Young Guns (Go For It)

John B. Henderson • Jan 24, 2023

There’s all the hallmarks of the changing of the old guard taking place in Magnus Carlsen’s fiefdom of the 85th Tata Steel Masters in Wijk aan Zee, with runaway train Nodirbek Abdusattorov setting a simply breathtaking pace with his +4 unbeaten score of 6/8 to lead the field by a full point going into the decisive second half of the first major of the year.

After beating Richard Rapport, Parham Maghsoodloo and Carlsen, Abdusattorov’s latest victim was a round seven defeat of India’s Arjun Erigaisi - a series of standout wins that not only sees the 18-year-old Uzbek national hero solidifying his lead at the top, but also crash into the Top 20 for the first time, storming up 13 places to World #17, and now knocking hard on the door of an early entry into the Top 10.

The young gun is fast becoming the new Gen Z superstar of chess. In 2021, he first burst onto the elite-scene by beating Carlsen en route to capturing the World Rapid Championship title, and last summer he sensationally led a youthful Uzbekistan team to podium gold at the Chennai Olympiad.

Now, if he can keep his momentum going, a further breakthrough performance is on the cards for the steely-eyed teenager with what would be an astonishing first super-tournament victory ahead of the World Champion, to further add to his haul of World Rapid title and Olympiad gold - a hat-trick of feats that even surpasses the achievements of Garry Kasparov and Carlsen at the same age.

But Carlsen hasn’t given up the fight just yet. After the disappointment of back-to-back losses to Anish Giri and Abdusattorov, the comeback is on as the Norwegian ace hit back with his own back-to-back wins over Richard Rapport and former title challenger Fabiano Caruana, to suddenly find himself right back in the fight for a possible ninth Wijk title.

Standings:

1. N. Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan) 6; 2-3. A. Giri (Netherlands), W. So. (USA) 5; 4-7. L. Aronian (USA), R. Praggnandhaa (India), F. Caruana (USA), M. Carlsen (Norway) 4½; 8. Ding Liren (China) 4; 9-10. R. Rapport (Romania), P. Maghsoodloo (Iran) 3½; 11-12. A. Erigaisi (India), J Van Foreest (Netherlands) 3; 13-14. V. Keymer (Germany), D. Gukesh (India) 2½

GM Magnus Carlsen - GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov

Tata Steel Masters, (5)

