Altibox Norway Chess 2020

[Wayne Komer]

Altibox Norway Chess 2020

August 20, 2020

From the official site:

https://norwaychess.no/en/2020/08/19...t-post-corona/

The world as we know it has changed and people all over the world are facing challenging times. Sport events of all types have been cancelled as we together have been distancing ourselves to avoid the spread of the virus. For chess, this has been the case as well, where tournaments all over the world have been cancelled. However, chess online has grown exponentially during this period as tournaments and other chess events have been organized online. This has certainly been positive for chess, as it is a perfect sport to follow online!

The time for chess across the physical board is back!

This year’s Altibox Norway Chess tournament will be different, but nothing short of exciting! It will be a double round-robin tournament with six players:

Magnus Carlsen (Norway)
Fabiano Caruana (USA)
Levon Aronian (Armenia)
Anish Giri (The Netherlands)
Alireza Firouzja (FIDE) and
Aryan Tari (Norway)

The first round starts October 5 and ends on October 16. There are two free days (Oct. 9 and 14).

We can’t wait to bring these incredible chess players back together for some exciting chess matches! The Armageddon games that we introduced last year will continue as it turned out to be a major success.

Players will get following points per round:

Victory main game: 3 points
Loss main game: 0 points
Draw main game & victory Armageddon: 1.5 points
Draw main game & loss Armageddon: 1 point

Team Altibox Norway Chess have prepared for the tournament to be safe for players, teams and other crew members.

You can follow the Altibox Norway Chess tournament on chess24.com and on TV 2 Sport/Sumo.

Comments from Peter Doggers:

https://www.chess.com/news/view/norw...ts-coronavirus

The players on the original list of participants who are no longer participating are GMs Ding Liren, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Wesley So, and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.

The reason for this is that some of the players are prevented from entering Norway due to border restrictions related to COVID-19. Benedicte Westre Skog, project manager for the tournament, explained:

"The Norwegian border is open for people with passports from the EU or Schengen member countries or for people that have a residence permit in EU/Schengen. So, unfortunately, Ding, Mamedyarov, Nepomniachtchi, and So are not able to participate because of this."

The reasons that Caruana can play are that he has a dual passport (Italy as well as the U.S.) and he plans to be in Germany ahead of the tournament, a country from where people can travel to Norway without a 10-day quarantine period.

"I'm not too concerned because Norway is one of the least affected countries and the tournament is not especially big," Caruana said. "I'm sure the organizers will be responsible and take any necessary precautions."

According to the organizers, all players have signed their contract, but yesterday Giri tweeted: "I have indeed signed the contract of participation under the condition that the COVID-19 situation will be safe. I have not yet confirmed my participation to organizers, due to safety concerns."

Right now, travelers from most EU countries, including the Netherlands, arriving in Norway from abroad need to be in quarantine for 10 days. That means Giri would need to travel to Norway on September 26 at the latest.

The top Dutch grandmaster told Chess.com that such a quarantine period is "one of many things to take into account" before making a final decision to play. He emphasized that if both the Netherlands and Norway are declared relatively safe around that time, without travel restrictions and such, he would have no reason not to play.

For Norway, France falls in the same category as the Netherlands. Firouzja, who lives in France, will have to follow the quarantine requirement. Vachier-Lagrave could have participated under the same conditions but is not playing as he felt the tournament would be too close to the Candidates tournament.

Now that the Sinquefield Cup has been quietly canceled as well, Norway Chess will be the first super tournament since March, when the coronavirus started to cause global lockdowns. The strongest tournament held this summer was the Biel Masters, where players were playing with plexiglass between them or with face masks.

It's not clear yet if that will be the case in Stavanger, but Norway Chess will have its measures as well. Besides the 10-day quarantine for players, their team members, and crew (which can be done at the hotel), the number of people at the playing venue will be limited.

"There will also be a limitation on the physical audience; possibly there will be no physical audience at all," said Skog.

[Wayne Komer]

Altibox Norway Chess 2020

September 24, 2020

The final line-up of 6 players in this double round-robin event was announced last month. Since then there has been a change as Dutch Grandmaster, Anish Giri, decided to withdraw due to growing concerns around the Covid-19 situation in the Netherlands.

Now, the Altibox Norway Chess team is thrilled to announce that Polish Grandmaster Jan-Krzysztof Duda has accepted the invitation to play in this historic edition of the tournament. It will be Duda’s first time playing in Altibox Norway Chess. Duda is a very interesting player and will be a great addition to the tournament.

The player list:

Magnus Carlsen (Norway)
Fabiano Caruana (USA)
Levon Aronian (Armenia)
Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland)
Alireza Firouzja (FIDE) and
Aryan Tari (Norway)


The first round starts October 5 and ends on October 16. There are two free days (Oct. 9 and 14).

The organizers are doing major preparations in regards to Covid-19 to assure a safest possible environment for the players, their team members, crew and other people involved.

You can follow the Altibox Norway Chess tournament on chess24.com and on TV 2 Sport/Sumo.

https://norwaychess.no/en/2020/08/25...ng-tournament/

[Wayne Komer]

Altibox Norway Chess 2020

October 1, 2020

The Tournament Team

VLADIMIR KRAMNIK

Expert commentator in the official, international webcast

Vladimir Kramnik is a well-known chess grandmaster from Russia. He was the Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006 and the undisputable World Chess Champion from 2006 to 2007. Kramnik has won three team gold medals and three individual medals at Chess Olympiads but he is maybe most known for defeating Garry Kasparov in 2000, where he became the Classical World Chess Champion. Furthermore, he defended his title in 2004 defeating Péter Lékó and in 2006 defeating FIDE World Chess Champion, Veselin Topalov, in a unification match.

Kramnik lost the title in 2007 to Viswanthan Anand, who then won the World Chess Champion tournament. He challenged Anand again in 2008 at the World Chess Champion tournament but lost. Nevertheless, Kramnik remains a top player reaching a peak rating of 2817 in October 2016, making him the joint-eight highest-rated chess player of all time.

Vladimir Kramnik announced his retirement from a professional chess player career in January of 2019. In the official statements he said he intend to focus on projects relating to chess for children and education. Kramnik has played in the Altibox Norway Chess tournament 3 times, in 2014, 2016 and 2017. We are thrilled to have him onboard the Altibox Norway Chess team for the 2020 tournament.

JUDIT POLGAR

Expert commentator in the official, international webcast

Judit Polgar from Hungary is considered the best female chess player in history, two-time Olympic champion. At the age 15 she broke Bobby Fischer’s record by becoming the youngest Grandmaster. She has been ranked the world number one female chess player for over 25 years, and on the occasion of this exceptional achievement she was awarded a Guinness Record in 2014.

Ranked in top 10 in the Open (Men’s) World Rating list and participated at the World Championship tournament in 2005. During her career Judit has defeated several world champions, including Kasparov, Karpov, Anand and Carlsen.

