Both Rooks, for Half a Point

The game, move by move

Both kings on the queenside

1. 1. e4 King’s pawn
2. 1… e5 The same claim
3. 2. Nf3 The knight to f3
4. 2… Nc6 Defended, with the knight
5. 3. Nc3 Nc3 — the Three Knights A quiet move in a match where a draw wins the title. Carlsen is a point up with one game left to play; Black is the one who has to win it.
6. 3… g6 g6, for the bishop
7. 4. d4 d4, in the middle
8. 4… exd4 The pawn is taken
9. 5. Nxd4 The knight recaptures
10. 5… Bg7 The bishop to g7
11. 6. Be3 Be3, guarding the knight
12. 6… Nge7 The second knight to e7
13. 7. Qd2 The queen to d2
14. 7… d6 d6, holding the centre
15. 8. O-O-O Castling long White commits the king to the queenside — the wing every one of Black’s pawns is still standing on. Everything that happens after move twenty-nine is aimed at this square.
16. 8… h6 h6, a stop square
17. 9. Be2 The bishop to e2
18. 9… Be6 Be6, at the queenside
19. 10. Rhe1 The second rook to e1
20. 10… Qd7 The queen to d7
21. 11. Nxc6 The knights come off
22. 11… Nxc6 The second knight recaptures
23. 12. Nd5 Nd5, the outpost
24. 12… a6 a6 — the first pawn move
25. 13. f4 f4, on the other wing
26. 13… O-O-O Black castles long too Both kings on the same side of the board, which is what makes the rest of this a race rather than an attack: every pawn either player pushes is walking at the other one’s king from the same direction.

A bishop buried on a2

1. 14. Bf3 The bishop to f3
2. 14… Kb8 Kb8, off the file
3. 15. Kb1 Kb1, off it as well
4. 15… Rhe8 The rook to e8
5. 16. Bf2 The bishop back to f2
6. 16… Rc8 Rc8, behind the c-pawn
7. 17. Bh4 Bh4, at the rook
8. 17… Nd4 Nd4, into the middle
9. 18. Nf6 Nf6, offered
10. 18… Bxf6 The bishop takes it
11. 19. Bxf6 The bishop recaptures on f6 And stays there for the next twenty-five moves. The bishop on f6 holds the diagonal a1–h8, which is the diagonal Black’s king is standing on when this game ends.
12. 19… Nxf3 The knight takes on f3
13. 20. gxf3 The pawn takes back White’s kingside is now three pawns on f3, f4 and h2, with nothing on g2 at all. The rooks are about to use the file.
14. 20… Bxa2+ Bxa2+ — the pawn in front of the king Nakamura has to win, so he takes the pawn shielding White’s king, with check. The price is the bishop: on a2 it has one square to come back to, and getting it out costs two moves.
15. 21. Kc1 Kc1, out of the check
16. 21… Be6 The bishop digs itself out

The pawns walk at the king

1. 22. h4 h4, the rook’s pawn
2. 22… Qb5 The queen to b5
3. 23. Qd3 The queen to d3
4. 23… Qa5 Qa5, at the open wing
5. 24. Qc3 Qc3, in the way
6. 24… Qh5 The queen to h5, at the pawn
7. 25. b3 b3 — the second pawn moves White’s king now sits behind b3 and c2 with the a-file open beside him. Every one of Black’s next five pawn moves is about that file.
8. 25… Ka8 Ka8, into the corner
9. 26. Kb2 Kb2, onto the diagonal
10. 26… Qb5 The queen back to b5
11. 27. h5 h5, offered
12. 27… Qxh5 The queen takes it
13. 28. Rh1 Rh1, at the queen
14. 28… Qb5 The queen to b5 again
15. 29. Rxh6 The rook takes h6
16. 29… a5 a5 — the pawns start walking
17. 30. Rg1 The second rook to g1
18. 30… b6 b6, beside it
19. 31. Rg5 The rook to g5
20. 31… c5 c5, the third one
21. 32. Rh2 The rook comes back to h2
22. 32… a4 a4, at the b3 pawn
23. 33. Rd2 The rook to d2
24. 33… axb3 The pawn takes on b3
25. 34. cxb3 The pawn recaptures And with that the shelter is one lone pawn on b3. The king on b2 has open lines everywhere else.
26. 34… Kb7 Kb7, off the corner
27. 35. Rxd6 The rook takes d6
28. 35… Ra8 Ra8 — the file is claimed
29. 36. f5 f5, at the bishop
30. 36… Qf1 Qf1 — Black stops defending The queen leaves the queenside to come at the king from behind. Black is playing for mate and nothing else now, because mate is the only result that saves the match.
31. 37. fxe6 The pawn takes the bishop
32. 37… Ra1 Ra1 — the rook goes to the corner A rook on a1 beside a queen on f1, against a king on b2. This is the move chess.com’s report marks with two question marks: it looks like the win and it is one move too slow.
33. 38. Qc2 Qc2, the only square
34. 38… Rea8 The second rook comes to a8 Two rooks and a queen at a king with one pawn left beside him. There is a mate in this position. What there is not is a move that reaches it before White runs out of pieces to give.

Two rooks, and no way to stop checking

1. 39. Rd7+ Rd7+ — the first check White stops defending as well. From here every white move is a check, and a check is the only kind of move that is allowed to be this expensive.
2. 39… Kc6 Kc6, out to the middle
3. 40. Rxc5+ Rxc5+ — the first rook A rook given for a pawn, to open the c-file under the king that has just walked onto it. It cannot be declined: the king has nowhere on the sixth rank to go.
4. 40… bxc5 The pawn has to take
5. 41. Rc7+ Rc7+ — the second rook Offered to the king himself, one square in front of him. It is taken, and White is now two whole rooks down with a queen and a bishop left on the board.
6. 41… Kxc7 The king takes it
7. 42. Qxc5+ The queen takes on c5, with check
8. 42… Kb7 Kb7, back
9. 43. Qd5+ Qd5+, along the rank
10. 43… Kb8 Kb8, into the corner
11. 44. Be5+ Be5+ — and the checks do not stop The bishop that has stood on f6 since move nineteen steps to e5 and checks the king on b8 down the long diagonal. Black has two rooks, on a1 and a8, a queen on f1, and nothing to put in the way of it. The game was agreed drawn here, and the draw took the match 13½–12½.