Hans Niemann Was NOT Ready for Carlsen’s INSANE Bishop Sacrifice at the EWC

He specializes in certain openings. Will it be the Italian? It has to be. No, it's the Spanish opening from Hans Niemann as he brings out his bishop, applies some pressure. We saw this in the previous encounter when Magnus had the white pieces. Hans has learned a few things and a Spanish clash here, a debate in the opening. And this is where it does deviate from what we saw in the first game around with Hans Niemann getting the bishop to a more conservative square, but Magnus Carlsen takes it out on the diagonal. And this just means that Hans comes forward. Now, this gets very exciting if we're going to see Magnus Carlsen push the H pawn, push the G pawn. Exactly, Magnus first breaks the pin by retreating the dark squared bishop. This is still well-known stuff. Hans with a very quiet move. Notice how the white king hasn't committed itself, Tanya. Maybe, just maybe Hans Niemann might be tempted to move the king in the opposite direction. Maybe just keep it in the center a bit longer, start pushing some pawns towards Magnus' king if given the opportunity. He's keeping all of his options open. And a must-win, those are the kind of dynamics that you want to create. Kings on the opposite side. It's a race to each other's kings with a pawn storm right there. The knight comes out first. I think he might be heading their queen out of the way. And you're getting ready to get a castle going on the left flank. The H pawn moves ahead. The bishop drops back. Oh, and Magnus shaking his head. There's a hook. There is a pawn hook now. Magnus' last move, pushing the pawn to H6 could just initiate and could be a red rag here to a bull. Will we see Hans Niemann try and push forward with his G pawn? I'm not sure after this last move, Magnus striking in the center just in time before there were any flank attacks trying to open up some lines, but Hans must be tempted. And no, he goes castles. He gets his king to safety. Quiet waters now. No pawn storm yet on the king side, but I want to point out, it looks like D4 might've just trapped Hans Niemann's bishop, but after a trade of that central pawn, you will have a square to run to with that bishop on E3. So D4 tempting, but doesn't get the job done just yet. Doesn't do the job, but it's still played from Magnus Carlsen. He still wants to clarify things. He wants the bishop pair. He's going hunting for the white light square bishop. And if he is able to capture this piece, if Black is able to throw some pawns down the board, then Magnus will have a very clear plan. Very easy play. Hans Niemann with an extra central pawn though, might try to attack on the other flank. At some point, he might try and move his bishop out the way, maybe move his knight out the way as well, and start throwing his king side pawns forward. It feels like white will play on the right, black will play on the left. It might be a race. It's going to be a game divided on two halves right now for Magnus Carlsen. His most extended pawn, the D pawn, dictating that it's going to be the left flank for him, while for Hans Niemann, the idea of getting the F pawn moving up the board, it still requires a few moves. I'm really liking Magnus' idea of going C5, trying to break through with C4, getting all the action going on the central lines. Exactly, and sometimes that's what you want, right? It might be a level looking position, but you want an easy plan. You want the next two, three moves in your mind. You want to be able to pre-move, save a few seconds. Magnus is definitely going to be pushing this pawn next, pretty much a guarantee. Maybe a knight takes bishop move first, but Hans, less clear exactly how he executes his plans. Also for Hans, it's just so unfortunate that he can't save the bishop. You can't put it on the B3 square just yet with the D pawn hanging as well. The white bishop needs to stay connected to that backward pawn, which means Magnus very likely to get a pair on the next move. Exactly, and there we go. He's allowed the pair of bishops and he will push his pawn to C5, and this is happening on the board right now. We see now you have to watch out for a C4 by Magnus Carlsen. Just feels a bit cagey for Hans Niemann, where he's the one who needs to be on the attack. Knight jumps forward, two attackers on the C5 pawn, one defender for Magnus Carlsen. The moment you bring out your queen, queen to B6 feels like an idea. That's a developing move as well as a defensive one. Exactly, Magnus most likely will start with that. He can defend with his knight as well, but we're always told, develop a piece that hasn't moved rather than move a piece for the second time that's already out in the action. We see an advantage for black for the first time in this game. That's because computers love the bishop pair. If Magnus is able to hold those black pawns, then he's doing very well. But for now, some short-term pressure. Magnus is just half a point away from grabbing the match win. What does Hans Niemann need to do in this position? If you're in Hans' corner, what are you telling him? Where is the counter play coming from, David, for white here? It's tough. If I knew, I'd be sitting there playing instead of these players, alongside these players maybe, but not easy. Hans Niemann, big questions ahead. He would love to get his bishop out the way, start throwing white's F pawn, E pawn forward, but it takes so long. Such a slow plan. Black's pawns, maybe because they are so far advanced, would arrive first. Black's bishops as well, looking good. I would just line up my rooks, just try to activate those. One rook