Silver medallist member of the Hungarian Olympic “Men” National Team, first in 2002 and repeated the success in 2014. After winning the silver medal at the Chess Olympiad the second time, she announced her retirement from competitive chess. In 2015 at the European Championship she led the Hungarian men to winning the bronze medal as team captain.

Established the Judit Polgar Chess Foundation in 2012 and is the main organizer of the annual Global Chess Festival. Judit’s passion is to promote the game, inspire younger generations and to make a difference in education. Judit Polgar is the author of prize-winning books for professional chess players and children alike.

Judit and her team have developed the award-winning Chess Palace and the Chess Playground programs for children age 4-11. These educational programs use chess as an exceptional learning tool to facilitate children’s development and to enable deploying their talent through chess. The motto of the Judit Polgar educational programs: Play your way to creative thinking.

Judit is also making efforts to make steps for gender equality as a “Planet 50-50 Champion” which was given to her by UN Women in 2016.

Given the James Joyce Award by the University College Dublin, in 2017.

Official commentator of the World Championship Final Match in 2016 and 2018.

From the end of 2018 Judit Polgar has been the Honorary Vice President of the international World Chess Federation (FIDE)

FIONA STEIL-ANTONI

Reporter and social media

Fiona has been playing chess since the age of 9 and has represented her country Luxembourg in nine Olympiads, as well as numerous other international competitions. She holds the WIM title and won the individual gold medal on board two at the 2006 Women’s Chess Olympiad in Turin. In 2014, Fiona took her first steps in the world of chess coverage. Since graduating from London Metropolitan University with a degree in Events Management in 2015, she has been working in chess full-time. Fiona has held roles as a commentator, press officer, interviewer and within social media at some of the world’s most prestigious events: the World Championship Match 2018, Tata Steel Chess, Isle of Man International, Gibraltar Masters, Reykjavik Open, Qatar Masters, and Altibox Norway Chess. Besides covering chess tournaments and playing chess, Fiona is also a partnered Twitch streamer.

ANEMONE KULCZAK

Chief Arbiter

Anemone Kulczak’s father taught her to play chess when she was 7 years old. She has played many tournaments during her teenage years.

She became an arbiter 16 years ago and has arbitrated in more than 80 tournaments in France, and in other countries (Round Robin tournaments, French National championship, International Open Tournaments). She has also been part of the organization of many international tournaments in France and regional director of the arbiters during 10 years. In Norway, She has been chief arbiter five times in Altibox Norway Chess (2013, 2014 and 2017, 2018 and 2019) and sector arbiter at the Chess Olympiad in Tromsø.

In her daily life, she works as a Human Resources Manager and HR teacher at the University of Nice. She is also a French lecturer, one of the 24 members of the steering committee of the French Federation, and she does national arbiter training. She has also been the first female to be chess referee in a competition of “chessboxing”, a hybrid sport where competitors fight in alternating rounds of chess and boxing.

ARILD RIMESTAD

Arbiter

Deputy Chief Arbiter

Arild Rimestad is an International Arbiter (2000), International Organiser (2018) and ECU School Chess Teacher (2018).

Arild was born in Time, Rogaland, Norway. He has lived in Denmark and on the Faroes, before moving back to Denmark in 1983 to study and has stayed there since.

He has been the President of a company chess club, also of the former Faroese chess club in Copenhagen, as well as President of the Nordic Chess Federation. He has also been the Youth Leader of Copenhagen Chess Union and organised more than a hundred cadet and youth tournaments. Since 2018, he has been manager of Female and Youth at the Danish Chess Federation and organised Danish and Nordic youth and girls’ championships.

Besides being an arbiter for more than 20 years in a hundred and some tournaments, including Altibox Norway Chess 2013 and 2019, and working with logistics and leadership for two decades, he has also done some filming and been acting in movies and series for more than ten years. In addition, he also writes English poetry.

LENNART OOTES

Official photographer, chess board master and social media

Lennart Ootes is a creative chess professional from the Netherlands. He works for numerous tournaments as a DGT operator, video broadcaster, photographer or web designer. Since 2017 he is involved with Altibox Norway Chess as a DGT board operator and photographer. Lennart was awarded as best photographer of 2018 in the photo contest of the Russian Chess Federation.

https://norwaychess.no/en/the-team-2/

[Wayne Komer]

Altibox Norway Chess 2020

October 4, 2020

Rounds start at 11 AM Toronto/Montreal time

Round One Oct. 5

Aronian-Carlsen
Tari-Caruana
Duda-Firouzja

Round Two Oct. 6

Carlsen-Firouzja
Caruana-Duda
Aronian-Tari

Round Three Oct. 7

Tari-Carlsen
Duda-Aronian
Firouzja-Caruana

Round Four Oct. 8

Carlsen-Caruana
Aronian-Firouzja
Tari-Duda

Round Five Oct. 10

Duda-Carlsen
Firouzja-Tari
Caruana-Aronian

Round Six Oct. 11

Carlsen-Duda
Tari-Firouzja
Aronian-Caruana

Round Seven Oct. 12

Caruana-Carlsen
Firouzja-Aronian
Duda-Tari

Round Eight Oct. 13

Carlsen-Tari
Aronian-Duda
Caruana-Firouzja

Round Nine Oct. 15

Firouzja-Carlsen
Duda-Caruana
Tari-Aronian

Round Ten Oct. 16

Carlsen-Aronian
Caruana-Tari
Firouzja-Duda

[Wayne Komer]

Altibox Norway Chess 2020

October 5, 2020

Round One

Judit Polgar and Vladimir Kramnik are the commentators in English.

The graphics and pictures on the broadcast our outstandingly clear. The players seem to be at tables without any protection – screens or masks.

Comments

Carlsen in the confessional: "Currently it's a pretty quiet game. He chose a line that is normally leading to a lot of maneuvering. I played this several times with black, so when he spends time I am not sure if he's bluffing. If he has prepared something, it can't be too bad."

Fiona: "The players are in good spirits..."
Vlad: "It's not going to be for long! Somebody will lose..."

Tari saying in the confessional that he hadn't seen the Bxe3 move before. "I think I am pretty fine and not complaining about my own position. I am excited about the rest of the game."

Kramnik & Polgar discuss Duda taking 33 minutes in a known position. Does the Polish no. 1 know too little or too much? Vlad has a 3rd option - Duda's bluffing as Garry Kasparov used to back in the 90s!

Kramnik "[Magnus] is by far the best in this. His assessments are so precise and so "cool-blooded". He never gets emotional... I was always amazed how often he was right, to a millimetre... I haven't seen a single player who was so precise and so stable"

Kramnik compares the safety of the black and white queens in Duda-Firouzja... "Mine is in Seychelles, having a good time, and yours is somewhere, I don't know, in a Syrian village! That's what I feel about this position"

Kramnik: "It's a very interesting phenomenon that when you have the same position but with a different colour you don't assess it in the same way. I was trying to fight with it all my life, but I just couldn't manage..."

he game between @LevAronian and @MagnusCarlsen has just ended in a draw. The Armageddon game will start in just under 20 minutes, at 8.05pm CEST. (The players will keep the same colours.)

