Altibox Norway 2019

[Wayne Komer]

Altibox Norway 2019

October 11, 2018

PLAYING FORMAT FOR 2019

Press release

10.10.18

Norway Chess has since its inception in 2013 aimed to increase the commercial aspects of chess in order to bring chess to new fans around the world.

Norway Chess is the first chess tournament screened on national live television in Norway. Norway Chess introduced innovative aspects to chess tournaments such as the confessional booth, unique playing venues, and commercial sponsorships.

New format

We are now introducing a new, exciting playing format. The overall goal is to create a tournament with fewer draws per game, create more excitement for spectators and put more pressure on the players.

How it works

Each player will have 2 hours on the clock per game, without any increments.

2 points will be given for victory, ½ point for draw and 0 points for loss.

The players that have games that end with a draw will continue in an Armageddon play-off only a few minutes after their game. The player with the white pieces will continue with white in the Armageddon game. With this, there will be a winner in each game due to the fact that black pieces will win if the game ends in a draw. The winner in the Armageddon play-off gets 1 point.

The Armageddon games will not add to the rating of the players, only contributing to the results list in the tournament, which is FIDE rated.

Players will get following points per round:

Victory main game: 2 points

Loss main game: 0 points

Draw main game & loss Armageddon: ½ point

Draw main game & victory Armageddon: 1.5 points



The 7^thedition of Altibox Norway Chess will take place June 3 - 15 , 2019.

http://norwaychess.no/en/2018/10/10/...rmat-for-2019/

Comments from ChessBase:

Maurice Ashley - Love this idea! I imagine Magnus was consulted and must have given it his seal of approval. He is on record as embracing any time control because top players always adjust. Innovative and interesting to say the least. About time!!

Eric Hansen - It's worth a try. I'm a fan

Matt Phelps - Why do people keep trying to "fix" chess?? There's nothing wrong!! I think this whole idea is stupid. First a clock-smashing blunderfest, then useless blitz games. I guarantee none of these games will go down as "best" games in any collection.

https://en.chessbase.com/post/norway...ageddon-gambit

[Henri Hughes]

I agree with Matt phelps this is going to ruin the tournament two players of high caliber could have a really good game and get a draw but then lose to a stupid Armageddon game and lose the point this used to be a tournament I loved watching and respected greatly but I have to say I'm disgusted by this new format we will see less top talents playing in the tournament

[Kerry Liles]

I agree with Matt phelps this is going to ruin the tournament two players of high caliber could have a really good game and get a draw but then lose to a stupid Armageddon game and lose the point this used to be a tournament I loved watching and respected greatly but I have to say I'm disgusted by this new format we will see less top talents playing in the tournament

Not sure what you mean by 'lose the point' - the loser of the armageddon game gets 1/2 point for the draw in the "main" game - just as he/she would expect. The winner of the armageddon game gets his/her half point plus a bonus of 1 point for the win of the armageddon game... There may be an issue with the main game being game in 120min (no increment) but using an armageddon to decide who is paired up from the draw is at least interesting. Notice that there is no FIDE rating impact of the armageddon game (as I read the proposal).

Maybe they should use rock, paper, scissors instead of an armageddon game (I am not a big fan of the armageddon format but it might be fun for the spectator).

Also worth noting is that this is NOT fixing chess per se; it is tinkering with the scoring system - a worthwhile experiment.

[Henri Hughes]

Not sure what you mean by 'lose the point' - the loser of the armageddon game gets 1/2 point for the draw in the "main" game - just as he/she would expect. The winner of the armageddon game gets his/her half point plus a bonus of 1 point for the win of the armageddon game... There may be an issue with the main game being game in 120min (no increment) but using an armageddon to decide who is paired up from the draw is at least interesting. Notice that there is no FIDE rating impact of the armageddon game (as I read the proposal).

Maybe they should use rock, paper, scissors instead of an armageddon game (I am not a big fan of the armageddon format but it might be fun for the spectator).

Also worth noting is that this is NOT fixing chess per se; it is tinkering with the scoring system - a worthwhile experiment.

I just don't think is an effective way to run a tournament of this horse power. I missed that time control change too and I also think that is a bad innovation, top caliber players don't want this its going to mess with the system
this is something you try with a smaller tournament

[Kerry Liles]

I just don't think is an effective way to run a tournament of this horse power. I missed that time control change too and I also think that is a bad innovation, top caliber players don't want this its going to mess with the system
this is something you try with a smaller tournament

I guess we will have to wait and see if they still attract the top players they want.

[Wayne Komer]

Altibox Norway 2019

January 14, 2019

The field of players:

1. Magnus Carlsen (Norway). Ranked number 1 in the world.
2. Fabiano Caruana (USA). Ranked number 2 in the world.
3. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbajian). Ranked number 3 in the world.
4. Ding Liren (China). Ranked number 4 in the world.
5. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France). Ranked number 5 in the world.
6. Viswanathan Anand (India). Ranked number 8 in the world.
7. Alexander Grischuk (Russia). Ranked number 9 in the world.
8. Levon Aronian (Armenia). Ranked number 11 in the world.
9. Wesley So (USA). Ranked number 12 in the world.
10. Yangyi Yu (China). Ranked number 13 in the world.

http://norwaychess.no/en/the-players-2019/

Schedule

Tue Jun 4 Round 1
Wed Jun 5 Round 2
Thu Jun 6 Round 3
Fri Jun 7 Rest Day
Sat Jun 8 Round 4
Sun Jun 9 Round 5
Mon Jun 10 Round 6
Tue Jun 11 Rest Day
Wed Jun 12 Round 7
Thu Jun 13 Round 8
Fri Jun 14 Round 9

Rounds start at 5:00 PM local which is 11:00 AM Toronto/Montreal time

[Wayne Komer]

Altibox Norway 2019

May 28, 2019

Recall the format:

Each player will have 2 hours on the clock per game, without any increments.

2 points will be given for victory, ½ point for draw and 0 points for loss.

The players that have games that end with a draw will continue in an Armageddon play-off only a few minutes after their game. The player with the white pieces will continue with white in the Armageddon game. With this, there will be a winner in each game due to the fact that black pieces will win if the game ends in a draw. The winner in the Armageddon play-off gets 1 point.

The Armageddon games will not add to the rating of the players, only contributing to the results list in the tournament, which is FIDE rated.

