The Big Guns of August

John B. Henderson • Aug 03, 2023

The top 20 players in the world have the most opportunities in chess and can earn a good living. But it is considerably more difficult for the players ranked just below them to earn a decent crust. Their appearance fees are much lower, and they rarely are invited to the tournaments that can put them in the spotlight and offer the best prize money.

For those players, the Fide World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan, is a great opportunity to shine. With an original starting field on 30 July of 206 players and prize money totalling an unprecedented $2.5 million, not to mention qualifying spots directly into the 2024 Candidates tournaments, the stakes are higher than ever before, with the behemoth knockout tournament giving some second-tier players (and many promising juniors looking to make a name for themselves as a giant-killer) a golden chance to compete against the world’s elite.

But the task to progress further became even more daunting with the arrival of August and the little matter of the 50 seeded big guns who got to miss the opening round, such as Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Anish Giri and Wesley So et al., who now join the fray in the Caucus country by starting from round two!

And many of those big guns of August easily won their round two mini-matches to progress to the next round, with Carlsen leading the way with a crushing 2-0 victory over the jobbing Georgian GM Levan Pantsulaia - but it wasn’t all plain sailing for the favourites.

Second seed Nakamura was held to two draws by India’s Karthik Venkataraman, with the US speed maven and popular streamer now having to return for the sudden-death tiebreaker. But the biggest upset witnessed 20-year-old Tin Jingyao from Singapore eliminating one of the top seeds and local Baku legend Shahriyar Mamedyarov, to record the best Singaporean chess performance in history!

There is also a swath of Indian juniors that could well use the World Cup as the launchpad to go on to become the next big thing in chess. Already, with a brace of impressive wins to his name, Gukesh D could well be the teen to watch at the World Cup, as the 17-year-old rather has now crossed the Rubicon by moving into the World top-10 for the first time on the unofficial live rankings, bringing with it the end of an era as he supplants Vishy Anand - after many decades - as the new Indian #1.

And Anand himself singled out another of his country’s young tigers, 17-year-old Rameshbabu “Pragg” Praggnanandhaa, hailing his stunning round two win over the French champion Maxime Lagarde to be nothing short of a “masterpiece” that many are already putting on the short-list for the Game of the Year award.

GM Maxime Lagarde - GM Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa

FIDE World Cup, (2.1)

C60: Ruy Lopez, Cozio Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nge7

The Cozio Defence - named after Carlo Cozio, the Count of Montiglio and Salabue (c. 1715 – c. 1780) no less, who was one of Italy's leading players and theorists of the eighteenth century - is seldom seen today in top-flight chess. It's a cousin to the more popular Smyslov/Barnes defence with 3...g6 followed by ...Nge7 and ...Bg7 that has received a revival of late - though here, the blot in the Cozio copybook is that the knight temporarily blocks the king’s bishop. However, the bishop could be developed to g7, a la the Smyslov/Barnes, or it could wait until the knight moves again (probably to g6, as happens in the game). 4.Nc3 I would imagine that the somewhat rare bird of the Cozio Defence had to have come as a complete surprise for Lagarde, and wouldn't even have featured at all in the Frenchman's opening prep for his mini-match against the young Indian whiz-kid. And when grandmasters are faced with such a scenario, they rarely play the best reply, fearing a well-prepared line - and hence the reason here for Lagarde opting for the respectable third choice behind the more popular 4.0-0 and 4.c3. 4...Ng6 5.d4 Nxd4 6.Nxd4 exd4 7.Qxd4 c6 8.Be2 Qb6 This position has been seen several times in grandmaster praxis. 9.Qd3 Be7 10.f4N A novelty here, but more a serendipitous one created at the board rather than some nifty piece of homework. More common is the natural-looking 10.0-0 - but also an interesting shot is the pawn sacrifice with 10.h4!? Bxh4 11.g3 with complications. 10...O-O 11.h4 d5! Pragg is a sharp cookie. With the White king still stuck in the middle of the board, he rightly seizes his chance to blow the doors off the position. 12.h5? Lagarde blunders his way into enormous complications. He had to bite the bullet and accept the challenge with 12.exd5 Rd8 13.h5 Nh4 when Mr Engine calmly plays 14.Kf1 with a claim of equality. 12...dxe4 13.Qg3 I completely understand Lagarde's reluctance to play 13.Nxe4 Nh4 and the game taking a Lou Reed-like walk on the wild side - but if the Frenchman thinks he's stopped the annoying ...Nh4, he's in for a rude awakening! 13...Nh4! Pragg has gone all-in - and holding the nuts! 14.Rxh4 Qg1+ 15.Bf1 e3! This “quiet” move is what Lagarde probably missed as his position turns critical, as there's no need to immediately recapture the rook with the major threat now being ...Qf2+! 16.Nd1 It's a day trip to Awkwardsvillie for White after 16.Rh2 Bc5! 17.Ne2 Qf2+ 18.Qxf2 exf2+ 19.Kd2 Rd8+ 20.Kc3 a5! 21.a3 Rd1 22.Rh1 Bg4 23.Ng3 Bd4+ 24.Kb3 a4+ 25.Ka2 Re8 and White is close, if not already in, zugzwang. 16...Re8 17.Ke2 Be6!

