. Rd1 Ba8 24. Be4 c3 25.Qc2 g6 26.bxc3 bxa4 27.Qxa4 Rfd8 28.Ra1 c5 29.Qc4 Bxe4 30.Nxe4 Kh8 31.Nd6 Rb6 32.Qxc5 Rdb8 33.Kg2 a6 34.Kh3 Rc6 35.Qd4 Kg8 36.c4 Qc7 37. Qg4 Rxd6 38. exd6 Qxd6 39. c5 Qxc5 40. Qxe6 + Kg7 41. Rxa6 Rf8 42. f4 Qf5 + 43. Qxf5 Rxf5 44. Ra7 + Kg8 45. Kg4 Rb5 46. Re7 Ra5 47. Re5 Kh7 48. h4 Kg7 49 50. Kh4 Ra1 51. g4 Rh1 + 52. Kg3 gxh5 53. Re6 + Kg7 54. g5 Rg1 + 55. Kf2 Ra1 56. Rh6 Ra4 57. Kf3 Ra3 + 58. Kf2 Ra4 ½: ½

In the second game, the opponents fought a tough fight. As usual in the Catalan opening , Nepomnjaschtschi captured a white pawn with Black by 6 ... dxc4 , and on move 13 he fixed a strong knight on d3. In the early settlement of 17. Ne5 ?! Bxe5 18. dxe5 Carlsen overlooked the strong move 18.… Sac5 !. As a result, he felt compelled, with 19. Nd6! to establish an eternal jumper and sacrifice quality for it. Commentator Karsten Müller described the Nd3 and Nd6, who were briefly on the board at the same time, as “monster octopuses”. Despite attacking the king by Carlsen, Nepomnyashchi had an advantage in the sequence, but forgave him due to inaccuracies on the 24th and 26th move. Ultimately, the players settled in a rook ending that was a clear draw for Carlsen despite an extra pawn.

Carlsen – Nepomnjaschtschi, Game 2   a b c d e f G H   8th 8th 7th 7th 6th 6th 5 5 4th 4th 3 3 2 2 1 1   a b c d e f G H   Position after 19. Ne4 – d6! with the two “monster octopuses” on d6 and d3

3rd game

Nepomnyashchi – Carlsen ½: ½

Dubai, November 28, 2021

Spanish Match, Closed Defense, C88

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0–0 Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 0–0 8. a4 Bb7 9. d3 d6 10. Nbd2 Re8 11. Nf1 h6 12. Bd2 Bf8 13. Ne3 Ne7 14. c4 bxc4 15. Nxc4 Sc6 16. Rc1 a5 17. Bc3 Bc8 18. d4 exd4 19. Nxd4 Nxd4 20. Qxd4 Be6 21. h3 c6 22. Bc2 d5 23. e5 dxc4 24. Qxd8 Texd8 25. exf6 Bb4 26. fxg7 Bxc3 27. bxc3 Kxg7 28. Kf1 Tab8 29. Rb1 Kf6 30. Rxb8 Rxb8 31. Rb1 Rxb1 + 32.Bxb1 Ke5 33. Ke2 f5 34.Bc2 f4 35.Bb1 c5 36. Lc2 Bd7 37. f3 Kf6 38. h4 Ke5 39. Kf2 Kf6 40. Ke2 Ke5 41. Kf2 ½: ½

Compared to the hard-fought second game, the third game was calm and balanced. As in the first game, the opponents opened with the Spanish opening, and Nepomnyashchi again evaded the Marshal's attack, this time with 8. a4 . After an exact match on both sides, the players on move 32 played a drawn bishop endgame, which they continued according to the rules of the match until after move 40. According to a measurement by Lichess , the game was the most perfect in the history of the World Chess Championships, measured by the summed up fractions of pawn units that the players had given on the moves according to computer analysis .

Nepomnyashchi – Carlsen, game 3   a b c d e f G H   8th 8th 7th 7th 6th 6th 5 5 4th 4th 3 3 2 2 1 1   a b c d e f G H   Position after 17.… Bb7 – c8 White used the regrouping of the black queen's bishop from b7 to e6 to open the center strongly with 18. d4 !, but did not achieve anything decisive.