Players will get following points per round:

Victory main game: 2 points

Loss main game: 0 points

Draw main game & loss Armageddon: ½ point

Draw main game & victory Armageddon: 1.5 points

Times

Schedule in UTC:

Round Classic 1 Jun 4, 2019 15:00
Round Armageddon 1 Jun 4, 2019 21:00
Round C2 Jun 5, 2019 15:00
Round A2 Jun 5, 2019 21:00
Round C3 Jun 6, 2019 15:00
Round A3 Jun 6, 2019 21:00
Round C4 Jun 8, 2019 15:00
Round A4 Jun 8, 2019 21:00
Round C5 Jun 9, 2019 15:00
Round A5 Jun 9, 2019 21:00
Round C6 Jun 10, 2019 15:00
Round A6 Jun 10, 201 21:00
Round C7 Jun 12, 2019 15:00
Round A7 Jun 12, 2019 21:00
Round C8 Jun 13, 2019 15:00
Round A8 Jun 13, 2019 21:00
Round C9 Jun 14, 2019 15:00
Round A9 Jun 14, 2019 21:00

15:00 UTC is 11:00 AM Toronto/Montreal time

___________

A note from a chessbomb kibitzer:

Welcome Back: Liren Ding, please take taxis or public transport

[Wayne Komer]

Altibox Norway 2019

June 3, 2019

Blitz Tournament

Results

1 MVL 7.5
2-3 Aronian, Carlsen 6
4 Mamedyarov 5
5 Ding Liren 4.5
6-7 Yu Yangyi, So 3.5
8-10 Caruana, Anand, Grischuk

Round 1, June 3
Aronian, Levon – Carlsen, Magnus
B07 Pirc

1.d4 g6 2.e4 d6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Bd3 Bg7 5.O-O O-O 6.c3 Nc6 7.Re1 e5 8.h3 Re8 9.d5 Nb8 10.c4 a5 11.Nc3 Na6 12.a3 Bd7 13.Rb1 Nc5 14.Bc2 a4 15.Be3 Nb3 16.Bxb3 axb3 17.c5 c6 18.Qxb3 cxd5 19.exd5 dxc5 20.Bxc5 Bf5 21.Rbd1 Nd7 22.Be3 e4 23.Nd4 Nc5 24.Qc2 Nd3 25.Rf1 Rc8 26.Qd2 h5 27.f3 Ne5 28.Nxf5 Nc4 29.Qf2 gxf5 30.fxe4 Nxb2 31.Qxb2 Bxc3 32.Qf2 Rxe4 33.Qxf5 Rxe3 34.Qxf7+ Kh8 35.Qxh5+ Kg8 36.Qf7+ Kh8 37.Rf5 1-0

Round 1, June 3
MVL – So, Wesley
A02 Bird’s Opening

1.f4 f5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.c4 c5 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.e3 e6 7.Nge2 Nf6 8.b3 O-O 9.Bb2 b6 10.O-O Bb7 11.d4 Ng4 12.Bc1 cxd4 13.exd4 Nf6 14.Ba3 Rf7 15.d5 Na5 16.Rc1 Bf8 17.Bxf8 Qxf8 18.Qd4 Qc5 19.Rfd1 Ng4 20.Bf3 Qxd4+ 21.Nxd4 exd5 22.Nxd5 Nf6 23.Nb5 Bxd5 24.Rxd5 Nc6 25.Rd6 a6 26.Nd4 Nxd4 27.Rxd4 Rb8 28.Rd6 Ne8 29.Rd3 Kf8 30.Rcd1 Rd8 31.Kf2 Re7 32.h3 h6 33.g4 fxg4 34.hxg4 Kg7 35.Kg3 Rf7 36.Re1 Nc7 37.Rd6 Rdf8 38.Rxb6 Rxf4 39.Re7+ R8f7 40.Rxf7+ Rxf7 41.Be4 g5 42.Rg6+ Kf8 43.Rxh6 Ne6 44.Bf5 Ke7 45.Rg6 Kd6 46.Bxe6 dxe6 47.Rxg5 e5 48.Rg6+ Kc5 49.Rxa6 e4 50.g5 e3 51.Re6 Kd4 52.g6 Rf8 53.g7 1-0

Round 2, June 3
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – MVL
A49 King’s Indian Fianchetto

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 d5 5.O-O O-O 6.c3 Bf5 7.Qb3 Qc8 8.c4 dxc4 9.Qxc4 Nbd7 10.Nc3 c5 11.d5 Bg4 12.e4 e6 13.e5 exd5 14.Qf4 Bxf3 15.exf6 Bxg2 16.fxg7 Re8 17.Kxg2 d4 18.Nd5 Qc6 19.Qf3 Re5 20.Nf4 Re4 21.Nd3 Rae8 22.b3 b5 23.Bf4 c4 24.Rac1 c3 25.Rfe1 f5 26.h4 Nf6 27.Bg5 Ng4 28.Re2 Qe6 29.Ree1 Qd5 30.h5 gxh5 31.Nf4 Qf7 32.Nd3 Kxg7 33.Nc5 Rxe1 34.Rxe1 Rxe1 35.Qc6 c2 36.Nd7 Qe6 37.Qc8 Qe4+ 0-1

Round 3, June 3
Yu, Yangyi – Carlsen, Magnus
A56 Benoni

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.e4 d6 6.Bd3 O-O 7.Nf3 e5 8.O-O Nh5 9.Ne1 Nd7 10.Bc2 Nf4 11.Nd3 Nxd3 12.Qxd3 f5 13.exf5 gxf5 14.f4 e4 15.Qe2 Nf6 16.Nd1 b5 17.cxb5 a6 18.b6 Ng4 19.Ne3 Bd4 20.h3 Nf6 21.Kh1 Rb8 22.Rb1 Rxb6 23.Bd2 Rb7 24.Bc3 Qe8 25.Rbd1 Nh5 26.Qe1 Qg6 27.Kh2 Qf6 28.Qd2 Qh4 29.Qe1 Qf6 30.Qd2 Rg7 31.Bxd4 cxd4 32.Qxd4 Qh4 33.Qd2 Qg3+ 34.Kh1 Nxf4 35.Qf2 Nh5 36.Rde1 f4 37.Nc4 e3 38.Nxe3 Bxh3 39.Qxg3 Nxg3+ 40.Kh2 Nxf1+ 41.Nxf1 Bxg2 42.Nd2 f3 43.Rg1 Rf6 0-1

Round 3, June 3
MVL – Grischuk, Alexander
B22 Sicilian, Alapin’s variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.Bc4 e6 6.O-O d6 7.d4 cxd4 8.cxd4 Be7 9.exd6 Bxd6 10.Nc3 O-O 11.Re1 h6 12.Bb3 Nf6 13.Ne5 Bc7 14.Be3 Bd7 15.Nxd7 Qxd7 16.d5 exd5 17.Nxd5 Nxd5 18.Qxd5 Rad8 19.Qh5 Rfe8 20.Bxh6 Rxe1+ 21.Rxe1 gxh6 22.Qg6+ Kf8 23.Qxh6+ Kg8 24.Bc2 1-0