The alternative of 17...b6 threatening ...Ba6+ looks "sexy", but according to Mr Engine, it forces a R+P endgame that is far from winning after 18.f5! looking to defend against ...Ba6+ with c4, where now 18...Bxh4 19.Qxh4 Ba6+ 20.c4 Re5 21.Nxe3 Rae8 22.Qf2! Bxc4+ 23.Kf3 Qxf2+ 24.Kxf2 Bxf1 25.Kxf1 Rxe3 26.Bxe3 Rxe3 27.Rc1 Re5! 28.Rxc6 The best try to save the game. 28...Rxf5+ 29.Ke2 h6 30.Rc8+ Kh7 31.Rc7 Ra5 32.a3 Rg5 33.Kf2 a5 34.Rxf7 Rxh5 35.Rf4 Kg6 36.Rd4 Kf7 And Black has to be preferred - but with it being a R+P endgame, White still has good saving chances. 18.b3

Much as in the above note, the more practical try is 18.f5!? Bxh4 19.Qxh4 Bd5 20.Nxe3 Re4 21.Qf2 Bc4+ 22.Ke1 Qh1 23.Kd2 Bxf1 24.Nxf1 Rae8 25.Ng3 Qe1+ 26.Qxe1 Rxe1 27.c4 where, despite numerically holding a small material advantage, White is in deep danger as it is almost impossible to unravel. 18...Rad8! Pragg is in no hurry to land a haymaker as he just brings his remaining piece into the game. 19.Nxe3 Bf6 The most scenic road to Rome - and also winning was 19...Bxh4 but Pragg goes for the more prosaic approach with his opponent's hapless king caught in the crossfire in the middle of the board.20.Rb1 Bf5 Commentating on this game, the Indian legend and five-time ex-world champion, Vishy Anand, rightly called this game a "masterpiece" from Pragg. 21.Qf2 (see diagram) Hoping to take the pressure off with the queens being exchanged - but Pragg has seen a little deeper into the position. 21...Bxh4!! The queen sac offer certainly seals the deal on the "masterpiece" tag. 22.Qxh4 If 22.Qxg1 Bg4#

22...Bxc2 23.Qxd8 There's no defence now. If 23.Rb2 Bd3+ 24.Kf3 Bxf1 25.Qf2 Bxg2+! 26.Nxg2 Qxc1 and Black will easily mop up from here. 23...Rxd8 24.Nxc2 Qc5 25.Ne3 Re8 26.Kf3 The pressure is relentless from Pragg - and note how 26.Bd2 soon crashes to 26...Rxe3+! 27.Bxe3 Qc2+ picking up the rook. 26...Qd4 27.Ke2 Qc5 Again threatening ...Qc2+. 28.Kf3 Qxh5+ 29.g4 If 29.Kf2 Qg6 30.Rb2 Qf6! wins due to the twin threat of ...Qxf4+ and ...Rxe3. And note how 31.Nc4 Qd4+ and something has to give, as 32.Kg3 Qc3+ 33.Kh2 Qxc1 34.Rf2 Re1 35.Be2 Qc2 and White is set to lose even more material. 29...Qh1+ 30.Kg3 Re6 So many ways to win now, but the stone-cold killer was the immediate 30...h5! 31.gxh5 Qxh5 32.Bd3 Rd8 33.Bc2 Qe2! and no answer to ...Re8 followed by ...Rxe3+ and the dominatrix Black queen picks up the remaining loose pieces. But when your opponent is on the morphine drip, then what's the hurry? 31.Bd2 h5! Now Pragg ruthlessly moves in for the kill by snaring the White king in his mating net. 32.gxh5 Qxh5 33.Re1 Rg6+ 34.Kf2 Qh4+ 35.Kf3 Qg3+ 36.Ke4 Or, alternatively, the slightly slower death with 36.Ke2 Qxf4 37.Kd1 Rd6 etc. 36...Rd6 37.Re2 f5+! 0-1 And Lagarde throws the towel in as 38.Nxf5 (Or even 38.Kxf5 Qg6+ 39.Ke5 Qe6#) 38...Qd3+ 39.Ke5 Qd5#

