Good afternoon to all! Wish that you are all having a good day! The sixth game of the 12-game World Chess Championship Match between Carlsen and Caruana again ended in a draw with Caruana pushing with the Black pieces. The Champion was on the verge of capitulation but was saved by a study-like fortress. The game again ended in a draw. My prediction for the game again ended up being correct!😃 I predicted Carlsen to play 1. e4 only if he had an 'opening bomb' which could not easily be exploded by Team Caruana. I had already told earlier about Carlsen being extremely street-smart and his opening choices being a result of a thorough examination of the opponent's ideas. Carlsen allowed the Petroff and played a variation which was not given in the 'Caruana files' in the now infamous 'Videogate incident'. My guess is that Carlsen wanted to play 1. Nf3 in Game 6 converting to the Fianchetto Grunfeld as discussed in the game 4 report yet was not convinced of the preparation and decided to prepare it for Game 7 today. Carlsen has thus far played three different first moves in his three White games thus far: 1.d4, 1.c4 and 1.Nf3. This may be an attempt to check all of Caruana's preparations. However, this is usually more effective when there is a long match( 24 Games or 48 games like used to be played earlier). Caruana sticking to 1. e4 itself seems to be relying on this principle:
By the great Kung-Fu specialist Bruce Lee. This may also be a considerable part of his match strategy.
Carlsen chose a relatively sedate variation while Caruana showed an antidote to that with principled play(6... Nc6! developing pieces!). https://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2018-wcc/06-Carlsen_Magnus-Caruana_Fabiano is the link to the 6th game.
Caruana has definitely taken over the Initiative after the Game 6 and the challenge is looking extremely tricky for the World Champion! One of the top players Grischuk commented: "It is for the first time that Caruana played like a World Champion in the match" while being a challenger. Credits: Niki Riga
Here is where Carlsen continued feeling that he may have some slight edge and continuing to press on for a while. Within the first half hour, most of the commentators predicted a rather sedate draw. However, Carlsen kept playing faster than his opponent. This I believe was a conscious strategy in order to have more time than the opponent in the latter and more important stages of the game. The game continued calmly. Caruana then played 21...c5! to open up the position which was not expected from the World Champion.
Caruana detonated the 'Opening Bomb' quiet well and even pressed all the way through afterwards in a thoroughly well played game which earned him the momentum in the match. Credits: Mike Klein
Carlsen replied tamely and the game was still heading towards a draw, although the momentum was on Caruana's side. Carlsen maintained a 30-minute advantage on the clock around the 25th move yet Caruana continued to play actively while Carlsen was drifting from correct play. Soon, Carlsen played in 'damage control mode' while Caruana continued to play accurately. Caruana continued to press although the position should have been objectively holdable and just equal. I was very impressed by Caruana in this phase of the game towards the end of the game- Caruana simply played very strong chess and tried to keep pressing as persistent and sustained pressure is the key against strong opposition. Very well done by Caruana who would have snatched the lead if he had been a bit more lucky. This was an aspect I highlighted was something not done very often and this game may serve as a 'wake-up call' for the World Champion to continue pressing whenever he gets the chance.
Carlsen gave up a piece for three pawns. That soon came down to two pawns after Carlsen missed 48...Ba3! as admitted in the press-conference after the game.
Carlsen soon gave up another pawn with 58. a5!? and was a piece down for one pawn but he thought he had constructed a fortress. A fortress is a position wherein the opponent is better yet cannot have any further constructive way to continue. Carlsen thought that he had constructed such a position. The game continued and Caruana tried to break the fortress. A Norwegian supercomputer showcased a win on move 68 which harldy looked human- and Caruana was not blaming himself too much for missing the opportunity as it was extremely difficult for any human to find it. Even in the post-game press conference, experienced journalist Ian Rogers could not properly tell the intricacies of the endgame.