on the C file, one rook maybe on the E file. Ask Magnus how he's developing. Ask for the knight trade on your terms. Well, if you ask Magnus questions right now, he said C, he said B. He's going to say A next as well. That A pawn is about to go up the board, dislodge the white knight on B3. Feels like a very clear path for Magnus. Yeah, that's the thing. Advantage Black objectively, but also ease of moves. First, okay, Hans plays the most natural one, sliding his rook across, given a question mark. Very surprising, definitely the most natural move, but Magnus slides his queen across, attacking white's undefended bishop. The white knight as well in the center is on price. It is hanging, so a knight trade guaranteed. It gets the good move on it. You're up in your space, in the position. You trade those knights. The bishop comes out, vacating a key square for Magnus' rook to land on the C file as well with tempo. Surprising to see Hans Niemann think here. He's got a forced move. He has to take the black knight, allow that trade to happen. I don't know what else he could be considering. The white bishop, knight are both hanging, double attack. Maybe he's looking into the future, a few moves down the line. There we go, knight's off the board. The white bishop now needs to retreat or be defended, but the black rooks are coming. But that's the point. You spend those extra seconds before making the only move. You best have your response immediately ready. And this is the second time Hans goes into, I think, looking for a square for his bishop. Yeah, that shows how much he really doesn't enjoy or like his position right now. The bishop does take a step back. Again, the most obvious move. But as you pointed out earlier, Tanya, this whole maneuver, the reason the black queen sliding across was given an exclamation mark is because black gains time. Black's rook's now centralized, backing up the pawns. The other black rook is going to move. Black has an unchallenged light square bishop, which could be the MVP long-term. Not just that. I just feel if Magnus breaks through with C4, you know, we're talking about a draw is all that's needed. He's going to be the one who's going to be pushing for his second win in a row. Oh, can he do it now or soon? That is the big question. If Magnus is able to get there first before white is fully organized, we might not even really see a chance for Hans Niemann. He's done nothing wrong again, but there we go. Magnus, pawn sacrifice. He's making his move. The big question right now, can Hans Niemann take the bait? Can he challenge Magnus Carlsen and show him, force him to show his hand even? Pawn takes pawn. What is happening? You capture that back. Knight takes pawn. I don't see a way to pin it and win it. Yeah, you can pin it. That's already established, but to win it, you would need your bishop. And if the white pawn steps forward to defend this knight now, maybe there are better moves. Maybe the white queen should slide out the way the game goes on. But if you push your pawn, then boom, black takes this pawn at the side of the board. Due to the pin, the white knight is stuck. Cannot recapture as the white queen would drop off the board. Magnus would, therefore, get an advantage. Still bishops and strong pawns in the center of the board. The d-pawn, especially, it's a clearance sacrifice to try and force it through. It's a passer that's going to run. A lost move. Liquid pressure rising right now on Hans Niemann. If he can't capture that pawn, this is why he was hoping he stopped Magnus' plan. But he absolutely has not. And with this, it's a big advantage to the black pieces. Double bishop, open position, pawn storming up the board. Magnus looking chill. Exactly. Magnus looking good. Hans moves his knight out the way. He has a threat. He wants to park his bishop in the center, attack the black queen, attack this pawn, win material, eliminate the most dangerous pawn in the position. But he just doesn't have time. Magnus here, so many tempting moves. Even if Magnus were to drop some pawns, the position is so open that the bishops are coming to life. And I think a good try from Hans Niemann this last move. At least he's planting the idea of a counterattack in Magnus' head. It comes with a threat. And it's not easy to offer a bishop trade right now with a move like bishop d6. It would have led to e5. And just as I say that, Magnus Carlsen with a big move. A big move, given a question mark. But the whole idea is that the pawn is overworked. If it captures the bishop, the knight would have fallen off. Question mark. Magnus is still x-raying the knight, the pawn behind it. Big advantage. Magnus can simply take back. Hans can barely touch anything. That is fantastic, that spot. Out of the blue for Magnus. Just incredible stuff. Bishop takes pawn. Full board awareness there on that right flank. And now Magnus Carlsen thinking, what does he want to recapture with? Does he take it with a pawn? Or he might have some other ideas. As long as the queen is connected to the white knight, the bishop on h3, you literally don't care about it. And you can see on Hans' face a bit of a smirk. He's like, oh, I miss bishop takes h3. We all missed that move. Magnus was the only one who spotted it. And that could spell the end. Or will it? Magnus hesitating now. Surely he just recaptures the pawn. Why not? Are there any tricks in the air? Is he seeing some ghosts? What's he working out right now? I just worked out that white's knight is actually absolutely pinned. It can't move from that spot. Watch out for that g2 square. Knight takes pawn, queen takes pawn would be checkmate