Round 4, June 3
Anand, Vishy – Carlsen, Magnus
B06 Robatsch

1.e4 g6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 d5 4.e5 Ne4 5.Nce2 f6 6.f3 Ng5 7.Bxg5 fxg5 8.Qd2 c5 9.Qxg5 Nc6 10.c3 Qb6 11.Qd2 cxd4 12.cxd4 Bf5 13.g4 Bd7 14.Rd1 O-O-O 15.Nc3 e6 16.Nge2 Kb8 17.f4 Be7 18.h4 Na5 19.b3 Bb4 20.Kf2 Rhf8 21.Rh3 Bb5 22.Qe3 Bxe2 23.Nxe2 Rc8 24.Rc1 Rxc1 25.Qxc1 Nc6 26.Qe3 Nxd4 27.Nxd4 Bc5 28.Kg2 Bxd4 29.Qd2 a5 30.Rf3 Bc5 31.Bd3 Qd8 32.g5 Bb6 33.Kg3 Qe7 34.Rf1 Qc5 35.Rc1 Qd4 36.Rd1 Bc7 37.Re1 a4 38.Qe3 Qb4 39.bxa4 Bb6 40.Qc1 Qd4 41.Qd2 Ba5 42.Qxa5 Qxd3+ 43.Kg4 Qf5+ 0-1

Round 4, June 3
Caruana, Fabiano – MVL
B23 Sicilian, Closed

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qd2 g6 6.b3 Bh6 7.f4 f5 8.Bb2 Nf6 9.O-O-O O-O 10.Kb1 Bg7 11.exf5 Bxf5 12.Nf3 Qa5 13.Bc4+ Kh8 14.Rhe1 Rac8 15.a3 Bg4 16.Re3 e5 17.fxe5 dxe5 18.Qe1 Rce8 19.b4 Qb6 20.Rd6 Qc7 21.Nb5 Qc8 22.Rd2 Re7 23.Nd6 Qc7 24.Nxe5 Nxe5 25.Bxe5 Rxe5 26.Rxe5 h6 27.Re7 Qb8 28.Rxb7 Qa8 29.Qe7 Nh5 30.h3 Bc8 31.Rc7 Bf5 32.Bd5 Qb8 33.Rb7 Qa8 34.g4 Bc8 35.Rc7 Qb8 36.Nf7+ Kh7 37.gxh5 Bf5 1-0

Round 6, June 3
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Carlsen, Magnus
A40 Queen’s Pawn-KID

1.d4 g6 2.Nf3 Bg7 3.c4 c5 4.d5 d6 5.e4 e6 6.Bd3 Ne7 7.Nc3 O-O 8.O-O exd5 9.cxd5 Bg4 10.h3 Bxf3 11.Qxf3 Nd7 12.Qe2 a6 13.a4 Re8 14.Qc2 Rc8 15.Be2 c4 16.a5 Rc5 17.Be3 Rxa5 18.Bxc4 Rxa1 19.Rxa1 Qc7 20.Be2 Nc8 21.Rc1 Ncb6 22.Qb3 Nc5 23.Qb4 h5 24.Nb1 Nbd7 25.Nd2 Qd8 26.Rc2 b5 27.Qa3 Kh7 28.Bf3 Ne5 29.Be2 Ned7 30.Bf3 Bh6 31.b4 Bxe3 32.Qxe3 Na4 33.Qa7 Ne5 34.Qxa6 Qg5 35.Qxb5 Ra8 36.Qb7 Qd8 37.Be2 Rb8 38.Qa7 Rxb4 39.f4 Nd7 40.Rc7 Nac5 41.Rc6 Rb2 42.Rxd6 Rxd2 43.Qxc5 Nxc5 44.Rxd8 Rxe2 45.e5 Nd3 46.Rd7 Kg8 47.Rd8+ Kg7 48.Rd7 Kf8 49.g3 h4 50.Rd8+ Ke7 51.d6+ Kxd8 0-1

Round 6, June 3
MLV – Aronian, Levon
C84 Ruy Lopez, Closed

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.Nc3 d6 9.a4 b4 10.Nd5 Na5 11.Nxf6+ Bxf6 12.Bd5 c6 13.Ba2 c5 14.Nd2 Be6 15.Bxe6 fxe6 16.Qg4 Qe8 17.b3 Nc6 18.Bb2 a5 19.g3 Kh8 20.Rae1 Qd7 21.Nc4 Rae8 22.h4 Qc7 23.h5 Nd4 24.Ne3 Qd8 25.Kg2 Bg5 26.Bxd4 cxd4 27.Nc4 Bh6 28.f4 exf4 29.gxf4 Re7 30.Rf2 Ref7 31.Ref1 Rf6 32.e5 dxe5 33.fxe5 Rxf2+ 34.Rxf2 Rxf2+ 35.Kxf2 Qe8 36.Nxa5 Qf8+ 37.Qf3 Qd8 38.Nc6 Qh4+ 39.Kf1 Kg8 40.a5 Bd2 41.a6 h6 42.a7 1-0

Round 7, June 3
Carlsen, Magnus – Grischuk, Alexander
C00 French, Labourdonnais variation

1.e4 e6 2.f4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.c3 Nh6 6.Na3 Nf5 7.Nc2 Be7 8.d4 Qb6 9.Bd3 cxd4 10.cxd4 Bd7 11.O-O Nb4 12.Nxb4 Qxb4 13.Kh1 h5 14.Bxf5 exf5 15.a4 Rc8 16.b3 Qc3 17.Ba3 Qc2 18.Qe1 Bxa3 19.Rxa3 Qb2 20.Ra1 Rc2 21.Rb1 Qc3 22.Qg3 g6 23.Qg5 Qc6 24.h3 Kf8 25.Qf6 Qxf6 26.exf6 Rc6 27.Ne5 Rd6 28.Rbc1 Bc6 29.b4 Rxf6 30.b5 Be8 31.Rc7 Rb6 32.Re1 Kg7 33.Nd3 a6 34.Nc5 axb5 35.a5 Rc6 36.Rxb7 Rc8 37.Ree7 b4 38.a6 Kh6 39.Rxb4 Bc6 40.a7 Rhe8 41.Rxe8 Rxe8 42.Rb6 1-0