4th game

Carlsen – Nepomnyashchi ½: ½

Dubai, November 30, 2021

Russian Defense (Staunton Variation)

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. 0–0 0–0 8. c4 c6 9. Re1 Bf5 10. Qb3 Qd7 11. Nc3 Nxc3 12. Bxf5 Qxf5 13.bxc3 b6 14. cxd5 cxd5 15. Qb5 Qd7 16. a4 Qxb5 17. axb5 a5 18.Nh4 g6 19.g4 Nd7 20.Ng2 Rfc8 21. Bf4 Bxf4 22.Nxf4 Rxc3 23.Nxd5 Rd3 24.Re7 Nf8 25. Nf6 + Kg7 26. Ne8 + Kg8 27. d5 a4 28. Nf6 + Kg7 29. g5 a3 30. Ne8 + Kg8 31. Nf6 + Kg7 32. Ne8 + Kg8 33. Nf6 + ½: ½

In the fourth game played on his 31st birthday, Carlsen switched to the opening move 1. e4 , on which Nepomnjaschtschi usually plays the French defense or the Najdorf variant of the Sicilian defense . This time, however, he opted for the Russian Defense . The game continued according to theoretical models until after the queens were exchanged. With the innovation 18.Nh4 , Carlsen allowed Nepomnjaschtschi to receive a covered passed pawn on a5 in order to subsequently receive a passed pawn on the d- file himself . Nepomnyashchi defended himself precisely against Carlsen's initiative, both players ran with their passed pawns. Carlsen finally refrained from further attempts to win and ended the game with a draw through perpetual chess .

5th game

Nepomnyashchi – Carlsen ½: ½

Dubai, December 1, 2021

Spanish Match, Closed Defense, C88

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0–0 Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 0–0 8. a4 Rb8 9. axb5 axb5 10. h3 d6 11. c3 b4 12. d3 bxc3 13. bxc3 d5 14. Nbd2 dxe4 15. dxe4 Bd6 16. Qc2 h6 17. Nf1 Ne7 18. Ng3 Ng6 19. Be3 De8 20. Ted1 Be6 21. Ba4 Bd7 22. Nd2 Bxa4 23. Qxa4 Qxa4 24. Rxa4 Ra8 25.Rda1 Rxa4 26.Rxa4 Rb8 27.Ra6 Ne8 28.Kf1 Nf8 29.Nf5 Ne6 30.Nc4 Rd8 31.f3 f6 32.g4 Kf7 33.h4 Bf8 34. Ke2 Nd6 35.Ncxd6 + Bxd6 36.h5 Bf8 37. Ra5 Ke8 38. Rd5 Ra8 39. Rd1 Ra2 + 40. Rd2 Ra1 41. Rd1 Ra2 + 42. Rd2 Ra1 43. Rd1 ½: ½

In the fifth game, Carlsen again chose the closed version of the Spanish opening. For the first time, Nepomnyashchi emerged from the opening duel as the clear winner and played for a profit. Despite a calm maneuvering fight in a frequently symmetrical positional structure, Nepomnyashchi had the initiative and, in the opinion of the commentators, would have, for example, with 20. c4! or build up a lot of pressure later with 29. h4. In the end there was a final with a space advantage for Nepomnyashchi, which however could not be used to win. Carlsen reached a draw by repetition of positions . Accordingly, both players were not satisfied with the way things went.

