Queen’s Sacrifice for Three Minor Pieces and Sublime Finale • Giri vs Carlsen • chess24.com (2021) • Sicilian Defense: Rossolimo Variation (B30)

This game between Anish Giri and Magnus Carlsen was played on October 1, 2021, during the sixth round of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour Finals. The tournament was a prestigious 10-player round-robin event held online on chess24, with a total prize fund of $1.6 million and $100,000 for the overall winner.

Coming into this match, Carlsen was in the lead with 26.5 points, while his nearest rival Wesley So stood at 21.5 points. For Giri, this had been a challenging tour—he had previously lost to Carlsen in the Skilling Open final stages, failed to advance from the preliminaries in the Airthings Masters, and lost to Radjabov in the Opera Euro Rapid.

The format for each round consisted of four rapid games (15 minutes plus 10-second increment). If the match ended 2-2, the players would proceed to a blitz playoff with 5-minute games plus a 3-second increment. All four rapid games in this match ended in draws, sending the contest to blitz tiebreaks.

The first blitz tiebreak game opened with 1.e4 c5, a Sicilian Defense, followed by 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5, entering the Rossolimo variation. After 3…e6 4.O-O Nge7 5.d4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 Qb6, Giri made a stunning decision with 7.Be3, and Carlsen responded with 7…Nxd4. Then came the pivotal moment: 8.a4 Nxb5, and after 9.Bxb6 axb6, Carlsen had sacrificed his queen for three minor pieces as early as move 7.

Despite the material imbalance, Carlsen’s pieces demonstrated incredible coordination. The position remained complex and tactical as Giri struggled to capitalize on having the queen. After 10.Nd2 Nd6 11.e5 Ndf5 12.Ne4 Nc6, White played the ambitious 13.g4, trying to generate an attack, but Black’s pieces proved remarkably harmonious.

The game continued with sharp play: 13…Nh4 14.f4 h5 15.h3 hxg4 16.hxg4 d5, and after 17.exd6 Ra5, both sides maneuvered carefully. Giri kept sacrificing pawns and exchanging pieces but could not find a way to break through. A critical moment came with 23.Rad1, which the computer评估 considered a significant error.

As the position opened up, Carlsen’s three pieces—two knights and a bishop—began to dominate. After 27.Rd8 Rxd8 28.Qxd8 Rxa4 29.Qc7 e5, Black’s coordinated pieces and advanced pawns created unstoppable threats. The game progressed with 30.fxe5 Be6, and despite White’s attempts to hold with moves like 31.Qxb7 Rxc4, Black’s position was simply too strong.

In the final phase, Carlsen pushed his f-pawn forward with devastating effect: 48.Qg4 Be6, and after some inaccuracies from both sides, the critical breakthrough came with 49.Rd1 Ne5 50.Qh4 f2. White’s king was helpless as the pawn promoted: 51.Kg2 Bd5+ 52.Kf1 Bc4+ 53.Kg2 f1=Q+, and after 54.Rxf1 Bxf1+ 55.Kh1, the position was completely lost for White with mate inevitable soon.

Carlsen won the blitz segment and earned two match points, extending his lead in the overall tournament standings by two more points. The game showcased why Carlsen is considered a blitz maestro—his ability to coordinate multiple pieces and convert a material imbalance into a winning position was simply magnificent.