Altibox Norway Chess 2020

[Hans Jung]

Rd6 three amazing attacks (four if you include Aronians)
Magnus 24.Nf6+
Firoujza 22...g4!

[Hans Jung]

Is Firoujza in first? Wow!

[Wayne Komer]

Altibox Norway Chess 2020

October 11, 2020

Round Six

The memory of a world champion – Judit asks Vladimir if he ever played a certain line in the Caro-Kann. He was surprised saying, “Yes, against you in either 1995 or 1996.”

In the first hour Joel Lautier joins the commentators. He gave up competitive chess between 2006 and 2009 and went into business. Because he spoke Russian, he was able to move around Russia in his endeavors. His conversation with Judit and Vladimir was quite interesting especially how the training he got in top level chess helped him in business.

A bit about his company (just to show that there is life after chess):

The RGG Capital company was founded in 2009 as a consulting company that specialize in M&A transactions under the leadership of Joel Lautier.

Before the RGG Capital company's establishment Joel Lautier was in charge of the department «Russia Goes Global» (consulting on assets' acquisition abroad for Russian investors) at the Strategy Partners Group company (russian strategic consultancy № 1).

Today the RGG Capital company - is a team of professionals with a considerable experience in carrying out M&A transactions, consulting on a business development in the Russian Federation, CIS countries and the EU.

The company's projects are implemented within such areas, as:

Oil and Gas
Energy, including renewable energy sources
Metallurgy
Chemicals industry
Pharmaceutical
Construction and real estate
Media & Telecommunications
Information technology
Food industry
Financial services

Joel Lautier has joined the show! Vlad objected when Judit introduced Joel as the only player with a +score in classical chess against Kasparov... since there are two such players on today's show!

Joel was a second of Kramnik for the 2000 World Championship match and noted half a year preparing the Berlin could be enough for anyone to decide to quit chess!
__________

Turning our attention to the games now. After losing to Duda yesterday, Carlsen faces him again with colours reversed.

Some wag on the Chat writes:

Will Magnus be able to stop Duda's winning streak of 1 ?

Round 6, Oct. 11
Carlsen, Magnus – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
D10 QGD, Semi-Slav

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.b3 b6 6.Bb2 Bb7 7.Bd3 Nbd7 8.Nge2 Bd6 9.O-O O-O 10.Ng3 c5 11.cxd5 cxd4 12.Nce4 Bxg3 13.Nxg3 dxe3 14.dxe6 exf2+ 15.Rxf2 fxe6 16.Qe2 Nc5 17.Bc2 Ba6 18.Qe1 Qe8 19.Rd1 Rc8 20.b4 Nb7 21.Ne4 Nd5 22.Rxf8+ Qxf8 23.Bb1 Qxb4 24.Nf6+ Kh8 25.Qxe6 Ra8 26.Qxd5 1-0

It is difficult not to enjoy the @chess24com broadcast. Aside from the amazing main hosts, Judit & Vlad, they have a parade of famous guests on the show. Today it was Joel Lautier, once one of the best players in the world, now a successful businessman. Great to see him again.

Judit on Duda's position vs. Carlsen: "It looks very scary!"

Kramnik: "I think it's already not scary. There is nothing to be afraid of anymore for Black! It probably must be just losing by force"

Revenge is a dish best served hot! Magnus Carlsen bounces straight back to defeat yesterday's hero Jan-Krzysztof Duda

Round 6, Oct. 11
Aronian, Levon – Caruana, Fabiano
B22 Sicilian, Alapin

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c3 d5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.d4 Nf6 6.Na3 Nc6 7.Be3 cxd4 8.Nb5 Qd7 9.Nbxd4 a6 10.Bd3 Bd6 11.O-O Ne7 12.Qc2 O-O 13.Bg5 Ng6 14.Rad1 Qc7 15.Rfe1 Bd7 16.g3 Rfe8 17.Bxf6 gxf6 18.h4 Kh8 19.Qd2 Bf8 20.h5 Ne7 21.Bc2 Red8 22.Qd3 f5 23.g4 f6 24.g5 Qf4 25.gxf6 Qg4+ 26.Kf1 Qh3+ 27.Ke2 Nd5 28.Qd2 Bb5+ 29.Nxb5 Qg4 30.Qg5 Nf4+ 31.Ke3 Ng2+ 32.Ke2 Qc4+ 33.Bd3 Rxd3 34.Rxd3 Nf4+ 35.Ke3 Qe4+ 36.Kd2 Qxd3+ 37.Kc1 Qxf3 38.f7 Qg4 0-1

In huge time trouble it seems Aronian has cracked and is losing a game where he was earlier on the verge of victory!

A disaster for Levon Aronian but good news for Fabiano Caruana, who hits back with a win after losing 2 games in a row!

Kramnik to Caruana: "I haven't seen anything as entertaining as this in quite a while!"