Round 7, June 3
Ding, Liren – MVL
E60 King’s Indian

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 c6 4.Bg2 d5 5.cxd5 cxd5 6.Nf3 Bg7 7.Ne5 Ne4 8.Nd2 Nd7 9.Nxe4 dxe4 10.O-O O-O 11.Bf4 Nf6 12.e3 Be6 13.Qe2 Rc8 14.Rfc1 Qa5 15.Nc4 Qa6 16.Bf1 Nd5 17.Nd2 Qxe2 18.Bxe2 f5 19.Nb3 b6 20.Ba6 Rxc1+ 21.Rxc1 Kf7 22.Nd2 Nb4 23.Bc4 Rd8 24.a3 Nd3 25.Bxd3 exd3 26.Rc3 Rc8 27.Kf1 Rxc3 28.bxc3 b5 29.Ke1 Bd5 30.f3 Bf8 31.e4 Ba2 32.d5 e5 33.Bxe5 Bxa3 34.Bc7 b4 35.Bd6 a5 36.Kd1 Ke8 37.Bc5 Kd7 38.g4 fxg4 39.fxg4 g5 40.Ke1 Kc7 41.Kd1 Kb7 42.Be7 Kb6 43.Ke1 Kb5 44.Kd1 Bb2 45.cxb4 axb4 46.Bxg5 Be5 47.Be7 b3 48.Ba3 b2 49.Bxb2 Bxb2 50.h4 Kc5 51.g5 Be5 52.h5 Bf4 53.g6 hxg6 54.hxg6 Bh6 55.Nf3 Bb3+ 56.Ke1 Ba4 57.Kf2 Be8 58.Ne5 d2 59.Nd3+ Kd4 60.Nb2 0-1

Round 8, June 3
Caruana, Fabiano - Carlsen, Magnus
B06 Robatsch

1.e4 g6 2.d4 Nf6 3.e5 Nh5 4.Be2 d6 5.exd6 Qxd6 6.Nc3 a6 7.Be3 Nf6 8.Qd2 Bg7 9.O-O-O O-O 10.Nf3 b5 11.Bf4 Qb6 12.Kb1 c5 13.dxc5 Qxc5 14.Ne5 Bb7 15.f3 Nc6 16.Nd3 Qb6 17.Be3 Qc7 18.Nc5 Rfd8 19.Qc1 Rdc8 20.g4 Nb4 21.Nxb7 Qxb7 22.Bd4 Nc6 23.Be3 Ne5 24.Rhf1 Rxc3 25.bxc3 Nd5 26.Bd4 Rc8 27.f4 Nc4 28.Bxg7 Kxg7 29.Bxc4 Nxc3+ 30.Ka1 Rxc4 31.Rd3 Qg2 32.f5 Nxa2 33.Qe1 Nb4 34.Qe5+ Kh6 35.Rfd1 Nxd3 36.Rxd3 Rxc2 37.Qf4+ g5 38.Rd6+ f6 0-1

Round 8, June 3
MVL -Yu, Yangyi
C83 Ruy Lopez, open, Classical Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.c3 Be7 10.Nbd2 Nc5 11.Bc2 d4 12.Nb3 dxc3 13.bxc3 Qxd1 14.Rxd1 O-O 15.Bg5 Nxb3 16.axb3 h6 17.Bxe7 Nxe7 18.b4 c5 19.Be4 Ra7 20.bxc5 Rc7 21.c6 Nxc6 22.Rxa6 Nb8 23.Rb6 Rxc3 24.Rxb5 Nc6 25.h3 Rc8 26.Rd6 g5 27.Kh2 Kg7 28.Rb6 Ne7 29.Nd4 R3c4 30.Rb7 Kf8 31.Nxe6+ fxe6 32.Rxe6 Rxe4 33.Rexe7 Rf4 34.Rh7 Kg8 35.Rbg7+ Kf8 36.e6 1-0

Round 9, June 3
Carlsen, Magnus – MVL
B50 Sicilian, wing Gambit deferred

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.b4 cxb4 4.d4 Nf6 5.Bd3 e5 6.a3 exd4 7.Nxd4 bxa3 8.O-O Be7 9.Bxa3 O-O 10.Nc3 Nc6 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.f4 d5 13.e5 Bxa3 14.Rxa3 Qb6+ 15.Kh1 Ng4 16.Qe1 Qc5 17.Rb3 f5 18.h3 Nh6 19.Na4 Qe7 20.Qc3 Qc7 21.Nc5 Nf7 22.e6 Nd6 23.Qe5 Qe7 24.Rfb1 Ne4 25.Bxe4 fxe4 26.Rb8 Rxb8 27.Rxb8 Re8 28.f5 Qxc5 29.Qc7 Qf8 30.Qxc6 Bd7 31.Qxd7 Rxb8 32.e7 Qe8 33.Qxd5+ Kh8 34.Qe5 Rb6 35.Qxe4 Rf6 0-1

Chess24.com has Peter Svidler and Jan Gustafsson as the commentators. The official site has Anna Rudolf and Judit Polgar.

The classical tournament starts tomorrow

Round One Pairings

Aronian-Grischuk
Carlsen-Anand
Mamedyarov-Caruana
MVL-Yu Yangyi
Ding Liren-So

[Henri Hughes]

not happy about the new format. to see the least, this will be interesting

[Wayne Komer]

Altibox Norway 2019

June 4, 2019

Classical Tournament

Round One

The first game to finish went to a draw and shortly thereafter, the Armageddon was played.

Round 1, June 4
Ding, Liren – So, Wesley
E04 Catalan, open

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 dxc4 5.Bg2 c5 6.O-O Nc6 7.dxc5 Qxd1 8.Rxd1 Bxc5 9.Nbd2 c3 10.bxc3 O-O 11.Nb3 Be7 12.Bb2 Bd7 13.c4 Rfd8 14.Nfd4 Rac8 15.Nb5 b6 16.Nd6 Bxd6 17.Rxd6 Be8 18.Rxd8 Nxd8 19.Rc1 Bc6 20.c5 Bxg2 21.Kxg2 Nd7 22.cxb6 Rxc1 23.Bxc1 axb6 24.Kf3 Nc6 25.Ke3 Kf8 26.Kd3 b5 27.Ba3+ Ke8 28.f4 f5 29.e4 fxe4+ 30.Kxe4 Nf6+ 31.Kf3 e5 32.f5 Kf7 33.Bb2 g6 34.fxg6+ Kxg6 35.h3 h5 1/2-1/2

Because the game was a draw, each player gets half a point and have to play an Armageddon game.

White gets 10 minutes and Black 7 minutes with an increment of 3 seconds per move, starting from move 61. The winner gets 1 more point and the loser nothing.

