Legends of Chess 2020

[Wayne Komer]

Legends of Chess 2020

July 29, 2020

Round Nine (continued)

Game 1, July 29
Carlsen, Magnus – Kramnik, Vladimir
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 a6 7.a4 h6 8.Re1 O-O 9.Nbd2 Ba7 10.Nf1 Re8 11.Be3 Bxe3 12.Nxe3 Be6 13.Bxe6 Rxe6 14.b4 a5 15.b5 Ne7 16.Qc2 Ng6 17.g3 d5 18.c4 c6 19.cxd5 cxd5 20.Rac1 Re7 21.Qb3 Rd7 22.exd5 Nxd5 23.Nc4 f6 24.d4 exd4 25.Nxd4 Nf8 26.Rcd1 Kh7 27.Nc6 Qc7 28.N6xa5 Ng6 29.h4 Rxa5 30.Nxa5 Qxa5 31.Qd3 Nb6 32.Qb1 Rxd1 33.Rxd1 h5 34.Rd4 Qc3 35.Rd6 Nc4 36.Rd3 Qe5 37.Rd7 b6 38.Qd1 Qf5 39.Qd3 Qh3 40.Qd1 Qf5 41.Qd3 Qe6 42.Qd1 Qf5 1/2-1/2

Game 2, July 29
Kramnik, Vladimir – Carlsen, Magnus
B92 Sicilian, Najdorf, Opocensky variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.Bg5 Be6 9.Bxf6 Bxf6 10.Bg4 O-O 11.O-O Be7 12.Bxe6 fxe6 13.Qg4 Rf6 14.Rad1 Nd7 15.Ne2 Qb6 16.Nec1 Qc6 17.Qe2 a5 18.Nd3 b5 19.Nd2 Bd8 20.c3 Bb6 21.g3 Raf8 22.Kg2 R6f7 23.a3 Nf6 24.f4 exf4 25.Nxf4 Re8 26.Nh5 Bd8 27.h4 Nxh5 28.Rxf7 Nf6 29.Rxf6 Bxf6 30.Nf3 b4 31.axb4 axb4 32.cxb4 Rb8 33.Nd4 Qb7 34.Nxe6 Qxb4 35.Kh3 Re8 36.Qg4 Qxb2 37.Rxd6 Qa1 38.Qf3 Qe5 39.Qb3 Kh8 40.Qd5 Qa1 41.e5 Qf1+ 42.Kh2 Qe2+ 43.Kh3 Bxe5 44.Rd8 Qf1+ 45.Kh2 Qf2+ 46.Qg2 Bxg3+ 47.Kh3 Qxg2+ 48.Kxg2 Rxd8 49.Nxd8 Bxh4 50.Ne6 g6 51.Nf4 Kg7 52.Kh3 Be7 53.Kg4 Bd6 54.Nd5 h5+ 55.Kg5 Ba3 56.Nc3 Bc1+ 57.Kh4 Bb2 58.Ne4 Bf6+ 59.Kh3 Kf7 60.Ng3 h4 61.Ne4 Ke6 62.Kg4 Ke5 63.Nf2 Kd4 64.Kf3 Be5 65.Nh3 Bg3 66.Ng5 Ke5 67.Kg4 Bf2 68.Nh7 Ke4 69.Nf8 g5 70.Ne6 Be3 71.Nxg5+ Bxg5 72.Kh3 Kf3 73.Kh2 Bf4+ 74.Kh1 h3 75.Kg1 h2+ 76.Kh1 Kg3 1/2-1/2

Judit points out that Kramnik missed a draw with 50.Nf7+

Position after Black’s 49…Bxh4



Carlsen misses a win by playing 59…Kf7 instead of Be5

Position after White’s 59.Kh3



Game 3, July 29
Carlsen, Magnus – Kramnik, Vladimir
D35 QGD, Exchange, positional line

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 c6 6.e3 h6 7.Bh4 Be7 8.Bd3 O-O 9.Nge2 Re8 10.O-O Nh5 11.Bxe7 Qxe7 12.Qd2 Nd7 13.Rae1 Nf8 14.Nc1 Nf6 15.f3 Ne6 16.N1e2 b5 17.Ng3 a5 18.Qf2 Ba6 19.Nf5 Qd8 20.Ne2 c5 21.Qg3 c4 22.Bc2 Nh5 23.Qh3 g6 24.Nxh6+ Kg7 25.Nf5+ Kg8 26.Neg3 Nxg3 27.Qxg3 b4 28.Nh6+ Kg7 29.Nxf7 Kxf7 30.Bxg6+ Ke7 31.Bxe8 Kxe8 32.e4 c3 33.Rf2 Kf7 34.bxc3 bxc3 35.f4 dxe4 36.f5 Nf8 37.Rxe4 Rb8 38.h3 Rb1+ 39.Kh2 Qb8 40.Qxb8 Rxb8 41.Re3 Bc4 42.Rxc3 Bd5 43.Rc5 Rd8 44.Rxa5 Rd7 45.g4 Nh7 46.Kg3 Nf6 47.Rc2 Re7 48.Kh4 Be4 49.Rb2 Nd5 50.Kg5 Rd7 51.Ra6 Rc7 52.Re6 Nc3 53.Rf6+ Kg7 54.Rg6+ Kf7 55.Kh6 Rc8 56.Rg7+ Kf8 57.Rb6 Bd5 58.Rh7 Ne4 59.Rh8+ Bg8 60.Rg6 Kf7 61.Rg7+ Kf6 62.Rhxg8 1-0

Game 4, July 29
Kramnik, Vladimir – Carlsen, Magnus
B87 Sicilian, Sozin

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 b5 7.Bb3 e6 8.Be3 Be7 9.Qe2 O-O 10.f3 Qc7 11.g4 Nc6 12.Nxc6 Qxc6 13.g5 Nd7 14.h4 Nc5 15.h5 Rb8 16.g6 h6 17.Nd5 exd5 18.Bxd5 Qe8 19.Bxh6 gxh6 20.Rg1 Bh4+ 21.Kd1 Qe5 22.c3 Be6 23.f4 Qxf4 24.gxf7+ Kh7 0-1

Magnus Carlsen: "It seems that in the last few matches, to use a football analogy, I'm getting Lewandowski levels of chances but I'm converting them at a Firmino level, and for those who don't watch football that's pretty bad!"

Game 4, July 29
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Gelfand, Boris
B20 Sicilian Defence

1.e4 c5 2.Na3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.O-O Nf6 6.Bxc6 bxc6 7.e5 Nd5 8.Re1 O-O 9.d3 f6 10.Nc4 fxe5 11.Nfxe5 Qc7 12.Ng4 d6 13.Bg5 e5 14.h3 Nf4 15.Nd2 Rb8 16.b3 Bf5 17.Ne4 Ne6 18.Bh6 Nf4 19.Bg5 Kh8 20.Qd2 Qd7 21.Ngf6 Qc7 22.Ng4 Qd7 23.Ngf6 Qc7 24.Ng4 1/2-1/2

Armageddon, July 29
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Gelfand, Boris
A06 Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack

1.b3 Nf6 2.Bb2 c5 3.Nf3 d5 4.e3 g6 5.c4 dxc4 6.Bxc4 Bg7 7.O-O O-O 8.d4 cxd4 9.Nxd4 Bd7 10.Nd2 Nc6 11.N4f3 Qa5 12.a3 Rfd8 13.b4 Qh5 14.Qb3 Be8 15.Rfd1 a5 16.b5 a4 17.Qa2 Na5 18.Bf1 Bxb5 19.Ne5 Be8 20.h3 Qf5 21.Bd4 Qe6 22.Qxe6 fxe6 23.Rab1 Nd5 24.Ndf3 Bf6 25.e4 Nf4 26.g3 Nh5 27.Bb6 Rxd1 28.Rxd1 Nc6 29.Ng4 Bb2 30.Bc5 Ra5 31.Rb1 Rxc5 32.Rxb2 Na5 33.Nd4 Ng7 34.Nb5 Nb3 35.Na7 Kf8 36.Ne3 b5 37.Rc2 e5 38.Rxc5 Nxc5 39.f3 Nge6 40.Bxb5 Nd4 41.Bxe8 Kxe8 42.Kf2 Kd7 43.Nc4 Kc7 44.Nxe5 Kb7 45.Ke3 Nc2+ 46.Kd2 Nxa3 47.Nac6 Nb5 48.Nb4 a3 49.Nc4 Kc7 50.Ke3 Nb3 51.Na2 Kc6 52.Kd3 Kc5 53.Ne3 e6 54.Nc2 N3d4 55.Ne1 Nc6 56.Nc2 Ne5+ 57.Ke3 Kc4 58.Nab4 Kc3 59.f4 Nc4+ 60.Kf3 Nd2+ 61.Ke3 Nc4+ 62.Ke2 a2 63.Nxa2+ Kxc2 64.Nb4+ Kc3 65.Na6 Kd4 66.Kf2 Kxe4 67.Nc5+ Kd5 68.Nb3 e5 69.fxe5 Nxe5 70.Nc5 Kxc5 0-1

- An epic win for Boris Gelfand, who traded blows with world no. 4 Ian Nepomniachtchi and won in Armageddon!