Round 1, Oct. 5
Aronian, Levon – Carlsen, Magnus
E51 Nimzo-Indian

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.e3 O-O 6.Bd2 b6 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Rc1 Re8 9.Bd3 Ba6 10.Bxa6 Nxa6 11.O-O Bf8 12.Ne2 Qc8 13.Qa4 c5 14.Ng3 Qb7 15.dxc5 Nxc5 16.Qb5 Rac8 17.Rfd1 a6 18.Qf1 Nfe4 19.Be1 g6 20.Ne2 Na4 21.Rb1 Bg7 22.Nfd4 Nac5 23.Nf3 Ne6 24.Ned4 Nxd4 25.Nxd4 Rc4 26.b3 Rc7 27.Qd3 Nc5 28.Qd2 Ne4 29.Qd3 Nc5 30.Qd2 Ne4 1/2-1/2

The Aronian-Carlsen Armageddon has begun! Levon has 10 minutes to Magnus' 7, but needs to win with White

Round 1, Oct. 5
Armageddon
Aronian, Levon – Carlsen, Magnus
E10 Queen’s Pawn game

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 a6 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 Be6 7.Bxf6 Qxf6 8.Qb3 b6 9.g3 Qd8 10.h4 Be7 11.Bh3 O-O 12.O-O-O Bxh3 13.Rxh3 c6 14.e4 dxe4 15.Nxe4 Nd7 16.Qc2 Nf6 17.Ne5 Nxe4 18.Qxe4 Bf6 19.g4 Re8 20.g5 Bxe5 21.dxe5 Qe7 22.f4 Rad8 23.Rhd3 Rxd3 24.Qxd3 Qe6 25.b3 Qg4 26.Qe4 g6 27.Rd2 c5 28.Qc6 Rf8 29.Qf6 Qxh4 30.Kc2 Qe1 31.Qc6 Qe3 32.Qf6 b5 33.Rd3 Qe2+ 34.Rd2 Qe4+ 35.Kb2 c4 36.bxc4 bxc4 37.Ka3 Qe3+ 0-1

Levon had his chances but thought too long at one point and lost on time. He says that he enjoys playing with wooden pieces on a wooden board but he had no time to prepare for the contest as he spent all of his time reading the newspapers about the conflict in Armenia.

Round 1, Oct. 5
Tari, Aryan – Caruana, Fabiano
B47 Sicilian, Taimanov (Bastrikov)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.g3 a6 7.Bg2 Nf6 8.O-O Nxd4 9.Qxd4 Bc5 10.Bf4 d6 11.Qd2 h6 12.Rad1 e5 13.Be3 Bxe3 14.fxe3 Be6 15.Qxd6 Rc8 16.a4 h5 17.h3 Qxd6 18.Rxd6 Nd7 19.h4 Ke7 20.Rd2 Nb6 21.Nd5+ Bxd5 22.exd5 Nc4 23.Re2 Nd6 24.e4 a5 25.Ra1 Rc4 26.c3 f6 27.Re3 Rhc8 28.Kf2 g5 29.Bf3 g4 30.Bg2 R4c5 31.Bf1 f5 32.exf5 Rxd5 33.Rd3 Rcc5 34.Rad1 Rxd3 35.Bxd3 e4 36.Be2 Nxf5 37.Bb5 Nd6 38.Be2 Ke6 39.Rc1 Ke5 40.Rd1 Rc7 41.Kg2 b6 42.Ba6 Rf7 43.Be2 Rf8 44.Rb1 Nf5 45.b4 Ne3+ 46.Kg1 Nd5 47.Rb3 Rc8 48.bxa5 bxa5 49.c4 Nb4 50.Rb1 Kd4 51.Bf1 Nd3 52.Rb5 Rc5 53.Bxd3 exd3 54.Kf2 Kxc4 55.Rb1 Re5 0-1

Fabiano Caruana joins Alireza Firouzja in the lead after using a pawn sacrifice in the opening to beat Aryan Tari!
Fabiano played in the Bundesliga with a mask and plexi-glass so it’s good to be here to play normally. Kramnik asks if the microbes could get through the opening in the plexi-glass where you make your moves. Fabiano says that he didn’t expect science questions after his game today.

Caruana points out that his 13...Bxe3!? isn't technically a novelty, but previously players had only played it as a blunder, not realising they were losing a pawn!

He and Kramnik also discuss the Candidates Tournament coming up. All the players have concerns about the safety. If it starts on November 1, all the players have to agree on the details and that is ongoing.

Round 1, Oct. 5
Duda, Jan-Krzysztof – Firouzja, Alireza
B19 Caro-Kann, Classical, Spassky variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.Nf3 Nd7 8.h5 Bh7 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 e6 11.Bd2 Ngf6 12.O-O-O Be7 13.Kb1 O-O 14.Ne4 c5 15.Be3 Nxe4 16.Qxe4 Nf6 17.Qxb7 Nd5 18.Qa6 Rb8 19.Bd2 cxd4 20.Nxd4 Bf6 21.Nb3 Qc7 22.Rhe1 Rfc8 23.Rc1 Nb6 24.Re4 Nc4 25.Bf4 Qb6 26.Qxb6 Rxb6 27.Be3 Rb4 28.f3 a5 29.Rxc4 Rcxc4 30.Bd2 Rb5 31.Bxa5 Rxh5 32.Rg1 Rb5 33.Bd2 h5 34.c3 g5 35.Kc2 g4 36.Nc1 g3 37.b3 Rc8 38.a4 Rf5 39.Ne2 h4 40.c4 e5 41.Be3 Bg5 42.Bxg5 Rxg5 43.Rh1 Rh5 44.Kc3 f5 45.b4 f4 46.a5 h3 47.gxh3 e4 48.fxe4 g2 49.Rg1 Rxh3+ 50.Kd4 f3 51.c5 Kf7 52.Nf4 f2 0-1

Final Position



17-year-old Alireza Firouzja is back up to world no. 20 after outplaying Jan-Krzysztof Duda in time trouble to pick up a full 3 points for a classical win!

Firouzja on playing Carlsen tomorrow: "It is a very great opportunity for me... I'm going to enjoy the games here!"

Standings after Round One

1 Caruana, Firouzja 3
3 Carlsen 1.5
4 Aronian 1
5-6 Duda, Tari 0

[Hans Jung]

Duda - Firouzja an exciting game. It was hard for white to get those connected pawns going.

