Levon Aronian vs Sergey Karjakin (2018)

Members · Prefs · Laboratory · Collections · Openings · Endgames · Sacrifices · History · Search Kibitzing · Kibitzer's Café · Chessforums · Tournament Index · Players ·

Kibitzing

Levon Aronian vs Sergey Karjakin
World Championship Candidates (2018), Berlin GER, rd 11, Mar-23
English Opening: Agincourt Defense. Catalan Defense Accepted (A13) · 0-1

ANALYSIS [x]

FEN COPIED

Annotations by Stockfish (Computer). [35435 more games annotated by Stockfish]

explore this opening	find similar games	91 more Aronian/Karjakin games
	PGN: download \| view \| print	Help: general \| java-troubleshooting

TIP: You can make these tips go away by registering a free account then visiting your preferences page. Simply check the option "Don't show random tips on game pages." and click the Update Profile button at the bottom.

For help with this chess viewer, please see the Olga Chess Viewer Quickstart Guide.

PREMIUM MEMBERS CAN REQUEST COMPUTER ANALYSIS [more info]

THIS IS A COMPUTER ANNOTATED SCORE. [CLICK HERE] FOR ORIGINAL.

Mar-23-18		Nietzowitsch: Lemon Erronian strikes again.

Mar-23-18		An Englishman: Good Afternoon: Never would have had the courage to allow White to plant an advanced passed pawn at d6.

Mar-23-18		dehanne: Sergey might steal Christmas after all.

Mar-23-18		Count Wedgemore: 42.Bc3?? Incredible. What can Aronian's reasoning have been behind that move? He just handed Karjakin his a-pawn with no compensation whatsoever. What was wrong with simply playing 42.a5, moving the pawn out of immediate danger? He just gave the pawn up for free! And this was shortly after the time control, so he wasn't in zeitnot. Quite simply: UNBELIEVABLE.

Mar-23-18		offramp: Leaveme Alonian played on unto death.

Mar-23-18		hoodrobin: Aronian plays sometimes like a human.

Mar-23-18		DansChessLounge: In the press conference Aronian didn't really have an answer to why he gave up his a-pawn without any compensation. I hope he mentally recovers from this brutal tournament. For a video recap of the game check out my Youtube channel --> https://youtu.be/EU2d1D2uDkM

Mar-23-18		cormier: click for larger view Analysis by Houdini 4 42.a5 Kxd6 43.Bb4+ Kc7 44.Be7 e4 45.Bd6+ Kb7 46.fxe4 Re3 47.Qb2+ Kc8 48.Qh8+ Kb7 49.Qb2+ Kc8 = (0.00) Depth: 24 dpa

Mar-23-18		Richard Taylor: Aronian I think was already somewhat demoralized. He is one of the great players but things have gone wrong for him. I feel for him.

Mar-24-18		Troller: I watched the game, and it was clear from Aronian's body language that he felt he was already worse. I think Karjakin sensed a weakness and started pushing from around move 28. As for 42.Bc3, of course a5 gives up the d-pawn instead. Engine evals give 0.00 after this, but once Black plays ..e4 the position becomes a mess. Not so easy over the board, and probably less so if you think you are losing.

Mar-24-18		Ulhumbrus: After 18...c4 if White's advantage in space counts for no more than any other positional asset White's overall positional advantage seems only slight. In that case this suggests that the attack 19 h4? has an aim that is out of proportion to White's advantage and will fail. Better is Nd6 playing to occupy the d file. However if the value of White'a advantage in space is greater than that and does justify playing for mate one alternative to 18 h4 is 18 g4 followed by g5 and then the sacrifice Nf6+ as in the game Petrosian vs Larsen, 1960 20 Rd4 seems inconsistent. 20 h5 continues the plan of the pawn attack g4 and g5. Perhaps Aronian wants to control the d file before starting the attack but in that case it may be better to play Rd4 before h4. 21 b3? advances a pawn against Black's queen side pawn majority and if it opens the c file in addition this will hinder more White's king side attack 24 f6 prepares to obstruct White's bishop by ...e5 as in the game Spassky vs Karpov, 1974 33 g4 suggests that Aronian has chosen a random target. One can only guess the reasons for what appears to be Aronian's poorer playing form in this game. One example of a reason is that he was unlucky and his plans did not succeed.

NOTE: Create an account today to post replies and access other powerful features which are available only to registered users. Becoming a member is free, anonymous, and takes less than 1 minute! If you already have a username, then simply login login under your username now to join the discussion.

Please observe our posting guidelines:

No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language.
No spamming, advertising, duplicate, or gibberish posts.
No vitriolic or systematic personal attacks against other members.
Nothing in violation of United States law.
No cyberstalking or malicious posting of negative or private information (doxing/doxxing) of members.
No trolling.
The use of "sock puppet" accounts to circumvent disciplinary action taken by moderators, create a false impression of consensus or support, or stage conversations, is prohibited.
Do not degrade Chessgames or any of it's staff/volunteers.

Please try to maintain a semblance of civility at all times.

See something that violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform a moderator.

NOTE: Please keep all discussion on-topic. This forum is for this specific game only. To discuss chess or this site in general, visit the Kibitzer's Café.

Messages posted by Chessgames members do not necessarily represent the views of Chessgames.com, its employees, or sponsors.
All moderator actions taken are ultimately at the sole discretion of the administration.

This game is type: CLASSICAL. Please report incorrect or missing information by submitting a correction slip to help us improve the quality of our content.