Continuing his dream-run, Hikaru Nakamura stunned Magnus Carlsen in the first game of the second set to inch closer to a possible 2-0 lead in the seven-set title-clash of the $300,000 Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour on Saturday.
Having stopped Carlsen 2.5-1.5 in the first set on Friday, Nakamura once again thrived in a messy position after the World champion appeared to have got his move-order wrong for his home preparation.
At one point, Carlsen spent 11 minutes for a move. Later, Carlsen’s decision to trade his bishop for a knight on the queen’s side gave Nakamura the advantage he was looking for.
What followed was Carlsen’s sacrifice of a knight on the 23rd move in order to find a checkmating combination on the kingside. But Nakamura defended the position very well. A desperate Carlsen temporarily gave up his bishop in search of the possibility of either checkmating the black king or at least finding a draw by perpetual checks.
Once Nakamura brought out his famous defensive skills to deny Carlsen. Eventually, Carlsen gave up on the 45th move.
The results (set two, game one):
Magnus Carlsen (Nor) lost to Hikaru Nakamura (USA).
