WC Match 2016 - New York 10-30 November

[MartinCarpenter]

Real signs. Carlsen tries to over stretch to a loss, Karjakin punts it back again. Oh well

It does look like Karjakin might be really starting to get under Carlsen's skin though.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

I stopped watching after 42.Qxg6+ as it looked drawn by perpetual, but Carlsen played on and has just blundered with 51.Qe6. Incredible. Can Karjakin find the win? He has! Karjakin about to go one game up!!

[Matt Mackenzie]

51.....h5!! should go on Tim Krabbe's list of great moves.

[AustinElliott]

Real signs. Carlsen tries to over stretch to a loss, Karjakin punts it back again. Oh well

It does look like Karjakin might be really starting to get under Carlsen's skin though.

Carlsen rejecting the perpetual (or perhaps the continuations most likely to end up in one, if there wasn't one on the board directly) and then blundering to lose, certainly supports that interpretation...

One also has to be impressed by Karjakin's being able to 'shake off' a shocker like 37. ..Qd3??, which blew a clear win, collect himself, keep playing and find the study-like win with 51. ..h5.

[Graham Borrowdale]

That will teach me - I trusted Mr Svidler when he said it would almost certainly be a draw, 3 moves before Carlson resigned. The finish is very nice, allowing the a pawn to be taken in return for Ng4+ and mate.
It looks like we have a tense finish to the match on our hands.

[Roger de Coverly]

This is the position where Carlsen found the losing Qe6.

[FEN "8/6k1/Q6p/2q1n3/4P3/p5PP/6BK/8 w - - 5 51"]

You don't know what he missed, but moving to a square where there is no check available next move could be a good reason to reject the move. Perhaps he overlooked the mating pattern created by the inclusion of the moves h4 and h5. The configuration with the Knight on e5 blocking both the e pawn and the g2 Bishop is desirable when defending against white square fianchettos. Couple that with the passed a pawn and reasoning suggests only two results are possible. Thus bailing for a draw was necessary. You could say that he played a club player's opening and lost in a way many of us will have experience of, namely over pressing rather than steering for the draw.

For the record, the game continued 51. .. h5 52 h4 a2 resigns. If White takes on a2, he has to give up the Queen to avoid mate. Despite the open Black King, there's no repetition by perpetual since the e4 pawn blocks a key diagonal.

[JustinHorton]

This is the position where Carlsen found the losing Qe6.

[FEN "8/6k1/Q6p/2q1n3/4P3/p5PP/6BK/8 w - - 5 51"]

You don't know what he missed, but moving to a square where there is no check available next move could be a good reason to reject the move.

I guess he may have felt he was pinning down the black pieces since it's hard to find moves that deny him that check save the passive 51...Qc7 (and 51...h5, but what could that possibly achieve?).

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Hadn't even realised Carlsen was a pawn up at the end. Carlsen should have played h4 a move earlier. The reason Qe6 loses is hard to see, so credit to Karjakin for finding the reply h5. Very tense finish. Carlsen left the press conference early (effectively didn't attend). At least he has a rest day to regroup and decide what to do for the last four games.

The schedule:

Game 9: Wednesday
Game 10: Thursday
REST DAY (Friday)
Game 11: Saturday
REST DAY (SUNDAY)
Game 12: Monday

Still 7pm each day as for the previous games, I think.

[Matt Mackenzie]

Carlsen maybe overlooked in advance 52 Qf5 Ng4+! and the pawn queens?

[MartinCarpenter]

One also has to be impressed by Karjakin's being able to 'shake off' a shocker like 37. ..Qd3??, which blew a clear win, collect himself, keep playing and find the study-like win with 51. ..h5.

Oh, Karjakin's mental strength is utterly incredible which was why this always had some potential to turn into a bit of a rough match for Carlsen. Like Christopher I gave up once Qxg6+ etc was coming in as it looked so much like a perpetual but clearly it wasn't so easy!

Fascinating to see what happens now - will Carlsen keep with the 'playable nothing' with white strategy or actually try and crank some theory out somewhere?

[Joshua Gibbs]

I just got released without charge and then Karjakin wins!!!!!!!!! Im over the moon.

[Clive Blackburn]

So what does Carlsen do now, with only 4 games to play?

He has tried everything he can in an effort to beat Karjakin in the endgame and it didn't work.

Has he perhaps some opening preparation that he is keeping in reserve?

[Mick Norris]

So what does Carlsen do now, with only 4 games to play?

He has tried everything he can in an effort to beat Karjakin in the endgame and it didn't work.

Has he perhaps some opening preparation that he is keeping in reserve?

Good questions, of course it is possible that Karjakin has some opening prep left, even if only to force a draw

Carlsen has missed chances, and that is why he is behind; his openings have looked ok, possibly better than expected pre-match

This is what makes matches fascinating, even ones that start with lots of draws

[Clive Blackburn]

So what does Carlsen do now, with only 4 games to play?

He has tried everything he can in an effort to beat Karjakin in the endgame and it didn't work.

Has he perhaps some opening preparation that he is keeping in reserve?

Good questions, of course it is possible that Karjakin has some opening prep left, even if only to force a draw

Carlsen has missed chances, and that is why he is behind; his openings have looked ok, possibly better than expected pre-match

This is what makes matches fascinating, even ones that start with lots of draws

Yes, I think it comes down to the fact that Karjakin has handled the pressure far better and saved some seemingly hopeless positions, whereas Carlsen has tended to react rather wildly and just lash out, which isn't his usual style at all.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

To be fair, Carlsen has saved some dodgy positions as well. Both players saved dodgy positions with the help of their opponents. But overall, that seems to have ratcheted up the pressure on Carlsen more than Karjakin. Carlsen is, after all, the one with the title to lose. Karjakin doesn't have that pressure. Against Anand, there were signs that Carlsen isn't always mentally that strong. But what Carlsen does have (apparently) is the ability to shrug off a loss and come back raring to go and ready to win the next game. But is that is an ability he has more in tournaments, where you face a new player in the next round, rather than in matches, where you have to face again the person you just lost to. I played a match once, and it can be a horrible feeling to have to keep playing someone who you get the feeling you aren't able to beat right at this moment.