Featured image credit: Niki Riga
The Final CountDrawn
Game 12 of the World Chess Championship 2018 was supposed to be a bloodthirsty struggle.
And indeed, things initially looked rather promising. After the third Sveshnikov, another unbalanced and double-edged position has been reached. The challenger, in particular, showed character – after being surprised in the opening, he avoided the repetition of the moves. He then also avoided a safer continuation with short castling and decided to go for it.
However, his aggressive attitude could have backfired. By move 25, he was completely outplayed. Most commentators predicted Caruana losing the game. Everybody was just wondering from which angle will Carlsen deliver the knock-out blow.
But then, something unbelievable started happening. Carlsen first avoided the most principled and logical continuation in favour of one that gave his opponent fewer counter chances.
Then he avoided a very strong tactical blow on move 29. And on move 31, something unbelievable happened. Magnus Carlsen, one of the most combative and fighting players among elite chess players, decided to offer a draw in a superior position.
After some thought, Caruana, naturally, accepted the offer. Thus, the players have managed to set a rather infamous record.
For the first time in the World Chess Championship History, not a single (classical) game of the match ended in a decisive result.
Round 12 report follows.
Game Course
As in preceding 5 games, Caruana once again opened with 1 e4. There was no reason not to do so, since he posed Carlsen serious problems in game 8 and obtained a double-edged fight in game 10.
Carlsen, as expected, answered with 1 …c5 – going for his beloved 1…e5 would only risk running into Caruana’s pre-match preparation. The same Sveshnikov variation with 7 Nd5!? was repeated, but this time, Magnus was first to deviate with 8… Ne7 (instead of 8…Nb8).
On move 12, he was also the first to surprise his opponent with 12..h5!? – a move seen in the recent game between two engines. Caruana started thinking, hinted at the repetition of moves with 13 Qa4!?, avoided it with 15 Be3!? and landed… in a worse position.
Carlsen was convincingly outplaying his opponent, both on the board and on the clock. As Caruana himself said, he was very much worried about his position. His 25th move –25 f4? was a serious mistake Magnus could have immediately exploited with 25…b5. However, he preferred the combination of 25… a5 and 26…e4, limiting his opponent’s options and maintaining complete control of the position.
As he himself said after the game, he wasn’t mentally prepared to find the „most testing option“. It would have appeared he was content with a draw and didn’t even try to push further. It was apparent from his avoidance of the „sacrificial“ move 29.. Ba4!?, but more importantly, by his draw offer on move 31, when he still retained a vastly superior position.
And where Caruana had only 8 minutes left on the clock.
Everybody was shocked by Magnus’ decision. Several commentators couldn’t really believe and thought it was some sort of a transmission error.
Nobody even tried to hide their disappointment or withhold the criticism. Most top players were pretty harsh and direct with their evaluation:
Game Analysis
The Aftermath?
So, instead of a decisive 12th game, we got ourselves a tiebreak – 4 rapid games with the 25+10 time control. Magnus will have White in the very first game.
I think there are three reasons why Carlsen didn’t push in the final position:
- Wish to enter tiebreaks where he is a heavy favourite
- Nerves
- Lack of self-confidence
In my opinion, he collapsed psychologically.
I think he was incredibly nervous before game 12, considering he encountered serious problems with the Black pieces in game 8 and that game 10 was an open fight where every move was critical.
I think such a double-edged position didn’t appeal to him. He definitely wanted to avoid giving Caruana any chances whatsoever.
Moreover, you might remember his overambition cost him before in World Championship matches. In game 10 he made this Kd4 move, after which he was kinda lucky to still have enough to hold a draw.
Also, in the previous match against Karjakin, he played too violently and got punished for it.
I think these moments were etched somewhere in his nervous system and influenced his decision making yesterday.
He himself admitted it in the press conference. He said that he regarded the draw as a good result before the game. He also stated he wasn’t “quite looking for the best continuation, but the one that limited his opponent’s chances”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_CUqLegTco
Obviously, he failed to shift his attitude when a favourable position appeared on the board – he was not mentally prepared for a fight. And he lacked confidence and feared botching it and potentially losing the crown.
From a competitive point of view, it is still nothing terrible for him. He is still a favourite.
But I remember how Kasparov once wrote his blunder in game 23 of Seville match was a direct consequence of him betraying his nature during the second half of the match. He made one draw after another, didn’t win a single game and was mentally unprepared for a fight. As he himself stated:
“Caissa, the goddess of chess, had punished me for my conservative play, for betraying my nature.”
Caissa usually doesn’t forgive betraying your own nature. Kasparov almost got punished there. He managed to escape only by a heroic effort – winning the last game against a tough to beat opponent.
Will Magnus regret his decision and his draw offer?
I guess we will find out tomorrow!