The following game made a deep impression on me. We all know how strong Carlsen is, but how does he manage to beat the “common” 2700-rated GM with black in a smooth fashion always fascinated me. It is easy to understand it, but so difficult to do it yourself!

White plays a solid opening and openly for a draw, exchanging queens early. Then he even wins the bishop pair! Yet he goes down easily. I’ll try to explain the small inaccuracies and what they led to. Another instructive point is that when things have gone too far even if there is a saving way, it is so complicated that it’s impossible to find.

I learned a lot from this game and occasionally I replay it just to inspire myself and remind myself how chess should be played. I hope you can also draw valuable lessons from this exquisite masterclass by the World Champion.