Rare Nepomniachtchi error allows Carlsen to escape with another draw
Norway’s Magnus Carlsen and the Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi are no closer to a verdict in their €2m world championship match after playing to a fifth successive draw on Wednesday at the Dubai Exposition Centre.
Supercomputers evaluating the moves from the opening four games had indicated it was the most accurate world title match in the event’s history and this fifth contest maintained that standard as the players remarkably combined for one inaccuracy between them. Regrettably for the 31-year-old challenger, the lapse was the opportunity Carlsen needed to escape from a highly uncomfortable position as black and negotiate a draw after 43 moves.
The contestants blitzed out their first moves after the same anti-Marshall variation of the Ruy Lopez from Nepomniachtchi’s two previous games with the white pieces (1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 O-O Be7 6 Re1 b5 7 Bb3 O-O).
After 8 a4, Carlsen continued his strategy of being first to divert from the familiar, initially with the rare (8 … Rb8) and soon after with the new (13 … d5), but Nepomniachtchi’s pace and accuracy in response suggested he was prepared for both.
The champion began exhausting more and more time on his moves, falling behind more than three-quarters of an hour on the clock after spending nearly 20min deciding on 19 … Qe8. But Nepomniachtchi’s decision to play 20 Red1 instead of c4 was, Carlsen confessed, an enormous relief.
“I definitely considered [c4] the main option,” said Carlsen, who turned 31 on Tuesday. “I thought everything else was kind of manageable. Obviously it’s always a bit worse, but it feels like my position is not going to get worse, it’s going to probably gradually improve seeing as I have very few real weaknesses. [c4] was definitely what was worrying me the most there. Seeing Rd1, I kind of thought that the worst was over.”
From there Carlsen was able to rely on his tactical acumen and instinct to simplify the position and come away with a half-point after 3hr 50min, leaving Nepomniachtchi to rue his missed chance to take the match by the scruff. “Of course I’m disappointed,” the world No 5 said. “Today is basically not about him defending well but me not using all the opportunities I had.”