Picture from the official website
Our friends from Chessbase just posted something very interesting about Carlsen in the last round.
Karjakin, Sergey (2732) – Carlsen, M (2765) [D86]
Foros (11), 19.06.2008
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2 Nc6 9.Be3 0–0 10.0–0 Na5 11.Bd3 b6 12.Qd2 e5 13.Bh6 exd4 14.Bxg7 Kxg7 15.cxd4 cxd4 16.Rac1 Bb7 17.f4 Rc8 18.Rxc8 Qxc8 19.f5 Nc6 20.Rf3 Ne5 21.Rh3 Rh8 22.f6+ In this scary position for Black (black is actually fine but the Rook on h8 is quite awkward), Karjakin offered a draw. Carlsen was confident enough of his ability to assess the position properly and rejected the offer!
Kg8 23.Qh6 Qf8 24.Qxf8+ Kxf8 25.Nxd4 Ke8 26.Bb5+ Kd8 27.Rc3 a6 28.Ba4 b5 29.Bb3 Re8 30.Nf3 ½–½
Click here to replay the game.
Top Ten Reasons Carlsen Refused The Draw Offer on Move 22:
10. He thought playing without his Rook on h8 would be like Tiger Woods playing on one leg.
9. He has a girlfriend named Sofia and she Rules.
OK, need help with the countdown 8—1. 🙂
8. Just got fighting spirit and wanted to end the torunament on a high note – despite the suspicious position.
7. Still plenty of orange juice left and did not want to take it home again.
2. The position was still playable.
1. He didn’t hear it.
1. He had a 1.5 lead on the last round….who cares if he lost the last game!!
Well there was the idea…if white plays something stupid…
23: … Q#h3 then
of course Nf3 check wins…..So I think he just gave it a shot realizing his position was a little uncomfortable…but fine…Why not give it a shot? Of course Keryakin saw this….but it happens some times. No harm in trying.
6. Carlsen waited to see if Karjakin would lose on time. Why?Magnus was curious to see if Sergei could hit a king farther than a girl could.
-Seth Homa
#1 Reason: Because real men with very large thick Orange Juice bottle never surrender!
Karjakin assessed the position right in the first place: the draw offer came first, then the rejection.