Carlsen wins Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour Finals
Carlsen-Nakamura finals will be epic - anyone could have guessed that but one thing very few could guess correctly would be how epic would it be or if it would go down to Armageddon. Carlsen won the Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour in a fantastic manner. The finals witnessed back and forth games and there were zero short draws. Both players knew that they would have to push their limits and drive things in a top gear, anything less will just not be enough. The entire chess universe was buzzing about this epic finals and the World champion surely had a successful tour in all stretch of the imagination - as a player, organizer and promoter of the game. Chess is definitely booming in this online era and Magnus Carlsen is definitely playing a pivotal role in it. Photo: Amruta Mokal
Carlsen gets his Armageddon revenge in the end
Carlsen started the final day of Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour Finals with a win. The second game of the day had a well contested prolonged draw. Nakamura bounced back in the third game and equalized the score with a victory. Fourth game was another hard fought draw. Nakamura won the fifth game putting the World champion in a must-win situation. Carlsen managed to win the sixth and final blitz game forcing the finals to go to Armageddon. In a battle of equals, the game ended up in a draw as Carlsen held an impenetrable fortress. However, as per Armageddon rules, Carlsen won the Armageddon, set and finals. Thus becoming the champion in what will go down in history as one of the most epic finals in online chess and arguably overall chess history too.
Carlsen - Nakamura 3.5*-3.5
In the first game of the day, Nakamura lost a couple of pawns in the middle game. He sacrificed a knight in an already difficult position which didn't help the situation and eventually lost the game in another 15 moves.
Nakamura - Carlsen, Game 32
The game continued with 23.Qf2 and black picked up the pawn with 23...Rxd4 24.Nxd4 Bxa2. What was the better continuation for white instead?
Nakamura sacrificed his knight with 27.Nxg7, unlike Carlsen's sacrifice of Nxg7 on the previous day's first game, this time it didn't work.
The second game of the day seemed equal throughout the game but Carlsen kept pushing for a win but in the end draw was the only obvious result.
Carlsen - Nakamura, Game 33
White could have played 33.Rba5 instead but it wouldn't have changed the outcome of the game.
Nakamura was determined to win the third game of the day and he deviated from the first game in Berlin and went with 9.g4.
Nakamura - Carlsen, Game 34
It is evident that Nakamura does not to want to go for anything less than a win.
Carlsen played a strange move 17...c4 which allowed white to launch an attack. Find out what black should have played instead.
The game continued with 24.Ng7 but what was the better continuation for white here?
The fourth game of the day was also another hard fought draw. Neither player could create enough trouble for their opponent. Nakamura scored a fantastic victory in the fifth game, putting Carlsen in a must-win situation to force Armageddon.
Nakamura - Carlsen, Game 36
White had no difficulty converting his advantage into a win.
Carlsen scored a win on demand in the final blitz game to force Armageddon against Nakamura.
Carlsen - Nakamura, Game 37
The game continued with 34...Rdxf3 and black made another mistake in the next move. But before that, things were not bad for black. In fact, black can still make sure that things don't go out of hand. Find out black's best response to 34.Bxe5
Carlsen opted for the black pieces and drew the Armageddon to win Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour Finals. The entire finals and the tour has been extraordinary. These are some of the tweets chess universe made about the finals and the entire tour.
This is what Carlsen tweeted after winning the tour
Nakamura analyzed his final day games on his twitch channel and also tweeted this, congratulating the World champion
Carlsen replied with very nice things to say about him
The caption was an ode to the scoring system used in the finals which is similar to a tennis match scoring system.
Replay all Nakamura-Carlsen Final Set 7 games
Replay the live stream by IM Sagar Shah
Replay the live stream
Day 7 results
Scores
Kiva
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Prizes
Tournament format and schedule
The Semi-Finals will be played in a Best of five sets (mini-matches). A player winning three sets will allow him to advance to the final.
• Each set consists of four rapid games with a time control of 15 mins + 10 seconds increment.
• In case of a tie, two blitz tiebreakers with a time control of 5 mins + 3 seconds increment.
• In case of a tie after blitz, an Armageddon game will be played where White gets 5 minutes, Black gets 4 minutes, but a draw gives Black overall victory.
• The winners move on to the final, which will be played in a Best of 7 sets.
There are no scheduled rest days. The Semi-Finals will take place from 9th-13th August and the Finals will take place on 14th-20th August 2020.
Links
*Carlsen won the Armageddon