Game 4, July 29
Leko, Peter – Ding, Liren
A06 Reti Opening

1.Nf3 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.Bxc4 a6 6.e4 b5 7.Bb3 Bb7 8.e5 Nd5 9.d4 Be7 10.O-O O-O 11.Ne4 Nd7 12.Bc2 Rc8 13.Bg5 h6 14.Bxe7 Qxe7 15.a3 c5 16.Nd6 Rc7 17.Qd3 g6 18.dxc5 Nxc5 19.Qd2 Kg7 20.h4 Nb6 21.b4 Nca4 22.Nxb7 Rxb7 23.h5 Rd8 24.Qf4 Nc3 25.Qg4 g5 26.Rfe1 Rc7 27.Bb3 Rd3 28.Bc2 Rc4 29.Qg3 Rd8 30.Bb3 Rcc8 31.Nh2 Nbd5 32.Qf3 Nf4 33.Re3 Rd2 34.Rae1 Ncd5 35.Bxd5 Nxd5 36.Rb3 Rcc2 37.Ng4 Nf4 38.Rbe3 Qd8 39.Rf1 Qd5 40.g3 Qxf3 41.Rxf3 Ne2+ 42.Kg2 Nd4 43.Re3 Nf5 44.Rf3 Nd4 45.Re3 Nf5 46.Rf3 Nd4 1/2-1/2

Game 4, July 29
Anand, Vishy – Ivanchuk, Vasyl
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 d6 8.a3 O-O 9.Nc3 Na5 10.Ba2 Be6 11.b4 Bxa2 12.Nxa2 Nc6 13.c4 Nd4 14.Nc3 Nxf3+ 15.Qxf3 c6 16.Qe2 Qd7 17.Rd1 Rfe8 18.Bg5 Qb7 19.Rab1 Nd7 20.Be3 Nf6 21.Bg5 Nd7 22.Be3 Nf6 23.Bg5 1/2-1/2

Armageddon, July 29
Anand, Vishy – Ivanchuk, Vasyl
E10 Queen’s Pawn game

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.Bf4 dxc4 6.e3 Nd5 7.Bxc4 Nxf4 8.exf4 Nb6 9.Bb3 g6 10.Qe2 Bg7 11.Rd1 O-O 12.h4 Nd5 13.g3 Nxc3 14.bxc3 c5 15.h5 cxd4 16.cxd4 Bd7 17.Ne5 Qa5+ 18.Qd2 Qxd2+ 19.Kxd2 Rad8 20.Ke3 Bc6 21.f3 Rd6 22.h6 Bf6 23.Rd2 Rfd8 24.Rc1 Kf8 25.Bc2 Ke8 26.Be4 Be7 27.Bxc6+ bxc6 28.Nxc6 Rc8 29.Rdc2 Bf8 30.Nxa7 Rxc2 31.Rxc2 Bxh6 32.Nb5 Rb6 33.a4 g5 34.fxg5 Bxg5+ 35.Kd3 Bd8 36.Kc4 Rc6+ 37.Kd3 Ra6 38.Rc4 h5 39.Ke4 Kd7 40.f4 h4 41.gxh4 Bxh4 42.Rc7+ Ke8 43.Ra7 Rxa7 44.Nxa7 Kd7 45.d5 Bd8 46.Nc6 f5+ 47.Kd4 Bb6+ 48.Kc4 Be3 49.Ne5+ Kd6 50.Nd3 exd5+ 51.Kb5 Kc7 52.a5 Kb7 53.a6+ Ka7 54.Nb4 Bxf4 55.Nxd5 Bh2 56.Ka5 f4 57.Nxf4 Bxf4 58.Kb5 Bc7 59.Kc6 Kxa6 1/2-1/2

- A tough end for Vishy Anand, who lost 4/4 Armageddons. Meanwhile Ivanchuk lost 3 Armageddons but then won his final 2!

Game 4, July 29
Giri, Anish – Svidler, Peter
B06 Robatsch Defence

1.d4 g6 2.e4 Bg7 3.Nf3 d6 4.Be3 Nf6 5.Nc3 c6 6.Qd2 b5 7.Bd3 Nbd7 8.e5 Ng4 9.exd6 exd6 10.Bg5 Ngf6 11.Qe2+ Kf8 12.O-O h6 13.Bf4 Nb6 14.a4 b4 15.Ne4 Nxe4 16.Bxe4 d5 17.Bd3 Bg4 18.c3 Qf6 19.Qe3 Bxf3 20.Qxf3 g5 21.Bc7 Qxf3 22.gxf3 Ke7 23.a5 Nc4 24.Bxc4 dxc4 25.Ra4 Kd7 26.Bg3 bxc3 27.bxc3 f5 28.Be5 Bxe5 29.dxe5 Ke6 30.Rxc4 Rac8 31.Rc5 Rhd8 32.c4 Rd3 33.Kg2 h5 34.h3 g4 35.hxg4 hxg4 36.fxg4 Rg8 37.f3 fxg4 38.fxg4 Rxg4+ 39.Kh2 Rh4+ 40.Kg2 Rg4+ 41.Kh2 Rh4+ 42.Kg2 Rg4+ 1/2-1/2

- Anish Giri wins the match against Peter Svidler

- That means the semi-finals on Friday will be Carlsen vs. Svidler & Nepo vs. Giri

Results of Round Nine

Gelfand-Nepomniachtchi 3-2
Ding-Leko 2.5-l.5
Ivanchuk-Anand 2.5-2.5
Svidler-Giri 1.5-2.5
Carlsen-Kramnik 3-1

Final Standings of Preliminaries after Round Nine

1 Carlsen 25 points
2 Nepo 20 points
3 Giri 18 points
4 Svidler 14 points
5 Ivanchuk 13 points
6 Kramnik 12 points
7 Gelfand 11 points
8 Ding 9 points
9 Anand 7 points
10 Leko 6 points

Comments

- So this is pretty much what I would have guessed before the tournament. The only real surprise here is Ding’s poor performance and Svidler’s solid play

- Ivanchuk won the brilliancy of this tournaments first stage. A King’s gambit in 2020? Oh boy…!

- Watching Alexander Grischuk having his Zoom commentary video call interrupted by his small kids circling him while singing a Russian version of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" is premium-worthy content.

[Hans Jung]

Semi finals today. Magnus strikes first!

[Wayne Komer]

Legends of Chess 2020

July 31, 2020

Semi-Finals

Final Four, Day One

The Knock-Out phase of the event consists of the Semi-Finals and the Final. The Semi-Final pairings are based on the Preliminaries standings: 1 vs 4, 2 vs 3.

All stages are best-of-3 series of matches: the players will play 3 matches (one per day); a player who wins 2 matches is the winner of the stage.

Each match consists of 4 rapid games.

In case of a 2-2 tie, a 2-game blitz match will be played, with the same alteration of colours; time-control: 5 minutes + 3 seconds per move. If still tied, an Armageddon game shall be played (time control: White 5’ vs Black 4’ - without increment); the winner of this game (or Black, in case of a draw) will be the winner of the match.

If the outcome of a match or a series has been decided, it is not required to play out the remaining games/matches.

For each series of matches, the player finishing higher in the Preliminaries will have the right to choose colours in the first game of the first match, plus any Armageddon games required. Colours will alternate for subsequent matches (this does not apply to Armageddon games; right of choice remains with the higher-ranked player).

https://cdn.chess24.com/-IjAiGKDRiKG...egulations.pdf

Game 1, July 31
Svidler, Peter – Carlsen, Magnus
A22 English, Bremen, Smyslov System

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.g3 Bb4 4.e4 Bxc3 5.bxc3 O-O 6.f3 Re8 7.d4 d6 8.Bd3 Nc6 9.Ne2 b6 10.g4 Nd7 11.O-O Ba6 12.Ng3 exd4 13.cxd4 Nxd4 14.Bb2 Ne6 15.f4 g5 16.fxg5 Qxg5 17.Rf5 Qe3+ 18.Kh1 Ne5 19.Be2 Bb7 20.Qc2 Nc5 21.Bc1 Bxe4+ 22.Nxe4 Qxe4+ 23.Qxe4 Nxe4 24.Bb2 Re6 25.Raf1 Rae8 26.g5 Nd2 27.R1f2 Nexc4 0-1

All the buzz is about Carlsen’s 15….g5

Position after 15…g5



"As we say in the business, 3 pawns are 3 pawns" (Jan)
Magnus Carlsen's g5 punt pays off as he beats Peter Svidler in the 1st game of their semi-final:

Grischuk: "Game 1 [of Svidler-Carlsen] was a masterclass of how you should not play against Magnus. I don't know for what reason would you play a very dubious opening & the one that Magnus invented himself"

- Carlsen-Svidler Game 2 has begun, while Giri-Nepo Game 1 is approaching 100 moves!

Game 2, July 31
Carlsen, Magnus - Svidler, Peter
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf, Byrne Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e6 7.f3 b5 8.a3 Bb7 9.Qd2 h5 10.O-O-O Nbd7 11.Rg1 Rc8 12.Be2 Be7 13.Kb1 Qc7 14.Bg5 Qb6 15.Be3 Qa5 16.g3 Rxc3 17.Nb3 Qc7 18.Qxc3 Qxc3 19.bxc3 d5 20.exd5 Nxd5 21.Bd2 Bxa3 22.c4 bxc4 23.Bxc4 N7b6 24.Na5 Nxc4 25.Nxc4 Bc5 26.Rge1 h4 27.f4 hxg3 28.hxg3 Ke7 29.f5 Rb8 30.Ka2 Nb4+ 31.Bxb4 Bxb4 32.Re3 Rc8 33.Ne5 Rxc2+ 34.Kb3 Rd2 35.Rxd2 Bxd2 36.Re2 Bd5+ 37.Ka4 Bc3 38.fxe6 Bxe6 39.Re3 Bxe5 40.Rxe5 Kf6 41.Rc5 Bd7+ 42.Kb4 Bb5 43.Kc3 Ke6 44.Kd4 f6 45.Rc7 g5 46.Rb7 Kf5 47.Rb6 Kg4 1/2-1/2

Position after Black’s 16….Rxc3



Svidler goes for the classic Sicilian rook sacrifice!

Game 3, July 31
Svidler, Peter – Carlsen, Magnus
A15 English Opening

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 b6 4.b3 Bb7 5.Bb2 Be7 6.d4 O-O 7.Bd3 c5 8.O-O cxd4 9.exd4 d5 10.Nc3 Nc6 11.Qe2 Re8 12.Rad1 Rc8 13.Rfe1 g6 14.Bb1 Bf8 15.Ne5 Bg7 16.f4 dxc4 17.bxc4 Na5 18.d5 exd5 19.Nxd5 Bxd5 20.cxd5 Nc4 21.d6 Nd7 22.Bd3 Nxb2 23.Qxb2 Rc5 24.Bb5 Nxe5 25.fxe5 Rexe5 26.Rxe5 Bxe5 27.Qb3 Bxd6 0-1

Carlsen wins the first set against Svidler 2.5:0.5! Peter now needs to win on Saturday to set up a deciding set on Sunday.
__________

The commentator today along with Jan is Erwin L’Ami. He is a Dutch grandmaster born in 1985. In the latest rating list he is No. 5 in the Netherlands:

1. Giri, Anish
2. Van Foreest, Jorden
3. Bok, Benjamin
4. L’Ami, Erwin
5. Van Wely, Loek

Jan Timman is 15^th and Lucas Van Foreest 17^th.

