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Home » Chess News » Events » 5th Final Masters Sao Paulo and Bilbao 2012 » Carlsen moves second after beating Caruana in 5th Final Masters Round 6

Magnus Carlsen defeated Fabiano Caruana on the white side of a King's Indian Attack against the French. Whilst hardly the most dangerous variation against the French it isn't without poison and Carlsen can have been pretty much guaranteed Caruana hadn't worked on this variation in detail recently. Caruana allowed his pawn structure to be disrupted on move 14, a more serious problem was his 20...e4 after which Carlsen got very nasty pressure in an ending of entirely the kind he likes. By first time control Caruana had a lost position as he was totally without counterplay. Carlsen quickly and confidently finished things off, Caruana spent quite some time but his moves were mostly forced.

Carlsen,Magnus (2843) - Caruana,Fabiano (2773) [C00]
5th Final Masters Sao Paulo/Bilbao BRA/ESP (6), 08.10.2012

1.e4 e6 2.d3 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.Ngf3 Nc6

[4...Bc5 Is my favourite continuation and one that is gaining supporters.]

5.c3 Bd6 6.Be2 0-0 7.0-0 a5 8.Re1 e5

[8...Re8]

9.exd5

[9.Bf1; 9.Qc2; 9.a4]

9...Nxd5 10.Nc4 Re8

[10...h6]

11.Bf1 Bg4 12.h3 Bh5 13.g3 Nb6

There is a question as to whether this move which allows white to disrupt black's queenside is best.

14.Nxb6 cxb6 15.Bg2 b5 16.a4 b4 17.Be3 Bc7 18.Qb3 h6 19.Qc4 bxc3 20.bxc3 e4?!

Black goes for simplifying exchanges but ends up with a difficult position.

21.dxe4 Bxf3 22.Bxf3 Ne5 23.Qe2 Nxf3+ 24.Qxf3 Qd3 25.Kg2 Qxe4 26.Bd4 Qxf3+ 27.Kxf3 b6 28.Rab1 Rac8 29.Re4 g6 30.g4 Kf8 31.h4 Rxe4 32.Kxe4 Re8+ 33.Kd3 Re6 34.Be3 Kg7 35.Rb5 Bd8 36.h5 Rd6+ 37.Kc4 Rc6+ 38.Kd5 Re6 39.Bd4+ Kf8 40.f4 Bc7 41.f5

After first time control it's hard to suggest a defence for black.

41...Rd6+ 42.Ke4 Rc6 43.Rb1 Ke8 44.hxg6

Not strictly necessary but this leads to a clear win all the same.

44...fxg6 45.Rh1 Kf7 46.Kd5 Rd6+ 47.Kc4 gxf5

[47...g5 Is just a different poison.]

48.gxf5 Bd8 49.f6!

The most precise. The bishop ending that follows is totally winning.

49...Bxf6 50.Rxh6 Be7 51.Rxd6 Bxd6 52.Kb5 Ke6 53.Bxb6 Kd7 54.c4 Kc8 55.Bxa5 Kb7 56.Bb4

The ending is well known and hopeless. White forces the c-pawn to c6 and then forces the dark squared bishop off the diagonal preventing queening.

56...Bf4 57.c5 Ka7 58.c6 Kb8 59.a5 Ka7 60.a6 Ka8 61.Bc5 Bb8 62.Kc4 Bc7 63.Kd5 Bd8 64.Ke6 Bc7 65.Kd7 Ba5 66.Be7 1-0

Levon Aronian played a variation of the Marshall Attack as black against Sergey Karjakin's Ruy Lopez that led straight to a sterile bishops of opposite colours ending.

Francisco Vallejo Pons won a pawn against Viswanathan Anand's Ruy Lopez but the position itself was always very drawish.

5th Final Masters Sao Paulo/Bilbao (BRA/ESP), 24 ix-13 x 2012											cat. XXII (2781)
					1		2		3		4		5		6
1.	Caruana, Fabiano	g	ITA	2773	*	*	1	0	½	.	½	.	1	.	1	.	11	2917
2.	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2843	0	1	*	*	½	.	½	.	½	.	1	.	9	2826
3.	Aronian, Levon	g	ARM	2816	½	.	½	.	*	*	½	.	1	½	½	.	8	2831
4.	Anand, Viswanathan	g	IND	2780	½	.	½	.	½	.	*	*	½	.	½	½	6	2767
5.	Karjakin, Sergey	g	RUS	2778	0	.	½	.	0	½	½	.	*	*	½	.	4	2662
6.	Vallejo Pons, Francisco	g	ESP	2697	0	.	0	.	½	.	½	½	½	.	*	*	4	2670

Round 6 (October 8, 2012)
Carlsen, Magnus	- Caruana, Fabiano	1-0	66	C00	French Defence
Karjakin, Sergey	- Aronian, Levon	½-½	33	C89	Ruy Lopez Marshall
Vallejo Pons, Francisco	- Anand, Viswanathan	½-½	39	C78	Ruy Lopez Moeller Defence

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