Morning all, I found a very interesting historical game of Magnus Carlsen when he was just
12 years old.
It was in the Politiken cup of 2003, played in Copenhagen and his opponents was Hans K.
Harestad.
Okay so Magnus kicks off with e4 and Hans played e5 after Nf3, Nc6 we see Ruy Lopez,
Magnus retreats the bishop.
The most standard move rather than the exchange variation.
Off the castles b5 here.
That Be7, after Re1 black plays d6.
So, no Marshall gambit or anything here is planned, just d6.
So c3 now and black castles.
After h3 black plays Na5.
It's all standard kind of move so far.
Black is often stretching on the Queen side with c5 off the moving this Knight and indeed
that’s what happens Here c5, d4, Qc7.
Magnus proceeds with Nbd2.
Black encourages now the closing of the center with Nc6.
Now often this move is a little bit controversial sometimes.
Because black later can just move that night back and maybe use the c5 square.
So sometimes players keep the tension here.
Magnus chooses to play d5 here though and now a4, Ra7 indirectly now protecting the
rook so that ab, Queen is protecting the rook.
Nf1, the Knight ventures may be on a journey usually to g3 or e3 and if5.
G6 weakening some dark squares, but discouraging this journey in advance for a knight to come
to f5 and also maybe g6 could be useful for a later f5 from black.
For the moment though the bishop kicks the Rook on f8 to the 8th and now Ng3.
Okay after d7, Magnus now plays Nh2.
With this space advantage here, it seems easier for white to try and play on the King side
for the moment.
Black buttons down the hatches with f6.
Possibly against f4.
So, it seems blacks preparing for the worst.
Be3 takes the bishop out of the opponent's territory back in territory and maybe the
idea now is f4 and maybe f5 potentially.
Okay it also means that on the other side of the board, b4 might also be painful for
black at some point, for this diagonal here.
So, it's keeping some flexibility by doing that retreat.
Nb6, is the bishop a target for Nc4 now?
Well actually axb5 is played, axb5 and Bd3 covers that c4 square and not minding exchange
of rooks here.
Black plays Bd7 and now Qd2.
Okay Nf7, so that's one point if the bishop would remain on h6, it would have been a target
anyway for that Knight coming to f7.
White takes on a7 now and place Queen e2 targeting b5, black protects b5.
So, it's sort of, these pieces are quite flexible it seems.
The Knights are ready to pounce on the King side.
Ng4 okay, Nh6 needs to be considered now by black.
Black covers up the h6 square with Kg7.
Now we see Bc1 which protects b2, maybe prophylaxis against the Queen invasion or Knight a4 or
Nc4 that the b2 pawn is not so vulnerable.
Na4 is played here attacking b2 anyway.
Let me see Bc2, okay rook a8 and now Queen e3, looks like a strange battery.
You usually want your Bishop in front of the Queen not the Queen pointing a square.
Which is already protected by the Knight.
So, you might think this is quite strange to play Qe3.
On the other hand, Nh6 could drive away the defensive Knight for a moment.
So that can be taken into account.
So c4 is played here and that Rf1 indicating that maybe an access route to the King will
be the f pawn or maybe even f5.
So, these options of using the f pawn.
Black has basically released some of the tension with that c4 pawn move.
So, giving white a potentially freer hand, but is black trying to make use of c5 in this
position or reroute the bishop?
Is it dangerous to reroute the bishop?
Is Bishop needed defensively?
Nc5 makes use of that dark square.
Now Nh6 drives away the defensive Knight somewhere.
It goes aggressively though into whites, near White's position with Ng5.
Eyeing h3 as well.
Now here interestingly Magnus plays f4 and after e takes, he doesn't play Rxf4 here,
he plays Qxf4, which seems to be setting himself up for a cheap tactic which black plays, a
cheapo tactic.
Bxh3 with the idea that now if g takes of course there'll be a knight fork, which will
be very embarrassing for the 12-year-old.
But the 12-year-old has something in mind here, a beautiful conception actually, a very
beautiful conception from this position.
Getting a lot of new access routes open to the black King and it starts off with the
move Qh4.
So, this pawn sacrifice, what is it gained?
Well its gain time here to start off with.
Because Queen on h4 is protecting now the knight and Bxg5 seems to be threatening with
Queen takes holding on to the Knight.
So, the bishop scurries back to d7 and now we see a kind of Penrose versus Tal situation.
Where Penrose spectacular bid defeated Tal in one of the Olympiads with a formatic break
in the center and namely e5, it looks a little bit like that.
Look at these bishops down the blacks King side.
Look at g5, g6 there's a lot of scrutiny being placed in fact on the black King side after
this move.
And that scrutiny is about to increase greatly.
So black clearly cannot take here unless Bxg5, so he tries the other pawn.
Okay now can you guess what Magnus plays in this position if I give you 10 seconds starting
from now.
Okay you want to rip open these lines like this diagonal.
He plays on the first course is a Nh5++.
So, he sacrifices his Knight, a bit like Mikhail Tal would.
You might wonder what the exact purpose is and so did black and it would seem unwise
to do anything apart from take this Knight, stepping in with a king doesn't seem such
a hot idea.
Because for example and without checking this with the engine at this point, the discovered
check here seems a bit lethal with Bxg5, holding on to f6 seems very damaging.
But I will check in the second pass various possibilities.
Here black took on h5 wondering what will be next and can you guess what Magnus played
in this position?
So, you might want to pause the video will just take ten seconds to guess.
So, ten seconds starting from now.
