Caruana vs MVL: The need for clarity, and a fine line between holdable and draw (2/2)
Imagine this; you have a huge disadvantage on the clock and are slowly running out of time. Your opponent is still blitzing deep into the endgame. Would you, at this point, aim to spend even more time trying to calculate the best moves or will you try to clarify the position, even if it comes at the cost of sub-optimal moves?
What Maxime Vachier-Lagrave aimed to do, is not clear. But what is clear is that its the latter which appeared on the board. It's a very interesting argument between objectivity and being practical, with no correct answer.
But the dangerous situation is when the need for clarity becomes so high that you forget to be concrete in your calculations. The pressure creates ghosts and doubts begin to creep in. It is probably what happened with MVL here.
This is where we stopped in Part 1:
So, there is a very complex endgame on the board. Pieces are hanging here and there, neither king is fully safe, and overall it requires a very concrete approach. White is a piece down for the moment but Black has many objects for attack in his camp, Ra8, Nc3, Nb8 and of course a weak king...
It's an interesting moment to pause here. Try to find a subtle idea for White after 30...Rxc8.
The material imbalance is that White has a rook for a knight. Now of course if he wins the f6 pawn it is over. But how? This is where it gets tricky. Getting the king to f5 is a plan that comes to mind. However Black's king is controlling that right now. Once we chase it away then Black's knight is likely to occupy a square like e7, g7, where it would be really difficult to move it away. Even if we manage that, it is very possible that after playing Kf5 a knight check again throws it away.
The other idea- is trying to get the king to h5, h6, h7... trying to outflank the opponent's king. But that, again, can be carried out only if the king goes to g4- but then Black can get his king back to g6. Alternatively, again he can stop Kh5 with Ng7. There hardly seems to be much hope of zugzwang because Black's king has many squares.
But, the game is not a draw. Not yet. It is only "holdable". That is, correct defense leads to salvation. While everyone thought Caruana's epic opening preparation had gone to waste, he kept applying pressure, combining the two plans, inducing small doubts in MVL's mind, and he was finally able to force a mistake. Where the decisive error came is not the most relevant; what we can really learn from this endgame is that there is a fine line between holdable and draw.
Breaking a fortress is not always about finding a compact breakthrough. First you need to understand what kind of a fortress is it. Can the opponent just stay put? Does he need not think at all? In this case, clearly no, and Fabi understood that. Sometimes it's just about applying constant pressure, every time you get such a situation, game after game, and you'll be surprised at how many points you will add in your kitty. And this endgame technique, coupled with exquisite opening preparation and clear understanding of human psychology, is what made this game by Caruana so special.
If he can continue putting up such performances, there's good reason to believe Magnus Carlsen will have to put up with the same face one more time.