[Wayne Komer]

Altibox Norway Chess 2020

October 6, 2020

As if Kramnik and Polgar wasn't enough, the 15th World Champion Vishy Anand has now joined the show!

Round Two

Round 2, Oct. 6
Aronian, Levon – Tari, Aryan
C89 Ruy Lopez, Marshall Counter-Attack

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.c3 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 c6 12.Re1 Bd6 13.g3 Bf5 14.d4 Qf6 15.Be3 Qg6 16.Nd2 Rae8 17.Qf3 Bg4 18.Qg2 Qh5 19.h4 Be2 20.Nf1 Re6 21.Bd2 Rfe8 22.a4 Bf3 23.Rxe6 Rxe6 24.Qh3 Bg4 25.Qh2 h6 26.axb5 axb5 27.Ne3 Bf3 28.Qh3 Be4 29.Qg4 Qxg4 30.Nxg4 f5 31.Ne5 Bxe5 32.dxe5 Kf8 33.f4 Re7 34.Bxd5 cxd5 35.Be3 Rc7 36.Ra5 Bd3 37.Bd4 Rc6 38.Kf2 h5 39.Ke3 Bc4 40.Ra3 Rg6 41.b3 Bf1 42.Bc5+ Ke8 43.Bb4 Bg2 44.Kd4 Rc6 45.Ra7 g6 46.Re7+ Kd8 47.e6 Rc7 48.Rf7 1-0

For his 38th birthday Levon Aronian is again showing that the Marshall Gambit is a "common blunder"!

Levon Aronian beats Aryan Tari on his 38th birthday!

For a short time, at least, the birthday boy leads the table!

Round 2, Oct. 6
Carlsen, Magnus – Firouzja, Alireza
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 Nbd7 11.f3 b5 12.Bf2 Bb7 13.Ng3 b4 14.Na4 c5 15.Nf5 Bf8 16.Nxc5 Nxc5 17.dxc5 Bxc5 18.Rc1 Qb6 19.Qa4 Bc8 20.Nd4 Bd7 21.Qa6 Re7 22.Rfd1 Ne8 23.Qxb6 axb6 24.Bb1 Ba4 25.b3 Bd7 26.Ne2 Nc7 27.Rd2 Bc6 28.Nd4 Bb7 29.g4 Ne6 30.Nf5 Rc7 31.h4 Rac8 32.Rcd1 Bf8 33.Bg3 Rc3 34.Kf2 Bc5 35.Bd3 d4 36.e4 Ra8 37.Bc4 Rc2 38.Bd3 Rcxa2 39.Be5 Rxd2+ 40.Rxd2 Ra5 41.Kg3 Ba6 42.Bxa6 Rxa6 43.Nxd4 Bxd4 44.Bxd4 Ra3 45.Rd3 Nxd4 46.Rxd4 Rxb3 47.Rd8+ Kh7 48.h5 Ra3 49.Rd4 Ra4 50.e5 Ra5 51.Rxb4 Rxe5 52.Rxb6 1/2-1/2

Final Position

8/5pp

Before 25 moves were made, Carlsen appeared three times in the confessional booth where he has 1) given historical insight of the opening in his game, 2) spoken about plans and ideas in the position 3) shown some of his incredible memory

Judit spots 31...Bxe3!? was possible for Firouzja!

Magnus seems to have misplayed a big advantage against Firouzja and now anything could happen!

37...Rc2!? is the kind of tricky move that Firouzja has used to upset Carlsen in the past!

Carlsen-Firouzja ends in a draw, which means Armageddon is ahead!

Round 2, Oct. 6
Caruana, Fabiano – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
D10 QGD Slav Defence, Exchange variation

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.cxd5 cxd5 4.Bf4 Nc6 5.e3 Nf6 6.Bb5 Bd7 7.Nc3 a6 8.Bd3 Bg4 9.Nge2 e6 10.O-O Bxe2 11.Qxe2 Be7 12.a3 O-O 13.Na4 h6 14.Bg3 Nd7 15.h3 Qa5 16.Qd1 Rfc8 17.b4 Qd8 18.Rb1 Ra7 19.Nc5 Ncb8 20.Qe2 a5 21.Rfc1 axb4 22.axb4 Nf6 23.b5 b6 24.Na6 Rxc1+ 25.Rxc1 Nbd7 26.Rc6 Qf8 27.Qc2 Ra8 28.Rc7 Bd6 29.Bxd6 Qxd6 30.Qc6 Qf8 31.Rxd7 Nxd7 32.Qxd7 Rc8 33.g3 Rc3 34.Bf1 Qc8 35.Qxc8+ Rxc8 36.h4 g5 37.Nb4 Kf8 38.Nc6 Ra8 39.Be2 Ra2 40.Kf1 Ra1+ 41.Kg2 Ra2 42.Bd3 Rd2 43.Bf1 f6 44.hxg5 hxg5 45.g4 Ke8 46.Kg3 Rd1 47.Be2 Rg1+ 48.Kh2 Re1 49.Bd3 Rd1 50.Nb4 Kd7 51.Kg2 Ra1 52.f4 Ra3 53.fxg5 fxg5 54.Nc6 Kd6 55.Ne5 Ke7 56.Kf3 Ra2 57.e4 Ra1 58.Ke3 Re1+ 59.Be2 Rg1 60.Kf2 Ra1 61.Nf3 Kf6 62.Ke3 Ra8 63.Bd3 Rg8 64.Bb1 Ke7 65.Ne5 Ra8 66.Bd3 Rc8 67.Nc6+ Kd6 68.Ne5 Rf8 69.exd5 exd5 70.Bf5 Re8 71.Kd3 Re7 72.Bg6 Ra7 73.Ke3 Ke6 74.Bf5+ Kd6 75.Kd2 Ra2+ 76.Kc3 Ra3+ 77.Kb4 Ra7 78.Bc2 Ke6 79.Nc6 Ra2 80.Kb3 Ra1 81.Kc3 Rc1 82.Ne5 Rg1 83.Bf5+ Ke7 84.Nd7 Rc1+ 85.Kb3 Rc4 86.Nxb6 Rxd4 87.Kc3 Rd1 88.Nc8+ Kd8 89.b6 d4+ 90.Kc2 Re1 91.Nd6 Re3 92.Nf7+ Ke7 93.b7 d3+ 94.Kd1 1-0

Final Position



After 15 moves played, Jan-Krzysztof Duda is down to just 36 minutes, while @FabianoCaruana still has one hour on the clock.

Kramnik says Caruana is completely winning, positionally, and only time trouble could save Duda. He calls 23...b6?! "almost like resigning"!

Fabiano Caruana ends Jan-Krzysztof Duda's resistance and will be the sole leader on a perfect 6/6!

