Vox Populi Magnus!

John Henderson • Nov 25, 2022

Magnus Carlsen turned on the style with a dominating performance in the $210,000 Meltwater Champions Chess Tour final, with a clean sweep of all of his online/hybrid seven matches in San Francisco, dropping just a single point, and picking up the $50,000 first prize. The Norwegian also took two of the three Majors in the 2022 season. And as if that is wasn’t enough of a haul, the online fans also voted Carlsen the winner of the Tour’s best game prize for his blitz win over leading teenage rival Alireza Firouzja in Miami!

“People are suckers for queen sacrifices, yeah?” said Carlsen. “That was one of my better games of the tour. I was very happy that I managed to calculate precisely with only seconds left, but for instance Duda played a very nice game here [in the San Francisco final], sacrificing practically all his pieces to mate Anish [Giri], so there have been a lot of good games played, but I’m happy to have the fans’ support!”

During his post-victory presser, Carlsen added that he was now looking forward to next year. “I hope to continue to play a lot of events both in the Tour and others, so nobody knows at this point what’s going to happen, but I think whatever will happen it will be good content… I hope that next season also because there will be no conflict of interest with Chess.com, most probably, there will be an even steadier diet of the very top players participating in every event.”

Before that, we could see Carlsen going for gold once again, with a late entry at the traditional end-of-year speed world championships. The FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championship will take place in Almaty, Kazakhstan, running from December 25-31 at the Baluan Sholak Sports Palace.

We will need to wait to see whether Carlsen confirms his participation in Almaty – but Carlsen will certainly be heading the field in the first traditional classical Major of the year, the Tata Steel Masters 2023 in Wijk Ann Zee, the Netherlands, where he’ll be in the hunt for a ninth title.

The event, dubbed the “chess Wimbledon”, and running 13 to 29 January in the enchanting tiny Dutch chess hamlet by the North Sea, has a spectacular line-up that will see Carlsen facing rating rivals in China’s world No 2, Ding Liren, and the reigning US champion, Fabiano Caruana. But more intriguing, with the Wijk tradition of finding the “perfect mix” between the world’s best players and new talents/rising stars, Carlsen will also face a newer generational challenge – but sadly sans Firouzja, who is still involved in an open dispute with the Wijk organisers.

Five of the world’s top teenagers are in the field: Arjun Erigaisi, 19, who qualified by winning the 2022 Wijk Challengers; his fellow Indians Dommaraju Gukesh, 16, and Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, 17; Uzbekistan’s world rapid champion, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, 18; and Germany’s Vincent Keymer, 18.

