[Event "TePe Sigeman 2026"]
[Site "Malmo"]
[Date "2026.05.02"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Nils Grandelius (2662)"]
[Black "Magnus Carlsen (2840)"]
[Result "0-1"]

{The most awaited match-up for the home team: The perennial Swedish number one as white against the world number one.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 $5 {A small surprise! Nils took two minutes to respond with the natural d4-d5. Modern Benoni aficionados usually don't use this move order due to the option we will discuss on move 7.} (3... Bb4 {The Nimzo-Indian remains Black's most popular option.}) (3... d5 {, transposing into the Queen's Gambit Declined is also possible.}) 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. Be2 (7. f4 $5 Bg7 8. Bb5+ {This, the 'Flick-Knife Attack' is considered the most critical and the reason as to the rarity of this move order on elite level. It is, however, theoretically demanding. That Nils does not go for this option therefore comes as no surprise, especially against an obviously prepared Carlsen.}) 7... Bg7 8. Be3 O-O 9. Nf3 Bg4 10. Nd2 $1 {An instructive choice. A rule of thumb in the Modern Benoni is that Black gains from trading pieces. By playing ...Bg4 Black forces a trade, which means that White will have to choose which piece he wants to keep: a bishop or a knight. Here White wants to keep the knight rather than the bishop.} Bxe2 11. Qxe2 Nbd7 12. O-O Ne8 13. f4 $5 {Ambitious but double-edged. Black is better placed to meet this advance now than in the aforementioned 7.f4 Bg7 8.Bb5+ variation.} f5 14. exf5 gxf5 {The character of the position has now been defined, arguably in Black's favour. His play seems much easier. Note the difference between Black's 'dragon bishop' on g7 and White's counterpart on e3, which is hemmed in by the f4 advance.} 15. Bf2 {With the above said, improving the bishop's prospects is eminently reasonable. White's problem is that he lacks clear ways of improving his position. Black, on the other hand, has several natural ways of proceeding. such as Ne8-c7, Nd7-f6, Qd7, Rae8.} Nc7 16. Nf3 Nf6 17. Qd3 b5 $5 {The classic Benoni strike - Black has obviously taken over the initiative.} 18. Nxb5 Nxb5 19. Qxb5 Rb8 20. Qd3 $2 (20. Qe2 $1 {was better since White will be unable to stop ...Ne4 anyway, which means that he might as well guard the b2 pawn with} Ne4 21. Rab1 $132 {, forcing Black to concretely prove his compensation for the sacrificed pawn.}) 20... Ne4 $1 {The b2-pawn will not run away; Black can take his time and improve his pieces. The queen does nothing on d3.} (20... Rxb2 $2 21. Qxf5 $16 {is good for White; his Q+N combo will menace Black's king.}) 21. Rab1 Qa5 $1 {Black continues to improve his pieces. White's queenside pawns are not running away. It is unclear how White should finish his development.} 22. Ng5 Qd2 $1 23. Qh3 Nxg5 24. fxg5 Rxb2 25. Rxb2 Qxb2 $17 {The smoke has cleared and Carlsen has reached a practically winning endgame. If afforded time, he will gobble up the a2 pawn and march his a-pawn down to promotion, supported by the bishop on g7.} 26. Qh5 $6 (26. Qe3 $5 {It is difficult to give White advice here: if there is salvation to be found it is likely too abstract for humans.} Be5 27. Qh3 $5 $17 {The best chance for White is likely to try to be as difficult as possible, threatening to infiltrate with his queen in every way possible. The game illustration is a clear-cut example of how difficult these kinds of positions are for the defender.}) 26... Qxa2 27. g6 h6 $19 {Only Black gains from having defined the situation on the kingside. Carlsen now has no problems in converting: the a-pawn is too strong.} 28. Qf3 a5 29. h4 a4 30. Qf4 a3 31. Qxd6 Qb2 32. Bxc5 a2 33. Qe6+ Kh8 34. Kh2 (34. Bxf8 Qd4+ $1 {and White must now give up the queen to prolong his suffering:} 35. Qe3 (35. Kh2 Qxh4+ 36. Kg1 Bd4+ 37. Rf2 a1=Q+ 38. Qe1 Qxe1#) 35... Qxe3+ $19) 34... Qe5+ 35. Qxe5 Bxe5+ 36. Kh3 Rd8 {A tough day at the office for Nils. Carlsen proved himself unrelenting once he took over the initiative.} 0-1

[Event "TePe Sigeman"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2026.05.01"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "carlc-ENG"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "2840"]
[BlackElo "2751"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[BlackFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[GameId "2304972979589832"]