6th game

Carlsen – Nepomnyashchi 1-0

Dubai, December 3, 2021

Queen's pawn game (pseudo- Catalan opening )

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. g3 e6 4. Bg2 Be7 5. 0–0 0–0 6. b3 c5 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. c4 dxc4 9. Qc2 De7 10. Nbd2 Nc6 11. Nxc4 b5 12. Nce5 Nb4 13. Qb2 Bb7 14. a3 Nc6 15. Nd3 Bb6 16. Bg5 Rfd8 17. Bxf6 gxf6 18. Rac1 Nd4 19. Nxd4 Bxd4 20. Qa2 Bxg2 21. Kxg2 Qb7 + 22. Kg1 De4 23. Qc2 a5 24. Rfd1 Kg7 25.Rd2 Tac8 26.Qxc8 Rxc8 27.Rxc8 Qd5 28. b4 a4 29. e3 Be5 30. h4 h5 31. Kh2 Bb2 32.Rc5 Qd6 33.Rd1 Bxa3 34.Rxb5 Qd7 35.Rc5 e5 36.Rc2 Qd5 37. Rdd2 Qb3 38.Ra2 e4 39.Nc5 Qxb4 40.Nxe4 Qb3 41. Tac2 Bf8 42.Nc5 Qb5 43.Nd3 a3 44.Nf4 Qa5 45.Ra2 Bb4 46.Rd3 Kh6 47.Rd1 Qa4 48.Rda1 Bd6 49.Kg1 Qb3 50. Ne2 Qd3 51. Nd4 Kh7 52. Kh2 De4 53. Rxa3 Qxh4 + 54. Kg1 De4 55. Ra4 Be5 56. Ne2 Qc2 57. T1a2 Qb3 58. Kg2 Qd5 + 59. f3 Qd1 60. f4 Bc7 61. Kf2 Bb6 62. Re1 Qb3 63. Re4 Kg7 64. Re8 f5 65. Taa8 Qb4 66. Tac8 Ba5 67. Rc1 Bb6 68. Re5 Qb3 69. Re8 Qd5 70. Rcc8 Qh1 71. Rc1 Qd5 72. Rb1 Ba7 73. Re7 Bc5 74. Re5 Qd3 75. Rb7 Qc2 76. Rb5 Ba7 77. Ra5 Bb6 78. Tab5 Ba7 79. Rxf5 Qd3 80. Rxf7 + Kxf7 81. Rb7 + Kg6 82. Rxa7 Qd5 83. Ra6 + Kh7 84. Ra1 Kg6 85. Nd4 Qb7 86. Ra2 Qh1 87. Ra6 + Kf7 88. Nf3 Qb1 89. Rd6 Kg7 90. Rd5 Qa2 + 91. Rd2 Qb1 92. Re2 Qb6 93. Rc2 Qb1 94. Nd4 Qh1 95. Rc7 + Kf6 96. Rc6 + Kf7 97. Nf3 Qb1 98. Ng5 + Kg7 99. Ne6 + Kf7 100. Nd4 Dh1 101. Rc7 + Kf6 102. Nf3 Qb1 103. Rd7 Qb2 + 104. Rd2 Qb1 105. Ng1 Qb4 106. Rd1 Qb3 107. Rd6 + Kg7 108. Rd4 Qb2 + 109. Ne2 Qb1 110. e4 Qh1 111. Rd7 + Kg8 112. Rd4 Qh2 + 113. Ke3 h4 114. gxh4 Qh3 + 115. Kd2 Qxh4 116. Rd3 Kf8 117. Rf3 Qd8 + 118. Ke3 Da5 119. Kf2 Da7 + 120. Re3 Qd7 121. Ng3 Qd2 + 122. Kf3 Qd1 + 123. Re2 Qb3 + 124. Kg2 Qb7 125. Rd2 Qb3 126. Rd5 Ke7 127. Re5 + Kf7 128. Rf5 + Ke8 129. e5 Qa2 + 130. Kh3 De6 131. Kh4 Qh6 + 132. Nh5 Qh7 133. e6 Qg6 134.Rf7 Kd8 135. f5 Qg1 136.Ng7 1: 0

