Library / Games / Carlsen, Magnus vs Caruana, Fabiano
Chessable Masters Final · chess24.com INT · 27 June 2020

Magnus Carlsen vs Fabiano Caruana, Chessable Masters Final, R1.22

Carlsen, Magnus 1–0 Caruana, Fabiano
Carlsen, Magnus vs Caruana, Fabiano
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Chessable Masters Final, 27 June 2020

Game 1.22 of the 2020 Chessable Masters Final (June 27) was won by Carlsen as White. The opening was the Italian Game, a Carlsen specialty that he used heavily in his 2018-2020 white repertoire. The quiet positional system produced a small structural edge by move 20, which Carlsen converted through the kind of slow technical play that characterised his career.

The win contributed to Carlsen’s overall victory in the Chessable Masters Final match. The pandemic online tour was Carlsen’s commercial brainchild — he had been a co-founder of Chessable and Play Magnus Group, and the Masters event was held under the company’s banner.

The 2020 online event series also helped accelerate the broader “chess boom” that began during the pandemic. The Netflix series “The Queen’s Gambit” — released in October 2020 — brought millions of new viewers to online chess platforms. Combined with the existing online elite tour, the period 2020-2021 saw chess audiences expand at unprecedented rates. Carlsen’s online events were the elite-level capstone of that growth.

The Italian Game’s role as Carlsen’s primary 1.e4 weapon during this period also influenced opening theory. Carlsen’s preference for slow positional structures (Italian, Catalan, English) over sharper sicilian or Spanish lines reflected his style and elevated those openings’ status in elite preparation. Younger elite players including Gukesh Dommaraju have since adopted similar repertoires.

Game record

This game between Carlsen, Magnus and Caruana, Fabiano was played at the Chessable Masters Final in chess24.com INT in 2020. Played in round 1.22. At the time of the game, the players were rated 2863 (White) and 2835 (Black). The game lasted 45 moves, ending with White winning. It is part of the modern AI-era of elite chess.

Opening context

The opening sequence runs 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. e3 d5, after which the players entered the middlegame proper.