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The 42 Paradox

By John B. Henderson • 02 Oct, 2023

Well, well, well. After rampaging his way through many of the finals and opponents throughout the 2023 Champions Chess Tour, Magnus Carlsen’s “final boss” reign came to a screeching halt in what proved to be an enthralling AI Cup Grand Final on Friday, as the favourite was beaten not once but in three games, and over two matches, by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who sensationally grabbed the last remaining spot in the Champions Tour Final in December. Earlier, Carlsen had defeated MVL in the final of the winners’ bracket, before the Frenchman gained the right to a rematch in the double-elimination contest by beating Ian Nepomniachtchi in the final of the losers’ bracket. In the Grand Final, buoyed up and firing on all cylinders, MVL beat Carlsen by a 2½-1½ score.

We'll Meet Again

By John B. Henderson • 29 Sep, 2023

The self-proclaimed “final boss of chess” does what the final boss of chess does best of all: Magnus Carlsen beat Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the final of the AI Cup winners’ bracket, the sixth and final leg of the 2023 Champions Chess Tour regular season, to reach yet another Grand Final in the novel double-elimination contest. But it wasn’t without an epic bare-knuckle street fight from both players, as MVL proved to be a worthy opponent for what looked to be an unstoppable Carlsen, who narrowly prevailed in the Armageddon to take the match 3-2. "This is the sort of thing that happens when you play Sicilians in every game," said a magnanimous Carlsen in victory after four fighting Sicilians left the match tied at 2-2.

Tiers For Fears

By John B. Henderson • 27 Sep, 2023

Fans were treated to arguably the greatest online rivalry in chess history recently, with the Chess.com Speed Chess Championship Grand Final showdown between Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura seeing the Norwegian narrowly snatch victory by a solitary win to end the American speed maven’s hopes of a sixth successive victory. But Carlsen’s narrow win left the salivating fans feeling they’d been denied seeing this epic gladiatorial speed contest going into overtime - but they didn’t have to wait long for the rivalry redux, as a couple of days later, both Carlsen and Nakamura went head-to-head yet again in the opening day of the AI Cup, the sixth and final leg of the 2023 Champions Chess Tour regular season.

Bossing It

By John B. Henderson • 25 Sep, 2023

Magnus Carlsen more than lived up to his self-proclamation of being “The Final Boss of Chess” with a revenge-is-sweet narrow victory over fellow chess influencer Hikaru Nakamura, as he denied his long-time arch-rival a sixth successive Chess.com Speed Chess Championship title last Friday. Last year, it was Nakamura who narrowly squeaked home by one point - this time, in yet another thrilling match consisting of three different speed limits - 5+1, 3+1 and 1+1 (more commonly known as ‘bullet’) - between the two speed titans, it again ended with the same scoreline, though this time seeing Carlsen triumph by a solitary win after two pulsating hours of thrilling play, as he took the $150,000 2023 Speed Chess Championship presented by Coinbase, 13.5-12.5.