Okay Magnus plays Qxg5++, Queen sacrifice.
Not too many possibilities for black here other than to accept.
If Kf8 then surely Qg8 is mate.
If Kh8, then surely Kf7 is mate.
So, can't really be declined here it would seem.
So black takes that and now another forcing move with a check, Rf7++ and it doesn't matter
where the King goes now, it took on h6.
If it goes to h8 there's a similar ending and here the game ended with Rxh7#.
A beautiful game for Magnus when he was just 12 rated on the FIDA ratings scale just 2385,
which is pretty high for a twelve-year-old, 2385 not bad, better than most club players
FIDA ratings I think.
So, his opponent Hans was 2249 and so was blown away in the Ruy Lopez.
Let's have a look again at this game with engine inspection just to see what was going
on from an engine point of view.
So standard Ruy lopez. Let's skip this opening book scenario.
Okay now here d5, engine actually likes d5 closing up the position.
It might be in this exact position the move to play.
In some circumstances d5 is not so attractive.
But here maybe it is the move to play.
Okay now a4, so Knight is a little bit passive on d8 and the bishops hand in on e7.
So, I think White's here is doing well according to engine, it's like doing a small advantage
and now after that g6 even better.
Okay Nh2, Bishop coming back to e3 good move here.
Because this f6 had set up on Nf7, so Bishop comes out of harm's way in advance.
Okay now takes on b5, no it doesn't take on a7, he plays Bd3 now.
He's trying to provoke black to fix the pawns on the Queen side with c4 soon.
So, to release that tension on the Queen side, then he wouldn't have to worry about the Queen
side so much.
So white is still doing okay.
Now we see this Qa6 not playing c4 just yet.
Covering h6 with the king.
Okay, Bc2 and it looks technically as though blacks equalized.
But from a human point of view there looks to be danger here, look at these dangerous
pieces.
Basically, essentially, they are looking at the black King.
They're a bit blocked in by this pawn, this c1.
But these Knights are looking to pounce.
It looks dangerous from a human perspective I believe this position.
So Qe3, now c4, so is black really making use of that c5 square?
Rf1, it’s funny the engine lights Ba4, this is a beautiful attacking piece later.
What a tragedy it would have been to be given away that bishop here.
So Rf1, Nc5, now Nh6 after Ng5.
I think the engine changing its tune off to f4.
Starting to realize the dangers here.
If Nd8, let's have a quick look.
Now here there's Nhf5++, what's going on here?
If we take Qh6, Nh5, Nxf6, Q takes, exf5 crushing position.
Threat, Qg6, there's numerous threats.
Let's carry on a bit and it's a
Crushing position.
So, this kind of blow the Knights, it is very interesting to consider and look at that Bishop
again, beautiful, beautiful bishops.
An extra piece here basically in terms of the pawn.
Let's continue this if black doesn't sacrifice a piece or let's go with this.
Bd1 coming in like this.
I think we get the picture that it's basically carnage.
Okay carnage.
So basically, Ng5 blocking the diagonal and you might think well hang on, what about h4?
Is black really going to play Kxh6?
Let's have a quick look and h4.
Was that really the cunning idea of the 2249 or black to play the cheeky Kxh6, engine likes
it.
What would happen here after after hxg5 - blocked up or locked up.
So h4 might not be the best.
So, Magnus doesn't bring the Knight back though.
He plays Ng4 again.
It's not really accurate it seems.
Qb6 on this superficial analysis.
So, he just leaves that Knight there, he plays f4 and let's have a look at this.
What is going on here?
Now if Rxf4, haven't we again got Kxh6.
Cheeky, after h4 again Kg7 and again block targets.
In the wrong hands this position gets blocked up basically.
In the hands of a genius, this position it doesn't.
So Qxf4 is the move here and you might wonder, well hang on Kxh6 here, lets have a quick
look.
In this position h4 is where the difference isn't it?
If the king scurries back isn't that going to hg in Qf7?
So, let's have a quick look at Kg7, hg here, g takes and it's some differences here.
Nh5++, what is going on here?
Qg5++.
Queen takes, Rook takes, e5 here again opening up that beautiful bishop and this is technically
good for white.
So, because perhaps a lot of calculation this sort of game, anyway you get the picture that
White's doing very well here.
So okay, so black didn't want to take over the King.
So, we get the idea that h4 is strong there.
Black took on h3, which is a source of tempo game after Qh4 - that's he strong
move approved by Houdini as well.
Bishop goes back and then we get this e5, which at the moment it looks as though Be3
is also strong.
But then e5 is checked out on a certain depth with this Knight sack idea.
So, this really tears apart from this position, the black King side.
If you look at it, these pieces, I just fell on the wrong side of the board, aren’t I?
You've got major attacking pieces on this side of the board, two knights, queen and
two bishops.
It's just right for just ripping blacks King position apart.
So, it's done so with the Penrose Tal type move e5 in the Center as a classic Benoni
game, which I'd suggest you look up if you haven't seen it already.
So dxe5, then check is one of the crushing moves here.
Okay so in this position if King takes, as I mentioned I think check, let's have a check
there.
Bxg5 is strong.
If h5 here, Knight takes, Bishop takes, this is all really strong stuff.
So, blacks in real trouble.
His cheapo has been taken against him for tempo gain for this crushing combinatory finish
with Qxg5, that’s the move; forced mate.
I hope you enjoyed that.
Comments or questions on YouTube, thanks very much.
[Captions By Wonder_Designer @fiverr]