Things look bleak for the World Champon as Caruana takes over the Initiative. However, the rest day is probably what the doctor ordered. Things looked a little bleak, yet 'when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. Credits: Niki Riga
Carlsen again looked exhausted whereas Caruana looked more fresh during the game as well as in the press-conference. Carlsen's energy levels look to be a pale shadow compared to their earlier levels. The game was definitely a major success for Team Caruana as he was also able to neutralize 'Leg 1' of the Double White Carlsen has. The psychological warfare has been eloquently described in this brilliant article: https://www.chess.com/article/view/2018-world-chess-championship-halftime. However, the rest day after Game 6 looks to be Carlsen's friend: if he had to play on 17th( after 16th) it may have taken a major toll on him and it may not have been sufficient to gain an opening advantage. The rest days after the normal games looks to be in Carlsen's advantage. However, after the rest day, Caruana will be playing White in every second game and Caruana can hence keep pressurizing when Carlsen would not be at his freshest( second game in a row with the Black pieces!).
Next up is Game 7, wherein Carlsen would again be having White.
By the great Kung-Fu specialist Bruce Lee. This may also be a considerable part of his match strategy.
Carlsen chose a relatively sedate variation while Caruana showed an antidote to that with principled play(6... Nc6! developing pieces!). https://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2018-wcc/06-Carlsen_Magnus-Caruana_Fabiano is the link to the 6th game.
Caruana has definitely taken over the Initiative after the Game 6 and the challenge is looking extremely tricky for the World Champion! One of the top players Grischuk commented: "It is for the first time that Caruana played like a World Champion in the match" while being a challenger. Credits: Niki Riga
Here is where Carlsen continued feeling that he may have some slight edge and continuing to press on for a while. Within the first half hour, most of the commentators predicted a rather sedate draw. However, Carlsen kept playing faster than his opponent. This I believe was a conscious strategy in order to have more time than the opponent in the latter and more important stages of the game. The game continued calmly. Caruana then played 21...c5! to open up the position which was not expected from the World Champion.
Caruana detonated the 'Opening Bomb' quiet well and even pressed all the way through afterwards in a thoroughly well played game which earned him the momentum in the match. Credits: Mike Klein
Carlsen replied tamely and the game was still heading towards a draw, although the momentum was on Caruana's side. Carlsen maintained a 30-minute advantage on the clock around the 25th move yet Caruana continued to play actively while Carlsen was drifting from correct play. Soon, Carlsen played in 'damage control mode' while Caruana continued to play accurately. Caruana continued to press although the position should have been objectively holdable and just equal. I was very impressed by Caruana in this phase of the game towards the end of the game- Caruana simply played very strong chess and tried to keep pressing as persistent and sustained pressure is the key against strong opposition. Very well done by Caruana who would have snatched the lead if he had been a bit more lucky. This was an aspect I highlighted was something not done very often and this game may serve as a 'wake-up call' for the World Champion to continue pressing whenever he gets the chance.
Carlsen gave up a piece for three pawns. That soon came down to two pawns after Carlsen missed 48...Ba3! as admitted in the press-conference after the game.
Carlsen soon gave up another pawn with 58. a5!? and was a piece down for one pawn but he thought he had constructed a fortress. A fortress is a position wherein the opponent is better yet cannot have any further constructive way to continue. Carlsen thought that he had constructed such a position. The game continued and Caruana tried to break the fortress. A Norwegian supercomputer showcased a win on move 68 which harldy looked human- and Caruana was not blaming himself too much for missing the opportunity as it was extremely difficult for any human to find it. Even in the post-game press conference, experienced journalist Ian Rogers could not properly tell the intricacies of the endgame.
Things look bleak for the World Champon as Caruana takes over the Initiative. However, the rest day is probably what the doctor ordered. Things looked a little bleak, yet 'when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. Credits: Niki Riga
Carlsen again looked exhausted whereas Caruana looked more fresh during the game as well as in the press-conference. Carlsen's energy levels look to be a pale shadow compared to their earlier levels. The game was definitely a major success for Team Caruana as he was also able to neutralize 'Leg 1' of the Double White Carlsen has. The psychological warfare has been eloquently described in this brilliant article: https://www.chess.com/article/view/2018-world-chess-championship-halftime. However, the rest day after Game 6 looks to be Carlsen's friend: if he had to play on 17th( after 16th) it may have taken a major toll on him and it may not have been sufficient to gain an opening advantage. The rest days after the normal games looks to be in Carlsen's advantage. However, after the rest day, Caruana will be playing White in every second game and Caruana can hence keep pressurizing when Carlsen would not be at his freshest( second game in a row with the Black pieces!).
Next up is Game 7, wherein Carlsen would again be having White.
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