Erwin was Anish’s second for the Candidates. Some of his comments on that; the interviewer is Arne Kaehler for ChessBase:

AK: When did you and Anish Giri fly to Yekaterinburg and what was your initial feeling?

EL: We flew to Yekaterinburg five days earlier than the tournament started, to acclimatize, stay relaxed and avoid landing in Russia in the middle of the night. The coronavirus was already spreading everywhere, but we took precautions and rarely went out– if we did it was just for a short walk. With the whole situation affecting our concentration and getting on our nerves we had to try to deal with it in the best way possible. I think we did pretty well to focus on the tournament instead of being concerned all the time.

AK: Well done for keeping so balanced in these times.

EL: It is actually pretty crazy when you think about it, but you get used to new daily procedures very quickly. For safety reasons we had to visit the doctor twice a day. We went there in the morning at a fixed time, and after the game was played as well. That quickly became as normal as brushing your teeth. We were so much in our bubble that it simply didn't matter that much for us. But it might have disturbed the other players.

AK: How was the overall mood regarding the tournament?

EL: Because we were so focused on our thing we didn't concentrate too much on how the other players were doing. Sure, you meet one of them in the elevator at some point, say "hey", and then leave for your room again, but nobody really built up stronger connections in this week. We learned how the other candidates were dealing with the situation from the press conferences and other news sources.

AK: What went through your head once you received the tournament cancellation message?

EL: We were quite annoyed. As mentioned earlier already, we were fine simply doing our thing. So the news about the cancellation broke our balance and preparation. Nonetheless, we always expected it to eventually happen.

AK: The next step was booking a flight back quickly. How did that go?

EL: As soon as we received the message we had mixed feelings of being angry and disappointed for a brief moment, and we also learned that the airspace is about to shut down. We packed our stuff and went to the airport, while booking the flight, all in less than an hour. We were pretty lucky getting this flight, because it was booked out shortly after, and other players couldn't get a seat any more. Wearing masks on our flight back, it was actually a very smooth trip.

AK: Until the Tournament continues, will you still be training with Anish Giri?

EL: Anish has a lot of other tournaments going on, for example The Carlsen Invitational which is running right now. After that we catch up again and take care about his preparation.

https://en.chessbase.com/post/erwin-...tes-tournament

Peter and Magnus come on to be interviewed. Peter is playing from his dacha. He says that he has horses outside but won’t move the computer so that Jan Gustafsson and us can see them!

(to be continued)

[Wayne Komer]

Legends of Chess 2020

July 31, 2020

Final Four, Day One (continued)

Game 1, July 31
Giri, Anish – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
D85 Grunfeld, Modern Exchange variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Nf3 c5 8.Be3 Qa5 9.Qd2 O-O 10.Rc1 Bg4 11.d5 b5 12.Bxc5 Rc8 13.Bb4 Qb6 14.Be2 e6 15.O-O Na6 16.Be7 Nc5 17.Qf4 Bxf3 18.Qxf3 exd5 19.exd5 Re8 20.d6 Bf8 21.Rb1 Bxe7 22.dxe7 a6 23.Bc4 Ne6 24.a4 Qc5 25.Bxe6 fxe6 26.axb5 axb5 27.Rfe1 Ra3 28.Qf6 Qxe7 29.Qe5 Rc8 30.Rxb5 Raxc3 31.h3 Rc1 32.Rb1 Rxb1 33.Rxb1 Rf8 34.Rb6 Qf6 35.Qe3 Qa1+ 36.Kh2 Qf6 37.Kg3 Re8 38.Rc6 Re7 39.f3 Kg7 40.Kh2 Qf5 41.Rc4 Rf7 42.Re4 Qf6 43.h4 e5 44.h5 gxh5 45.Rxe5 Qf4+ 46.Qxf4 Rxf4 47.Kg3 Ra4 48.Rxh5 Kg6 49.Rh4 Ra5 50.Rg4+ Kf6 51.Kh4 Rb5 52.Ra4 h6 53.Ra6+ Kg7 54.Re6 Rb2 55.Kh3 Rb4 56.Ra6 Rc4 57.Rb6 Ra4 58.Rc6 Rb4 59.Rd6 Ra4 60.Rd3 Kg6 61.Re3 Kg5 62.Re5+ Kf6 63.Re3 Kg5 64.Re6 Rh4+ 65.Kg3 Ra4 66.Rb6 Ra3 67.Rb5+ Kg6 68.Kg4 Ra2 69.Kh3 Ra3 70.Rd5 Rb3 71.Rd8 Ra3 72.Rg8+ Kf7 73.Rg4 Kf6 74.Kh4 Ra5 75.Rc4 Ra2 76.Rf4+ Kg6 77.Rg4+ Kh7 78.Kg3 Ra3 79.Kh2 Rb3 80.Ra4 Kg6 81.Ra6+ Kg5 82.Kh3 Rc3 83.Ra8 Kg6 84.Ra5 Rc4 85.g3 Rb4 86.Ra6+ Kg7 87.Re6 Ra4 88.Re4 Ra5 89.Kg4 Rg5+ 90.Kh4 Ra5 91.f4 Ra1 92.Re5 Rb1 93.Ra5 Rc1 94.Kh5 Rh1+ 95.Kg4 Rg1 96.Kf3 Kg6 97.g4 Rf1+ 98.Kg3 Rg1+ 99.Kh3 Rf1 100.Ra6+ Kg7 101.Ra4 Kg6 102.Ra6+ Kg7 103.Ra7+ Kf6 104.Ra4 Kg6 105.Kg2 Rb1 106.Ra6+ Kg7 107.Kg3 Rg1+ 108.Kf3 Re1 109.f5 Rf1+ 110.Ke4 Re1+ 111.Kd5 Rd1+ 112.Ke6 Re1+ 113.Kd7 Re4 114.Re6 Ra4 115.Rg6+ Kf7 116.Kc7 Rf4 117.Kd6 h5 118.Ke5 Rxg4 119.Ra6 Rb4 120.Ra7+ Kf8 121.Kf6 Rb6+ 122.Kg5 Rc6 123.Rh7 Rb6 124.Rxh5 Ra6 125.Rh7 Rb6 126.Rc7 Ra6 127.f6 Ra1 128.Rc8+ Kf7 129.Rc7+ Kf8 130.Rc8+ Kf7 131.Rc7+ Kf8 1/2-1/2

Position after Black’s 111….Rd1+



Can White win here?

Game 2, July 31
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Giri, Anish
C28 Vienna game

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 Nc6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Nf3 d6 6.O-O Bxc3 7.bxc3 Na5 8.Bb3 h6 9.h3 Qe7 10.Nh2 Nxb3 11.axb3 g5 12.Re1 Rg8 13.Nf1 g4 14.h4 g3 15.fxg3 Rg6 16.b4 Nh5 17.Qxh5 Bg4 18.Qxg6 fxg6 19.Bxh6 Kd7 20.Ne3 Be6 21.Rf1 Qh7 22.Bg5 Qg8 23.Rf6 a6 24.Raf1 Re8 25.c4 b6 26.Nd5 Kc6 27.R6f2 Qg7 28.Kh2 Kb7 29.Nc3 Ra8 30.Rf6 Qg8 31.c5 Qe8 32.Nd5 dxc5 33.bxc5 bxc5 34.Rb1+ Kc8 35.Bh6 Kd7 36.Rb7 Bxd5 37.exd5 Kc8 38.Rb1 Kd7 39.Rbf1 Rd8 40.Rf8 Qe7 1-0

Position after White’s 17.Qxh5




- Sometimes it's good to fall into a trap!
Nepo went for 17.Qxh5! Bg4 and solved the problem of his trapped queen with 18.Qxg6! fxg6 19.Bxh6 and White was better

Game 3, July 31
Giri, Anish – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
D85 Grunfeld, Exchange variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Be3 c5 8.Rc1 Qa5 9.Qd2 O-O 10.Nf3 Bg4 11.d5 b5 12.Bxc5 Rc8 13.Bb4 Qc7 14.Nd4 a5 15.Ba3 b4 16.Bb2 Qb6 17.c4 Na6 18.f4 e5 19.h3 Nc5 20.fxe5 Bxe5 21.hxg4 Nxe4 22.Qe3 Re8 23.Kd1 Bg7 24.Qg1 Nc3+ 25.Bxc3 bxc3 26.Nc2 Qf6 27.Rh2 Rad8 28.Rb1 Rb8 29.Rc1 Bh6 30.Ra1 Rb2 31.g3 Qf3+ 32.Be2 Rxe2 33.Rxe2 Rxc2 0-1

- Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi both raced to an early lead in their chess24 Legends of Chess semi-finals! Peter Svidler and Anish Giri still have a chance if they can win tomorrow

Results of Day One

Giri-Nepo 0.5-2.5
Carlsen-Svidler 2.5-0.5

[Wayne Komer]

Legends of Chess 2020

August 1, 2020

Semi-Finals

Final Four, Day Two

The commentators today are all-star – Jan Gustafsson, Tania Sachev, Alexander Grischuk, Judit Polgar and Garry Kasparov. When the last two analyzed, it was very entertaining.

- I woke up from a nap. Turned on the
broadcast. Judith and Garry commenting the games. I might still dreaming!

- The humour between Garry and Judit in #legendsofchess is crazy....

Kasparov - "oh look at the clock Nepo has less time than his opponent"

Judit Polgar - "Historical moment"

- I want Tanya to marry me

Garry Kasparov had to leave, but life is good when you can bring in Alexander Grischuk for the blitz/Armageddon!

Garry Kasparov [on playing Judit Polgar back in the day]:

"It was tough. People always asked how do you feel playing a female player and I always told them I didn't consider her a female player. I considered her one of the top players in the world."

@Kasparov63 on Carlsen's 10-year dominance of chess:

"Looking at other players, it's not clear that his dominance will come to an end any time soon."

What are you most proud of Garry?