on the spot. Exactly, the white knight stuck where it stands. Hans again, bit of a smile there. Shake of the head had come a bit earlier. He knows he's in big trouble. But Magnus still in the tank. We've talked about it earlier today. Long think, wrong think. Will we see Magnus try to be a bit flashy? He needs to keep things simple here. Best move, just pawn takes pawn. It's a weird dynamic. You know, you move the black bishop away. It would allow the white knight into the game, but he does capture the pawn. Eventually, the white queen falls back. Now eyeballing the pawn at the center of the board. Magnus pins that knight. But does this give white the ability to jump to the center of the board? Knight takes pawn, hitting black's queen and it's on the board. Ooh, Magnus, will we see a reaction losing his advantage or at least a chunk of it, but still doing well with black? A draw is enough. So we probably don't read too much into that blunder. I think Magnus just trying to play it a bit safer. We know his love of end games. Tanya. David, only move territory. Magnus has to put the queen on G6 to keep his advantage. Everything else and Hans Niemann is back in the game. Ooh, Magnus, he must resist temptation here to trade off the queens. He can take the white queen with his bishop. He has done. He's trying to keep things simple. Advantage gone, back to level. Should still be a draw, maybe with best play. Magnus, we talk about how strong he is in the end game, but this is the best position Hans has had all game. Absolutely. This is the math situation dictating the moves right now. Magnus needs only a draw to secure the match victory, to secure a spot in the playoff. And he's doing it in the simplest way possible. Again, trying to trade pawns. That was a weak, isolated pawn. He's throwing it forward. Again, A3 is hanging. The black bishop has its laser vision over onto the queen side. Makes sense what Magnus has done. But Hans, can he create anything? He had very similar position earlier against Jan Nepomniachtchi. He was able to squeeze it and grind out a victory in a must-win situation. Can he do the same again today? That's the big question. Pawns getting vacuumed off the board with this last move. And Hans has to find a way to keep the tension on. We see trades. We're going to see more trades as the bishop will eventually pick up the pawn. But first, Magnus builds on the attack. Great move there from Magnus. He knows that one of the pawns will fall. He knows that if rooks come off the board, if pawns are level, it should be closer to a draw. Hans throws a pawn away. That's to open up the white bishop, which was rather stuck staring at its own pawn. He wants to enter the center, but Tanya, probably not enough. Not enough, but at least creating an imbalance is Hans Niemann. He wants to plant that bishop on that central E5 square, defending the C pawn, also eyeballing the D7 infiltration square for his own rook to slide over, hit the bishop on the seventh rank, hit the G pawn on the seventh rank. That's Hans' idea. He wants to get that rook in, that is for sure. But Magnus now is debating whether to capture a pawn. Black's bishop can still take on A3, or I was going to say trade off those bishops. He harasses the white bishop, first of all, tries to kick away that piece from the center. That is a slightly annoying move for Hans. He wants to retreat the bishop, but it's only going to get hit further. And it does feel like Magnus, he's in control still, and such simplified position. Four pawns each, only bishops. Now only rooks once these traded off. They should now be getting closer to safety. Tanya, are all rook endgames drawn? Well, especially when Magnus is in front of you and you need only a draw to secure the match win. I do not see how Hans creates his chances in this one. It's three versus three. Magnus' rook beautifully placed behind the pawn, stopping its advance. The white king cut off. Hans Niemann's victory relies on a miracle, a mouse slip in this one. Does look that way. Or for Magnus to maybe forget about the clock, play a little bit too slowly. Again, Hans did defeat Jan Nepomniachtchi in a rook endgame, a very similar one earlier in the day. But there was just a little bit more complexity. His king was a little bit more active. White king cut off on the back rank is the main reason why white has zero winning chances here, or close to. But stranger things have happened. It's never over till it's over. Clocks are down to around three minutes now. Magnus pushing pawns. That black h-pawn looking dangerous. He is, and as the f-pawn moves forward, stopping the advance of that black g-pawn, the king ready to hide on the h-line. I'm not even sure which player is playing for the initiative here. Who is more ambitious about their chances? And that's the thing. I'm sure Magnus would be happy with a draw. He'd be happy to move on. Best of two, that would clinch it. But Hans Niemann, at some point, you've got to provoke the opponent. Provoke the black king forward, for example. Try and checkmate it. No, we see more pawns vacuumed off the board, hoovered off the board. There we go. We're headed down to rook and pawn versus rook and pawn. Minimal flagging opportunity here for Hans Niemann. No time, simply. There's too much time on the clock. Magnus. Are we going to see a draw fair? With their history, with their hostility, with the high stakes that are on, are they going to play till king versus king? Well, we see 50 moves of rook versus rook before that inevitably happens. Tanya, we're going to find out the first question. Magnus is going to offer a rook trade. Rooks come off.