White pieces will continue with white in Armageddon. With this, there will be a winner in each game due to the fact that the player with the black pieces in the Armageddon game will win if the game ends in a draw.

A player who wins in classical gets 2 points, the loser nothing.

Round 1, June 4
Armageddon
Ding Liren – So, Wesley
D35 QGD, Exchange variation

1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 c5 7.Rb1 Be7 8.Nf3 O-O 9.Bc4 a6 10.a4 Qc7 11.Be2 b6 12.O-O cxd4 13.cxd4 Bb7 14.Bd3 Nc6 15.Rb3 Na5 16.Rb2 Nc6 17.Rd2 Rfd8 18.Bb2 Rac8 19.d5 Nb4 20.Bb1 exd5 21.e5 g6 22.Re1 d4 23.e6 f6 24.Nxd4 Nc6 25.Nf5 Rxd2 26.Nxe7+ Qxe7 27.Qxd2 Kg7 28.Qf4 Rf8 29.h4 Bc8 30.h5 Ne5 31.Rxe5 fxe5 32.Qxe5+ Kh6 33.hxg6 hxg6 34.Qh2+ Kg5 35.Qg3+ 1-0

Final position in Armageddon

[Wayne Komer]

Altibox Norway 2019

June 4, 2019

Classical Tournament

Round One (continued)

Round 1, June 4
Carlsen, Magnus – Anand, Vishy
D24 QGA

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.e4 Bb4 6.Bg5 c5 7.Bxc4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 Qa5 10.Nb5 Nxe4 11.Qd4 O-O 12.Qxe4 a6 13.O-O axb5 14.Bd3 f5 15.Qe2 Nc6 16.Bd2 Qc7 17.Bxb5 f4 18.f3 e5 19.Rfe1 Bd7 20.a4 Kh8 21.Rad1 Rae8 22.Bc1 e4 23.fxe4 Ne5 24.Bxd7 Nxd7 25.Rf1 Nc5 26.Ba3 Rxe4 27.Qb5 Re5 28.Rde1 Rc8 29.Rxe5 Qxe5 30.Bxc5 Qxc5+ 31.Qxc5 Rxc5 32.Rxf4 h6 33.Rf3 Kg8 34.Rd3 Ra5 35.Rd7 Rxa4 36.Rxb7 Ra2 37.h4 Kh7 38.Kh2 Rd2 39.Rc7 Kg6 40.Kg3 Kh5 41.Rc5+ g5 42.Kh3 Rd3+ 43.g3 Re3 44.Kg2 Rd3 45.Rc4 Re3 46.hxg5 hxg5 47.Kh3 Rd3 48.Rc8 g4+ 49.Kg2 Rd2+ 50.Kf1 Rc2 51.c4 Kg5 52.c5 Kf6 53.c6 Ke7 54.c7 Kd6 55.Rd8+ Kxc7 56.Rd4 Kc6 57.Kg1 Kc5 58.Rxg4 Kd5 1/2-1/2

Round 1, June 4
Armageddon
Carlsen, Magnus – Anand, Vishy
A21 English, Kramnik-Shirov Counter Attack

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Bb4 3.Nd5 Be7 4.d4 exd4 5.Qxd4 Nf6 6.Nxe7 Qxe7 7.Bg5 Nc6 8.Qc3 Ne5 9.Nf3 d6 10.e3 h6 11.Bh4 g5 12.Nxe5 dxe5 13.Bg3 Nd7 14.h4 g4 15.c5 h5 16.Rc1 c6 17.Bd3 O-O 18.O-O Re8 19.Rfd1 Nf6 20.Bb1 Nd5 21.Qc2 e4 22.Rd4 f5 23.a3 Be6 24.Rcd1 Rad8 25.Ba2 Rd7 26.b4 a6 27.a4 Red8 28.b5 axb5 29.axb5 Nf6 30.Rd6 Bxa2 31.Qxa2+ Qf7 32.Qa5 Rxd6 33.cxd6 Qd7 34.bxc6 bxc6 35.Rb1 Rf8 36.Qc7 Rf7 37.Rb8+ Kh7 38.Be5 Nd5 39.Rh8+ Kg6 40.Qb8 Nf6 41.Bxf6 Kxf6 42.Rh6+ Ke5 43.Qh8+ 1-0

Round 1, June 4
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Caruana, Fabiano
A28 English, Four Knights

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bb5 Nxc3 7.bxc3 Bd6 8.d4 Bd7 9.O-O O-O 10.Nd2 Na5 11.Bd3 f5 12.e4 f4 13.Nf3 Bg4 14.Be2 Bxf3 15.Bxf3 b6 16.Qe2 Qe7 17.Rd1 Rad8 18.Bd2 g6 19.Be1 Kg7 20.Rac1 h5 21.h3 c5 22.Kf1 Nc6 23.Qb5 Rc8 24.dxc5 Bxc5 25.Rd5 Rfd8 26.Rcd1 Rd6 27.R1d3 Rcd8 28.Rxd6 Rxd6 29.Bd1 Rxd3 30.Qxd3 Na5 31.Qd5 Qd6 32.Qxd6 1/2-1/2

Round 1, June 4
Armageddon
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Caruana, Fabiano
A45 Trompovsky Attack

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 e6 3.e4 h6 4.Bxf6 Qxf6 5.c3 d5 6.Qe2 dxe4 7.Qxe4 Bd6 8.Nf3 O-O 9.Bd3 g6 10.Nbd2 Nd7 11.Nc4 Qe7 12.O-O-O Nf6 13.Qe2 c5 14.Kb1 cxd4 15.Nxd4 Bc7 16.Rde1 Kg7 17.g3 Rd8 18.f4 Qc5 19.Ne5 Bxe5 20.fxe5 Nd5 21.Qf2 Qe7 22.h4 Bd7 23.h5 g5 24.Qe2 Rac8 25.Ka1 a5 26.Rhf1 a4 27.c4 Nb4 28.Bb1 a3 29.bxa3 Na6 30.Rf6 Rh8 31.Ref1 Be8 32.Qf2 Nc5 33.Qc2 Rd8 34.Nb5 Nd7 35.Qc3 Qc5 36.Nd6 Nxf6 37.exf6+ Kf8 38.Nxb7 Qd4 39.Rf3 Qxc3+ 40.Rxc3 Rd1 41.a4 Bc6 42.Nc5 Rf1 43.Rb3 Rxf6 44.Rb6 Bxa4 45.Nxa4 Kg7 46.c5 Rf3 47.Rb3 Rf1 48.Kb2 Rd8 49.Bc2 Rf2 50.Rc3 Rb8+ 51.Ka3 Rc8 52.c6 Rc7 53.Kb4 f5 54.Kb5 f4 55.gxf4 Rxf4 56.Kb6 Rc8 57.Kb7 Rcf8 58.Nb6 g4 59.c7 R4f7 60.a4 Kf6 61.a5 Rg8 62.a6 g3 63.Be4 Ke5 64.Bg2 Kd4 65.Rc2 Kd3 66.Rc6 Rf2 67.c8=Q Rxc8 68.Rxc8 Rxg2 69.a7 Ra2 70.Rg8 g2 71.a8=Q 1-0