"Matching what I did in November 1985 is virtually impossible... but it's about your constant push for personal innovation. I'm quite proud that I managed to find something else. It's not the end of life"

Game 1, August 1
Carlsen, Magnus – Svidler, Peter
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf, Byrne Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e6 7.Be2 Qc7 8.Qd2 b5 9.a3 Bb7 10.f3 Nbd7 11.O-O-O d5 12.exd5 Bxd5 13.Bf4 Qb6 14.Rhe1 O-O-O 15.Be3 Qb7 16.a4 b4 17.Nxd5 Nxd5 18.Nb3 Qc6 19.Qd4 Bd6 20.Na5 Qc5 21.Bxa6+ Kc7 22.Nb7 Qxd4 23.Rxd4 Ra8 24.Nxd6 Kxd6 25.Bb5 Nf6 26.Bd2 1-0

- Magnus Carlsen won two games in 27 moves yesterday, he opens today with a 26-move win over Peter Svidler!

Game 2, August 1
Svidler, Peter – Carlsen, Magnus
A07 Reti, King’s Indian Attack

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 c6 3.Bg2 Bg4 4.c4 e6 5.O-O Nf6 6.d3 Bd6 7.Qb3 Qe7 8.Nc3 Na6 9.cxd5 exd5 10.e4 dxe4 11.dxe4 O-O 12.e5 Bxe5 13.Nxe5 Qxe5 14.Qxb7 Nc5 15.Bf4 Qh5 16.Qxc6 Rac8 17.Qb5 a6 18.Qa5 Rfe8 19.f3 Nd3 20.Qxh5 Bxh5 21.Bg5 Nxb2 22.Bxf6 gxf6 23.Ne4 Rc6 24.Rac1 Ree6 25.Nc5 Re7 26.f4 Rb6 27.Bd5 Kg7 28.Rf2 Nd1 29.Bb3 Nxf2 30.Kxf2 Re2+ 31.Kg1 Bf3 32.Rc3 Bd5 0-1

Game 3, August 1
Carlsen, Magnus – Svidler, Peter
B51 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.d4 cxd4 5.Qxd4 a6 6.Bxd7+ Bxd7 7.c4 e5 8.Qd3 b5 9.Nc3 bxc4 10.Qxc4 Qc8 11.Qd3 Qb7 12.O-O h6 13.Nd2 Be6 14.Nc4 Qc6 15.b3 Nf6 16.Ne3 Rc8 17.Bd2 Be7 18.Rac1 Qb7 19.Ncd5 O-O 20.Nxe7+ Qxe7 21.Rxc8 Rxc8 22.Rc1 Rxc1+ 23.Bxc1 Qc7 24.Bd2 Qc6 25.f3 d5 26.exd5 Nxd5 27.Nxd5 Bxd5 28.Qc3 Qe6 29.Qc5 f6 30.h3 Qd7 31.Be3 Qe6 32.Qb6 Qxb6 33.Bxb6 Kf7 34.Bc5 g5 35.Kf2 h5 36.Bb6 h4 37.Bd8 Ke6 38.Ke3 Kf5 39.Kf2 Ke6 40.Ke3 Kf5 41.Kf2 Ke6 1/2-1/2

- Magnus Carlsen wraps up victory and reaches his 3rd final in the 4th Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour event!

Game 1, August 1
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Giri, Anish
C45 Scotch, Schmidt variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.Nc3 Bb4 7.Bd3 d5 8.Bd2 O-O 9.O-O Bxc3 10.Bxc3 dxe4 11.Bc4 Nd5 12.Qd4 Nxc3 13.Qxc3 Re8 14.Bb3 Qf6 15.Qxf6 gxf6 16.Rfe1 Re5 17.Rad1 Bf5 18.Re3 Rb8 19.f3 exf3 20.Rxf3 c5 21.Rdf1 Be6 22.Bxe6 Rxe6 23.b3 Rd8 24.Rxf6 Rxf6 25.Rxf6 Rd2 26.Ra6 Rxc2 27.Rxa7 c4 28.bxc4 Rxc4 29.Kf2 Rc2+ 30.Kf3 c5 31.h4 c4 32.Rc7 Rxa2 33.Rxc4 Ra5 34.g4 h6 35.Kg3 Kg7 36.Rf4 Ra3+ 37.Rf3 Ra4 38.Rf4 Ra3+ 39.Rf3 Ra4 40.Rf4 Ra3+ 1/2-1/2

Game 2, August 1
Giri, Anish – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
A33 English, symmetrical variation

1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.a3 Be7 7.e4 O-O 8.Nf3 Qa5 9.Bd2 Qh5 10.Rg1 a6 11.h3 Ne5 12.g4 Nxf3+ 13.Qxf3 Qc5 14.g5 Ne8 15.h4 b5 16.cxb5 axb5 17.Bxb5 Bb7 18.Bd3 Nd6 19.Qe2 Rfc8 20.Rc1 Qb6 21.Be3 Qa5 22.Bd2 Qb6 23.Be3 Qa5 24.Bd2 Ba6 25.Bxa6 Rxa6 26.Kf1 Rac6 27.Be1 Qc7 28.Rg3 Nc4 29.Rc2 Qf4 30.Rh3 Bf8 31.Nd1 d5 32.exd5 exd5 33.Qf3 Qd6 34.Re2 d4 35.Bb4 Qd7 36.Bxf8 Rxf8 37.Kg2 f6 38.Qe4 f5 39.Qf3 f4 40.b4 Ne3+ 41.fxe3 fxe3 42.Qe4 Re6 43.Qd3 Qc6+ 44.Kg1 Re4 45.Nxe3 dxe3 46.Rexe3 Qc1+ 47.Kg2 Rd4 48.Qb3+ Kh8 49.Rhf3 Rd2+ 50.Kh3 Qh1+ 51.Kg4 Rg2+ 52.Rg3 Rh2 53.Rh3 Qg2+ 54.Reg3 Qe4+ 0-1

Position after Black’s 47…Rd4




Judit Polgar on Giri's 10.Rg1!? "I know I only retired 6 years ago, but things really changed in this game!"

Kasparov: "I think that these days everybody should play h4, g4, Rg1 in the opening, otherwise you're not taken seriously!"

- Garry spots 47...Rd4! and so does Nepo, so it seems he's about to take the lead!

- What a brutal win by Nepo, who takes the lead again, while Carlsen also has a 2:0 lead over Svidler!

Game 3, August 1
Giri, Anish – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
D85 Grunfeld, Exchange variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Be3 c5 8.Rc1 Qa5 9.Qd2 O-O 10.Nf3 Bg4 11.d5 b5 12.Bxc5 Rc8 13.Bb4 Qc7 14.Nd4 a5 15.Ba3 b4 16.Bb2 Qb6 17.c4 Na6 18.f4 e5 19.h3 Nc5 20.fxe5 Bxe5 21.hxg4 Nxe4 22.Qe3 Re8 23.Kd1 Bg7 24.Qg1 Nc3+ 25.Bxc3 bxc3 26.Nc2 Qf6 27.Rh2 Rad8 28.Rb1 Rb8 29.Rc1 Bh6 30.Ra1 Rb2 31.g3 Qf3+ 32.Be2 Rxe2 33.Rxe2 Rxc2 0-1

Game 4, August 1
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Giri, Anish
B51 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.d4 cxd4 5.Qxd4 a6 6.Bxd7+ Bxd7 7.Nc3 e5 8.Qd3 Rc8 9.O-O h6 10.Rd1 Nf6 11.h3 Be7 12.a4 Qc7 13.Nd2 O-O 14.Nf1 Be6 15.Ne3 Qc5 16.Qe2 Bd8 17.Qf3 b5 18.axb5 axb5 19.Ne2 g6 20.Ng3 Kg7 21.Ra3 b4 22.Rad3 Be7 23.b3 Rh8 24.Bb2 h5 25.Ngf1 Qc6 26.Nd2 Rhd8 27.Nec4 Bxc4 28.Nxc4 Nxe4 29.Qe3 Nf6 30.Qe1 Qc5 31.Kh1 Kf8 32.f4 exf4 33.Bxf6 Bxf6 34.Rd5 Qa7 35.Qe4 Qf2 36.R5d2 d5 37.Rxf2 dxe4 38.Rxd8+ Bxd8 39.Rxf4 f5 40.Rf1 Bc7 41.Ra1 Bg3 42.Kg1 f4 43.Kf1 f3 44.Ra6 Kg7 45.Ra7+ Kh6 46.gxf3 exf3 47.Rf7 f2 48.Kg2 Bh4 49.Ne3 Rc3 50.Rf3 Kg7 51.Nf1 Rxf3 52.Kxf3 Kf6 53.Ke4 g5 54.Ne3 Ke6 55.Kf3 Ke5 56.Kg2 Kd4 57.Nd1 Bg3 58.Nb2 Kc3 59.Nd3 Bd6 60.Nxf2 Kxc2 61.Ne4 Be7 62.h4 g4 63.Ng3 Kxb3 64.Nxh5 Kc2 65.Nf4 b3 0-1

- Ouch! It looks like Giri is going to level the scores going into the final rapid game today

(to be continued)

[Wayne Komer]

Legends of Chess 2020

August 1, 2020

Final Four, Day Two (continued)

Game 4, August 1
Giri, Anish – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
D85 Grunfeld, Modern Exchange variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Be3 c5 8.Nf3 Qa5 9.Qd2 O-O 10.Rc1 Bg4 11.d5 b5 12.Bxc5 Rc8 13.Bb4 Qc7 14.Nd4 a5 15.Ba3 b4 16.Bb2 Qb6 17.c4 Na6 18.Nc6 Bxb2 19.Qxb2 Rxc6 20.dxc6 Qxc6 21.Bd3 Nc5 22.Bc2 Nxe4 23.Qd4 Bf5 24.Bxe4 Bxe4 25.f3 Bf5 26.O-O a4 27.Rfe1 b3 28.axb3 axb3 29.Re2 Qc7 30.c5 Rd8 31.Qc3 Bc2 32.Rexc2 bxc2 33.Qxc2 Qc6 34.Qc3 h5 35.Qe3 Rd7 36.h3 Kh7 37.Qe5 Rc7 38.Qf4 Kg7 39.Qe5+ Kh7 40.Qf4 Kg7 41.Qe5+ Kh7 1/2-1/2

Giri-Nepo goes to two 5+3 blitz games (and only then, potentially, Armageddon!)

