Carlsen v Nepomniatchi 2021 World Championship

[Jonathan Bryant]

As you say though, its the suddenness of the collapse that is maybe jarring to some people. Think back to even during game 6 - people were talking (including on here!) about the looming prospect of every classical game being drawn again, and what "should" be done to counter this.

Maybe there is a feeling of slight dissatisfaction that Carlsen hasn't had to play brilliantly to get into this dominant position?

Anand blundered away games against Kasparov and Carlsen too.

[Matt Mackenzie]

Well yes (though at least he took the lead against Gazza first!)

[Kevin Thurlow]

"Carlsen hasn't had to play brilliantly to get into this dominant position"

But he keeps the pressure up all the time, and even very good players are going to go wrong occasionally. He is doing the equivalent of a cricketer bowling line and length and waiting for the batter to do something silly. We will soon find out if Nepo goes into complete beast mode and risks losing very quickly, or if he just tries not to make it even worse.

[Chris Rice]

I do wish they'd let Nepo off the press conferences now. Not a matter of evasion: he's no longer in a position to say much, poor lad. And some of the Qs are borderline absurd (yes,I'm looking at you, Maurice Ashley)

Maurice: You’ve only got 4 more games left, you have to catch up a 3-point deficit. Your strategy…
Nepo: I know...
Maurice: Is your strategy still heavily trying to win this match?
Nepo: Well, that’s an absurd question!

[MJMcCready]

"Carlsen hasn't had to play brilliantly to get into this dominant position"

But he keeps the pressure up all the time, and even very good players are going to go wrong occasionally. He is doing the equivalent of a cricketer bowling line and length and waiting for the batter to do something silly. We will soon find out if Nepo goes into complete beast mode and risks losing very quickly, or if he just tries not to make it even worse.

Well, I think his experience showed. This isn't the Nepo we are used to in terms of playing style. He's often aggressive and wins games because of it, so why the change of style. Why hasn't he played to his strengths and tried harder to put Magnus on the back foot? It's been a disappointment for me. Not much of a contest.

[JustinHorton]

Why hasn't he played to his strengths and tried harder to put Magnus on the back foot?

What specifically would you suggest he does that he has not done

[MJMcCready]

Played to his strengths. He's known to be an attacking player yet we've seen almost no evidence of this during the match. He should have played in a more attacking style with a greater sense of risk rather than trying to eek out tiny advantages that didn't really lead anywhere. It's easy to say this in retrospect but I he should have played to his strengths more, which is to attack. He's known for that yet we still haven't seen it, apart from one or two moments.

[JustinHorton]

Right, you want him to "attack". What does that even mean though?

[MJMcCready]

I think the issue was why the change in style from attacking chess to solid chess. It doesn't really seem to suit him, and now he seems a bit lost to me.

[MJMcCready]

He's tried to play it safe to much and he doesn't usually play that way, I think that's the main issue.

[JustinHorton]

He's tried to play it safe too much

What specifically do you have in mind

[MartinCarpenter]

He's tried to play it safe too much

What specifically do you have in mind

Well, presumably basically play more like Carlsen did in game 2? Prepare a lot of surprises to try and get some tenser positions. Hard of course but only 7 white games so I'd imagine that it would be an a priori viable strategy. Much riskier with black when your opponent is happy grinding with near nothing.

The match strategy adopted did seem, very broadly, to try to be very safe with white, hope to hold for a few games with black and see if Carlsen's patience cracked first. Maybe always slightly optimistic, but then he wasn't ever favourite! Karjakin did well with it of course.

[JustinHorton]

He's tried to play it safe too much

What specifically do you have in mind

Well, presumably basically play more like Carlsen did in game 2? Prepare a lot of surprises to try and get some tenser positions.

Right but doesn't game two also strike you as an example of Nepo playing like that? 7...b5 isn't really a safe line.

And with White...Nepo's played the Lopez. That's not playing it safe and it's not taking huge risks, it's playing for an edge. If we're going to rule out the Lopez as a possible match-winning strategy there's a few world champions who might want to know more about what they were doing wrong.

[JustinHorton]

(I really think trying to find fault with Nepo's "strategy", in one way or another, is probably a blind alley. He's been playing the best player ever and the best-prepared player ever, and he was holding his own for nearly half the match. he missed a couple of half-chances and then when he lost a very long game, the roof fell in.)

[MartinCarpenter]

(I really think trying to find fault with Nepo's "strategy", in one way or another, is probably a blind alley. He's been playing the best player ever and the best-prepared player ever, and he was holding his own for nearly half the match. he missed a couple of half-chances and then when he lost a very long game, the roof fell in.)

Oh, definitely agree. Probably if he'd have come out swinging he'd have lost faster, and more heavily. Might just have had a slightly higher overall chance of winning the match, I don't know.

Less sure with the Lopez - the anti Marshalls they were playing were very safe for white, and a notional edge, but were always going to require a very long game indeed if he was going to beat Carlsen. Nepo seemed entirely happy with that and with repeating the same opening from game to game.

He obviously switched entirely on going two down, suggesting it was more of an effort to go =6/7 and maybe nick one somewhere than their best chance to win.

Carlsen obviously mixes it up much more in these matches with white, but that does require the ability to play nearly every type of position! Being a genius has its uses