Carlsen chose an unconventional variant of the queen pawn game , which was similar to the Catalan opening, but did without an early c2 – c4 and thus did not risk Black holding onto the pawn for a long time after d5xc4 as in the second game. After a pawn sacrifice by Carlsen, which was rejected by Nepomnyashchi, initially a fairly symmetrical middle game position emerged, in which, however, Nepomnyashchi had the initiative. Carlsen exchanged a bishop for a knight, which worsened the black pawn structure on the kingside. Then he gave the queen for both black rooks. In the time crisis that followed, both players missed greater chances of winning. After the time control, however, the white rooks turned out to be more flexible and dangerous in the resulting endgame compared to the black queen. Carlsen won a pawn and sacrificed quality for a second pawn. In the end he played with a rook, knight and two extra pawns against the queen of Nepomnyashchi. With a perfect game (as can be proven by endgame databases) Nepomnyashchi could have held a draw, but did not always manage to find the best defensive moves. Nevertheless, it was very difficult for Carlsen to develop the position further in his sense. In the meantime he needed 28 consecutive moves without capturing and pawn moves before he could advance the next pawn. After 136 moves and 7:47 hours of play, Nepomnyashchi gave up the game 17 minutes after midnight.

The sixth game was the longest game in the history of the world chess championships so far; The previous record holder was the fifth game of the 1978 World Chess Championship between Viktor Korchnoi and Anatoly Karpov , which ended in a draw after 124 moves. The longest decisive game in a world championship so far was the 16th game of the 1990 World Chess Championship , in which Garry Kasparov won against Karpov in 102 moves.

Carlsen – Nepomnjaschtschi, Game 6   a b c d e f G H   8th 8th 7th 7th 6th 6th 5 5 4th 4th 3 3 2 2 1 1   a b c d e f G H   Position after 130. Kg2 – h3 This was followed by the pin move 130.… Qe6, which lost the game. Only moves 130 ... Qb1 or Qc2 could have held a draw.

Carlsen – Nepomnjaschtschi, Game 6   a b c d e f G H   8th 8th 7th 7th 6th 6th 5 5 4th 4th 3 3 2 2 1 1   a b c d e f G H   End position after 136. Nh5 – g7 Black gave up: White's king finds protection on g8, then the e-pawn runs through.

7th game

Nepomnyashchi – Carlsen ½: ½

Dubai, December 4, 2021

Spanish Match, Closed Defense, C88

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0–0 Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 0–0 8. a4 Rb8 9. axb5 axb5 10. h3 d6 11. d3 h6 12. Nc3 Re8 13.Nd5 Bf8 14.Nxf6 + Qxf6 15. c3 Ne7 16. Be3 Be6 17. d4 exd4 18. cxd4 Bxb3 19. Qxb3 Ng6 20. Tec1 c5 21. e5 Qf5 22. dxc5 dxc5 23.Bxc5 Bxc5 24.Rxc5 Nxe5 25.Nxe5 Rxe5 26.Rxe5 Qxe5 27.Qc3 Qxc3 28. bxc3 Rc8 29.Ra5 Rxc3 30.Rxb5 Rc1 + 31.Kh2 Rc3 32. h4 g6 33.g3 h5 34.Kg2 Kg7 35.Ra5 Kf6 36.Rb5 Kg7 37. Ra5 Kf6 38. Rb5 Kg7 39. Ra5 Kf6 40. Ra6 + Kg7 41. Ra7 ½: ½

After the grueling fight the day before and less sleep than usual, Nepomnyashchi was also satisfied with a quick draw with White. After 30 moves at the latest, an unproductive draw was reached. Nevertheless, according to the regulations, the players had to continue playing until move 41 before either of the two was allowed to make the offer of a draw. Nepomnyashchi criticized the fact that the 7-hour time control combined with the late start can lead to games until after midnight.

8th game

Carlsen – Nepomnyashchi 1-0

Dubai, December 5, 2021

Russian Defense (Modern Attack)