Game 5, August 1
5+3
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Giri, Anish
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Rg1 b5 7.a4 b4 8.Nd5 e6 9.Nxf6+ Qxf6 10.Be3 Bb7 11.Qd2 Bxe4 12.f3 Bb7 13.Qxb4 Qe7 14.Qb6 Qd7 15.O-O-O Qc8 16.Nb3 Nc6 17.Bd4 e5 18.Bc3 Be7 19.Bd3 O-O 20.Be4 Rb8 21.Kb1 Ba8 22.Qe3 Qc7 23.f4 Bf6 24.f5 h6 25.g4 Rfc8 26.Qf2 Qe7 27.Qg2 Nd4 28.Bxa8 Nxb3 29.cxb3 Rxa8 30.Qd5 e4 31.Bxf6 Qxf6 32.Qxe4 Rab8 33.Rg3 a5 34.Qd4 Qh4 35.Rd2 Rb4 36.Qxd6 Rxg4 37.Qa6 Rc5 38.Ka2 Rxg3 39.hxg3 Qxg3 40.f6 Qg6 41.Rd8+ Kh7 42.fxg7 Kxg7 43.Qa8 Qh7 44.Qg2+ Qg6 45.Qd2 Re5 46.Qc3 Qf6 47.Ra8 h5 48.Qc8 h4 49.Qh8+ Kg6 50.Rg8+ Kf5 51.Qh5+ Ke6 52.Re8+ Kd6 53.Qd1+ Rd5 54.Qe2 Kd7 55.Ra8 Qe5 56.Qc4 Qd4 57.Qa6 Ke7 58.Qh6 Rd7 59.Qf8+ Kf6 60.Rxa5 Kg6 61.Qg8+ Kh6 62.Qg5+ Kh7 63.Qh5+ Kg7 64.Rg5+ Kf8 65.Rg4 Qe3 66.Qh8+ Ke7 67.Qxh4+ Kd6 68.Qf6+ Kc7 69.Rc4+ Kb8 70.Qh8+ Ka7 71.Rc8 Qe4 72.Qc3 Kb7 73.Rc4 Qd5 74.Qb4+ Ka8 75.Rc5 Qd3 76.Rc8+ 1-0

Game 6, August 1
5+3
Giri, Anish – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
A35 English, symmetrical, Four Knights System

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 g6 7.Qb3 e6 8.Ne4 b6 9.d4 cxd4 10.O-O Bb7 11.Rd1 Bg7 12.Bg5 f6 13.Bf4 e5 14.Nxd4 Nxd4 15.Rxd4 f5 16.Nd6+ Qxd6 17.Bxd5 Bxd5 18.Rxd5 Qe7 19.Bxe5 Bxe5 20.Qb5+ Kf8 21.Rxe5 Qf6 22.Rd1 Kg7 23.Rd7+ Kh6 24.Ree7 Rae8 25.Qb4 Rxe7 26.Rxe7 Rd8 27.Qf4+ g5 28.Qc7 Rd1+ 29.Kg2 Kg6 30.Rxh7 Rc1 31.Qxc1 Kxh7 32.b3 Kg6 33.Qc4 Qe7 34.a4 Qd7 35.Qd3 Qc6+ 36.f3 g4 37.h3 gxf3+ 38.Qxf3 Qe6 39.g4 f4 40.Qd3+ Kg7 41.Kf3 Qe5 42.Qd7+ Kh8 43.Qc8+ Kg7 44.Qd7+ Kh8 45.Qd3 Kg7 46.h4 Qe7 47.g5 Qe6 48.Qd4+ 1-0

Position after White’s 14.Nxd4




Judit - 14.Nxd4! Nxd4 15.Rxd4! "What a shocking move!"

Armageddon, August 1
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Giri, Anish
C67 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence, open variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.Re1 Nd6 6.Nxe5 Be7 7.Bf1 Nxe5 8.Rxe5 O-O 9.d4 Bf6 10.Re1 Re8 11.Rxe8+ Nxe8 12.d5 d6 13.a4 a5 14.Ra3 Bd7 15.Nc3 Bg5 16.h3 Bxc1 17.Qxc1 Nf6 18.Qd2 h6 19.Rb3 b6 20.Nb5 Rc8 21.Qd4 Bf5 22.Rc3 Be4 23.Bc4 Qd7 24.Bb3 Qf5 25.Nxc7 Qg5 26.Rg3 Qc1+ 27.Kh2 Qf4 28.Nb5 Nh5 29.Nc3 f5 30.Ne2 Qh4 31.f3 Nxg3 32.Nxg3 Qf4 33.fxe4 h5 34.Qd3 h4 35.exf5 Rf8 36.Qf3 hxg3+ 37.Qxg3 Rxf5 38.Qxf4 Rxf4 39.Kg3 g5 40.c3 Kg7 41.Bd1 Kf6 42.Bf3 Rxa4 0-1

Position after White’s 42.Bf3? White’s pawns will now go.



- After a complete thriller in Armageddon Giri does it! He takes the match to a decider tomorrow

Grischuk: "Ian is angry as hell now, but Anish also caught his rhythm, so let's see - it will be a really fantastic match!"

Hikaru Nakamura - Congrats to @anishgiri for clawing his way back into the match vs @lachesisq . Looking forward to the tiebreak match tomorrow.

Final Scores of Day Two, FF

Carlsen-Svidler 2.5-0.5
Nepo-Giri 3-4

[Wayne Komer]

Legends of Chess 2020

August 2, 2020

Semi-Finals

Final Four, Day Three

Today, Anatoly Karpov is one of the commentators. There is a profile of him at the chess24 site. Some excerpts:

During the chess24 Legends of Chess, Kasparov noted Karpov's "ability to locate his pieces in perfect positions", while the 14th World Champion Vladimir Kramnik commented:

His play has some mystery about it; he could do what no-one else could do. It’s easier for me to speak about him than about the other World Champions, because my first chess book was a collection of Karpov’s games. I studied them from childhood on, and then I played no small number of games against him. He was a universal chess player: a good tactician, he calculated variations well, was very strong positionally, but he had a defining characteristic. Talking half-jokingly, half-seriously, he refuted Steinitz’s postulate that says: the side with the advantage is obliged to attack under the threat of losing that advantage. But Karpov, when he had the advantage, began to stand still, and his advantage grew! In my view nobody before or since has managed to do the same; I don’t understand how it’s possible. That component of his played always stunned and enthralled me. When it would seem it was time to launch a decisive attack the guy would play a3, h3, and his opponent’s position would fall apart.

Karpov himself described how he fits into the pantheon of champions as follows:

I simply developed that universal style which dominated with the arrival of Spassky and then Fischer, but all the same we were different chess players, of course. Both Spassky and Fischer were brilliant at developing and sensing the initiative. In that regard I was, perhaps, a little inferior, but on the other hand I stood out by having excellent technique for converting an advantage, positional sense and an ability to manoeuvre positionally – in that area I was clearly superior to Spassky, and Fischer, and perhaps everyone, except Petrosian.

Chess Prodigy

Karpov was a model Soviet child, born in the difficult post-war years in Zlatoust in the Ural Mountains, where his father worked as an engineer in the armaments industry. He learned to play chess at four and by the age of 12 was accepted into Mikhail Botvinnik’s chess school. Although the “patriarch of Soviet chess” was apparently sceptical of the youth’s unsystematic talent, Karpov made rapid progress, especially when he teamed up with opening expert GM Semyon Furman. He became the first Soviet player since Spassky to win the World Junior Championship and truly announced his arrival at age 20 at the 1971 Alekhine Memorial. Although seeded only 14th he finished unbeaten in first place along with Leonid Stein, above a field that included reigning World Champion Boris Spassky and former champions Smyslov, Tal and Petrosian

As well as playing chess, Karpov has always been an extremely competitive card player and a fanatical stamp collector, with a collection valued somewhere in the region of $15 million. When he turned 60 in 2011 he embarked on a new career path and is currently a Deputy in the Russian Parliament.

https://chess24.com/en/read/news/ana...chess-champion

Tania takes advantage of a break in the action to ask the commentators this question:

What was the greatest moment in your chess career?

Magnus: It was winning the Norwegian Under-11 in 2000. It was the first time I was the best and the key moment in my chess career when I actually began to believe that I could be good.

Not 2013 Chennai?

It was cool but I didn’t really do anything then I hadn’t done before.

Judit: Following Magnus’s idea that it was when you were very young, then I would say winning the New York Open, Unrated Section, with an almost perfect score of 7.5/8. That was the first huge international result for me. It reported in the New York Times and I won $1000 and was recognized internationally. Also, playing with my sisters on the team for the Olympiad and winning the gold medal for Hungary. And further, being in the Top Ten In the World was also satisfying.

Anatoly: There are a couple of moments for me. The first was winning the World Youth Championship in Stockholm in 1969. I wasn’t too solid in the qualification but later I won the best result for many years – the first 8 games in the final. I was World Championship Under 18. Later, most probably the Leningrad Interzonal in 1973 I became a Candidate and beat all the other Candidates and became World Champion in 1974.

Jan: I had nine draws in my first German Under 11!
__________

- 12th World Champion Anatoly Karpov has joined the show!

- Anatoly Karpov says Anish Giri reminds him of Tigran Petrosian

- Anatoly Karpov is joining from the Chigorin Hall of the Moscow Central Chess Club!

- What a treat to have Anatoly Evegneyevich! What a mountain of a player!! As thrilled to see him on the screen as to meet him first in person at Sanghi Nagar 1994. For perspective. just morning, was analysing a Karpov masterpiece vs Polgar, Las Palmas 1994!

