[Event "TePe Sigeman"]
[Site "Malmo"]
[Date "2026.05.07"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Magnus Carlsen"]
[Black "Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "carlc-ENG"]
[ECO "D20"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[BlackFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "117"]
[GameId "2307177987423994"]
[EventDate "2026.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2026.05.06"]

{[%evp 0,117,11,15,14,16,18,33,30,39,15,41,33,28,27,23,23,27,25,49,34,17,21,26,32767,32767,42,4,66,62,37,50,26,38,46,39,41,32767,37,20,56,44,40,29,35,24,48,54,53,32767,46,57,48,51,43,39,48,31,34,20,29,32767,20,16,14,8,19,1,4,7,1,20,32767,32767,15,28,35,22,56,39,60,46,58,44,59,32767,45,30,46,37,81,95,82,114,131,100,32767,32767,88,83,65,65,123,127,171,83,180,172,32767,179,297,347,532,523,540,523,802,811,820,893] The game between the tournament's youngest and oldest players was for many the most-anticipated match-up of this tournament.} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 c5 $5 3. c4 dxc4 (3... cxd4 4. cxd5 {is slightly more usual, though early queen trades often occur here as well:} Nf6 5. Qxd4 Qxd5 6. Nc3 Qxd4 7. Nxd4 a6 8. g3 e5 9. Nb3 Nc6 10. Bg2 {has been debated on the highest level.}) 4. e4 (4. e3 {will likely transpose into a Queen's Gambit Accepted.}) (4. d5 {is the classic 'critical' move in these kinds of direct ...c5-moves.} e6 5. e4 exd5 6. exd5 (6. Qxd5 $5 {is also possible.}) 6... Bd6 7. Bxc4 Nf6 8. Qe2+ Qe7 9. Nc3 Qxe2+ 10. Bxe2 $14) 4... cxd4 5. Qxd4 Qxd4 6. Nxd4 Bd7 7. Bxc4 Nc6 8. Be3 Nxd4 9. Bxd4 e6 10. f3 Ne7 {Very natural; the knight is on its way to c6, where its prospects are greener compared to f6, where it would have been hemmed in by White's pawn chain. Forcing the bishop away from the a1-h8 diagonal would also allow the f8 bishop to develop without needing to play the slightly weakening ...f6.} 11. Kf2 Nc6 12. Be3 Rc8 13. Nd2 Ne5 14. Be2 Bc5 {Erdogmus is now only two moves away from completing his development with Ke7 and Rhd8. If White wants something tangible from the opening he needs to do something immediately.} 15. Bxc5 Rxc5 16. Rhc1 Rxc1 17. Rxc1 $36 {White has a slight initiative, though the endgame is equal.} Nc6 {This is the kind of early endgame where you know the game will either be very short or very long. With Carlsen behind the white pieces, the smart money is on the latter. In line with his stated aversion to classical games, one can imagine this as a way for him to steer the game into blitz- or rapid-like situations, where he usually handles time trouble better than his opponents.} (17... Ke7 18. Rc7 Rb8 $11 {was also possible.}) 18. e5 $5 {A forceful way of claiming space.} Ke7 ({The pawn is taboo due to} 18... Nxe5 19. Rc7 $16 {, after which White will gobble up the queenside pawns.}) 19. f4 Rc8 (19... f6 $5 $132 {is always an alternative in these types of positions.}) 20. a3 f6 21. exf6+ gxf6 22. Rc3 {Hinting at an expedition to the h-file.} Nd4 23. Rxc8 Bxc8 $11 24. Bd3 h6 25. Ke3 Nc6 26. Nf3 b6 27. g4 e5 28. h3 Kd6 29. Nd2 exf4+ {Perhaps slightly impractical; there was no need to clarify the situation in the center.} 30. Kxf4 Ne5 31. Bf5 $5 {White would very much have liked to trade light-squared bishops, allowing him to infiltrate on the kingside.} Bb7 {Erdogmus understandably declines.} (31... Bxf5 32. Kxf5 Ke7 33. Ne4 $18) 32. Bc2 {It is slightly unclear what White's plan is; he is not threatening to enter with his king.} Bg2 ({After a non-move such as} 32... Ba6 33. Kf5 Ke7 {White can still not make any progress.}) 33. Kg3 Bd5 34. Kf4 Bg2 35. h4 Ke7 36. b3 Bh3 37. Bf5 (37. Bd1 $1 {threatens to trap the bishop with Kg3.} Bg2 38. Bf3 $1 {Using the fact that all pure pawn endings are won to trade pieces:} Nxf3 39. Nxf3 {and White can press forever.} Bxf3 $4 40. Kxf3 $18 {and zugzwang will shortly ensue.}) 37... Bg2 38. Ne4 Bxe4 39. Bxe4 Nf7 40. Bd5 Nd6 $11 {Black claims to have achieved a fortress (the existence of which Carlsen famously 'does not believe in'). It is difficult to see how White could make any progress without trading off too many pawns. Erdogmus could pretty much shuffle his king between e7-d7 forever.} 41. a4 Kd7 42. b4 Nc8 $5 {Lite humor; poängterar att vit ändå inte kan infiltrera på grund av gaffeln på e7.} 43. Ke4 (43. Kf5 Ne7+ 44. Ke4 Kd6 $11 {and it is, if anything, even more difficult for White to make progress.}) 43... Ne7 {From e7, the knight controls the f5 and g6 squares. With the kingside locked down, Carlsen tries to simulate activity in the center and on the queenside. making progress here as White more or less requires a miracle. Since the position is so simplified, there was no real risk of blundering. From Carlsen’s perspective, though, there was the broader tournament context: he could calmly wait for the result of the game between Arjun Erigaisi and Andy Woodward. Had Woodward won (and it nearly happened), Carlsen might well have agreed to a draw immediately.} 44. Kd4 f5 $2 {Perfectly fine in itself, but immensely unnecessary if one is aiming for a draw. It was entirely possible to simply “shuffle” the king back and forth. Now, however, Carlsen has a trump card to play with: the passed pawn. Unlike earlier, positions can now arise in which Black must find “only moves” in order not to lose. A lawed winning attempt perhaps?} 45. g5 hxg5 46. hxg5 Kd6 47. Bb7 Ng6 48. Kc4 Nf8 49. Bc8 Ne6 50. g6 Ke7 $4 {Erdogmus has dug himself a hole and duly falls into it.} (50... f4 {or}) (50... Ng7 {was still drawn. The game move loses an important tempo compared to these lines.}) 51. Kb5 f4 52. Ka6 f3 53. Kxa7 $18 {Just in time for the bishop to cover the f1-square from a6: The game is now for all purposes over.} b5 54. g7 Nxg7 55. axb5 f2 56. Bh3 Ne6 57. b6 Nd4 58. b7 Nc6+ 59. Ka8 {White will soon promote his second pawn. Erdogmus was evidently unable to keep his nerves under control and threw away a perfectly adequate fortress. The …f5 thrust remains difficult to understand: Was it a misguided attempt to play for a win?} 1-0
