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Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defence, Berlin Wall Endgame — Part 3 of 3

Carlsen–Anand, WCh 2014 Sochi · Vitiugov–Karjakin, 73rd ch-RUS 2020 · 7:08 · ECO C67

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In this video

Game 1: Magnus Carlsen (2863) vs Viswanathan Anand (2792)

WCh 2014 Sochi, 23 November 2014 · White won (1-0) · 45 moves

Click a move to jump the video to it. Dotted moves are the opening line the video is about.

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Key moments

  1. 9.h3The first move after the opening line0:38
  2. 27...Rb4The evaluation moves from −0.39 to +0.702:06
  3. 33...Ra6White stays more than two pawns ahead from here2:36
  4. 45.Kc3White wins after 45 moves3:34

Evaluation

Above the line, White is better; below it, Black. Scores are in pawns, capped at five either way.

Game 2: Nikita Vitiugov (2720) vs Sergey Karjakin (2752)

73rd ch-RUS 2020, 7 December 2020 · Black won (0-1) · 42 moves

Click a move to jump the video to it. Dotted moves are the opening line the video is about.

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Key moments

  1. 9.Rd1+The first move after the opening line4:12
  2. 30.Nd6The evaluation moves from −0.78 to −2.68, and Black stays more than two pawns ahead from here5:52
  3. 42...Ra8Black wins after 42 moves6:55

Evaluation

Above the line, White is better; below it, Black. Scores are in pawns, capped at five either way.

About these games

After 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 the queens are gone and Black's king has lost the right to castle, but Black has the bishop pair and the e5-pawn blunts nothing on the light squares. White has a healthy kingside majority led by the pawn on e5 and aims to advance it, while Black's doubled c-pawns make the queenside majority hard to turn into a passed pawn, so Black plays for a solid blockade and later counterplay.

Carlsen–Anand, from the 2014 world championship in Sochi, followed 9.h3 with Nc3, b3 and Bb2, and rooks on d1 and e1. Anand answered with ...Bd7, ...Kc8 and ...c5/...b6, then ...g5 and ...Ng6. The position stayed level until Black's exchange sacrifice 27...Rb4 28.Bxb4 cxb4, after which the score stood at +1.02. Carlsen broke with f4, regained material, and by 33...Ra6 the evaluation was +3.04. The rook on f7 and the passed e-pawn decided: after 45.Kc3 the score reached +5.18 and White won.

Vitiugov–Karjakin, 2020 Russian championship, went 9.Rd1+ Ke8, sending Black's king to e8 rather than c8. Karjakin played ...Ng6, ...h5-h4 and the rook lift ...Rh5, then ...b5 and ...c5 against White's a-pawn push. After 30.Nd6 Nxf4 the score moved from −0.78 to −2.68. Black's king walked to c2 behind the passed b-pawn; 37.Nb6+ (−4.22) and 40.Rf1 (−4.81) worsened White's position, and after 42...Ra8 stopped the a-pawn, Black won.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Introduction and the opening line
  2. 0:10Game 1: Carlsen vs Anand, WCh 2014 Sochi
  3. 3:43Game 2: Vitiugov vs Karjakin, 73rd ch-RUS 2020

The opening line

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8

See every video from this position →