Game 1, August 2
Giri, Anish – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
D06 AGD, Grau

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Bf5 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Nc6 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bf4 Nf6 7.e3 Bd6 8.Bg5 Bb4 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 h6 11.Bxf6 Qxf6 12.O-O Bxc3 13.Qxc3 O-O 14.Rfc1 Rfd8 15.Ne5 Rd6 16.Qb3 Nxe5 17.dxe5 Qxe5 18.Qxb7 Rad8 19.Qxa7 d4 20.exd4 Rxd4 21.Re1 Qd6 22.Rac1 Rd1 23.Qe3 Rd2 24.Rb1 Qf6 25.Qf3 Qd4 26.Rbc1 c5 27.g3 Qxb2 28.Rxc5 Qxa2 29.Rce5 Qa8 30.Qxa8 Rxa8 31.Re8+ Rxe8 32.Rxe8+ Kh7 33.Kg2 g6 34.h4 h5 35.Re3 Kg7 36.Rf3 Ra2 37.Re3 Rb2 38.Rf3 Ra2 39.Re3 Rb2 40.Rf3 Ra2 1/2-1/2

Game 2, August 2
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Giri, Anish
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.O-O Nd4 6.Bc4 d6 7.a4 c6 8.Nxd4 Bxd4 9.a5 a6 10.Nd2 O-O 11.Bb3 h6 12.h3 Ba7 13.Nc4 Be6 14.c3 Bxc4 15.Bxc4 d5 16.exd5 cxd5 17.Bb3 Qd6 18.Qf3 Rfe8 19.Qg3 Nh5 20.Qh4 Nf6 21.Be3 d4 22.cxd4 Bxd4 23.Bxd4 exd4 24.Bc4 Re2 25.Qg3 Qe7 26.b4 Qxb4 27.Rab1 Qe7 28.Qf3 Ra7 29.Rb6 Re1 30.g3 Qe2 31.Qxe2 Rxe2 32.Rfb1 Re7 33.Rd6 Ra8 34.Rxd4 Rc8 35.Kg2 g6 36.Rd6 Kg7 37.Rdb6 Rcc7 38.R1b2 Red7 39.Ba2 Ng8 40.d4 Ne7 41.h4 h5 42.d5 Nxd5 43.Bxd5 Rxd5 44.Rxb7 Rxb7 45.Rxb7 Rxa5 46.Rb6 Ra3 47.f3 Kf8 48.Rb7 Re3 49.Ra7 Re6 50.g4 hxg4 51.fxg4 Kg7 52.Kf3 Rb6 53.h5 g5 54.Kg3 Rb3+ 55.Kg2 Ra3 56.Kf2 Ra4 57.Kg3 Ra3+ 58.Kf2 a5 59.Ra6 Ra4 60.Kg3 Ra3+ 61.Kg2 Ra4 62.Kg3 Ra3+ 63.Kg2 Ra4 64.Kg3 1/2-1/2

(to be continued)

[Wayne Komer]

Legends of Chess 2020

August 2, 2020

Semi-Finals

Final Four, Day Three (continued)

Game 3, August 2
Giri, Anish – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
D06 QGD, Grau

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Bf5 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Nc6 5.Bg5 Be7 6.Bxe7 Ncxe7 7.e3 Nf6 8.Be2 h6 9.O-O O-O 10.Qb3 Rb8 11.Rfd1 c6 12.Rac1 Ne4 13.Nxe4 Bxe4 14.Nd2 Bg6 15.Qa3 Ra8 16.b4 Nf5 17.Qb2 a6 18.a4 Nd6 19.b5 axb5 20.axb5 Ra4 21.c5 Ne4 22.Ra1 Rxa1 23.Rxa1 Nxd2 24.Qxd2 cxb5 25.Bxb5 Qb8 26.Qb2 Rc8 27.f4 Be4 28.Bf1 g5 29.fxg5 hxg5 30.Ra3 Kg7 31.Rb3 Rc7 32.Ba6 Qa7 33.Bxb7 Qa5 34.Kf2 Re7 35.c6 Re8 36.Ra3 Qc7 37.Kg1 Rh8 38.g3 Rh3 39.Qf2 Rh6 40.Qe1 Qb6 41.Qc1 Qc7 42.Qe1 Qb6 43.Ra2 Rf6 44.Qc1 Bd3 45.Rf2 Rxf2 46.Kxf2 Bc4 47.g4 Qa5 48.e4 f6 49.e5 Qa2+ 50.Kg1 Qe2 51.h3 Qd3 52.exf6+ Kf7 53.Qxg5 1/2-1/2

- The tension continues to grow as Giri was unable to squeeze out a win in Game 3!

Grischuk – Anish showed his strength in strategy in this game and Jan showed his resourcefulness.

Game 4, August 2
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Giri, Anish
C67 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence, open variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.Re1 Nd6 6.Nxe5 Be7 7.Bf1 Nxe5 8.Rxe5 O-O 9.d4 Bf6 10.Re1 Re8 11.c3 Rxe1 12.Qxe1 Ne8 13.d5 d6 14.a4 a5 15.Na3 Bd7 16.Nc4 Bg5 17.Be3 Bxe3 18.Nxe3 Nf6 19.Qd1 Qe7 20.Qb3 b6 21.Qc4 Rc8 22.Bd3 Qe5 23.h3 Nh5 24.Re1 Nf4 25.Bf1 Qf6 26.Rd1 h6 27.Rd4 Ng6 28.Re4 Qd8 29.Qe2 f5 30.Rd4 Qg5 31.g3 f4 32.h4 Nxh4 33.Rxf4 Ng6 34.Re4 h5 35.Ng2 Rf8 36.Qe3 Qf5 37.Nf4 Nxf4 38.Rxf4 Qb1 39.Qe4 Qxe4 40.Rxe4 Re8 41.Rc4 Re1 42.Kg2 Re7 43.Bd3 1/2-1/2

- Grischuk: "Anish is playing this game a bit like a snake... he's getting ready to bite!"

For a 2nd day in a row Giri-Nepo goes to two 5+3 blitz games!

Game 5, August 2
5+3
Giri, Anish – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
D87 Grunfeld, Exchange, Spassky variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2 O-O 9.O-O Nc6 10.Be3 Bg4 11.f3 Bd7 12.Rb1 Qc7 13.Qd2 Rfd8 14.Rfc1 Be8 15.h4 e5 16.Bd5 cxd4 17.cxd4 exd4 18.Nxd4 Qe5 19.Ne2 b6 20.Bf4 Qe7 21.h5 Rac8 22.h6 Bf6 23.Be3 Ne5 24.Rxc8 Rxc8 25.Rc1 Rd8 26.Qc2 Nxf3+ 27.gxf3 Rxd5 28.exd5 Qxe3+ 29.Kg2 Qg5+ 30.Kf2 Qxh6 31.Qc8 Bh4+ 32.Kg2 Qe3 33.Ng3 Qg5 34.Qxe8+ Kg7 35.Qe1 Bxg3 36.Qxg3 Qxc1 37.Qe5+ f6 38.Qe7+ Kh6 39.d6 Qg5+ 40.Kh3 Qh5+ 1/2-1/2

Game 6, August 2
5+3
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Giri, Anish
C45 Scotch, Mieses variation, main line

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.e5 Qe7 7.Qe2 Nd5 8.h4 a5 9.c4 Ba6 10.Nd2 Nb6 11.h5 Qe6 12.h6 gxh6 13.b3 O-O-O 14.Bb2 Bg7 15.O-O-O Rhe8 16.f4 f6 17.Ne4 fxe5 18.Nc5 Qf5 19.Nxa6 exf4 20.Qd3 Bxb2+ 21.Kxb2 Qe5+ 22.Qc3 Kb7 23.Qxe5 Rxe5 24.Rxh6 c5 25.Nxc5+ Rxc5 26.Rxh7 Rf8 27.Be2 d6 28.Bf3+ Kb8 29.Re1 Nc8 30.Re6 Rg5 31.Kc3 Rfg8 32.Rf7 Re5 33.Rh6 a4 34.Rhh7 axb3 35.Rxc7 Re3+ 36.Kb2 Rxf3 37.gxf3 bxa2 38.Kxa2 Rg3 39.Rb7+ Ka8 40.Rb3 Rg2+ 41.Ka3 Rc2 42.Rb4 Rc3+ 43.Kb2 Rxf3 44.Rh8 Rf2+ 45.Kc3 1-0

Position after Black’s 27…d6



- Judit says it shows how stressed Nepo is that he didn't spot 28.Rxd6!, winning on the spot

- Nepo wins the second blitz game and the match, so no Armageddon.

- Nepo does it, ending an incredibly hard-fought match with a win in the final blitz game!

Nepomniachtchi: "I have no feelings - I'm just very tired"
Tomorrow he plays Magnus Carlsen as the chess24 Legends of Chess final begins!
________

7.Playing Conditions

Players are not allowed to use any device during play, except the playing computer. Apart from a browser logged in to the chess24 Playzone, no other software must be open on the computer (see below - ‘Anti-Cheating’), except any software required by the Chief Arbiter and broadcast production for video and audio purposes, in accordance with the above. The designated software for these purposes is the Zoom video-meeting platform.

The Tournament Director will provide full instructions about the playing procedures in a separate document.
Players will not be disturbed during play and between games of a match in any way.

8. Anti-Cheating

All players must comply with the anti-cheating procedures implemented by the organizers.

These shall include:

- Screen sharing by the players during play; this will be strictly confidential and shall be made available exclusively to the Chief Arbiter and his Deputy.

- Additional camera recordings (two extra cameras at different angles), for review purposes only.

- Review of all games by the chess24 anti-cheating software.

All anti-cheating measures shall apply to all players equally, without any discrimination.

The organizers will provide the necessary equipment for the implementation of the anti-cheating measures.

[Wayne Komer]

Legends of Chess 2020

August 3, 2020

Final

Day One

Commentators are again Judit Polgar, Anatoly Karpov, Jan Gustafsson and Tania Sachdev. Alexander Grischuk drops in from time to time. It is interesting that not one of these has English as their native language but they are completely fluent. I was surprised to find that Anatoly was coming on yesterday. The only thing which would surprise me more would be Boris Spassky being a commentator. But, he is 83 years old, has suffered from strokes and ill health and so, it is unlikely that we will hear from him in a public forum again.

Last week, chess24 profiled Garry Kasparov. A few excerpts from that essay:

Kasparov was born Garik Kimovich Weinstein but adopted a Russified version of his Armenian mother’s surname Gasparyan after his father died when he was seven. From the age of ten he trained at Mikhail Botvinnik’s school and the scale of his talent soon became evident. He won the Soviet Junior Championship in 1976 and 1977 and as a 15-year-old was the youngest ever qualifier for the adult championship a year later. Kasparov’s triumph in the 1979 Banja Luka tournament in Yugoslavia saw him shoot up to number 15 on the January 1980 rating list, and he won the World Junior Championship later that year.

