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Altibox Norway Chess R3: Firouzja beats Caruana in the Armageddon

by Shahid Ahmed - 08/10/2020

Carlsen scored his first Classical victory of the tournament against his compatriot Aryan Tari. Although Carlsen presented a few opportunities to the young Norwegian but he was unable to seize it. Duda is still having a tough time as he lost once again, this time against Aronian. Despite the majority of the game being equal and heading towards a draw, the Pole no.1 erred in the endgame which cost him the point. Meanwhile, Firouzja beat Caruana in the Armageddon after making a draw in their Classical encounter. Caruana had a decent chance in the Classical game, however Firouzja was determined the must-win Armageddon and he definitely showed that he can hang with the best of the best so far. Catch all the action of Round 4 tonight from 8:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes / Altibox Norway Chess

Caruana and Aronian share the lead

Carlsen scored his first classical victory in Round 3 of Altibox Norway Chess against Aryan Tari. Once again the World Champion gave a few chances to his opponent, this time against his compatriot, Norway no.2 Aryan Tari. However, he did not capitalize on the opportunity and eventually lost the game. Aronian won against Duda after the Poland no.1 couldn't defend properly in the endgame which seemed like a draw for the better part of the game. Caruana had a short draw against Firouzja in the Classical game forcing an Armageddon, however he had quite a clear chance against the youngster which he overlooked. The talented Firouzja finally won an Armageddon after playing ambitiously right out of the gate in a must-win situation.

Firouzja en route his victory over Caruana in the Armageddon | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Norway Chess

Tari - Carlsen 0-3

Carlsen took a lot of chances against Tari as he went for long castling in Sicilian Rauzer, deliberately destroyed his pawn structure by doing a triple pawn. Tari had quite an advantage but he could not capitalize on it.

Position after 22...Bd7

Black's position looks difficult and white can seize the advantage. However the game continued with 23.Nh5 which allowed black to get back in the game. Find out what was the better move for white here.

Position after 25...Rb8

White's position is in shambles after 25...Rb8. How should have white defended here?

Carlsen switched from Namaste greeting to bowing

Legend of the game Nigel Short and renowned trainer Ivan Sokolov tweeted this about Carlsen's game

Tari has to wait for another opportunity against Carlsen | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Altibox Norway Chess

Duda - Aronian 0-3

It seemed like Duda will hold Aronian to a quick draw. Everything was going fine till Duda made an inaccurate defense in the endgame.

Position after 47...Ke3

What is the correct defense for white after 47...Ke3 ?

Things are yet to go in Duda's way in this tournament | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Altibox Norway Chess

Firouzja - Caruana 1.5-1

It is true that not a lot of things happened in the Classical game between Firouzja and Caruana in Round 3. However, there was a moment for the World no.2 to gain decisive advantage.

Classical game

Position after 22.Qd2

The game continued with 22...Bg4 and the opportunity evaporated. Find out what was the better continuation for black.

Being in a must-win situation, Firouzja played aggressively from the get-go and got an advantageous position.

Armageddon

Position after 19.Bd4

It is evident that white has an advantage thanks to the menacing connected passed pawns on the queenside.

Position after 29...Rd8

29...Rd8 is a huge positional error. Find out why.

Firouzja-Caruana after their draw in the Classical game | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Altibox Norway Chess

Photo Gallery

Caruana is still in the lead along with... | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Altibox Norway Chess

...one of the most creative player of this generation - Levon Aronian | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Altibox Norway Chess

Guess the hand | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Altibox Norway Chess

Round 3 witnessed both four knights opening and their placement in the center too | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Altibox Norway Chess

Firouzja having a conversation with Kasimdzhanov | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Altibox Norway Chess

Firouzja taking a peek into his future? | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Altibox Norway Chess

Replay Round 3 games

Results

Round 3 results | Photo: Altibox Norway Chess

Standings

Caruana and Aronian share the lead after Round 3 | Photo: Altibox Norway Chess

Scoring

Players will get following points per round:

Victory in main game: 3 points

Loss in main game: 0 points

Draw in main game & victory Armageddon: 1.5 points

Draw in main game & loss Armageddon: 1 point

Armageddon Rules

• If there is a draw in the classical game then the players will move on to Armageddon within 20 minutes after the draw.

• White pieces will continue with white in Armageddon. With this, there will be a winner in each game due to the fact that black pieces will win if the game ends in a draw.

Prizes

Rank Prize
1st 700000
2nd 370000
3rd 230000
4th 180000
5th 170000
6th 160000

Total Prize fund is NOK 1810000.

Replay the Live Stream

Greatest female chess player of all time Judit Polgar and former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik are the Official Commentators | Video: chess24

Links

Altibox Norway Chess official site