Death, Taxes, Magnus & Hikaru

By John B. Henderson • 22 Sep, 2023

With a smorgasbord of online chess events out there now, the granddaddy of them all is surely the Chess.com Speed Chess Championship , with a $150,000 prize fund that determines just who is the best blitz and bullet players. It has become the perennial fan-favourite with arguably the best viewing experience - and the fans are set for yet another spectacular finale later today, as the two rivals who dominate the roll of honour, Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, get set for another explosive showdown in the 2023 final. Friday’s final and commentary, free to view, starts at 14:00 ET (11:00 PT; 20:00 CEST; 23:30 IST) on Chess.com. Carlsen and Nakamura have won each edition since the inaugural Speed Chess Championship event in 2016 - Carlsen won the first two speed titles before taking a hiatus, only for Nakamura to rule the roost, winning four more times.

A Messi Kid

By John B. Henderson • 19 Sep, 2023

India today is a land of amazing young talents and prospects in chess, with the country seemingly having a never-ending production line of prodigies rolling off the factory conveyor belt. But for some countries, such as Argentina, prodigies only seem to come around with all the regularity of Halley’s Comet . One of the first notable post-war chess prodigies was Oscar Panno from Buenos Aires, who became the first world-class player born in South America. In 1953, at the age of 17, he became only the second World Junior Champion , having won the coveted youth title ahead of a strong cadre of future elite-level Grandmasters such as Boris Ivkov (who in 1951 was crowned the first World Junior Ch), Bent Larsen, and Fredrik Olafsson.

The Great Rook 'n' Roll Swindle

By John B. Henderson • 14 Sep, 2023

“Chess is a cruel game. We all know that feeling when your position has gone awry and everything seems hopeless. You feel like resigning. But don’t give up! This is precisely the moment to switch to swindle mode. Master the art of provoking errors and you will be able to turn the tables and escape with a draw or sometimes even steal the full point!” So wrote David Smerdon, an Australian chess grandmaster and one of his country’s leading behavioural economists, on the back cover of his witty and wickedly entertaining, not to mention the much-lauded and deserving 2020 ECF Book of the Year winner, The Complete Chess Swindler (New in Chess).

No Country For Young Men

By John B. Henderson • 11 Sep, 2023

With the top teenage talents being overshadowed in the Tata Steel Chess India Rapid in Kolkata by a dominant performance from seasoned veteran Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, there were hopes of a homeland comeback in the follow-on Blitz tournament - and one looked to be on the cards, only for another “old guy”, this time Alexander Grischuk, crashing the teenage party by capturing the second, even faster speed title. Early doors, all eyes were firmly on Rameshbabu “Pragg” Praggnanandhaa, with his flying start of a perfect 5/5 on the opening day of the two-day double-round contest. But that was as good as it got for the 18-year-old Candidate-qualifier, who could only finish the day on 6.5/9, and despite being the sole leader, he held what looked a very slender half-point lead over nearest rivals Santosh Vidit and Grischuk, ominously the only unbeaten player.

My Indian Summer

By John B. Henderson • 08 Sep, 2023

The past couple of years have proved to be a major one for India - not only a global player with world leaders descending this week in New Delhi for the G20 Summit and recently successfully landing a spacecraft on the moon but now also a fully-fledged chess superpower, with many exciting young talents set to make the country a dominant force for the foreseeable future. Many would even speculate that Indian Chess could well turn into a hegemony, in much the same way as the Soviets dominated the chess scene in the 1945 post-war period until its collapse and ultimate dissolution in 1991. The latest big chess tournament to be held in India coincides with the G20, with the fifth Tata Steel Chess India Rapid & Blitz - a spinoff from the larger Dutch super-tournament, the Tata Steel Chess Masters in Wijk aan Zee - taking place 5-9 September in Kolkata.

Me & The Kids

By John B. Henderson • 04 Sep, 2023

The fifth and latest leg of the Champions Chess Tour , the Julius Baer Generations Cup more than lived up to its name with the world No.1, Magnus Carlsen, after overpowering Alireza Firouzja in the winners’ final, to effortlessly cruise his way into the Grand Final, declaring: “It’s just me against the kids now!” After three clean kills that included a brace of back-to-back 2½-½ victories over Iranian Amin Tabatabaei and his old title foe Caruana, Carlsen proceeded to sweep Firouzja 3-0 to reach the Grand Final of the contest - but it wasn’t lost on the “old man” that non of his old rivals were left in the competition, and that meant that Denis Lazavik (16), Nodirbek Abdusattorov (18), and Firouzja (20) were the only three left standing to see who would go forward to meet him in the Grand Final.