Round 1, June 4
MVL – Yu, Yangyi
C42 Petrov, Nimzowitsch Attack

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 Be7 7.Be3 Nc6 8.Qd2 Be6 9.O-O-O Qd7 10.Kb1 Bf6 11.Ng5 Bxg5 12.Bxg5 f6 13.Bf4 O-O-O 14.b3 h5 15.h3 Rhe8 16.Be2 Bf7 17.g4 hxg4 18.hxg4 Re7 19.g5 Rde8 20.Bf1 Be6 21.gxf6 gxf6 22.Be3 Rh7 23.Rxh7 Qxh7 24.c4 Bf5 25.Kb2 Qe7 26.Qc3 Qe5 27.Be2 Nb4 28.Qxe5 fxe5 29.c3 Nc6 30.Bf3 a6 31.c5 dxc5 32.Bxc5 Rd8 33.Rxd8+ Nxd8 34.c4 Ne6 35.Be3 c5 36.a3 a5 37.Kc3 Kc7 38.Bd1 b6 39.b4 axb4+ 40.axb4 cxb4+ 41.Kxb4 Nd4 42.Bh6 Ne6 43.Be3 1/2-1/2

Round 1, June 4
Armageddon
MVL – Yu, Yangyi
A28 English, Four Knights

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e3 g6 5.d4 d6 6.Be2 Bg7 7.O-O O-O 8.b3 Bf5 9.Bb2 exd4 10.exd4 Ne4 11.Nd5 Re8 12.Re1 a5 13.a3 Ne7 14.Ne3 Bd7 15.Bd3 Nf6 16.Qd2 Ng4 17.d5 Nxe3 18.Bxg7 Kxg7 19.Rxe3 Ng8 20.Rxe8 Bxe8 21.Re1 Bd7 22.h3 Qf6 23.Kh2 b6 24.Re4 Re8 25.Rf4 Qa1 26.g4 h6 27.g5 hxg5 28.Nxg5 Nf6 29.Kg2 Qe1 30.Qb2 Qe5 31.Qxe5 dxe5 32.Rh4 Nh5 33.Be2 f6 34.Ne4 Nf4+ 35.Kf3 g5 36.Rh7+ Kxh7 37.Nxf6+ Kg7 38.Nxd7 Nxe2 39.Kxe2 Rd8 0-1

Round 1, June 4
Aronian, Levon- Grischuk, Alexander
A36 English, ultra-symmetrical variation

1.c4 c5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.Nc3 Nc6 5.d3 d6 6.Qd2 Qd7 7.b3 b6 8.Bb2 Bb7 9.Nd5 e5 10.f4 Nge7 11.e4 Nxd5 12.cxd5 Nd4 13.Nf3 Nxf3+ 14.Bxf3 Qe7 15.h4 f5 16.h5 O-O-O 17.O-O-O exf4 18.gxf4 Bxb2+ 19.Qxb2 Rhf8 20.Rde1 Qf7 21.Rh4 Qe7 22.Rhh1 Qf7 23.Ref1 Kb8 24.Rhg1 fxe4 25.Bxe4 Bxd5 26.hxg6 hxg6 27.Bxg6 Qf6 28.f5 Rd7 29.Qxf6 Rxf6 30.Bh5 Kc7 31.Rg6 Rdf7 32.Rxf6 Rxf6 33.Bg6 Kd7 34.Kd2 Rf8 35.d4 1/2-1/2

Round 1, June 4
Armageddon
Aronian, Levon – Grischuk, Alexander
A22 English, Bremen, reverse Dragon

1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Nc3 Nb6 6.d3 Bc5 7.Bd2 O-O 8.Rc1 Re8 9.Nb5 Bd6 10.h4 Nc6 11.Bxc6 bxc6 12.Nc3 a5 13.Nf3 a4 14.Qc2 h6 15.Rg1 f5 16.Nd1 c5 17.Ne3 Be6 18.Bc3 Nd7 19.Nd2 Qe7 20.Ndc4 Qf7 21.f4 Bxc4 22.Nxc4 e4 23.Rd1 Ra6 24.Kf2 Bf8 25.e3 Rae6 26.Qe2 exd3 27.Qxd3 Re4 28.Qxd7 Qxc4 29.Rge1 a3 30.Rd2 R4e6 31.Qd5 Qxd5 32.Rxd5 axb2 33.Bxb2 Ra6 34.a3 c4 35.Rxf5 Rb8 36.Re2 Rb3 37.Rc2 c3 38.Bc1 Rb1 39.Kf3 Rc6 40.Rd5 Ra1 41.Rd3 Bxa3 42.Bxa3 Rxa3 43.e4 Kf7 44.e5 h5 45.f5 Rc5 46.Ke4 Raa5 47.e6+ Kf6 48.Rd7 Rxf5 49.Rf7+ Kxe6 50.Rxc7 Rfe5+ 1-0

A time scramble at the end with the pieces knocked over and then Grischuk losing on time.

Chessbomb kibitzers:

- Those last 10 seconds are a shame to chess. Pieces flying over the board. Stupid.
- both kings left the board, draw!
- Pieces rolling in the end.
- Both players just annoyed.
- live stream was wild, yes black lost on time
- Great job! Great job, Norway Chess! Truly inspiring!
- that was a steaming pile of excrement
- God, It's day 1 and I already hate this tournament.
- maybe they should set up computers for the armageddon so there are no rolling pieces
- Yeah. Actually a reasonable suggestion.

Standings after Round One

1-5 Yu Yangyi, Carlsen, Ding Liren, Mamedyarov, Aronian 1.5
6-10 Caruana, MVL, Grischuk, Anand, So 0.5

Round Two Pairings

Aronian-Carlsen
Anand-Mamedyarov
Yu Yangyi-Ding Liren
Caruana-MVL
Grischuk-So

[Wayne Komer]

Altibox Norway 2019

June 5, 2019

Classical Tournament

Round Two

Some have predicted that odd things will happen with this Armageddon format. Today’s first game to end, gives them ammunition for that charge.

