CARLSEN vs CARUANA – GAME 15 WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP 2018

This is game 15 of the World Chess Championship Match 2018, fully annotated. It is between Magnus Carlsen with White against Fabiano Caruana with Black.

This game features a Sicilian Taimanov. To learn more about the Sicilian Taimanov, here is the best instruction book I could find on Amazon.

Carlsen,Magnus (2835) - Caruana,Fabiano (2832)

World Chess Championship 2018 London (15.1), 28.11.2018

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Bc5 B44: Sicilian: Taimanov: 5 Nb5

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6.Nc2 [6.Nxc6 dxc6 7.Qxd8+ Kxd8 8.Bf4 f6 9.Nc3 e5 10.0–0–0+ Ke7 11.Bg3 Nh6 12.h3 Be6 13.Kb1 Nf7 14.f4 exf4 15.Bxf4 Ne5 16.b3 a6 17.Na4 Bf2 18.c5 g5 19.Bxe5 fxe5 20.Be2 Raf8 Moya Soriano,M (2208)-Hernandez,G (2572)/Barcelona 2000/CBM 077 ext/0–1 (34); 6.Nb3 Be7 7.Be2 Nf6 8.N1d2 0–0 9.0–0 d5 10.exd5 exd5 11.cxd5 Nxd5 12.Nf3 a6 13.Bc4 Be6 14.Nbd4 Bg4 15.Nxc6 bxc6 16.h3 Bh5 17.g4 Bg6 18.Ne5 Rc8 19.Nxc6 Rxc6 20.Qxd5 Qc7 Stufka,K-Hajas,L (1987)/Prague 2007/CBM 116 ext/1–0 (45)] 

6...Nf6 Black threatens to win material: Nf6xe4 [6...Qh4 7.Qe2 Nd4 (7...Nf6 8.Nc3 Nb4 9.Nxb4 Bxb4 10.Bd2 Bxc3 11.Bxc3 Qxe4 12.Qxe4 Nxe4 13.Bxg7 Rg8 14.Be5 f6 15.Bd4 e5 16.f3 Ng5 17.Bc3 b6 18.0–0–0 Ne6 19.Rd2 Bb7 20.Bd3 Rg7 21.Re1 0–0–0 22.Be4 Serra-Dominguez,C/Mar del Plata 1961/MCD/0–1 (43)) 8.Nxd4 Bxd4 9.g3 Qf6 10.Na3 a6 11.Rb1 Ne7 12.Nc2 Nc6 13.Bg2 Ba7 14.0–0 Rb8 15.b3 e5 16.Ba3 b5 17.Rbd1 b4 18.Bc1 0–0 19.Be3 d6 20.Bxa7 Nxa7 21.Qd2 Pearson,W (1685)-Wallace,M (1595)/Grangemouth 2001/CBM 082 ext/1–0 (80)] 

7.Nc3 White has an active position 

7...0–0 Black castles and improves king safety 

8.Be3 White threatens to win material: Be3xc5 

8...b6 Black has a cramped position 

9.Be2 

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9...Bb7 White has a very active position 

10.0–0 Qe7 White has an active position 

11.Qd2 Rfd8 White has a very active position 

12.Rfd1 Ne5 13.Bxc5 bxc5 White has an active position 

14.f4 White threatens to win material: f4xe5 

14...Ng6 15.Qe3 d6 16.Rd2 a6 Consolidates b5 

17.Rad1 Qc7 18.b3 h6 

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19.g3 Secures h4 

19...Rd7 20.Bf3 Re8 21.Qf2 Ne7 22.h3 Covers g4 

22...Red8 23.Bg2 Nc6 24.g4 White has an active position 

24...Qa5 Black threatens to win material: Qa5xc3 

25.Na4 Qc7 26.e5 dxe5 27.Nxc5 

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27...Rxd2 [Weaker is 27...exf4 28.Nxd7 Nxd7 29.Rd6±] 

28.Rxd2 Rxd2 29.Qxd2 White has a new protected passed pawn: c4. Black has new doubled pawns: e5+e6 

29...Ba8 30.fxe5 Qxe5 

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31.Nd7 White threatens to win material: Nd7xe5 

31...Qb2 Black threatens to win material: Qb2xa2 

32.Qd6 Nxd7 33.Qxd7 

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33...Qxc2 Black wins a piece 

34.Qe8+ Kh7 35.Qxa8 Qd1+ 36.Kh2 Qd6+ 37.Kh1 Nd4 38.Qe4+ f5 39.gxf5 exf5 40.Qe3 Ne6 

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41.b4 White prepares c5 

41...Ng5 [41...Qxb4? fails because of 42.Qxe6 Qb1+ 43.Kh2 Qb8+ 44.Kg1+-] 

42.c5 White threatens to win material: c5xd6 

42...Qf6 43.c6 Ne6? [¹43...Qd6² and Black hangs on] 

44.a4+- Nc7 45.Qf4 

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45...Ne6? [¹45...Na8+-] 

46.Qd6 Qa1+ 47.Kh2 Nd4?! doesn't do very much to defend the position [47...Qe1 48.b5 axb5 49.axb5+-] 

48.c7 

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48...Qc3 [48...Qc1 a last effort to resist the inevitable 49.Qxd4 Qxc7+ 50.Kg1 Qc1+ 51.Bf1 g6+-] 

49.Qc5 Qe3 50.c8Q f4 51.Qg4 1–0