GM Magnus Carlsen – GM Alireza Firouzja
FTX Crypto Cup, (6.5)
English Opening
1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 Bc5 4.d3 0-0 5.Nf3 d6 6.Nc3 c6 7.0-0 a5 It’s an easy English Opening, with Carlsen just opting for something simple rather than a heavy-theory line – and Firouzja responding with a very logical set-up. 8.d4 If Carlsen doesn’t do “something” now, then he risked seeing Firouzja taking control of the game. 8…exd4 9.Nxd4 a4 Not so much preventing Nb3 for now, but more going for the thematic …a3 push to take a grip of the queenside. 10.e3 a3 11.Qc2 Re8 12.Nb3 axb2 13.Bxb2 Be6 Slightly better was the alternatives of 13…Nbd7 or even 13…Ba3 – but regardless, Carlsen has come out of the opening with no advantage. 14.Nxc5 dxc5 15.Ne2 Nbd7 Intending …Nd7-b6 hitting the easy target of the undefended c4-pawn – and this forces Carlsen’s hand. 16.Nf4 Qe7 17.a4 Ra6 Firouzja clearly has his eyes on Carlsen’s two vulnerable queenside pawns, as …Ra6 opens the door for doubling rooks on the a-file, and/or the imaginative leap with …Ra6-b6-b4. Faced with this, Carlsen has to react now with some urgency. 18.Rfb1 Rea8 19.Bc3 R6a7 20.a5 Ne8 It’s an intriguing battle being fought out in a blitz game: Firouzja looking to fix Carlsen’s pawns to that he will be tied down defending them, while Carlsen is looking to break out of the bind to activate his bishop-pair. 21.Qd3 Intent on defending c4, Carlsen misses a shot with 21.a6! bxa6 22.Bxc6 and suddenly White is in the driving seat. 21…Ndf6 22.Nxe6 Qxe6 23.Rd1 Nc7 24.e4! Now Carlsen takes control of the game, as he systematically begins to push Firouzja off the board. 24…Na6 25.e5 Ne8 26.f4 With his bishop-pair, Carlsen’s space advantage should give him a big winning advantage. 26…Nb4 27.f5! Qe7 Forced, as 27…Nxd3? 28.fxe6 Nb4 29.exf7+ Kxf7 30.Rd7+ Kg8 31.Rf1! b5 32.Bxb4!! and all the tactics are winning quickly for White: 32…Rxd7 33.Bxc6 cxb4 34.Bxd7 Nf6 35.Bc6 Rxa5 36.cxb5 and Black can resign, as moving the attacked knights leads to mate after Bd5+ etc. 28.Qd7! Qg5 You are in a precarious position, but remember it is blitz, so your best bet is to gamble everything on finding a trick or two by keeping the queens on the board, rather than the tame though better alternative of 28…Qxd7 29.Rxd7 Rxa5 30.Rxa5 Rxa5 31.Rxb7 Ra4 32.e6! fxe6 33.fxe6 etc. 29.e6 fxe6 30.fxe6 Carlsen missed that he cut to the chase right away with the better 30.Qxe6+! Kh8 31.Rd7! Nc2 32.Re7! Nf6 33.Bxf6 gxf6 (Not 33…Qxf6?? 34.Re8+! winning on the spot.) 34.Rb1 and Firouzja would have been in dire straits – and not in a good way with Mark Knopfler hitting the riffs on lead guitar! 30…Qe3+ 31.Kh1 b6 32.axb6! Offering up the first queen sacrifice – but even more of a killer blow was 32.Bxb4!! cxb4 33.Bxc6 Rxd7 34.exd7 Rd8 35.Re1! and Black can resign. 32…Nd3? Firouzja is in a bad way, and what he plays only compounds his problems. As bad as it is, his only try was 32…Rxd7! 33.exd7 Nd3 but after 34.Rf1! Rb8 (Worse was 34…Rxa1 35.Bxa1 Qe7 36.b7 and one of the pawns queen.) 35.dxe8Q+ Rxe8 36.Bxc6 Qe2 37.b7 Nf2+ 38.Rxf2! Qxf2 39.Rb1 Rb8 40.Be5 and Black’s set to lose the rook, and soon with it, the game. 33.Qxd3 Qxd3 34.bxa7! [see diagram] It’s a second queen sacrifice from Carlsen – and all the more remarkable, as he’s having to calculate this with great accuracy with just seconds left on his clock! 34…Qxc3 35.Bxc6 Rxa7 36.Rxa7 Qxc4 37.Ra8 Carlsen pieces unite to come in for the kill – but he still has to play with great care with seconds on his clock. Not easy, as Firouzja is a very tricky opponent. 37…g6 38.Rxe8+ Kg7 39.e7 With the pawn close to queening, when it does, Firouzja can resign. 39…Qe2 40.Rg8+ Much easier for the nerves was 40.Red8! – but all easy to say from the comfort of my own seat and the engine going into a virtual meltdown with its hefty +20ish assessment. But here, most players, in the heat of battle, with seconds on their clocks, will have a fixed way they are looking to win. 40…Kh6 41.e8Q Qxd1+ Carlsen is winning – but in blitz, with flags metaphorically hanging on digital clocks, offering your opponent a flurry of checks can sometimes prove to be a game-saver! 42.Kg2 Qc2+ 43.Kf3 Qf5+ 44.Ke3 Qg5+ 45.Ke2 Qg4+ 46.Bf3! Carlsen doesn’t panic, and now retreats his bishop to provide the perfect shield from the checks. 46…Qc4+ 47.Kf2 Qa2+ 48.Be2 1-0 With no checks left, Firouzja resigns, as they only way he can delay being mated for a few moves is by playing 48…Qxg8.

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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.