World Champion countered Nepo with Morphy Defence, employing the Anti-Marshall variation.
I sort of expected Nepo (Ian Nepomniachtchi) to play the Ruy Lopez opening with e4, but it was still fifty-fifty.
However, it was in sync with his playing style. Then again, the only two games that Magnus (Carlsen) has lost so far in world championships had been against the d4 (Queen’s Pawn) opening.
Magnus countered Nepo with Morphy Defence, employing the Anti-Marshall variation. Then, he came up with something special, a knight on a5, a rare line which is very seldom employed.
Nepo’s body language to that was like he was prepared in this territory. Some moves were counter-intuitive. Then, Magnus played Rfb8, which clearly showed his preparation. I was listening to Judit Polgar and Anish Giri at that point and even they were baffled, although everybody understood that it was part of his preparation. Still, these are the moves that don’t come on mind very naturally.
I fell back on a few Correspondence games that had similar moves. Correspondence chess is a different world. It has its own world championship. But keeping abreast of Correspondence chess, where players use the strongest machine in the world, is hugely important for every professional player.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=9pO8m4_KMeU%3Fversion%3D3%26%23038%3Brel%3D1%26%23038%3Bshowsearch%3D0%26%23038%3Bshowinfo%3D1%26%23038%3Biv_load_policy%3D1%26%23038%3Bfs%3D1%26%23038%3Bhl%3Den-US%26%23038%3Bautohide%3D2%26%23038%3Bwmode%3Dtransparent
I understand that when Nepo is preparing to play against Magnus, someone who can play any move that’s practically possible, he has had all the bases covered. At the same time, it is also possible that either it (the Correspondence chess reference) was missed or it was there in the notes but he couldn’t remember it on the board. Because I was directly involved in World Championship matches, I know both are possible. It could be that his seconds have missed it, or the player couldn’t remember it.
Initially it felt like Nepo got a position where he could press a bit. But as I said, any kind of technical position, Magnus is clearly superior. I don’t see Magnus getting technically outplayed.
Magnus should be reasonably happy that he played out a good draw with the black pieces. I think the first four games at this World Championship are very crucial. If Magnus gains an advantage there, the match could be one-sided. But if Nepo can keep it even or can make the first strike, then we will see a full-fledged battle.
(Grandmaster Surya Sekhar Ganguly was one of Viswanathan Anand’s seconds and assisted him in winning the World Championship matches against Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov. He spoke to Shamik Chakrabarty)
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