Round 2, June 5
Grischuk, Alexander – So, Wesley
C67 Ruy Lopez, open Berlin Defence, l’Hermet variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.dxe5 Nxb5 7.a4 Nbd4 8.Nxd4 d5 9.exd6 Nxd4 10.Qxd4 Qxd6 11.Qe4+ Qe6 12.Qd4 Qd6 13.Qe4+ Qe6 14.Qd4 Qd6 15.Qe4+ Qe6 1/2-1/2

Round 2, June 5
Armageddon
Grischuk, Alexander – So, Wesley
A08 Reti, King’s Indian Attack

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 d5 3.d3 c5 4.Bg2 Nc6 5.O-O e5 6.e4 d4 7.a4 Be7 8.Na3 Be6 9.Ng5 Bg4 10.f3 Bh5 11.h4 Nd7 12.Bd2 O-O 13.Qe1 Re8 14.Nh3 f6 15.f4 b6 16.f5 a6 17.Bf3 Bxf3 18.Rxf3 b5 19.b3 c4 20.bxc4 Bxa3 21.Rxa3 bxc4 22.dxc4 Rb8 23.Nf2 Qe7 24.Ra1 Qf7 25.g4 Rb2 26.Qc1 Reb8 27.Nd3 R2b7 28.c5 Qc4 29.g5 Nxc5 30.Qe1 Qxc2 31.Nxc5 Rb1 32.Nd3 Rxe1+ 33.Bxe1 Rb1 34.Rxb1 Qxb1 35.Kf1 a5 36.Rg3 Kh8 37.gxf6 gxf6 38.Nc5 Qc2 39.Nd7 Qc4+ 40.Kg1 Qf7 41.Nb6 d3 42.Rxd3 Qh5 43.Nd5 Kg7 44.Rc3 Qd1 45.Kf2 Nd4 46.Rc7+ Kf8 47.Nc3 Qf3+ 48.Kg1 Qg4+ 49.Kf1 Qh3+ 50.Kf2 Qf3+ 51.Kg1 Qg4+ 52.Kf1 Qh3+ 53.Kf2 Qf3+ 54.Kg1 Qg4+ 55.Kf1 Qh3+ 1/2-1/2

Final position



Wesley elects to give perpetual for a draw, even though he is clearly won – because, under Armageddon rules the player with the black pieces will win if the game ends in a draw

Comments

Jan: "The organisers' idea is that 'you should play out the classical game because if not we will make you play an Armageddon', and not, 'you should make a classical draw instantly to play the Armageddon and cash in 1.5 points'!" #NorwayChess

Svidler: "There are few people who stick up for Sasha [Grischuk] as much as I do, but I feel slightly disheartened by this" #NorwayChess

Chessbomb kibitzers

- WTF Grischuk??? Quick draw with white??? Are u serious?
- draw agreed
- This is an insult to chess!
- Wesley still won
- draw = 0-1
- So wins
- this is an Armageddon, remember.
- 1.5 for Wes
- Another stupid format manifests itself.
- I had no clue that the format will totally ruin this tournament. Had such high hopes to be honest. I mean the best players are here... Was supposed to be a spectacle.
- Not some idiotic Armageddon showout.
- Grischuk on Norwegian TV said just now that he took a quick draw because he felt he had no energy today after yesterday’s loss.
- He counts yesterday’s loss as top three of his worst losses ever

[Wayne Komer]

Altibox Norway 2019

June 5, 2019

Classical Tournament

Round Two (continued)

Round 2, June 5
Aronian, Levon – Carlsen, Magnus
B31 Sicilian, Nimowitsch-Rossolimo Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.d3 Qc7 6.O-O e5 7.Be3 Nf6 8.Qe1 Bg4 9.Nbd2 Nh5 10.a3 Be7 11.Qb1 Nf4 12.b4 Ne2+ 13.Kh1 Nd4 14.Ng1 g5 15.bxc5 Bxc5 16.Bxg5 Rg8 17.Bh4 Be7 18.Bg3 O-O-O 19.Nc4 f6 20.a4 Ne6 21.f3 Bh5 22.Bf2 Bc5 23.Bxc5 Nxc5 24.Ne2 Bf7 25.Ne3 Qa5 26.Qe1 Qxe1 27.Rfxe1 a5 28.Kg1 h5 29.h4 Kc7 30.Kf2 Be6 31.Rg1 Rh8 32.Rh1 Rd7 33.Rhd1 Bf7 34.d4 exd4 35.Rxd4 Rxd4 36.Nxd4 Rd8 37.Ne2 Rd2 38.Ke1 Rd8 39.Nf5 Ra8 40.Nc3 Be6 41.Ne3 Kd6 42.Rd1+ Ke7 43.Rd4 Ra6 44.Kd2 Rb6 45.Nf5+ Bxf5 46.exf5 Rb2 47.Rc4 Kd6 48.Ne4+ Nxe4+ 49.Rxe4 Ra2 50.g4 hxg4 51.fxg4 Kd5 52.Kd3 Ra3+ 53.c3 b5 54.h5 b4 55.Rd4+ Ke5 56.Rc4 Rxa4 57.h6 Ra1 58.cxb4 axb4 59.Rxc6 Ra3+ 60.Kc4 Rc3+ 61.Kb5 Rh3 62.Kxb4 Rxh6 63.Kc5 Rh1 64.Re6+ Kf4 65.Rxf6 Kxg4 66.Kd6 Kg5 67.Ke7 Ra1 68.Rf8 Ra7+ 1/2-1/2

Round 2, June 5
Armageddon
Aronian, Levon – Carlsen, Magnus
B31 Sicilian, Nimzowitsch-Rossolimo Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.d3 Bg7 6.h3 e5 7.O-O Qc7 8.Be3 b6 9.Nbd2 Ne7 10.a3 O-O 11.b4 cxb4 12.axb4 f5 13.Nc4 Be6 14.Ng5 Bd7 15.Qe2 h6 16.Nf3 f4 17.Bd2 g5 18.Bc3 Ng6 19.d4 exd4 20.Bxd4 g4 21.hxg4 Bxg4 22.c3 c5 23.bxc5 bxc5 24.Bxg7 Qxg7 25.Nd6 Kh8 26.Nf5 Rxf5 27.exf5 Nh4 28.f6 Qxf6 29.Ra6 Qg7 30.Rxh6+ Qxh6 31.Qe5+ Qg7 32.Qxg7+ Kxg7 33.Nxh4 a5 34.Ra1 a4 35.Ra3 Kf6 36.Kf1 Ke5 37.Ke1 Kd5 38.f3 Bh5 39.Kd2 Be8 40.Kc1 Kc4 41.Nf5 Ra6 42.Ng7 Bg6 43.Kd2 Kd5 0-1