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. Bd3 d5 5. Nxe5 Nd7 6. Nxd7 Bxd7 7. Nd2 Nxd2 8. Bxd2 Bd6 9. 0–0 h5 10. De1 + Kf8 11. Bb4 De7 12. Bxd6 Qxd6 13.Qd2 Re8 14.Ra1 Rh6 15.Qg5 c6 16.Rxe8 + Bxe8 17.Re1 Qf6 18. De3 Bd7 19.h3 h4 20.c4 dxc4 21.Bxc4 b5 22.Qa3 + Kg8 23.Qxa7 Qd8 24.Bb3 Rd6 25. Re4 Be6 26.Bxe6 Rxe6 27.Rxe6 fxe6 28. Qc5 Qa5 29. Qxc6 De1 + 30.Kh2 Qxf2 31.Qxe6 + Kh7 32.De4 + Kg8 33.b3 Qxa2 34.Qe8 + Kh7 35.Qxb5 Qf2 36. Qe5 Qb2 37.Qe4 + Kg8 38. Qd3 Qf2 39. Qc3 Qf4 + 40. Kg1 Kh7 41. Qd3 + g6 42. Qd1 Qe3 + 43. Kh1 g5 44. d5 g4 45. hxg4 h3 46. Qf3 1: 0

As in the 4th game, the Russian defense came on the board again, but in a different variant. Nepomnyashchi gave way with 9.… h5 !? off familiar paths, however, could not put Carlsen under pressure. Probably the game became through the move 21.… b5? decided that the (English for "" blunder "in the subsequent press conference by both parties as a blunder was"), respectively. Black wanted to block the check 22. Qa3 + with the queen because he believed that White could not capture the pawn on a7 because the bishop was on c4. However, this was a fallacy, because after 22. Qa3 + Qd6 23 Qxa7 bxc4 24 Qa8 +! can checkmate. So Black lost the pawn on a7 and with it access to the game.

Carlsen – Nepomnjaschtschi, Part 8   a b c d e f G H   8th 8th 7th 7th 6th 6th 5 5 4th 4th 3 3 2 2 1 1   a b c d e f G H   Position after 9. 0–0 If Black maintains the symmetry with castling, then 10. Qh5! with a double attack on h7 and d5. Nepomnyashchi therefore played 9.… h5!?.

Carlsen – Nepomnjaschtschi, Part 8   a b c d e f G H   8th 8th 7th 7th 6th 6th 5 5 4th 4th 3 3 2 2 1 1   a b c d e f G H   Position after 21. Bd3xc4 After 21.… b5? 22. Qa3 +! Black lost a pawn. 21.… Kg8! would have after 22. Qe7 Be6! maintain balance.

Carlsen – Nepomnjaschtschi, Part 8   a b c d e f G H   8th 8th 7th 7th 6th 6th 5 5 4th 4th 3 3 2 2 1 1   a b c d e f G H   End position after 46. Qd1 – f3

9th game

Nepomnyashchi – Carlsen 0-1

Dubai, December 7, 2021

English opening (Agincourt variant)

1. c4 e6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 d4 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. 0–0 Bc5 6. d3 Nf6 7. Nbd2 a5 8. Nb3 Be7 9. e3 dxe3 10. Bxe3 Ng4 11. Bc5 0–0 12. d4 a4 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14.Nc5 a3 15. bxa3 Td8 16. Nb3 Nf6 17. Re1 Qxa3 18. De2 h6 19.h4 Bd7 20. Ne5 Be8 21. De3 Qb4 22nd.B1 Nxe5 23. dxe5 Ng4 24. De1 Qxe1 + 25. Rxe1 h5 26. Bxb7 Ra4 27. c5 c6 28. f3 Nh6 29. Re4 Ra7 30. Rb4 Rb8 31. a4 Taxb7 32. Rb6 Rxb6 33. cxb6 Rxb6 34. Nc5 Nf5 35. a5 Rb8 36. a6 Nxg3 37. Sa4 c5 38. a7 Rd8 39.Nxc5 Ra8 0: 1

After a comparatively rare opening, Nepomnjaschtschi Carlsen was able to win with 24. De1! and practically forced queen exchange and won a pawn, even if the position remained within the range of a draw. But with a gross mistake on the next move, Nepomnyashchi allowed his bishop to be locked up , who was soon lost. After that he had no chance, even if Carlsen still had to keep an eye on the advancing a-pawn.

