“I started to get pretty nervous” Magnus Carlsen
Author: Maria Fragaki
In the first game of the 2023 FIDE World Cup semifinals, GM Nijat Abasov faced a defeat against GM Magnus Carlsen. Although the former World Champion achieved a one-point lead, Abasov managed to exert pressure on Carlsen, but missed an opportunity to potentially change the course of the game.
In a matchup that saw Carlsen pitted against the locally renowned and undefeated GM Nijat Abasov, the initial rating difference proved to be misleading, leading to a dynamic and unpredictable encounter. Displaying a prudent approach towards his adversaries, Carlsen underscored the significance of his semifinal engagement. Abasov’s strong performance, swift decision-making, and overall skill were acknowledged by Carlsen, who recognized that the forthcoming match wouldn’t be devoid of complexity.
The game
Their first game started with the Sicilian Defense: Nyezhmetdinov-Rossolimo Attack, with Carlsen playing the 7.d3 novelty to surprise Abasov really early in their encounter. “He was clearly caught out in the opening. You have to play extremely precisely there for Black in order not be considerably worse immediately. He started to fight really really well. He was finding a lot of resources and I started to get pretty nervous.” Magnus stated in his post interview.
He then added: “It [9.Rg1] was prepared for today. But it is recommended by modern engines so its not some revolutionary concept. PH was working on it for the last couple of days.”
The game quickly went in a queen, rook, and bishop ending where the opposite-colored bishops could potentially lead the game to a draw. But as usual, when the game moves to an equal endgame, this is where Magnus unleashes his endgame genius mind. Notably though, he found himself in a very risky situation after blundering 34.Qh2?, but Abasov missed the opportunity o capitalise on this mistake. Can you spot it?
With less than a minute on his clock, Abasov made his final mistake with 40....Qf6+? to lose the game shortly after that!
