The race to the king

Viswanathan Anand vs Magnus Carlsen

World championship · 2013 · 0-1

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A masterpiece, move by move

Game 9 of the 2013 championship is a race between Anand’s kingside attack and Carlsen’s queenside passed pawn.

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24. f6

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Close in on the king. Anand advances the f-pawn to f6. With the queen heading to h6, White is trying to build threats near the black king.

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27... b1=Q+

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Promotion with check. Carlsen’s b-pawn becomes a second queen and immediately checks the king on g1 along the first rank. White must answer the check before continuing the attack.

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28... Qe1

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Defend the mating square. The new queen moves to e1, controlling h4 along the diagonal e1–f2–g3–h4. This matters because White’s rook would otherwise threaten to arrive on h4.