Nepomnyashchi – Carlsen, Part 9   a b c d e f G H   8th 8th 7th 7th 6th 6th 5 5 4th 4th 3 3 2 2 1 1   a b c d e f G H   Position after 23.… Nf6 – g4 after 24. De1! Qxe1 25. Rxe1 h5 (otherwise the knight is lost after 26. f3) 26. Bxb7 Ra4 White had won a pawn.

Nepomnyashchi – Carlsen, Part 9   a b c d e f G H   8th 8th 7th 7th 6th 6th 5 5 4th 4th 3 3 2 2 1 1   a b c d e f G H   Position after 26.… Ra8 – a4 After 27. c5 ?? c6! the white bishop was on the losing side.

10th game

Carlsen – Nepomnyashchi ½: ½

Dubai, December 8, 2021

Russian Defense (Karklins-Martinovsky variant)

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nd3 Nxe4 5. De2 De7 6. Nf4 Nf6 7. d4 Nc6 8. c3 d5 9. Nd2 Nd8 10. Nf3 Qxe2 + 11. Bxe2 Bd6 12. 0–0 0 –0 13. Bd3 Re8 14. Re1 Rxe1 + 15. Nxe1 Ne6 16. Nxe6 Bxe6 17. g3 g6 18. Ng2 Re8 19. f3 Nh5 20. Kf2 c6 21. g4 Ng7 22. Bf4 Bxf4 23. Nxf4 g5 24. Ne2 f5 25.h3 Kf7 26.Rh1 h6 27.f4 fxg4 28.hxg4 Bxg4 29.Rxh6 Bf5 30. Bxf5 Nxf5 31.Rh7 + Ng7 32. fxg5 Kg6 33.Rh3 Kxg5 34.Rg3 + Kf6 35.Rf3 + Ke7 36.Nf4 Kd6 37. Ng6 Re6 38. Ne5 Ne8 39. Rf7 Rf6 + 40. Rxf6 + Nxf6 41. Ke3 ½: ½

Although many commentators, including Carlsen himself, expected Nepomnyashchi to change their opening choices, he played Russian again. Carlsen avoided a rare variant with 4.Nd3 , which he had already played against Fabiano Caruana in the 6th game of the 2018 World Chess Championship . In the end, both players were satisfied with the fastest draw of the competition so far after playing time, which brought Carlsen closer to defending his title and saved Nepomnyashchi a third defeat in a row.

11th game

Nepomnyashchi – Carlsen 0-1

Dubai, December 10, 2021

Italian part (Giuoco Pianissimo)

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 d6 6. 0–0 a5 7. Re1 Ba7 8. Sa3 h6 9. Nc2 0–0 10. Be3 Bxe3 11. Nxe3 Re8 12. a4 Be6 13. Bxe6 Rxe6 14. Qb3 b6 15. Rad1 Ne7 16. h3 Qd7 17.Nh2 Rd8 18.Nhg4 Nxg4 19.hxg4 d5 20. d4 exd4 21. exd5 Re4 22. Qc2 Rf4 23.g3 dxe3 24.gxf4 Qxg4 + 25.Kf1 Qh3 + 26.Kg1 Nf5 27.d6 Nh4 28.fxe3 Qg3 + 29.Kf1 Nf3 30.Qf2 Qh3 + 31.Qg2 Qxg2 + 32.Kxg2 Nxe1 + 33.Rxe1 Rxd6 34.Kf3 Td2 35.Rb1 g6 36.b4 axb4 37. Rxb4 Ra2 38. Ke4 h5 39. Kd5 Rc2 40. Rb3 h4 41. Kc6 h3 42. Kxc7 h2 43. Rb1 Rxc3 + 44. Kxb6 Rb3 + 45. Rxb3 h1D 46. a5 De4 47. Ka7 De7 + 48. Ka8 Kg7 49. Rb6 Qc5 0: 1

After the Italian opening played for the first time in this match, Nepomnjaschtschi again made a gross mistake in an even position. After 23. g3? Carlsen achieved a resounding attack with only a short-term sacrifice and ultimately a clearly won rook ending with an extra pawn.

