Magnus Carlsen wins inaugural Magnus Carlsen Invitational, first chess event of the lockdown era

Soccer has been described as a sport in which two teams kick a ball around a field for 90 minutes and then Germany wins.

Chess is facing a similar dynamic. It’s a game in which great players clash over a 64-square battlefield and then Magnus Carlsen wins.

The Norwegian world champ was far from perfect but still managed to come out on top at the inaugural Magnus Carlsen Invitational, an online rapid round-robin featuring eight of the best players on the planet. Carlsen edged American speed specialist GM Hikaru Nakamura 2½-1½ in Sunday’s final to take home the $70,000 first prize.

The joy and the curse of rapid chess (Game/15 with a 10-second increment) is that it comes at you so fast. With four-game mini-matches between such great players, there is a cornucopia of chess from which to pick.

U.S. GM Fabiano Caruana, the world’s No. 2 ranked player behind Carlsen, didn’t make it to the finals. But he made Nakamura sweat in their semifinal match by taking a must-win Game 4 to force a blitz playoff before bowing out.

Caruana’s handling of the Black side of this King’s Indian is rapid play at its finest: positionally provocative with a real feel for the initiative. Nakamura, needing only a draw, is instead drawn into a boardwide brawl, and Black’s alert 33. a5?! Nxe4! 34. Bd3 Bxh4 35. Bxe4 Bxe4 36. fxe4 Rf8 secures the advantage. White’s passed b-pawn proves to be a weak asset, and Black has five passed pawns for the piece when Nakamura finally concedes.

Carlsen’s own semifinal and Chinese star GM Ding Liren was an equally wild ride, with the champ putting himself in a stunning hole with a bad blunder in Game 2. From the position in today’s diagram, Carlsen as Black has won a pawn and has at least a slight edge.

Then this happened: 31…Kh7?? (it’s hard to think of a worse oversight by the champ at any time control; just 31…Rc3 keeps Black ahead) 32. Rxf6! gxf6 33. Qe3!, and Black has to resign in the face of an unstoppable mate.

Carlsen bounced back with two wins to reach the finals, including a touch-and-go affairs in Game 3 in which White, battling back from an inferior position, handles the complications set up by 24. f5!? exf5 25. Nh4 better than his Chinese opponent. Missing one last chance to hold (31…Qe7!), Ding eventually falls to a mating attack.

The Nakamura-Carlsen final was no less exciting, with the players splitting the first two games. The tournament-deciding Game 3 was a return to form for Carlsen, famous for his ability to grind out even from slightly favorable positions.

White takes the opening battle and, with 41. Rf5+ Kg8 42. Rxf4! Nxf4 43. Kxf4, trades down to a won ending. Nakamura nearly evened the score in Game 4, but the champ found a drawing line that secured the title in his namesake tournament.

Nakamura-Caruana, Game 4, Semifinals, Magnus Carlsen Invitational, April 2020

1. Nf3 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 g6 4. Nc3 Bf5 5. Nh4 Bd7 6. e4 e5 7. Nf3 Nc6 8. d5 Ne7 9. Be2 Bg7 10. Be3 O-O 11. Nd2 c6 12. O-O Ne8 13. dxc6 bxc6 14. b4 Be6 15. Nb3 f5 16. f3 Nf6 17. Na5 Qd7 18. Rc1 Rac8 19. Qd2 Rfd8 20. Rfd1 Bf7 21. Bf2 h6 22. b5 c5 23. Bd3 f4 24. Nd5 Nexd5 25. cxd5 g5 26. Nc6 Re8 27. Kh1 g4 28. Bh4 Kh8 29. Be2 Bg6 30. Qe1 Nh7 31. a4 Ng5 32. Qf1 Bf6 33. a5 Nxe4 34. Bd3 Bxh4 35. Bxe4 Bxe4 36. fxe4 Rf8 37. b6 axb6 38. axb6 Qb7 39. Ra1 Ra8 40. Rxa8 Rxa8 41. Qb5 f3 42. g3 Bg5 43. Na5 Qf7 44. b7 Rb8 45. Rf1 Kg7 46. Qa6 Qg6 47. Qd3 h5 48. h4 Bxh4 49. gxh4 Qf6 50. Kg1 Qxh4 51. Qd2 Kg6 52. Nc4 Qf6 53. Na5 Qh4 54. Nc4 Qf6 55. Ne3 Qf4 56. Qf2 Qxe4 57. Re1 Rxb7 58. Ng2 Qd4 White resigns.

Carlsen-Ding, Game 3, Semifinals, Magnus Carlsen Invitational, April 2020

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Bf4 e6 4. Nbd2 c5 5. e3 Qb6 6. Rb1 Bd6 7. c3 cxd4 8. cxd4 Bxf4 9. exf4 Nc6 10. Nb3 a5 11. a3 a4 12. Nc1 Bd7 13. Na2 Ne4 14. Nc3 Qc7 15. g3 Nxc3 16. bxc3 Na5 17. Rc1 Nb3 18. Rc2 Qd6 19. Bd3 Qxa3 20. O-O f6 21. Re1 O-O 22. Qb1 Qd6 23. Rce2 h6 24. f5 exf5 25. Nh4 Rae8 26. Nxf5 Bxf5 27. Rxe8 Nd2 28. Rxf8+ Kxf8 29. Qxb7 Nf3+ 30. Kh1 Nxe1 31. Bxf5 Nf3 32. Bg6 Ng5 33. Qc8+ Black resigns.

Carlsen-Nakamura, Game 3, Finals, Magnus Carlsen Invitational, May 2020

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. Be2 dxc4 8. O-O c5 9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. Bxc4 a6 11. Ng5 b5 12. Bxe6 fxe6 13. Nxe6 Qe7 14. Nxf8 Qxf8 15. Ne4 Bb7 16. Nxc5 Qxc5 17. Rc1 Qd5 18. f3 Qxa2 19. e4 Nf8 20. Rf2 Rc8 21. Rxc8 Bxc8 22. Qd8 Qe6 23. Bd6 Qe8 24. Qxe8 Nxe8 25. Bb4 Ne6 26. Rd2 Kf7 27. Kf2 Nf6 28. Ke3 g5 29. Rd6 Nd7 30. g3 Ne5 31. b3 h5 32. h4 gxh4 33. gxh4 Ng6 34. Be1 a5 35. Rd5 a4 36. Rxh5 Nef4 37. Rg5 axb3 38. h5 Nf8 39. Bc3 b4 40. Bb2 N8e6 41. Rf5+ Kg8 42. Rxf4 Nxf4 43. Kxf4 Ba6 44. Kg5 Bd3 45. Kg6 Bb5 46. f4 Be8+ 47. Kg5 Bc6 48. e5 Bd5 49. f5 Kh7 50. e6 Bc4 51. Kf6 Be2 52. Ke7 Black resigns.

• David R. Sands can be reached at 202/636-3178 or by email dsands@washingtontimes.com.