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Croatia GCT 2019 · Zagreb CRO · 28 June 2019

Caruana, F. vs Carlsen, M., Croatia GCT 2019

Caruana, F. ½–½ Carlsen, M.
Caruana, F. vs Carlsen, M.
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Black king
White king
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Croatia GCT 2019, 28 June 2019

The Caruana-Carlsen game at the 2019 Croatia Grand Chess Tour (Round 3.1, June 28) was a draw. The 2019 Croatia GCT was the inaugural event of the Grand Chess Tour Croatia leg — played in Zagreb, with a 12- player round-robin field. The format was a strong classical event with 2-week duration.

Caruana as White played the Italian Game, the slow positional structure Carlsen himself preferred as White. The choice to play Carlsen’s own weapon back at him was characteristic of Caruana’s preparation strategy during this period — try to neutralise Carlsen’s structural preferences by entering them with deep preparation of his own.

The game was drawn in 35 moves with material balance and a clear drawing endgame. Carlsen finished first in the 2019 Croatia GCT with 8/11; Caruana finished co-fifth on 5.5/11. The result confirmed Carlsen’s status as the world’s strongest classical player at the time.

The Grand Chess Tour 2019 calendar included Croatia, Saint Louis, and several other stops. The cumulative tour result was won by Carlsen with consistent top-three finishes at every event. The Tour had become by 2019 the most prestigious annual chess series outside of the World Championship cycle.