Armageddon, Oct. 6
Carlsen, Magnus – Firouzja, Alireza
D35 QGD, Exchange

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 c6 6.e3 h6 7.Bh4 Be7 8.Qc2 O-O 9.Nf3 Re8 10.Bd3 Ne4 11.Bxe7 Qxe7 12.Bxe4 dxe4 13.Nd2 f5 14.O-O-O Nd7 15.g4 fxg4 16.Ndxe4 Nb6 17.Ng3 Be6 18.Kb1 Rf8 19.e4 Rad8 20.Rhe1 Qf6 21.f4 gxf3 22.Qf2 Nc4 23.Rg1 Qh4 24.b3 Nd6 25.Kb2 Rf7 26.Rd2 Rdf8 27.Re1 Kh8 28.Rd3 Rf4 29.e5 Nf5 30.Nce4 Bd5 31.Rxf3 Nxg3 32.hxg3 Rxf3 33.Qxf3 Rxf3 34.gxh4 Bxe4 35.Rxe4 Kg8 36.Ka3 Kf7 37.Kb4 h5 38.a4 Ke6 39.a5 Rg3 40.a6 b6 41.Kc4 Rg4 42.Kd3 Rg3+ 43.Re3 Rg4 44.Rf3 c5 45.dxc5 bxc5 46.Rf8 Kxe5 47.Rf7 1-0

Maximum aggression from Firouzja, who only needs a draw!

Kramnik: "I've played a lot of Queens Gambits, but I never got such a good position with Black!"
Magnus is in deep trouble

Firouzja has the better positions all through the endgame but finally loses on time!

Echoes of the World Blitz Championship as Alireza knocks over a piece and loses on time as he tries to put it back!

Standings after Round Two

1 Caruana 6
2-3 Firouzja, Aronian 4
4 Carlsen 3
5-6 Duda, Tari 0

[Hans Jung]

Great positional play in the London system by Fab Fabi leading to an enjoyable squeeze in a bishop and knight endgame.
Exciting play by Firouzja again!

[Wayne Komer]

Altibox Norway Chess 2020

October 7, 2020

Round Three

Round 3, Oct. 7
Duda, Jan-Krzysztof – Aronian, Levon
C48 Four Knights, Rubinstein Counter-Gambit, Exchange variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Nd4 5.Nxd4 exd4 6.e5 dxc3 7.exf6 Qxf6 8.dxc3 Qe5+ 9.Qe2 Qxe2+ 10.Kxe2 c6 11.Bd3 d5 12.Re1 Bd6 13.Bf4 Ke7 14.Kf3+ Be6 15.c4 dxc4 16.Bxc4 Bxf4 17.Kxf4 Rad8 18.Bxe6 fxe6 19.Re2 Rd4+ 20.Kg3 Rhd8 21.Rae1 R8d6 22.f4 Kf6 23.Kf3 h5 24.Re3 Rd2 25.R1e2 Rd1 26.g3 g6 27.Re5 b6 28.b3 c5 29.c4 a5 30.Kf2 R1d3 31.R5e3 Rxe3 32.Rxe3 Rd2+ 33.Re2 Rd1 34.Kf3 a4 35.bxa4 Rc1 36.Re3 Rxc4 37.Ra3 Kf5 38.a5 bxa5 39.Rxa5 Rc3+ 40.Ke2 h4 41.gxh4 Kxf4 42.Kd2 Rh3 43.Rxc5 Rxh2+ 44.Ke1 e5 45.Rc4+ e4 46.Rc6 Kf3 47.Rf6+ Ke3 48.Kf1 Rh1+ 49.Kg2 Rxh4 50.Rxg6 Ke2 51.Kg3 Rh7 52.Rb6 e3 53.Rb2+ Kd1 54.Rb1+ Kc2 55.Ra1 Rf7 56.a4 e2 57.Kg2 Rf5 58.Ra2+ Kd3 59.Ra1 Ke3 60.Ra3+ Ke4 61.Ra1 Rd5 0-1

Position after White’s 39.Rxa5



Did Levon Aronian do anything special yesterday for his birthday? "I did all the same things. I had a chat with my dog and my girlfriend. Those things make me very, very happy, so it was generally a good birthday!"

Levon Aronian gives Jan-Krzysztof Duda a harsh lesson on rook endings!

Kramnik: "An unexpected victory?"
Aronian: "My every victory is unexpected!"

Levon: "I thought it's going to be a very quick draw!" Levon Aronian beats Duda and takes the temporary lead with 7 points!

Levon is enjoying hanging out with Vlad & Judit:
"We live and learn! Every day the wisdom is shared for free"

Round 3, Oct. 7
Tari, Aryan – Carlsen, Magnus
B69 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer, Rauzer Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bg5 Bd7 7.Qd2 a6 8.O-O-O e6 9.f4 Be7 10.Nf3 b5 11.Bxf6 gxf6 12.Kb1 Qb6 13.f5 O-O-O 14.Bd3 Kb8 15.Ne2 Bc8 16.Nf4 Ne5 17.Be2 d5 18.exd5 exf5 19.Nd4 Bc5 20.Rhf1 Rhe8 21.a3 Ka8 22.h3 Bd7 23.Nh5 Nc4 24.Bxc4 bxc4 25.Qc3 Rb8 26.Rf3 Re1 27.Rxe1 Bxd4 28.Qb4 Qc7 29.d6 Qc6 30.Qa5 Bxb2 31.Ka2 Be5 32.Rb1 Rxb1 33.Kxb1 Qxd6 34.Kc1 Qd4 35.Qxa6+ Kb8 36.c3 Qg1+ 37.Kd2 Qxg2+ 38.Ke3 f4+ 39.Nxf4 Bxf4+ 40.Rxf4 Qg3+ 41.Rf3 Qe1+ 42.Kd4 Qe5+ 43.Kxc4 Qe4+ 44.Kc5 Qxf3 45.Kd6 Bc8 0-1

Yesterday's interview with @MagnusCarlsen after his dramatic Armageddon win against Alireza Firouzja. Very exciting to be witnessing their early day battles live - definitely just the first two of many, many more to come...

One false move, 23.Nh5?!, attacking one of the tripled pawns, and it seems Magnus is better!

Kramnik's suggestion of 26...Re1!! now for Carlsen wins - will Magnus play it?

Nigel Short: The World Champion @MagnusCarlsen , played in a deliberately provocative way. The engines say he tipped the balance too far, objectively, but his position contained concealed assets which he is now exploiting ruthlessly. Smart gambling.