The World Championship years

When Kasparov qualified for the Candidates Matches the 19-year-old was already rated no. 2 in the world, and after convincingly winning matches against Alexander Beliavsky (6-3), Viktor Korchnoi (7-4) and Vasily Smyslov (8.5-4.5) he topped the rating list.

His 1984 World Championship match against Anatoly Karpov represented an altogether different challenge, however, and nine games in he was facing a humiliating defeat after four losses. Kasparov then dug in with a sequence of 17 draws, but when he lost the next game it seemed inevitable Karpov would score the sixth win he required to win the match. Instead when the match was controversially abandoned 21 games later Kasparov had scored three wins.

Kasparov won the rematch a year later to become the youngest ever World Champion at 22.

He held on to the title in another three closely fought matches against Karpov in 1986 (12.5-11.5), 1987 (12-12) and 1990 (12.5-11.5). England’s Nigel Short surprisingly beat Karpov in the next cycle, which was to have fateful consequences for world chess. Short and Kasparov were unhappy with decisions taken by the World Chess Federation and set up a rival Professional Chess Association for their match. Although Kasparov eventually scored an easy 12.5-7.5 victory he later regretted their decision, as it ushered in 13 years of split titles.

Kasparov defended his title once more against Viswanathan Anand in 1995, winning 10.5-7.5 after his opponent collapsed to lose four out of five games despite being the first to score a win after eight draws. Vladimir Kramnik had worked as Kasparov’s second for that match, which Kasparov may have regretted when he ultimately lost the title to his fellow Russian in 2000. Kramnik managed to stifle his opponent’s aggressive intentions, most famously with the Berlin Defence, to the extent that Kasparov failed to win a game, the first time that had happened to a reigning champion since Emanuel Lasker’s match against Capablanca in 1921.

https://chess24.com/en/read/news/gar...parov-the-goat

Game 1, August 3
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Carlsen, Magnus
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Rg1 b5 7.g4 Bb7 8.g5 Nfd7 9.a3 g6 10.h4 Bg7 11.h5 Nc6 12.Be3 Nc5 13.f3 O-O 14.hxg6 fxg6 15.Nxc6 Bxc6 16.Bh3 Bxc3+ 17.bxc3 e5 18.Bg4 Qe7 19.Qd2 Rad8 20.c4 bxc4 21.O-O-O Ne6 22.Qc3 Bd7 23.Qxc4 Kg7 24.Qb4 Nf4 25.Bxf4 Bxg4 26.Rxg4 Rxf4 27.Rxf4 Qxg5 28.Rxd6 Qxf4+ 29.Kb1 Rxd6 30.Qxd6 h5 31.c4 Qxf3 32.Qxe5+ Qf6 33.Qd5 h4 34.c5 Qf1+ 35.Ka2 Qg2+ 36.Kb3 Qg3+ 37.Ka4 h3 38.c6 h2 39.Qd7+ Kh6 40.Qd8 Qe5 41.Qh4+ Kg7 42.Kb3 Qb5+ 43.Kc3 Qxc6+ 44.Kd3 Qd6+ 45.Ke2 Qxa3 46.Kf2 Qb2+ 47.Kg3 Qf6 48.Qh3 Qc3+ 0-1



Position after White’s 21.O-O-O. The computer said that 21…Na4 for Black was winning.

- Nepo thought for 1 minute 17 seconds before going for 3.d4 and the Najdorf, while Magnus has taken a couple of minutes out after Nepo's 6.Rg1, a move he played himself in the Banter Blitz Cup on the way to beating Sjugirov 9:0!

- Magnus Carlsen takes the lead after a wildly complicated and strange first game!

Carlsen on playing 17...e5 not 17...Qa5! (which he spotted immediately afterwards) in Game 1: "I was just really, really appalled with my play... that upset me quite a bit"

Game 2, August 3
Carlsen, Magnus – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
D85 Grunfeld, Exchange variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Be3 c5 8.Rc1 Qa5 9.Qd2 O-O 10.Nf3 Bg4 11.d5 b5 12.Be2 Nd7 13.O-O Rac8 14.Rfd1 Nb6 15.Bh6 Bxf3 16.gxf3 b4 17.Bxg7 Kxg7 18.cxb4 cxb4 19.Rc6 Rxc6 20.dxc6 Rc8 21.Rc1 Na4 22.Rc4 Nc3 23.Bf1 Qb6 24.a3 Rxc6 25.Rxc6 Qxc6 26.axb4 Nb5 27.Bxb5 Qxb5 28.Qd4+ e5 29.Qxa7 Qxb4 30.Qc7 Qd4 31.Qe7 h5 32.h4 Qc3 33.Kg2 Qd4 34.Kg1 Qc3 35.Kg2 Qd4 36.Kg1 Qc3 1/2-1/2

Judit aggressively comments on the games and doesn’t back down to Anatoly and Alexander.

Game 3, August 3
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Carlsen, Magnus
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Rg1 b5 7.g4 Bb7 8.g5 Nxe4 9.Nxe4 Bxe4 10.a4 e5 11.axb5 Be7 12.Rg4 axb5 13.Bxb5+ Nd7 14.Bd2 Bb7 15.Nf5 O-O 16.Rxa8 Bxa8 17.Rh4 g6 18.Qg4 Nc5 19.Qh3 h5 20.Rxh5 gxh5 21.Qxh5 Ne6 1-0

Fireworks in the final of @chess24com #ChessLegends: 19...h5 was a crucial mistake from Carlsen, after which Nepomniachtchi captured on h5 without thinking for a second, and after 20...gh 21. Qh5 Black just resigned! #chess.

Game 4, August 3
Carlsen, Magnus – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
D79 Neo-Grunfeld

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 c6 4.Bg2 d5 5.cxd5 cxd5 6.Nf3 Bg7 7.O-O O-O 8.Ne5 Ne4 9.Nd2 Nxd2 10.Bxd2 Nd7 11.Nxd7 Bxd7 12.e3 e6 13.Qb3 Qb6 14.Qxb6 axb6 15.Rfc1 Rfc8 16.Rxc8+ Rxc8 17.Rc1 Rxc1+ 18.Bxc1 Bb5 19.Bd2 Bf8 20.Bf1 Bxf1 21.Kxf1 f5 22.a4 Kf7 23.f4 h5 24.h4 Ke8 25.b4 Kd7 26.b5 Be7 27.Ke2 Bf8 28.Kd3 Be7 29.Kc2 Bf8 30.Kb3 Be7 31.Bb4 Bd8 32.Bf8 Ke8 33.Bd6 Kd7 34.Bb4 Bc7 35.Ba3 Bd8 36.Bb4 Bc7 37.Ba3 Bd8 38.Bb4 1/2-1/2

- Magnus is going for a quieter approach in Game 4 after going down in flames in the previous game!

- Nepo copied Carlsen for 13 moves until Magnus finally broke the symmetry here by exchanging queens - it seems we're heading for a very quick draw... and two blitz games!

- As in the New York and London matches, Magnus decides to make a quick draw in the last "long" game and take the match to tiebreaks - two 5+3 blitz games coming up now!

(to be continued)

[Wayne Komer]

Legends of Chess 2020

August 3, 2020

Final

Day One (continued)

Blitz Games

Game 5, August 3
5+3
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Carlsen, Magnus
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf, Adams Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.h3 g6 7.g4 Bg7 8.Bg2 O-O 9.Be3 Nc6 10.Qd2 Nxd4 11.Bxd4 b5 12.g5 Nh5 13.Bxg7 Nxg7 14.e5 Ra7 15.O-O-O Rd7 16.Bc6 Rc7 17.Bf3 Bf5 18.exd6 exd6 19.Ne4 Ne6 20.h4 Rc4 21.Nf6+ Kh8 22.Bd5 Rxc2+ 23.Qxc2 Bxc2 24.Kxc2 Nf4 25.Kb1 Kg7 26.Rd4 Nxd5 27.Rxd5 h6 28.Rhd1 Qc8 29.a3 Qh3 30.R1d4 Qf1+ 31.Ka2 Qxf2 32.Rxd6 hxg5 33.hxg5 Qg3 34.R6d5 Rc8 35.Rd3 Qf4 36.R3d4 Qh2 37.Rd2 Qc7 38.R2d4 Rh8 39.Rd7 Qe5 40.R7d5 Qe3 41.Rd3 Qc1 42.Rc3 Qf4 43.Rc2 b4 44.a4 b3+ 45.Kxb3 Rb8+ 46.Ka2 Qxa4+ 47.Kb1 Rh8 48.Rc1 Qb3 49.Rd2 Qe6 50.Rc5 a5 51.Rcd5 a4 52.Ka2 Qe3 53.R2d3 Qb6 54.Rd6 Qg1 55.R6d5 Rh1 56.Ka3 Qa1+ 57.Kb4 Qxb2+ 58.Ka5 Rh8 59.Rb5 Ra8+ 0-1

Judit Polgar spotted a way for Nepo to draw the 1st blitz game, missed by Jan, Grischuk... and then Nepo himself - "We are patzers!" (Grischuk)

Game 6, August 3
5+3
Carlsen, Magnus – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
B06 Robatsch Defence, Two Knights variation