English Four Knights

1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.e3 Not the most testing line of the English Four Knights - the only thing it has going for it is that it can easily transpose into several other mainline opening now. 4...e5 5.Be2 d5 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.0-0 Be7 8.Bb5 Nxc3 9.bxc3 Qc7 10.d4 cxd4 11.cxd4 exd4 12.Nxd4 Bd7 13.Nf3 Bf6 14.Ba3 Bxa1 15.Qxa1 The exchange sacrifice would have been worth it for Carlsen if Abdusattorov's king was left high and dry by being marooned in the center of the board - but here, it easily gets to safety by castling on the queenside. 15...0-0-0 16.Rc1 Kb8 17.Qxg7 Rhg8 18.Qb2 Unfortunately 18.Qxf7?? loses on-the-spot to 18...Rxg2+ 19.Kxg2 Bh3+ etc; while 18.Qxh7?! gets hit by the tactical shot 18...Bg4 19.Bxc6 Qxc6! 20.Ne1 (Equally as bad is 20.Qxg8 Qxc1+ 21.Bxc1 Rxg8 22.Nd4 Bh3 23.g3 Rg6! 24.f3 Rb6 and Black should win.) 20...Qd5 and Black is in command. 18...Bg4! This is more accurate and edges the alternative of 18...Bh3.19.Ne1 Rd1 This is the reason why 18...Bg4 was more accurate, as Abdusattorov trading pieces means he makes his material advantage count more. The more pieces traded off, the harder it gets for Carlsen to generate some much-needed counter-play. 20.Rxd1 Bxd1 21.Bf1 Ne5 22.h3 Bf3! With one very good and accurate move, suddenly Abdusattorov's pieces are all actively placed and Carlsen faces a near impossible task of defending his king. 23.Qd4 Rd8 24.Qh4 Bd5 25.Qxh7 Bc4 There was a good case for 25...Ng6 first - the reason we will soon see. 26.Bb2?! A tricky position that the engine sees right through, and the reason why it wanted to play ...Ng6 is that it prevented the resourceful and tactical engine hold with 26.Qh4! Bxa2 and now (26...Bxf1 27.Kxf1 Qc4+ 28.Qxc4 Nxc4 29.Bb4 and White should hold this endgame.) 27.Bb2! Nc6 28.Nd3 Be6 29.Be2 Qa5 30.Qf6 and White's pieces are more co-ordinated to hold for the draw. 26...Bxf1 27.Kxf1 Qc4+ 28.Kg1 Nc6 29.Nf3 Qxa2 30.Bf6 Rd1+ 31.Kh2 a5 Not only pushing the passed a-pawn up the board, but also providing an escape hole for the king from the checks. 32.Nd4 Qd5 33.Qc2 Qd6+ 34.f4 Rxd4!? Carlsen has done well to dig himself out of a hole to reach this salvageable position, as Abdusattorov begins to realise that the only hope he had of winning now was to liquidate down to the Q+P ending, which at the best of times isn't an easy endgame to convert. 35.Bxd4 Nxd4 36.exd4 Qxf4+ 37.g3 Qxd4 38.h4 a4 39.Qa2 f5 40.h5 Qh8 Forcing a further liquidation of the pawns, as we soon get into the realms of endgame database territory. 41.Qxa4 Qxh5+ 42.Kg1 Qf3 43.Kh2? It all goes pear-shaped for Carlsen at this point. A better try to hold would have been 43.Qe8+! Kc7 first and then 44.Kh2 Qf2+ 45.Kh3 as this seems to be the most testing line for Black to win, as can be seen with 45...Qf1+ 46.Kh2 b5 (Not 46...f4 47.Qe5+ Kc6 48.Qe4+ Kd6 49.Qd4+ Ke6 50.gxf4 and a draw.) 47.Qe7+ etc. 43...Qe2+ 44.Kg1 Qe5! [see diagram] Centralising the queen, and by now I think Carlsen must have been ruing his missed game-saving chance with 43.Qe8+. 45.Kf2 b5 46.Qb4 Kb7 47.g4 fxg4 48.Qxg4 How times change, with the Nalimov Endgame Tablebase having kicked in and telling us that this Q+P endgame is a technical win for Black in a mere 53 moves at this point! As a teenager myself back in 1976, I remember following very scarce and sketchy newspaper reports from snowy Dubna, a scientific centre near Moscow, as Tony Miles achieved that most difficult of feats at the time of gaining his final norm in Russia to become Britain's first Grandmaster; and a key win coming in an almost identical queen and pawn ending against Anatoly Donchenko that demanded great patience and technical ability to convert. Now, thanks to our Silicon Overlords, it is easier to learn how to win such fiendishly technical endings. 48...Kb6 49.Qg8 b4 50.Kf3 The one nugget I do remember from Miles' annotation to that key game from 1976, was that for any chance to draw, you really need the White king to be in the opposite far corner to the pawn - but here, due to Abdusattorov's well-placed central queen, there's no chance of Carlsen's king ever running to h8. Ideally, what White needs is his king and queen to swap places. 50...Kb5 51.Kg2 Qe2+ 52.Kg3 Qe3+ 53.Kg2 b3 54.Qb8+ The engines tell you that 54.Qd5+ would have held out for 35 moves rather than 34 moves with Carlsen's choice - but just who the hell is counting by this stage? 54...Kc4 55.Qg8+ Holding on for an extra four moves was 55.Kh1 - but such random long checks are a normal human reaction in a Q+P endgame, but all it is achieving is to push the king further up the board to where it wants to be. 55...Kc3 56.Qc8+ Kd2 57.Qh8 If 57.Qd8+ Qd3 58.Qa5+ Qc3 59.Qg5+ Kd1! 60.Qg4+ (If 60.Qd5+ Qd2+ and White can resign with the queens coming off.) 60...Kc1 and now either 61.Qg5+ (or Qf4+) sees 61...Qd2+ again trading queens. 57...Kc2 58.Qc8+ Kd1 59.Qh8 Qd2+ 60.Kg3 b2 0-1 Carlsen resigns with no more checks left, and faced with 61.Qh7 Qd6+ 62.Kg4 Kc1 63.Qh1+ Qd1+ etc.

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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.