Round 3, Oct. 7
Firouzja, Alireza – Caruana, Fabiano
A08 Reti, King’s Indian Attack

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 c5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.O-O g6 5.d4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 Bg7 7.Nb3 Nc6 8.Nc3 e6 9.e4 O-O 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Ne4 Ne5 12.h4 h6 13.Qe2 Qc7 14.Rd1 a5 15.Nd4 Bd7 16.a4 Rad8 17.Ra3 Nc4 18.Rad3 Ne5 19.Ra3 Rfe8 20.Nc3 Qc4 21.Nxd5 exd5 22.Qd2 Bg4 23.f3 Bd7 24.Bf1 Qc5 25.Qf2 Nc4 26.Rad3 Re7 27.b3 Ne5 28.R3d2 Rde8 29.Bb2 g5 30.hxg5 hxg5 31.Ba1 Qb6 32.Kg2 Qg6 33.Kg1 Qb6 34.Kg2 Qg6 35.Kg1 Qb6 36.Kg2 1/2-1/2

We're going to get exactly 1 Armageddon again after Firouzja and Caruana find a repetition in a very unclear position!

An interesting battle between Alireza Firouzja and @FabianoCaruana ends in a draw. The Armageddon will start in 15 minutes, at 9.05pm CEST. Ten minutes for White and seven for Black.

Armageddon, Oct. 7
Firouzja, Alireza – Caruana, Fabiano
D04 Queen’s Pawn game

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.e3 c5 4.dxc5 e6 5.b4 a5 6.c3 axb4 7.cxb4 b6 8.Bb5+ Bd7 9.Bxd7+ Qxd7 10.a4 bxc5 11.b5 Bd6 12.Bb2 O-O 13.Nbd2 c4 14.Qc2 Qc7 15.O-O Nbd7 16.Bc3 Nc5 17.a5 Nfe4 18.b6 Qb7 19.Bd4 Nxd2 20.Nxd2 Nd3 21.Rfb1 Ra6 22.Rb5 Rc8 23.Rab1 h6 24.g3 Be7 25.e4 e5 26.Bc3 Bc5 27.Rxc5 Nxc5 28.exd5 Qxd5 29.Qf5 Rd8 30.Rb5 f6 31.b7 Qd6 32.Qc8 Nxb7 33.Qxb7 Qc6 34.Qxc6 Rxc6 35.Rb6 Rc7 36.a6 Ra8 37.Ne4 Rca7 38.Nc5 Rc8 39.Rb5 h5 40.h4 Kh7 41.Kg2 Kg6 42.Kf3 Kf5 43.Ke3 Rc6 44.Bb4 c3 45.Bxc3 Kg6 46.Bb4 Raxa6 47.Nxa6 Rxa6 48.Rb7 Ra8 49.Ke4 Rd8 50.Bc5 Ra8 51.Kd5 Ra5 52.Ra7 Rb5 53.Kc6 Rb2 54.Kd5 Rb5 55.Kc4 Rb8 56.Rc7 Ra8 57.Kd5 Ra2 58.Ke6 Ra6+ 59.Ke7 Kf5 60.Kf7 g5 61.Be3 gxh4 62.gxh4 Kg4 63.Rc4+ Kf3 64.Kg6 e4 65.Kxh5 f5 66.Kg5 Ra5 67.Bf4 Kxf2 68.Rc2+ Kf3 69.Rc3+ Ke2 70.h5 Ra1 71.h6 Rh1 72.Kxf5 Kf2 73.Kxe4 1-0

Magnus comes on to help Vlad and Judit analyze the Armageddon.

Carlsen after Firouzja's 30.Rb5! "Fabiano is going to get tricked, he's going to get tricked to the moon here!

The game goes on with both players with just seconds for each. Firouzja always seemed to have the upper hand. I was worried that he was going to knock a piece off the board and lose on time again, like yesterday.

This time Firouzja makes no mistake and wins the Armageddon!

The world's Nos 1 & 2 picked up a maximum 3 points today, while Firouzja picked up 1.5 after winning in Armageddon!


Standings after Round Three

1-2 Aronian, Caruana 7
3 Carlsen 6
4 Firouzja 5.5
5-6 Duda, Tari 0

Zen Question in Chat:

If I plant a zebra on the board instead of one of the knights, will it play for the Whites or for the Black pieces?
_________

Tomorrow, the last round before the rest day, we get Carlsen-Caruana.

[Hans Jung]

Congrats to Firoujza what a fight!. I loved the knight geometry from move 15 to 20 in the regular game.

[Wayne Komer]

Altibox Norway Chess 2020

October 8, 2020

Round Four

World famous violinist Vadim Repin joined the show! Vladimir Kramnik says that his mother, a piano teacher, used Vadim as an example prodigy for Vladimir to follow as a kid.

Judit: "Let's go to the kids..."

Vlad: "Yes, you see, they've played as I predicted, as I used to play when I was 9! Maybe Aryan has studied my games..."

Round 4, Oct. 8
Carlsen, Magnus – Caruana, Fabiano
E32 Nimzo-Indian, Classical variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 O-O 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 d5 7.Bg5 dxc4 8.Qxc4 b6 9.Rd1 Ba6 10.Qa4 h6 11.Bh4 Qd7 12.Qc2 Qc6 13.Qxc6 Nxc6 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15.e3 Bxf1 16.Kxf1 Na5 17.Nf3 Nc4 18.Rb1 c5 19.Ke2 Rfc8 20.Rhc1 Nd6 21.dxc5 bxc5 22.Rc2 Kf8 23.Nd2 c4 24.Rbc1 Rab8 25.Kf3 c3 26.bxc3 Rc5 27.c4 f5 28.Ke2 Ke7 29.Kd3 Kd7 30.Rc3 Rc6 31.c5 Ne8 32.Nf3 Ra6 33.Ne5+ Ke7 34.Ke2 Nf6 35.R1c2 Nd5 36.Rd3 Rc8 37.Rb3 Rc7 38.Rc4 Ra5 39.Nd3 e5 40.Nxe5 Raxc5 41.Rxc5 Rxc5 42.Rb7+ Ke6 43.Nxf7 Ra5 44.Nd8+ Kd6 45.Rb3 Ra6 46.Nf7+ Kc5 47.Ne5 h5 48.Kd2 h4 49.Nd3+ Kc4 50.Kc2 Rd6 51.Nf4 1-0

Position after Black’s 30…Rc6




Kramnik: "Something is wrong with Fabi today"

Super computer Sesse now shows +6 for Carlsen.

Magnus Carlsen beats Fabiano Caruana after a streak of 19 draws in classical games between them!

Carlsen: "I didn't expect it to go so easily. It's very, very satisfying. Maybe it wasn't his best day today."

Judit asks Magnus what he is doing tomorrow and he didn’t know. Judit says that she hears he will be conducting a blindfold simul, which is news to him. He says he doesn’t feel very much like doing that at the moment. Judit says after that maybe she spilled the organizers’ beans on that!

