Off-Topic: World Chess Championship 2013, Game 10

The king is dead, long live the king!

Today, after 14 days and 10 games, 22-year-old Magnus Carlsen became the world chess champion. When I was 22 I was fresh out of university and starting my career. At the same age he's done it all.

After yesterday's game Magnus only needed a draw to win the world championship. Nobody would have thought badly of him if he had played for a draw. This is the usual tactic in the first round of the Football World Cup; if a team only needs a draw to advance they don't take any risks. But Magnus isn't a professional footballer. He came out fighting, determined to win the final game and prove to the world that he deserves the title of world champion. Vishy was fighting for survival and needed a win, so it was a spectacular fight, probably the most exciting game of the whole championship

Carlsen, Magnus – Viswanathan, Anand
FWCM 2013 Chennai (10) 22.11.2013

1. e4 c5
2. Nf3 d6
3. Bb5+ Nd7
4. d4 cxd4
5. Qxd4 a6
6. Bxd7+ Bxd7
7. c4 Nf6
8. Bg5 e6
9. Nc3 Be7
10. O-O Bc6
11. Qd3 O-O
12. Nd4 Rc8
13. b3 Qc7
14. Nxc6 Qxc6
15. Rac1 h6
16. Be3 Nd7
17. Bd4 Rfd8
18. h3 Qc7
19. Rfd1 Qa5
20. Qd2 Kf8
21. Qb2 Kg8

This was the first proof of Magnus' fighting spirit. He could have played 22.Qd2, offering a draw by repetition. As I already said above, nobody would have criticised him for this. In fact, this is the move that the commentators expected. Instead of that he played 22.a4 to continue the fight. In the following moves Magnus built up the pressure by positioning his rooks in the middle of the board. Vishy's queen was looking like a target rather than a threat.

22. a4 Qh5
23. Ne2 Bf6
24. Rc3 Bxd4
25. Rxd4 Qe5
26. Qd2 Nf6
27. Re3 Rd7
28. a5

At this critical point in the game Vishy blundered. It's difficult to say what the best move would have been. Vishy didn't really have any chances open. Maybe a passive move like 28...Kf8. Maybe an aggressive move like 28...h5 or 28...g5. My personal preference would have been 28...Rcd8 to defend against the increasing pressure in the centre. Instead of this Vishy played 28...Qg5, which lost the pawn on d6 and gave up control of the centre to Magnus. I was watching the game live, and as soon as Vishy made the move his face dropped. He realised within a second of making the move that it was wrong.

28...Qg5
29. e5 Ne8

But then the unthinkable happened. In his impatience to profit from Vishy's mistake Magnus took the pawn too soon, allowing for its recapture a few moves later. A better move would have been 30.Nc3, leading to lines such as 30.Nc3 Qf5 31.f4 d5 32.cxd5 exd5 33.Rxd5.

30. exd6 Rc6
31. f4 Qd8
32. Red3 Rcxd6
33. Rxd6 Rxd6
34. Rxd6 Qxd6
35. Qxd6 Nxd6

After the exchange of the queens and rooks the game looked drawn, but Magnus still had a plan to win the game. His king set out on a journey along the diagonal towards b6, which Vishy managed to prevent at the last moment. The square b6 now became critical to the continuation of the game.

36. Kf2 Kf8
37. Ke3 Ke7
38. Kd4 Kd7
39. Kc5 Kc7
40. Nc3 Nf5
41. Ne4 Ne3
42. g3 f5

It's worth pointing out this position. Computer analysis has shown that playing 43.Nd2 would have led to a win for Magnus. It's a long way off, but certain to succeed with perfect play by white. It's too much for me to describe here, except to say that this is a very typical computer move. When humans play they make plans and move their pieces to carry out the plans. For this reason 43.Nd6 is a very logical move, it's part of Magnus' battle for the square b6. Computers don't make plans. They're just number crunchers. 43.Nd2 is a very random move which I expect Magnus hardly even considered, but computer programs can see a victory for white by move 64. Instead of this Magnus sacrificed his knight to draw the black king away from b6.

43. Nd6 g5
44. Ne8+ Kd7
45. Nf6+ Ke7
46. Ng8+ Kf8
47. Nxh6 gxf4
48. gxf4 Kg7
49. Nxf5+ exf5

From this point on it was a pawn race. Who could get a queen first? Unfortunately, nobody could win the race. Magnus and Vishy both reached the final squares in move 56.

50. Kb6 Ng2
51. Kxb7 Nxf4
52. Kxa6 Ne6
53. Kb6 f4
54. a6 f3
55. a7 f2
56. a8Q f1Q

At this point nobody really expected anything but a draw. Only an inexperienced player could lose the game for either colour. At grandmaster level perfect play on both sides is expected. Like two tired boxers, exhausted in the 20th round of a fight, they kept punching one another, more out of instinct than anything else, until they wearily collapsed into one another's arms in move 65 and the draw was declared.

57. Qd5 Qe1
58. Qd6 Qe3+
59. Ka6 Nc5+
60. Kb5 Nxb3
61. Qc7+ Kh6
62. Qb6+ Qxb6+
63. Kxb6 Kh5
64. h4 Kxh4
65. c5 Nxc5
½ – ½

This was a battle worthy of champions, and a fitting end to the 2013 Fide World Chess Championship. The final score is 6½–3½. Magnus might have won, but Vishy can hold his head high and say that he gave all he had to give. The "Magnus Carlsen era" has begun, as commentators like to call it. It's a bit early to speak of an era, it's hardly been half a day since his victory, but I know what they mean. Let's see how long this era lasts.