Nepomnyashchi – Carlsen, Part 11   a b c d e f G H   8th 8th 7th 7th 6th 6th 5 5 4th 4th 3 3 2 2 1 1   a b c d e f G H   Position after 22.… Re4 – f4 After the mistake 23. g3? dxe3 24. gxf4 Qxg4 + Carlsen had an attack and in the end had a material advantage.

Web links

• Tournament website of the organizer
• Carlsen – Nepomniachtchi World Championship Match (2021) - All the games at chessgames.com

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Carlsen's birthday was on November 30th, the fourth day of the tournament.
2. ↑ ^{a b} FIDE World Chess Championship 2021. In: Chess.com . Retrieved December 11, 2021 . 
3. ↑ Premature Victory. Nepomnyashchi wins the Candidates' Tournament for the World Chess Championship. In: Zeit.de . April 28, 2021, accessed December 11, 2021 . 
4. ^ ^{A b} Macauley Peterson: FIDE updates and the World Championship cycle. In: en. ChessBase .com. April 26, 2019, accessed December 11, 2021 . 
5. ^ André Schulz : World Cup fight probably during Expo 2020 in Dubai. In: de.ChessBase.com. March 2, 2020, accessed December 11, 2021 . 
6. ↑ ^{a b} FIDE resumes the Candidates Tournament. In: FIDE .com. February 15, 2021, accessed December 11, 2021 .  
7. ↑ ^{a b c} Johannes Aumüller: Jan Nepomnjaschtschi. This is the challenger to Magnus Carlsen. In: Sueddeutsche.de . April 27, 2021, accessed December 11, 2021 . 
8. ↑ 2001: C.to Europeo U12. In: TorneiOnline.com. Italian Chess Federation, accessed December 11, 2021 . 
9. ↑ 2002: C.to Europeo U12. In: TorneiOnline.com. Italian Chess Federation, accessed December 11, 2021 . 
10. ↑ Heraklio 2002: 17 ° World Championship u12 (boys). In: BrasilBase.pro.br. Retrieved December 11, 2021 . 
11. ↑ Halkidiki 2003: 19 ° World Championship u14 (boys). In: BrasilBase.pro.br. Retrieved December 11, 2021 . 
12. ^ Corus Group C (2004). In: Chessgames.com. Retrieved December 11, 2021 . 
13. ↑ ^{a b c} Florian Pütz: Ian Nepomniachtchi challenges world chess champion Magnus Carlsen. Greetings from childhood. In: Spiegel.de . April 27, 2021, accessed December 11, 2021 . 
14. ^ Leonard Barden : Nepomniachtchi nears Candidates title and tilt at Carlsen's world chess crown. In: TheGuardian.com . April 23, 2021, accessed December 11, 2021 . 
15. ↑ The best chess players in the world. Ian Nepomniachtchi. In: Chess.com. Retrieved December 11, 2021 . 
16. ^ Tata Steel Group A (2011). In: Chessgames.com. Retrieved December 11, 2021 . 
17. ↑ London Chess Classic (2017). In: Chessgames.com. Retrieved December 11, 2021 . 
18. ↑ GCT Croatia (2019). In: Chessgames.com. Retrieved December 11, 2021 . 
19. ↑ According to the results list in Chessgames.com , Carlsen has a score of +20, −10, = 31 in quick, blitz and friendly games.
20. ^ Leonard Barden: Chess: humiliated Magnus Carlsen eliminated from his own tournament. In: TheGuardian.com. March 19, 2021, accessed December 11, 2021 . 
21. ↑ Magnus Carlsen Invitational (2021). In: Chessgames.com. Retrieved December 11, 2021 . 
22. ↑ Johannes Fischer: World Chess Championship, Game 12: A tactical draw leads to a tie-break. In: de.ChessBase.com. November 26, 2018, accessed December 11, 2021 . 
23. ↑ Stephan Oliver Platz: Does the World Chess Championship need reform? In: de.ChessBase.com. December 9, 2018, accessed December 11, 2021 . 
24. ↑ Numbers according to FIDE Elo lists. Data sources: fide.com (period since 2001), olimpbase.org (period 1971 to 2001)
25. ↑ Colin McGourty: The 2020 candidates: Fabiano Caruana. In: chess24.com. March 15, 2020, accessed December 11, 2021 . 
