Carlsen vs Nepomniatchi - WC 2021: Game-3 - Dull draw........
Chess moves.....games.....are like the Zen poem by the great Zen Poet and saint Ryokan! The moves do not announce their intentions in advance and at times even after they are played! One has to go beyond the facade ....the outward appearance of the position and the pieces that lay scattered on the board. The implications may appear as relevant or irrelevant as rain beating against the plum tree.....but!
The above pictures describe the game better than any comments and analysis!
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 Bb7 9. d3 d6 10. Nbd2 Re8 11. Nf1 h6 12. Bd2 Bf8 13. Ne3 Ne7 14. c4 bxc4 15.Nxc4 Nc6
An unusual position from Ruy Lopez. Black's preceding moves 13.....Ne7 and the Knight returning back to c6 on the 15th move is typical of Carlsen. The Knight went to e7 to stop White's Knight entering Black's territory on f5. And once the e3 Knight recapture the pawn on c4, Carlsen brought back his Knight to c6 where it is more useful than standing on e7 guarding a vacant post on f5! The Knight gets out of the board on the next move when White plays the principled central break
16. Rc1 a5!
A nice move not so much to vacate the a6 square for the light squared Bishop, but to control the vital b4 square and secure it for his Bishop.
17. Bc3 Bc8!?
A strange move in anticipation of 17.d4 when Carlsen plans to dissolve the centre further by putting his Bishop on e6 followed by pushing c6 and d5. The exclamation mark is to acknowledge the unconventional idea. Normally, when White pushes d3-d4, only would aim to put their pieces targetting the exposed e4 pawn. Here Carlsen removes a piece which is already targetting e4 and puts it to focus on the other side indirectly pressurising the lose Bishop on b3. The problem may be that Black has no other 'useful' move to be played in this position - all the other pieces are already stationed on a square where they have a role and any displacement would result in some disharmony. The Queen moves to anywhere has no meaning in this position.
18. d4 exd4 19. Nxd4 Nxd4 20. Qxd4 Be6 21. h3?!
Nepo said something about this move in the post match conference, which was not clear - both the voice and the context! One may be tempted to call this an useful waiting move, but as he himself said, White gets only miniscule advantage in most openings. Such moves like h3 might douse even that miniscule advantage.
Bronstein wrote in Zurich Book, thus, "It is sometimes said that White's advantage consists of the first move; if he loses a tempo the advantage should go to Black. In practice, however, White's advantage is that he has a greater choice of possible plans to suit his taste; when play is in full swing the loss of a single tempois not always of great importance."
Perhaps, 21.Bc2 and later Qd3 to have an eye on h7 may have been a better choice.
21.....c6 22. Bc2 d5 23. e5 dxc4 24. Qxd8 Rexd8 25. exf6 Bb4!
This move, which completely equalises, is not incidental! Carlsen intuitively created the space for this move, way back on his 16th move! Chess mastery is all about such subtle perception of spaces on the board which are made available for the pieces when they are in need to be played to a particular square to control a diagonal or file or rank.
Rest of the game requires no explanation.....infact for most part, this game does not require any notes - though I am sure a two page analysis will emerge subsequently and get published in NIC and probably made into a book later!
26. fxg7 Bxc3 27. bxc3 Kxg7 28. Kf1 Rab8 29. Rb1 Kf6 30. Rxb8 Rxb8 31. Rb1 Rxb1+ 32. Bxb1 Ke5 33. Ke2 f5 34. Bc2 f4 35. Bb1 c5 36. Bc2 Bd7 37. f3 Kf6 38. h4 Ke5 39. Kf2 Kf6 40. Ke2 Ke5 41. Kf2
We are still waiting for a decisive classical game since 2016..... players take credit for it by saying that they are playing 'acurately'. So much for the delusion.
Carlsen suggested lesser time controls, which seems logical as players atleast cannot remember the analysis if there are more than one game in a day. Thank god humans have limitation in retaining multiple things ....and the crap that lies in their database certainly cannot be stored in memory and recollected.
Now for a lengthy poem:
First paint a cage
with an open door
then paint
something pretty
something simple
something beautiful
something useful....
for the bird
then place the canvas against a tree
in a garden
in a wood
or in a forest
hide behind the tree
without speaking
without moving.....
Sometimes the bird comes quickly
but he can just as well spend long years
before deciding
Dont get discouraged
wait
wait years if necessary
the swiftness or slowness of the coming
of the bird has
nothing to do with the success of the picture
When the bird comes
if he comes
observe the most profound silence
wait till the bird enters the cage
and when he has entered
gently closs the door with a brush
then remove.....
paint out all the bars of the cage one by one
taking care not to touch any of the feathers of the bird
Then paint the portrait of the tree
choosing the most beautiful of its branches
for the bird
paint also the gree foliage and the wind's freshness
the dust of the sun
and the noise of insects in the summer heat
and then wait for the bird to decide to sing
If the bird doesn't sing
it's a bad sign
a sign that the painting is bad
but if he sings it's a good sign
a sign that you can sign
So then so very gently you pull out
one of the feathers of the bird
and you write your name in a corner of the picure
A great poem by French poet Jacques Prevert, and this poem is soaked with the spirit of creativity .... the act of creativity. Read it multiple times to understand the spirit of the poem.
Playing Chess the way Prevert describes the art of painting precludes use of engines.... Chess is an art of inducing your opponent to go wrong.....and for this, you should not strive to play accurate chess!
I Remain
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