1.Nf3 d6 2.d4 g6 3.e4 Bg7 4.Nc3 a6 5.Be3 b5 6.Bd3 Bb7 7.a4 b4 8.Ne2 Nf6 9.Ng3 a5 10.c3 Na6 11.O-O O-O 12.h3 c5 13.Qe2 bxc3 14.bxc3 cxd4 15.cxd4 Nb4 16.Rfc1 Rc8 17.Bd2 Rxc1+ 18.Rxc1 Qa8 19.Bb1 Bc6 20.Bxb4 axb4 21.Qc4 Bxa4 22.Qxb4 Bc6 23.Qb6 Rc8 24.Bd3 Bd7 25.Rxc8+ Qxc8 26.Qb2 h5 27.Qd2 Qa8 28.e5 dxe5 29.dxe5 Nd5 30.Be4 Bc6 31.e6 f5 32.Bxd5 Bxd5 33.Nh4 Kh7 34.Ngxf5 gxf5 35.Qg5 Qa1+ 36.Kh2 Qe5+ 37.f4 Qxe6 38.Qxh5+ Kg8 39.Nxf5 Bf8 40.Qg5+ Kf7 41.Qh5+ Qg6 42.Nh6+ Bxh6 43.Qxd5+ e6 44.Qb7+ Kg8 45.Qc8+ Kh7 46.Qb7+ Bg7 47.Qf3 Qf6 48.Qe4+ Kg8 49.Qa8+ Bf8 50.Qe4 Kg7 51.g3 Qb2+ 52.Qg2 Qb3 53.Qe2 Bd6 54.h4 Kf6 55.Qd2 Qd5 56.Qb2+ Kf7 57.Qe2 Qd4 58.Kh3 Qc5 59.Qe4 Qh5 60.Qb7+ Be7 61.Qe4 Qd5 62.Qh7+ Ke8 63.h5 Qh1+ 64.Kg4 Qd1+ 65.Kh3 Qh1+ 66.Kg4 Qd1+ 67.Kh3 Qd5 68.Qg6+ Kd7 69.h6 Qh1+ 70.Kg4 Qd1+ 71.Kh3 Qd4 72.h7 Bf6 73.Qf7+ Kd6 74.Qf8+ Kd5 75.Qg8 Qa1 76.Qf7 Qh1+ 77.Kg4 Qd1+ 78.Kh3 Qf1+ 79.Kg4 Qe2+ 80.Kh3 Qb2 81.Qd7+ Ke4 82.Qxe6+ Kf3 83.Qd5+ Ke3 84.Kg4 Bh8 85.Qf3+ Kd4 86.Qd1+ Kc5 87.Qd7 Qf6 88.Qf5+ Kd6 89.Qxf6+ Bxf6 90.Kf5 Ke7 91.Kg6 Bh8 92.g4 1-0

Position after Black’s 89…Bxf6. White wins in 20 moves



- Magnus even wins the final blitz game in the end to clinch victory in the first set!

- Carlsen clinching the first set in the final!
Nepo has a chance to come back tomorrow & force a decider on Wednesday. Grischuk: "The fight is lost but the war continues for Team Russia!"

Magnus Carlsen: "The blitz was just a battle of nerves"

Chessbomb comment - Magnus Carlsen wins Magnus Carlsen event. Film at 11

[Wayne Komer]

Legends of Chess 2020

August 4, 2020

Final

Day Two

From chess24:

Ian Nepomniachtchi was, like Magnus Carlsen, born in 1990, but a few months earlier, so that he’s already turned 30.

When they were growing up Ian had the edge, beating Magnus in the European U12 and World U14 events, and although their careers took very different paths Ian managed to add to those wins with “adult” victories in the 2011 Tata Steel A Group and the 2017 London Chess Classic. Magnus only finally scored a classical win in last year’s Grand Chess Tour event in Croatia, making Ian the only remaining elite GM with a plus score (4:1 in wins!) against the World Champion. Given Ian is leading the Candidates Tournament they could easily clash in the biggest match of all.

So Ian is a player with fewer reasons than most to fear Magnus.

Colin McGourty in chess24

https://chess24.com/en/read/news/che...r-fierce-fight

Tania asks Anatoly his opinion of the World Chess Championship.

He thinks the final match is a little short. It should be 16 or 18 games. It is good that the Candidates is not knockout as before, so that is an improvement.

If the match is tied at 8-8 or 9-9 at the end, then there should be two additional games and then, if it is still equal – to play blitz or rapid chess. The result should be on the chessboard, no Armageddon.

Game 1, August 4
Carlsen, Magnus – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
A48 King’s Indian, London System

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Bf4 Bg7 4.e3 O-O 5.Be2 d6 6.O-O Nh5 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Nfd2 Nf6 10.Bg3 Nc6 11.Nc3 e5 12.dxe5 Nxe5 13.f4 Neg4 14.Rf3 Re8 15.Nf1 Nh5 16.Be1 f5 17.Bc4+ Be6 18.Bxe6+ Rxe6 19.h3 Ngf6 20.fxg5 hxg5 21.Rxf5 Bh6 22.g4 Ng7 23.Rf3 Qd7 24.Ng3 Rae8 25.Bf2 Qc6 26.e4 Nd7 27.Nd5 1-0

Position after Black’s 16…f5?




- Lots of people are confused why Nepo keeps standing up during the game but it's clear he's forcing himself to calculate in the 0.4 seconds it takes for him to sit back down again

- Nepo seems to have decided pure aggression is the way to challenge Magnus!

Judit: "f5 in principle I like, if we are not losing on the spot!" (but it may be...)

- Magnus Carlsen takes the lead on Day 2 of the final, with 25.Bf2!, 26.e4!, 27.Nd5!, threatening Rc3 next, greatly impressing Jan, Judit... and Ian, who resigned!

Game 2, August 4
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Carlsen, Magnus
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf, Adams Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.h3 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.g4 h6 9.Be3 Nbd7 10.a4 Nf8 11.Bc4 Ng6 12.Qe2 Bd7 13.f3 Rc8 14.h4 Nh7 15.h5 Bh4+ 16.Rxh4 Nxh4 17.O-O-O Nxf3 18.Rxd6 Qe7 19.Rb6 Bxg4 20.Bd5 O-O 21.Qg2 Qh4 22.Rg6 Nhg5 23.Kb1 Be6 24.Rxe6 fxe6 25.Bxb7 Qe1+ 26.Bc1 Rxc3 27.bxc3 Nxe4 28.Bxe4 Qxe4 29.Bxh6 Rf7 30.Bc1 Qf5 31.Qe2 Rc7 32.Kb2 Qxh5 33.Qxa6 Qe8 34.Qb5 Qc6 35.c4 Kf7 36.c5 Nd4 37.Qf1+ Kg8 38.Be3 Qxa4 39.Bxd4 exd4 40.Qf4 Qd7 41.Qe5 Rb7 42.Qe4 Rb8 43.Qe5 Rb4 44.Qe4 Qd5 45.Qg4 Rc4 46.Qf4 Rb4 47.Qg4 Qf5 48.Qh4 Rc4 49.Qd8+ Kh7 50.Qh4+ Kg6 51.Nxd4 Qe5 52.Qg4+ Kh7 53.Qh4+ Kg8 54.Qd8+ Kf7 55.Qd7+ Kf6 56.c3 Rxc5 57.Qd8+ Kg6 58.Qe8+ Kh7 59.Qd8 Rd5 60.Qh4+ Kg8 61.Qg4 Rd6 62.Qh4 Qf6 63.Qe4 Rb6+ 64.Kc2 Kf7 65.Qa8 Qg6+ 66.Kd2 Rb2+ 67.Ke3 Qg1+ 68.Kd3 Qf1+ 69.Ke3 Qf2+ 70.Kd3 Qg2 71.Nf3 Qe2+ 72.Kd4 Qd1+ 73.Ke3 Re2+ 74.Kf4 Qd6+ 75.Kg4 Rg2+ 76.Kh5 g6+ 0-1

Position after White’s 51.Nxd4




- Magnus keeps faith in the Najdorf despite only needing draws in the remaining games to win the title!

Grischuk makes two inappropriate comments even though he is just joking. This and one later about hacking the Internet:

Grischuk on Carlsen: "Sometimes he plays so good it feels like he's cheating!"

Grischuk: "It's time for Russian hackers to attack internet in Norway. Last hope... come on!"

- Magnus missed the 51...Qxc2+! knockout blow pointed out by Anatoly Karpov!

In the endgame, Nepo knows he is lost but doesn’t give a damn and plays on hoping for a perpetual or better.

- Nepo put up a great fight, but Carlsen takes a commanding 2:0 lead and is just one draw away from winning the $45,000 chess24 Legends of Chess top prize!

Game 3, August 4
Carlsen, Magnus – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
B06 Robatsch Defence

1.d4 d6 2.e4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.Be2 Nc6 5.O-O e5 6.dxe5 dxe5 7.Qxd8+ Nxd8 8.Nc3 Ne6 9.Bc4 c6 10.Ng5 Nd8 11.Rd1 Nh6 12.a4 f6 13.Nf3 Nhf7 14.a5 Be6 15.Be2 Bf8 16.Be3 Nd6 17.Nd2 N8f7 18.f3 Bh6 19.Bf2 Rd8 20.Nb3 Bxb3 21.cxb3 a6 22.Na4 Nc8 23.Nc5 Rxd1+ 24.Rxd1 Nfd6 25.Nxb7 Nxb7 26.Bxa6 Nbd6 27.Bxc8 Nxc8 28.a6 Rf8 29.a7 Nxa7 30.Bxa7 Rf7 31.Bc5 Rb7 32.b4 Bf8 33.Bxf8 Kxf8 34.Rd6 Ke7 35.Rxc6 Rxb4 36.Rc7+ 1/2-1/2

- Congratulations to World Chess Champion @MagnusCarlsen on winning the chess24 Legends of Chess after winning all 13 of his mini-matches!

- Carlsen's victory, his 3rd in 4 events on the tour, means Ding Liren qualifies for the finals, starting Sunday!

It's Carlsen-Ding and Dubov-Nakamura this Sunday, as they begin best-of-5 matches, with a $140,000 top prize at stake!

- Ian Nepomniachtchi put up a great fight and picked up $30,000 as the runner-up, but missed out on a place in the Finals

- Carlsen has now won 5 out of 6 of the major online tournaments during the corona crisis:

c24 Legends of Chess: Winner
Chessable Masters: Winner
Clutch Chess: Winner
Lindores Abbey: Semifinal
Steinitz Memorial: Winner
Magnus Invitational: Winner

- Magnus on only losing a single match in his Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour:

"They just have to step it up!"
"I have lost one match, against Nakamura, and in my mind that's too many!"

- Carlsen: "I am going to celebrate by thinking of my match against Ding."

Day One Final Result

Carlsen-Nepo 4-2

Day Two Final Result

Carlsen-Nepo 2.5-0.5

[Hans Jung]

Thanks for the commentary Wayne. I really enjoyed watching the legends play - especially Chucky, Gelfand, Anand, Kramnik, Leko and Svidler.