Wednesday
Nov162016
2016 World Championship, Game 4: Karjakin Survives Again After A Long Defense
Wednesday, November 16, 2016 at 12:27PM
How long can Sergey Karjakin skirt the precipice before succumbing to Magnus Carlsen? For the second straight game Karjakin was in big trouble from early on, but saved the day with dogged defense. It's very impressive, but very dangerous, and his team will have to do a better job of giving him positions where Carlsen will have to do some defending.
Today is a rest day, and game 5 is tomorrow. Game 4 is here, with my notes.
Reader Comments (3)
No doubt many commentators will point to the last two games as evidence that Karjakin cannot win the match and is an inferior chessplayer. However, I think that is precisely the wrong conclusion to draw. Over the past two matches we saw what I believe to be a superior player (Anand) repeatedly lose positions that held the potential to draw. Karjakin (as he proved repeatedly at the Candidates) is very hard to actually beat. He has the one skill essential to playing a match with Carlsen: the ability to reliably and patiently defend bad positions to the end over hours of play. Carlsen's "Sitzkrieg" is not working.
We already knew that Carlsen was in a different class right now in his chess - maybe a different class from everyone and certainly from Karjakin, who isn't even the strongest player in his own country. But Karjakin proved at the candidates and is proving again now that he may be a very dangerous match opponent and a very dangerous opponent for Carlsen in particular.
Once again, It amuses me to see how people have gross misunderstanding about what's going on in NYC. Karjak is playing psychological game, giving the initiative and superior position to the other guy, saying: "Look how impotent you are."
That may continue for a game or two, and than massacre will start.
It wouldn't surprise me if, when it all ends, Magnus won't be able to take another wooden piece in his hand for the rest of his life.
It surprised me that no discussion has occurred over the idea of of the king on b3 with playing a4 and saccing the bishop on a3. I think said endgame is probably still drawn as all variations of this setup that I have examined are... but it is an idea worth discussing.
Karjakin himself said in the post press conference game that after 45... Be6 the position is hopeless and resignable.
Also, no one has brought up the move 42... Bd5 which the analysis.sesse computer evaluated as +9 for Black.
A very interesting fighting game, I suspect we will continue to see Karjakin get pushed around until he breaks and this match becomes a complete blowout for Carlsen. Still betting on +2 or better for Carlsen.