Round 4, Oct. 8
Aronian, Levon – Firouzja, Alireza
B19 Caro-Kann, Classical

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.Nf3 Nd7 8.Bd3 Bxd3 9.Qxd3 e6 10.Bf4 Ngf6 11.O-O-O Be7 12.Nf1 Ng4 13.Qe2 Qa5 14.Kb1 Qb5 15.Rd3 Nb6 16.N3d2 Nf6 17.Ne3 Nfd5 18.Nxd5 Nxd5 19.Qe4 Nxf4 20.Qxf4 Qd5 21.Nf3 O-O 22.Ne5 f6 23.Ng4 Bd6 24.Qc1 Rad8 25.Qd1 Bc7 26.Re1 Bb6 27.f3 Qf5 28.Re4 Rfe8 29.Qe2 Kh8 30.a3 Qd5 31.Ne3 1/2-1/2

Aronian 1/2-1/2 Firouzja means Alireza will play an Armageddon game for a 3rd day in a row!

Kramnik on the Aronian-Firouzja draw: "It looks like guys are starting to be afraid a little of [Firouzja]... this draw offer is showing respect!"

Armageddon, Oct. 8
Aronian, Levon – Firouzja, Alireza
B19 Caro-Kann, Classical

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.Nf3 Nd7 8.Bd3 Bxd3 9.Qxd3 e6 10.Bf4 Ngf6 11.O-O-O Be7 12.Nf1 Qa5 13.Kb1 Rd8 14.Bc1 Nc5 15.Qe2 Na4 16.c4 O-O 17.Qc2 c5 18.Bd2 Qa6 19.b3 Nb6 20.Bc3 cxd4 21.Nxd4 Nbd7 22.Ne3 Nc5 23.g4 Nfe4 24.Bb2 Nd6 25.g5 h5 26.Qe2 Nce4 27.Rhg1 Qa5 28.Rd3 Nc5 29.Rd2 Nce4 30.Rc2 Rfe8 31.Qxh5 Nd2+ 32.Kc1 N6e4 33.c5 g6 34.Qh8+ Kxh8 35.Nc6+ Kg8 36.Nxa5 Nf3 37.Rd1 Nxc5 38.Rxd8 Rxd8 39.Bf6 Bxf6 40.gxf6 b6 41.Nc6 Rd7 42.Rc4 Kh7 43.Kb2 Nd2 44.Rd4 Rxd4 45.Nxd4 Nde4 46.Ng4 Nd3+ 0-1

It seems Firouzja arrived 1 minute 40 seconds late to the Armageddon game, so with only 5 minutes 20 to Aronian's 10 minutes!

Alireza is live now after winning his Armageddon - though he was angry at the arbiter starting the game earlier than he said he was told! Now it's Tari vs. Duda.

Round 4, Oct. 8
Tari, Aryan – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
B23 Sicilian, Grand Prix Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 g6 3.f4 Bg7 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Bb5 Nd4 6.O-O Nxb5 7.Nxb5 d6 8.d3 a6 9.Nc3 b5 10.Qe1 Bb7 11.f5 Nf6 12.Qh4 Qd7 13.Bh6 Bxh6 14.Qxh6 O-O-O 15.Ng5 Ng4 16.Qh3 Ne5 17.Nd5 Kb8 18.fxg6 Qxh3 19.gxh3 e6 20.Nf6 hxg6 21.Ng4 Nxg4 22.hxg4 Rh4 23.Nxf7 Rxg4+ 24.Kh1 Rd7 25.Rf6 c4 26.Raf1 Rh4 27.Rxe6 d5 28.Nd6 cxd3 29.cxd3 dxe4 30.dxe4 g5 31.Nxb7 Kxb7 32.b4 Rhh7 33.Rff6 Rd2 34.Rb6+ 1/2-1/2

Tari-Duda is also a draw and goes to Armageddon - both players have now already got at least 1 point on the scoreboard!

Armageddon, Oct. 8
Tari, Aryan – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
B51 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.O-O a6 5.Bd3 g6 6.Re1 Bg7 7.c3 Ne5 8.Nxe5 dxe5 9.Bc4 Nf6 10.a4 b6 11.d3 O-O 12.h3 e6 13.Nd2 Bb7 14.Nf3 Qc7 15.Be3 Rfd8 16.Qc1 Ne8 17.Bh6 Bh8 18.Qg5 Bc6 19.Qh4 b5 20.axb5 axb5 21.Rxa8 Rxa8 22.Bb3 Bf6 23.Bg5 Bg7 24.Bh6 Bf6 25.Qg3 b4 26.cxb4 Qb8 27.Bd2 cxb4 28.h4 Ng7 29.Ng5 Qd6 30.Qf3 Nh5 31.g3 Bb5 32.Rc1 Qxd3 33.Qxd3 Bxd3 34.Bxb4 h6 35.Nxf7 Kxf7 36.Rc7+ Kg8 37.Bxe6+ Kh8 38.Bd5 Rb8 39.Bc3 Rb6 40.b4 g5 41.hxg5 hxg5 42.Kg2 g4 43.Bd2 Be2 44.Rf7 Ra6 45.Bc3 Ra3 46.Rc7 Ng7 47.Rc6 Nh5 48.Bf7 Bf3+ 49.Kf1 Kg7 50.Bxh5 Rb3 51.Ke1 Bxe4 52.Rc7+ Kh6 53.Bxg4 Bg5 54.Bxe5 Rb1+ 55.Ke2 Rxb4 56.f4 Bd8 57.Rc8 Bb6 58.f5 Kg5 59.Rg8+ Kh6 60.Rg6+ Kh7 61.Rd6 Bc5 62.Rd7+ Kg8 63.f6 Ra4 64.Be6+ Kh8 65.f7+ 1-0

Black flagged

Aryan Tari wins a wild Armageddon game against Jan-Krzysztof Duda, but both players are off the mark - Tari has 1.5 points, Duda 1

Standings after Round Four

1 Carlsen 9
2 Aronian 8
3-4 Firouzja, Caruana 7
5 Tari 1.5
6 Duda 1

Tomorrow is a rest day and games resume on Saturday, Oct. 10

[Hans Jung]

Congrats to Tari for winning his first game, a wild affair (which I loved!)

[Hans Jung]

Congrats to Firoujza for winning against Aronian (never an easy thing to do) and having an amazing endgame at the end!

[Hans Jung]

Magnus took incredible risks, what a wild tussle. Congrats to Duda.
Lovely knight play by Aronian and a dominant rook in the endgame. Nice win by Aronian over Fab Fabiano.

[Wayne Komer]

Altibox Norway Chess 2020

October 10, 2020

Round Five

Competition on the Rest Day from chess24.com:

There is a long tradition in Stavanger of inviting the world's top chess players do things they haven't mastered. In previous years, they have done archery, milking cows and cooking. This year, the organisers once again took the players to the kitchen, at the invitation of tournament sponsors, HTH Kjøkken.

Task: Design a chocolate cake and have one of Norway's top masters chefs, Trond Moi, give his verdict

In a sequence that lasted around half an hour, Levon Aronian deservedly won the informal competition. The Armenian, and much more experienced chef compared to his younger competitors, was the only one who seemed to know what he was doing.