[EventDate "2026.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2026.05.01"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 {The Petroff has seen one of its recurring resurgences of late, being played several times in the Cyprus Candidates.} 3. Nxe5 {The traditional main move, played after 9 minutes, implying that Erigaisi's opening choice came as somewhat of a surprise.} (3. d4 {is the main alternative.}) 3... d6 4. Nd3 (4. Nf3 {remains the main line, with many different options for White. The current trend, as seen in the Candidates, seems to be to look for new, off-beat options in an attempt to catch booked-up Black players off guard.}) 4... Nxe4 5. Qe2 Qe7 6. Nf4 Nf6 ({This is not Carlsen's first foray into this variation:} 6... Nc6 7. Nd5 Nd4 8. Nxe7 Nxe2 9. Nd5 Nd4 {was Game 6 of the Carlsen-Caruana 2018 WCh match, ending in a tense draw.}) 7. Nc3 c6 8. d4 Qxe2+ 9. Bxe2 Bf5 10. Bd3 (10. Kd1 $5 {[%cal Gh1e1] was a possible attempt to keep another pair of pieces on the board, as well as making room for the rook to come to e1.}) 10... Bxd3 11. Nxd3 Na6 12. f3 $5 $146 {[%cal Ge1f2,Gg2g4,Gh2h4] A novelty, though a recurring motif in this variation. White takes the e4 and g4 squares under control, preparing to grab space on the kingside with g2-g4 and h2-h4. The king also gains an ideal home on f2. The strong d3 knight keeps its counterpart on a6 out of the action for the moment. The position is equal, with a potentially long manoeuvring game ahead.} Kd7 {[%cal Ga6c7,Gb7b5,Ga7a5] The position is equal; both sides have several equivalent plans to choose from. With White focusing on the kingside, Black could, for instance, claim space on the queenside with Na6-c7, a7-a5 and b7-b5. Another option is to counter White's g4 advance by playing h7-h5.} 13. Kf2 {Passing the ball back to Black.} g6 {One of several possible setups.} 14. a4 {Claims space on the queenside, hindering Black's potential b7-b5 advance, though loosening his position a bit. Black is (if one counts the a6 knight as developed) now slightly ahead in development.} Bg7 15. Bd2 h5 {An interesting position: White's knights on c3-d3 control many squares in the center but are not active per se. The c3 knight stands in the way of the desired c2-c3 or c2-c4 advance.} 16. Ne2 {is therefore eminently logical, rerouting his 'worst' piece, though the question remains where it wants to end up.} Bh6 $5 {Somewhat strange, moving an already developed piece again within two moves, though not without its logic - it exchanges another pair of pieces by force. The downside is that the immediate exchange removes the need for White to worry about pressure on the long (a1-h8) diagonal; he is now freer in advancing his queenside pawns. Erigaisi likely pursued an overarching strategy to trade down into a drawish endgame at every possible opportunity, though this allowed Carlsen to gain space.} (16... Nc7 {and developing the rooks was more standard.}) 17. Bxh6 Rxh6 18. b4 {White has achieved what he likely desires from this variation: a space advantage and risk-free play. Black's position is, on the other hand, very solid.} Nc7 19. b5 $5 {Carlsen goes for the active choice.} (19. c4 {was the calmer alternative.}) 19... Rhh8 ({The point was that} 19... cxb5 20. axb5 Nxb5 $4 {practically loses to} 21. Rhb1 {, dropping the b7 pawn when} a6 $4 {does not work due to} 22. Rxb5 $18 {[%cal Ra1a8]}) 20. c4 Ne6 21. Rab1 c5 $5 {A concrete but slightly risky decision, allowing White the option to open the position. Erigaisi continues his policy of concretely defining the position.} ({It was possible to continue the waiting game by, for instance,} 21... Rab8 $5 {though Erigaisi seemed to be in an active mood today.}) 22. d5 {Carlsen now chooses the safer alternative with a permanent space advantage, though the possible inroads into Black's position are closing one by one.} (22. dxc5 Nxc5 23. Nxc5+ dxc5 24. Nc3 $14 {with a slight advantage was the alternative; White's knight is more flexible than his counterpart on f6, which is tied to the defence of the d5 square.}) 22... Ng7 23. a5 Rae8 24. a6 b6 {With the queenside closed the draw is not far away; neither side have any realistic inroads into the other's position. The game's end in a repetition could already be foreseen here.} 25. Nc3 Nf5 26. Rhe1 Nd4 27. h4 Nc2 28. Rxe8 Rxe8 29. Rc1 Ne3 30. Nd1 Nf5 31. g3 Kd8 32. Nc3 Ne3 33. Nd1 Nf5 34. Nc3 Ne3 35. Nb2 Nf5 36. Nd3 {An overall calm game. Carlsen was evidently not in an adventurous mood and Erigaisi was likely happy to force an easy draw.} 1/2-1/2