Round 2, June 5
Anand, Vishy – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
B31 Sicilian, Nimowitsch-Rossolimo Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.Bxc6 bxc6 5.O-O Bg7 6.Re1 Nh6 7.c3 O-O 8.h3 f5 9.e5 Nf7 10.d3 Rb8 11.b3 d6 12.Bf4 h6 13.h4 e6 14.exd6 g5 15.Be5 Nxe5 16.Nxe5 Qxd6 17.Qe2 Bxe5 18.Qxe5 Qxe5 19.Rxe5 Rd8 20.Rxc5 Rxd3 21.Na3 Bd7 22.Ra5 Rb7 23.hxg5 hxg5 24.c4 Kg7 25.c5 Kf6 26.Nc4 e5 27.Nd6 Rc7 28.f3 Ke6 29.Re1 Rd5 30.b4 Rd4 31.a3 g4 32.Ra6 Kd5 33.Nf7 e4 34.fxg4 Bc8 0-1

Round 2, June 5
Yu, Yangyi – Ding, Liren
E00 Queen’s Pawn game

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 c5 4.Nf3 cxd4 5.Nxd4 d5 6.Bg2 e5 7.Nf3 d4 8.O-O Nc6 9.e3 Be7 10.exd4 exd4 11.Bf4 Be6 12.Nbd2 O-O 13.Re1 Qd7 14.a3 a5 15.Ne5 Nxe5 16.Bxe5 Ng4 17.Nf3 Nxe5 18.Nxe5 Qd6 19.Rc1 Rac8 20.Bxb7 Rc5 21.Bd5 Bxd5 22.cxd5 Qxd5 23.Rxc5 Bxc5 24.Qf3 Qxf3 25.Nxf3 f6 26.Rc1 Bb6 27.Ne1 Kf7 28.Nd3 Ke7 29.Rc6 Rb8 30.Kg2 Kd7 31.Rc2 Ba7 32.b4 axb4 33.axb4 Bb6 34.Kf3 Ra8 35.Ke4 Ra3 36.Nc5+ Bxc5 37.Rxc5 Ra2 38.Rh5 h6 39.f4 Rb2 40.Rd5+ Kc6 41.Rxd4 Rxh2 42.Kf5 Rg2 43.g4 g5 44.fxg5 1/2-1/2

Round 2, June 5
Armageddon
Yu, Yangyi – Ding, Liren
E32 Nimzo-Indian, Classical variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 O-O 5.e4 d5 6.e5 Ne4 7.Bd3 c5 8.Nf3 cxd4 9.Nxd4 Nd7 10.Bf4 Qh4 11.g3 Qh5 12.f3 Bxc3+ 13.bxc3 Nec5 14.g4 Nxd3+ 15.Qxd3 Qg6 16.Qxg6 hxg6 17.cxd5 exd5 18.Kf2 Nc5 19.Rhd1 Bd7 20.Kg3 Rfc8 21.Rab1 b6 22.Ne2 Ne6 23.Rxd5 Bc6 24.Rd6 Bb7 25.Be3 Ba6 26.Nd4 Rxc3 27.Nxe6 fxe6 28.Rb3 Rac8 29.Rxe6 Bc4 30.Rxc3 Bxe6 31.Rxc8+ Bxc8 32.Kh4 Kf7 33.Kg5 Bb7 34.f4 Be4 35.f5 gxf5 36.gxf5 b5 37.Bxa7 b4 38.Bc5 Bd5 39.Bxb4 Bxa2 40.h4 Bd5 41.h5 Bc6 42.e6+ Kg8 43.Bc3 Be8 44.Bxg7 Kxg7 45.h6+ Kh7 46.f6 Kg8 47.Kf5 Bh5 48.Ke5 Bg6 49.Kd6 Kf8 50.Kd7 Bf5 51.h7 Bxh7 52.e7+ Kf7 53.e8=Q+ Kxf6 54.Qh8+ Kg6 55.Ke7 Kg5 56.Qxh7 1-0

Yu Yangyi has beaten MVL and Ding Liren in successive Armageddon games

Round 2, June 5
Caruana, Fabiano – MVL
B97 Sicilian, Najdorf, Poisoned Pawn variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Qb6 8.Qd2 Qxb2 9.Rb1 Qa3 10.f5 Be7 11.fxe6 Bxe6 12.Nxe6 fxe6 13.Bc4 Nbd7 14.Bxe6 Nc5 15.Bc4 Ncxe4 16.Nxe4 Nxe4 17.Bf7+ Kxf7 18.Qd5+ Ke8 19.Qxe4 Qa5+ 20.Kd1 Qxg5 21.Rxb7 Rf8 22.Re1 Rf7 23.Rxe7+ Rxe7 24.Qxa8+ Kf7 25.Rf1+ Kg6 26.Qxa6 Qe5 27.Qd3+ Kh6 28.c3 Qxh2 29.Qd2+ Kg6 30.Rf4 Re6 31.Qc2+ Kh6 32.Qf2 Qh5+ 33.Kd2 Qd5+ 34.Kc1 g6 35.a4 Qe5 36.Kc2 g5 37.Rd4 Kg6 38.Qf3 h5 39.Rd5 Qe2+ 40.Qxe2 Rxe2+ 41.Rd2 Re6 42.a5 h4 43.Kb3 g4 44.Kb4 Re1 45.Ra2 Rb1+ 46.Kc4 h3 47.gxh3 gxh3 48.a6 Rb8 49.Kd5 Ra8 50.Kxd6 h2 51.Rxh2 Rxa6+ 52.Kd5 Kf7 53.Re2 Ra8 54.c4 Rd8+ 55.Kc6 Rc8+ 56.Kb5 Rb8+ 57.Ka6 Rc8 58.Re4 Kf6 59.Kb7 Kf5 60.Rd4 1-0

Standings after Round Two

1 Mamedyarov 3.5
2-3 Carlsen, Yu Yangyi 3
4 Caruana 2.5
5-7 Ding, Aronian, So 2
8 Grischuk 1
9-10 MVL, Anand 0.5

Round Three Pairings

Carlsen-Grischuk
So-Yu
Ding-Caruana
Mamedyarov-Aronian
MVL-Anand

[Hans Jung]

Im enjoying the spectacle.

[Hans Jung]

For the fans who were asking what Yu Yangyi is doing there, he's obviously not just a tourist. (sort of quoting Garry Kasparov long ago)