Could a Top Chess Player Have Found the Missed Win in Caruana's Game 6?
Chess enthusiasts often debate the skill and foresight of the world's greatest players, especially when it comes to complex endgame scenarios. In the 2018 World Championship, Game 6, Fabiano Caruana missed a potential win that historians and experts still ponder. Could anyone have spotted it, or was it simply too deep for even the most brilliant minds to penetrate during a game?
What Garry Kasparov Had to Say
Legend and former world champion Garry Kasparov offered his thoughts on the matter via his Twitter account. His views are highly prized in the chess community, and he succinctly addressed the importance of the move: Chess is about foresight. Despite what we might think, a mistake is a cruel teacher. It’s unwise to learn anything from a missed win if we haven’t properly grasped the intricacies of the position.
When asked on a composition, Kasparov added: The possibility of a depth over 100[ply] in a chess game is not a myth: we just have no clue how to exploit such positions. Statement enough to reaffirm that the missed win was not a simple oversight but a complex and deeply misleading position.
Why Analysts Also Struggled
Many top players dismissed the win, and with good reason. Even with the assistance of powerful supercomputers, experts were equally clueless. During the press conference after the game, Grandmaster Ian Rogers asked the players about the winning variation. They were puzzled, and a subsequent exchange with Magnus Carlsen led to nowhere. Even Stockfish, the world’s most advanced chess engine, struggled to find the win on a relatively powerful PC.
The position after White's 68th move is the crux of the matter:
[fENGNF]1. e2 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nxe4 5. Nxe4 d6 6. Bg3 Be6 7. O-O O-O 8. Re1 c5 9. c3 c4 10. Nc2 Nc6 11. b4 b6 12. Bf4 h5 13. h3 Bh6 14. c4 cxb3 15. axb3 Bg7 16. d3 Ba6 17. Bxb8 Nxb8 18. e3 e4 19. Nf1 Re8 20. Qd2 f5 21. exf4 exf4 22. Re2 fxe3 23. fxe3 g5 24. c5 h4 25. d4 Qxh2 26. Rg1 Qd6 27. h4 Kh7 28. Rf3 Nh5 29. Rgf1 g4 30. Kf3 f3 31. Nxe4 f2 32. h5 Ne7 33. Re7 f1Q 34. Re8 Qxe8 35. Nxf2 Rxf2 36. gxf2 Qxh2 37. Bg5 h3 38. Re1 Qg3 39. Nd1 Rxf5 40. h6 Nh4 41. Re4 Rf2 42. Kf2 Qh3 43. g4 Qf1 44. Kg1 h2 45. Ne3 Nf3 46. Nxc4 Ne1 47. Bxe1 Rxe1 48. Kf2 Qh2 49. Ke3 Qxe2 50. Qd1 Qe6 51. Rxe2 Rxe2 52. Rxe2 Qg4 53. Kd3 Qg3 54. Kh2 Qb3 55. h7 Kg7 56. Qd4 Kf8 57. Qd5 Qe6 58. Qxe6 Kh7 59. Rxe6 Kxh6 60. Ke2 Kxh5 61. g5 f4 62. g6 hxg6 63. hxg6 Kxg6 64. Ke3 Kh6 65. g7 Qd2 66. Ke2 Kxg7 67. Kd2 Bf5 68. h8Q Kf7
Understanding the Winning Position
To grasp the winning idea, let's break down the strategy:
1. If Black Wins the h-Pawn
After losing the h-pawn, Black's king gains freedom to move, and can reach favorable squares like e5 to attack White's f-pawn in conjunction with the knight.
2. Once the h-Pawn Moves, it Can Be Won
After the h-pawn moves, Black can check the White king away from g6, move his king to h7, and take the pawn since White has no check to move the king away from h7. Even if White advances the h-pawn to h7, it still loses.
3. Black Needs to Force White to Move the h-Pawn
Black must create a zugzwang position, forcing White to make a losing move. This is where the key move lies.
Key Move Explanation
The winning move is:
White has no choice but to play Ne2-f4, or Black's knight will capture the h-pawn. White continues with:
Ng1!
This is a masterstroke, trapping the Black knight on the edge of the board to create a zugzwang position.
Kh8Bh4Be1!
Black uses triangulation to keep the move advantage, leading to zugzwang once again. Eventually, the h-pawn falls, and the game is won for Black.
The winning line in detail is:
Ng1! Kh8 Bh4 Be1! Bc3 Bd2 Bg5 76.h6 Kh8 77.h7 Bh4 Be1! Bc3 Bd2 Bg5 Nh3 Nf4 84.Kf7 Kxh7
This move sequence highlights the depth and complexity of the ending, which even top players and powerful engines found challenging.
In conclusion, the missed win in Caruana's Game 6 shows the incredible depth of chess and the challenges even the best players face in understanding and exploiting complex endgame positions.