CARUANA vs CARLSEN – GAME 8 WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP 2018

This is game 8 of the World Chess Championship Match 2018, fully annotated. It is between Fabiano Caruana with White against Magnus Carlsen with Black.

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

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

World Chess Championship 2018 London (8), 19.11.2018

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Nd5 Nxd5 8.exd5 Nb8 9.a4 Be7 10.Be2 0–0 11.0–0 B33: Sicilian: Pelikan and Sveshnikov Variations 

11...Nd7 12.Bd2 

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12...f5 [12...a6 13.Na3 a5 14.Nc4 b6 15.f4 Ba6 16.Ne3 Bb7 17.Bc3 g6 18.Bb5 Ba6 19.Bxd7 Qxd7 1–0 (53) Oparin,G (2602)-Gelfand,B (2697) Moscow 2017] 

13.a5 a6 14.Na3 

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14...e4 [14...Nf6 15.Bb4 Bd7 16.Nc4 Bb5 17.Nb6 Bxe2 18.Qxe2 1–0 (71) Voll,A (2572) -Saidashev,A (2401) ICCF email 2015] 

15.Nc4 Ne5 

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16.Nb6ƒ White fights for an advantage. 

16...Rb8 17.f4 exf3 18.Bxf3 g5 19.c4 f4 20.Bc3 Bf5 21.c5 Nxf3+ 22.Qxf3 dxc5 23.Rad1 

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23...Bd6 Black wants to play ...g4. 

24.h3 [24.Nc4±] 

24...Qe8= 25.Nc4 Qg6! 26.Nxd6 Qxd6 

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 27.h4! gxh4 28.Qxf4 Qxf4 29.Rxf4 h5 

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30.Re1 Strongly threatening Re7. 

30...Bg4 31.Rf6 Rxf6 32.Bxf6 Endgame KRB-KRB 

32...Kf7 33.Bxh4 Re8 

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34.Rf1+ [White should play 34.Rxe8² Kxe8 35.Kf2] 

34...Kg8 The position is equal. 

35.Rf6 Re2 36.Rg6+ Kf8 

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37.d6 Rxg4! is the strong threat. 

37...Rd2 [Avoid the trap 37...Rxb2? 38.Rxg4! Rd2 39.Rc4+-] 

38.Rg5  ½–½