Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi, Game 4: Another Day, Another Draw

Game 4 was another very well-played draw. It wasn't flashy, but there was some impressive chess of a more subtle nature. Connoisseurs will be happy, bloodthirsty chess fans who think that 18 consecutive draws in World Championship matches are more than a few too many may not be. On the other hand, it was (and still is) Magnus Carlsen's 31st birthday, so it may be that he wanted to play a relatively low-risk game. He had a small but venomous idea against Ian Nepomniachtchi's Petroff - for the fourth straight game it is the champion who has directed the play into fresh channels. Nepo seemed to have been prepared for this, or if not did a great job of defanging White's idea at the board. Whichever it was, or whatever the combination of the two may have been, he defended well, and Carlsen ultimately went for a quick repetition of moves, the game concluding before the first time control for the first time in the match, in only 33 moves.

The game, with my notes, is here; game five will be tomorrow.