26. ↑ Arkady Dvorkovich (FIDE President): FIDE Candidates Tournament Stops the. In: FIDE.com. March 26, 2020, accessed December 11, 2020 .  
27. ↑ Peter Doggers: FIDE Candidates Tournament 2020: Nepomniachtchi is the winner! In: Chess.com. April 27, 2021, accessed December 11, 2021 . 
28. ^ André Schulz: Candidates tournament: fought out final round. In: de.ChessBase.com. April 27, 2021, accessed December 11, 2021 . 
29. ↑ Richard Forster: The curse of the white pieces at the World Chess Championship. In: NZZ.ch . Neue Zürcher Zeitung, November 21, 2018, accessed on December 11, 2021 . 
30. ^ FIDE World Chess Championship 2021: Carlsen versus Nepomniachtchi. In: Chess.com. December 10, 2021, accessed December 11, 2021 . 
31. ↑ Peter Doggers: Nepomniachtchi is not allowed to play for Russia at the World Cup. In: Chess.com. May 1, 2021, accessed December 11, 2021 . 
32. ^ Carlsen vs Nepomniachtchi: Nepomniachtchi starts with White. In: en.ChessBase.com. November 25, 2021, accessed December 11, 2021 . 
33. ↑ FIDE World Championship 2021: Schedule, hotels, and health & safety measures. In: FIDE.com. September 25, 2021, accessed November 22, 2021 . 
34. ^ André Schulz: Chess World Cup: 1st game draw. In: de.Chessbase.com. November 26, 2021, accessed December 11, 2021 . 
35. ↑ Karsten Müller: Karsten Müller: "Monsterkraken!" In: de.ChessBase.com. November 28, 2021, accessed December 11, 2021 . 
36. ^ Stefan Löffler: Chess World Cup: The most correct world championship game. In: FAZ.net . Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, November 28, 2021, accessed on December 11, 2021 . 
37. ^ André Schulz: World Chess Championship: Draw in Russian Defense. In: de.ChessBase.com. November 30, 2021, accessed December 11, 2021 . 
38. ↑ Carlos Alberto Colodro: World Championship Game 5: Not forceful enough. In: en.ChessBase.com. December 1, 2021, accessed December 11, 2021 . 
39. ^ André Schulz: World Championship: Carlsen wins longest World Championship game in chess history. In: de.ChessBase.com. December 3, 2021, accessed December 11, 2021 . 
40. ↑ Peter Doggers: FIDE World Championship Game 6: Carlsen wins the longest World Championship game in history. In: Chess.com. December 3, 2021, accessed December 11, 2021 . 
41. ↑ Federico Rossini: Scacchi: Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi, le 136 mosse record in un match mondiale! Solo 9 partite oltre le 100 in queste sfide. In: oasport.it. December 3, 2021, accessed December 11, 2021 . 
42. ^ Ulrich Stock: Magnus Carlsen. A youth who understands chess as a mill. In: Zeit.de. December 4, 2021, accessed December 11, 2021 . 
43. ↑ Klaus Besenthal: Chess World Championship: Quick draw in the 7th game. In: de.ChessBase.com. December 4, 2021, accessed December 11, 2021 . 
44. ↑ Peter Doggers: FIDE WM Game 7: A self-confident Carlsen holds a draw without any problems. In: Chess.com. December 4, 2021, accessed December 11, 2021 . 
45. ↑ Peter Doggers: FIDE World Championship Game 9: Carlsen is about to defend his title. In: Chess.com. December 7, 2021, accessed December 11, 2021 . 
46. ↑ Peter Doggers: FIDE WM Game 10: Carlsen only needs one win to win the title after a draw. In: Chess.com. December 8, 2021, accessed December 11, 2021 . 
47. ↑ André Schulz: World Chess Championship: Magnus Carlsen wins World Championship match early. In: de.ChessBase.com. December 10, 2021, accessed December 11, 2021 .