Levon Aronian said he tried to create a certain symmetry, but didn't quite succeed. In any case, it was good enough to win the competition!:

The master chef seemed impressed by Aronian's skills and gave him a thumbs up.

This is a three-layer cake, and normally it's a very good idea to put some of the chocolate cream between the layers. There is one guy who managed to do that. Levon is the winner!

Afterwards Magnus Carlsen once again demonstrated his blindfold skills in a 5-board simul. However, the sequence had to be restarted when the World Champion lost track.

I am completely out of it, so if it's possible, can we start over again? I need a little break and some fresh air.

When the blindfold simul restarted, Carlsen once again lost track, which could partly be explained by noise in the hall. The remaining players were left with no obligations after the cake competition.

The blindfold simul resumed, but was once again halted when the tricky dialect in the Stavanger region caused confusion for Carlsen. He then loudly replayed each move in order to reach the current position, which caused the audience to burst into laughter.

Carlsen won all five games anyway, but apologised for his own performance and thanked the audience for their patience.

https://chess24.com/en/read/news/aro...ul-performance

Round 5, Oct. 10
Duda, Jan-Krzysztof – Carlsen, Magnus
B15 Caro-Kann, Tartakower variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ exf6 6.c3 Bd6 7.Bd3 O-O 8.Qc2 Re8+ 9.Ne2 h5 10.Be3 Nd7 11.O-O-O b5 12.d5 c5 13.Bxb5 Rb8 14.c4 a6 15.Ba4 Re7 16.Ng3 Ne5 17.Ne4 Reb7 18.b3 Rb4 19.Bd2 Rxa4 20.bxa4 Bf5 21.Rde1 h4 22.h3 Ng6 23.Re3 Nf4 24.g4 Bg6 25.Kd1 f5 26.Nxd6 Qxd6 27.gxf5 Bh5+ 28.f3 Qf6 29.Bc3 Qg5 30.Qe4 Qg2 31.Rhe1 Qxa2 32.Qc2 Qxc4 33.Re8+ Kh7 34.Rxb8 Qxd5+ 35.Qd2 Bxf3+ 36.Kc1 Qxf5 37.Re3 Ne2+ 38.Kb2 Nxc3 39.Qxc3 Qf4 40.Qd3+ f5 41.Rf8 Qb4+ 42.Kc1 Be4 43.Qb3 Qd4 44.Qc3 Qd6 45.Rf7 Qg6 46.Rd7 Qg1+ 47.Kb2 c4 48.Rxe4 fxe4 49.Rd4 Qf2+ 50.Qd2 c3+ 51.Kxc3 Qg3+ 52.Kb2 Qxh3 53.Rxe4 Qg3 54.Qd4 Qg2+ 55.Kc3 Qf3+ 56.Kb4 Qf8+ 57.Ka5 Qf5+ 58.Kxa6 g5 59.a5 h3 60.Re7+ Kg6 61.Qg7+ Kh5 62.Qh7+ Kg4 63.Re4+ 1-0

Position after Black’s 21….h4



Magnus spends 30 minutes on 21...h4?!, which our silicon friends label a serious mistake! Is the 125-game unbeaten streak going to end today?

Magnus Carlsen finally loses a classical game of chess, to Jan-Krzysztof Duda, after an unbeaten streak that lasted 125 games - or 2 years, 2 months & 10 days!

So, remember the date for future trivia questions: it's easy... magnus' streak has ended on 10/10/2020

Duda after ending Carlsen's 125-game unbeaten streak: "Before this game I was having the worst tournament of my life!"

Round 5, Oct. 10
Caruana, Fabiano – Aronian, Levon
E20 Nimzo-Indian, Kmoch variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.f3 c5 5.d5 b5 6.e4 d6 7.Bd2 Bxc3 8.Bxc3 b4 9.Bd2 O-O 10.Ne2 Nh5 11.Be3 f5 12.dxe6 Bxe6 13.exf5 Rxf5 14.Qd2 Nd7 15.O-O-O Qa5 16.Kb1 Bxc4 17.Nc1 Bf7 18.Qxd6 Nhf6 19.Qc6 Re8 20.Bf2 Nb8 21.Qb5 c4 22.Qxa5 Rxa5 23.Rd4 Rc8 24.b3 Nc6 25.Rxc4 Bxc4 26.Bxc4+ Kh8 27.Rd1 Re5 28.Rd6 Ne8 29.Rd2 Nc7 30.Ne2 Nb5 31.Kb2 Na3 32.Ba6 Rd8 33.Rxd8+ Nxd8 34.Kc1 Ne6 35.Bd3 Nc5 36.Kd2 Nxd3 37.Kxd3 Rd5+ 38.Nd4 Rd7 39.g4 a5 40.Bg3 Kg8 41.Be5 g5 42.Ke4 Nb1 43.Kf5 Nc3 44.Nc6 Rd3 45.Ke6 Nxa2 46.Nxa5 Rxf3 47.Bd6 Rd3 48.Nc6 Re3+ 49.Kf6 Rxb3 50.Nd4 Rh3 51.Nf5 b3 52.Ba3 Rxh2 0-1

Round 5, Oct. 10, 20
Firouzja, Alireza – Tari, Aryan
C54 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.O-O h6 7.Re1 O-O 8.h3 a6 9.a4 Re8 10.Nbd2 Be6 11.Bxe6 Rxe6 12.b4 Ba7 13.Qc2 Qd7 14.Rb1 Ne7 15.d4 Ng6 16.b5 Nh5 17.Nf1 Rae8 18.bxa6 bxa6 19.a5 Qc8 20.Be3 exd4 21.cxd4 Rxe4 22.Qc6 d5 23.N1d2 R4e6 24.Qxd5 Nf6 25.Qb7 Bb8 26.Qxc8 Rxc8 27.Rb7 Ree8 28.Nb3 Ne4 29.Nc5 Nxc5 30.dxc5 c6 31.Rb6 Ne5 32.Nxe5 Bxe5 33.Rxa6 Bd4 34.Kf1 Re4 35.Bxd4 Rxd4 36.Ra1 Rc4 37.Rb6 Rxc5 38.a6 Rb5 39.Rxb5 cxb5 40.a7 Ra8 41.Ke2 Kf8 42.Kd3 Ke7 43.Kc3 Kd6 44.Kb4 Kc6 45.Ra6+ Kb7 46.Kxb5 h5 47.Rb6+ Kxa7 48.Ra6+ Kb7 49.Rxa8 Kxa8 50.Kc6 1-0

Alireza Firouzja is on course to win a 4th mini-match in 5 and potentially take the lead!

Firouzja 1-0 Tari, but the big story is that Magnus is about to lose his first classical game in 126!

Standings after Round Five

1 Aronian 11
2 Firouzja 10
3 Carlsen 9
4 Caruana 7
5 Duda 4
6 Tari 1.5