The story behind the game
The fourth game of the 2018 championship illustrates active defence without a tactical finish. Caruana centralizes a knight, accepts doubled pawns after the queen exchange and challenges the queenside. Later kingside play gives Black useful king activity. A drawn score can still teach concrete decisions about structure and piece placement.
Take these ideas to your next game
- Use a central outpost before the opponent gains more space.
- Judge doubled pawns with the open lines they create.
- Challenge a pawn chain at its base.
- Activate the king when the queens have left the board.
Read the complete annotated game
Full game transcript, including the result and the answers. Original explanations by chessgames.info; game score from the sources below.
Nd4 places the knight on a useful central square. White responds with a queenside pawn advance rather than an immediate knight exchange. Black can then reposition the bishop and trade the other knight. Compare those exchanges through the resulting bishop activity, not just the appearance of the knight on d4.
gxf6 completes the queen exchange and creates doubled f-pawns. The structure is less tidy, but the open g-file and the absence of queens change its significance. White also recaptures a bishop on e4. Assess the activity of both kings and rooks before assigning a fixed penalty to the doubled pawns.
b5 contests the queenside rather than waiting passively. White activates a rook on d1, and later the a-pawns exchange on b5. Black’s rook can then use the open a-file. Compare the files created by the pawn exchanges with the weaknesses left behind by the doubled f-pawns.
f5 challenges White’s centre with the king nearby. After exf5+, Black’s king recaptures on f5 in the recorded continuation. The central king activity helps compensate for the changed pawn structure. Check the available rook checks before using this pattern in a different position.
Result: 1/2-1/2. The recorded score ends here; it does not imply checkmate.
Think through the turning points
Move 10: Use the central knight square
Which knight move from c6 increases central activity? In the game: Nd4. Nd4 places the knight on a useful central square. White responds with a queenside pawn advance rather than an immediate knight exchange. Black can then reposition the bishop and trade the other knight. Compare those exchanges through the resulting bishop activity, not just the appearance of the knight on d4.
Engine-supported alternatives
Bf8 e3 Bf5 d4 exd4 Nxd4 Nxd4 exd4 Be4 Re1 Bxg2 Rxe8 · +0.10 · depth 18
Nd4 b4 · +0.19 · depth 18
Bb6 Re1 a5 e3 h6 d4 exd4 Nxd4 Nb4 Qh5 Qg5 Qxg5 · +0.15 · depth 17
Move 19: Recapture the queen and accept the structure
Which pawn recapture removes White’s queen on f6? In the game: gxf6. gxf6 completes the queen exchange and creates doubled f-pawns. The structure is less tidy, but the open g-file and the absence of queens change its significance. White also recaptures a bishop on e4. Assess the activity of both kings and rooks before assigning a fixed penalty to the doubled pawns.
Engine-supported alternatives
gxf6 dxe4 b5 Rb2 Reb8 Ra1 a5 axb5 axb4 Rxa8 Rxa8 Bxb4 · +0.13 · depth 20
Bf8 Qh4 Bxd3 Rbd1 e4 Qf4 Re6 Qc7 b5 Qb7 Rd8 Qxa6 · +4.25 · depth 20
Bc7 Qg5 Bxd3 Rbd1 h6 Qg4 Rad8 e4 b6 Qf3 Bc2 Rxd8 · +4.63 · depth 20
Move 20: Challenge the queenside chain
Which b-pawn advance challenges White’s queenside space? In the game: b5. b5 contests the queenside rather than waiting passively. White activates a rook on d1, and later the a-pawns exchange on b5. Black’s rook can then use the open a-file. Compare the files created by the pawn exchanges with the weaknesses left behind by the doubled f-pawns.
Engine-supported alternatives
b5 Rb2 Bf8 Kf1 Rab8 axb5 Rxb5 Ra2 Bxb4 Bxb4 Rxb4 Rxa6 · +0.06 · depth 19
Reb8 Red1 Bf8 Rdc1 b5 axb5 axb5 Be1 Rc8 g4 Kg7 Rc2 · +0.14 · depth 19
b6 Rb2 · +0.22 · depth 19
Move 29: Use the king with the pawn break
Which f-pawn advance challenges the pawn on e4? In the game: f5. f5 challenges White’s centre with the king nearby. After exf5+, Black’s king recaptures on f5 in the recorded continuation. The central king activity helps compensate for the changed pawn structure. Check the available rook checks before using this pattern in a different position.
Engine-supported alternatives
f5 Rbc1 · +0.03 · depth 21
Be7 f3 f5 exf5+ Kxf5 Rbc1 Bxb4 Rxc6 Rxc6 Rxc6 f6 e4+ · +0.03 · depth 20
Ra6 f4 f5 exf5+ Kxf5 fxe5 Kxe5 Rd1 Be7 Rd4 f5 Rf4 · +0.06 · depth 20
Every piece has a part to play.
The fourth game of the 2018 championship illustrates active defence without a tactical finish. Caruana centralizes a knight, accepts doubled pawns after the queen exchange and challenges the queenside. Later kingside play gives Black useful king activity. A drawn score can still teach concrete decisions about structure and piece placement.
Look a little deeper
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Accessible evaluation values & provenance
Stockfish 17.1 · 75,000 nodes per position; 1,000,000 at key moments. Actual depth 12–24. Positive centipawns favour White; mate scores remain separate. Selective search is evidence, not proof.
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