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I am very relieved. Magnus Carlsen told TV 2 after the semifinals of the Magnus Carlsen Invitational online tournament.
In the semifinals, he moved back and forth in three games in a row. Both Carlsen and his Chinese opponent, Ding Liren, made big mistakes along the way in all four quick chess games.
– That day has been exceptional, commented TV 2 chess expert Jon Ludvig Hammer after today’s festivities for Magnus Carlsen.
– A big mistake
Already at the second party things went wrong for the Norwegian.
It was this move when Carlsen moved the king from g8 to h7 that caused Carlsen to lose.
Photo: chessbomb screenshot
In his 31st move, Carlsen played his king sideways at h7. Chess computers immediately made a big impact. Ding Liren sacrificed his rook on d6 when he knocked out his knight on d6. Carlsen struck out with his farmer, but then Liren played his queen at e3. Thus, he landed a decisive carpet attack on the Carlsen farmer on h6.
Carlsen stared at the position for a few seconds, before giving up shaking his head, breaking his arms, and quitting the game against the Chinese opponent.
– Is it just a giant Magnus mistake? What the hell was Magnus looking at there? There is no way to avoid mate. Ding Liren seems completely unstoppable in this tournament, commented TV 2 chess expert Jon Ludvig Hammer.
Carlsen himself explains the situation as follows:
– It was a little absurd situation. During the first batch and until the last two movements in batch two, I felt like I had controlled everything. King h7 was a pure blind spot for me. That he could attack h5 immediately had passed through my house. It was incredibly bad, says the defender.
Used to the knife to the throat
At party three of four, Carlsen had white pieces. In practice, Carlsen had to win the party with the white chips to keep the final hopes alive.
And with the knife to his throat, Carlsen did what he needed to do. In an apparently harmless position, it was the turn of the Chinese to make a big mistake. Carlsen found the decisive characteristics and obtained the victory he needed.
Then the fourth quick chess game would decide who made it to the final.
With black chips in the last batch, experts in the TV 2 studio thought that Carlsen was going to be happy with the rematch and therefore return to play in lightning chess.
Not once did Carlsen push for victory with the black pieces, while Liren made a few small mistakes along the way.
So Carlsen made a drastic choice. He played a complicated variation that made him win a tower against a horse, while at the same time Liren got his pieces in attack. Both players were rare.
– An enormously complicated situation, Hammer exclaimed.
The party waved from side to side. First, Carlsen held on to victory. Liren then turned to victory, before Carlsen finally found the defining characteristics that made the Norwegian win.
– Suddenly I win in one move. It was a little surreal. I was very happy if I could make a referral. But, well, luck was mine this time.
Carlsen will play the final against American Hikaru Nakamura on Sunday. The winner of the tournament will receive NOK 734,000.