Round 6, Oct. 11
Tari, Aryan – Firouzja, Alireza
B13 Caro-Kann, Exchange variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Bd3 Nf6 5.c3 Bg4 6.Qb3 Qc7 7.h3 Bd7 8.Nf3 Nc6 9.O-O e6 10.Re1 Bd6 11.Bg5 O-O 12.Nbd2 Nh5 13.Qd1 f6 14.Be3 Nf4 15.Bf1 g5 16.c4 Kh8 17.Rc1 Rg8 18.Bxf4 Bxf4 19.b4 Qd6 20.b5 Ne7 21.c5 Qc7 22.g3 g4 23.hxg4 Rxg4 24.Bh3 Rg7 25.Kh1 e5 26.Bxd7 Qxd7 27.Nh2 Qh3 28.Rg1 Rag8 29.Qe2 e4 30.Rc3 Nf5 31.Nxe4 dxe4 32.Qxe4 Bxg3 33.Rg2 Re7 34.Qb1 Rge8 0-1

What a beast Firouzja is! The 17-year-old has now won 5 of his 6 encounters (he lost only in Armageddon to Magnus, though he was winning that game) and will lead today if Aronian doesn't win

Kramnik on this year's #NorwayChess:

"It's a fantastic tournament and I guess we all wish that it will never end, but unfortunately it seems to me that one day it will!"

Standings after Round Six

1 Firouzja 13
2 Carlsen 12
3 Aronian 11
4 Caruana 10
5 Duda 4
6 Tari 1.5

[Wayne Komer]

Altibox Norway Chess 2020

October 12, 2020

Round Seven

From the chess24.com tweet column:

Kramnik on Carlsen's "huge positional talent", that neither Kasparov nor Karpov had at the same age : "It seems that for Magnus it was from birth, it was absolutely natural"

Kramnik after a 16-year-old Magnus defended perfectly against him in Monaco on a 10-second increment: "I said that in my opinion he's going to be the next Federer... not only that he has good chances to be World Champion but he can also dominate the world of chess"

Kramnik talks about something he never had: "the almost inhuman level of concentration" at the right moment of Karpov, Carlsen, Caruana & Kasparov - "you can see by [Garry's] face that he's not in this world!"

As Kramnik noted, Gibraltar Chess Festival has officially been cancelled (he was intending to give a seminar there), though the organisers do promise "to contribute significantly to chess in January 2021"

An interesting anecdote by Kramnik. Says Kasparov told him that he just never allowed the Marshall gambit as White as he just didn't like the positions, so never even played it or even studied it.

Round 7, Oct. 12
Duda, Jan-Krzysztof – Tari, Aryan
C70 Ruy Lopez, Schliemann Defence deferred

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 f5 5.d4 exd4 6.e5 b5 7.Bb3 Bb7 8.O-O Na5 9.Nxd4 c5 10.Nxf5 c4 11.Nc3 Qb6 12.Nd5 Bxd5 13.Qxd5 Qc6 14.Qd4 Qe6 15.Nd6+ Bxd6 16.exd6 Nf6 17.Qc3 O-O 18.Qxa5 Ng4 19.Qc3 Rae8 20.Bg5 cxb3 21.Qxb3 Qxb3 22.axb3 Re2 23.f3 Nf6 24.Rfc1 h6 25.Kf1 Rfe8 26.Bxf6 gxf6 27.Re1 1-0

Duda's yo-yo last few days continue as he beats Tari!

Round 7, Oct. 12
Caruana, Fabiano – Carlsen, Magnus
B31 Sicilian, Nimzowitsch-Rossolimo Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.O-O Bg7 5.c3 e5 6.d4 cxd4 7.cxd4 exd4 8.Bf4 a6 9.Ba4 Nge7 10.Bd6 b5 11.Bb3 Bb7 12.Re1 Nc8 13.e5 Nxd6 14.exd6+ Kf8 15.h4 Bf6 16.Nbd2 Kg7 17.Bd5 Na5 18.Bxb7 Nxb7 19.Ne4 Re8 20.h5 Rc8 21.Rc1 Rxc1 22.Qxc1 h6 23.hxg6 fxg6 24.Qd2 d3 25.b4 Re6 26.Qxd3 Qb6 27.Rd1 Qc6 28.Nxf6 Rxf6 29.Ne5 Qc8 30.Qd5 Re6 31.Ng4 Kh7 32.Qd4 Qf8 33.Qa7 Rxd6 34.Re1 Nd8 35.Ne5 Qe7 36.Nf3 Re6 37.Rd1 Rd6 38.Re1 Re6 39.Rd1 Rd6 1/2-1/2

Magnus holds a draw in a tricky position and we're headed to a Caruana-Carlsen Armageddon game!

Kramnik on Carlsen drawing the classical game against Caruana: "It's worth many victories, such a save!"

Armageddon, Oct. 12
Caruana, Fabiano – Carlsen, Magnus
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.Nc3 Ne8 10.Nd5 Bd6 11.Re1 c6 12.Ne3 Be7 13.c4 Nc7 14.b3 Bf6 15.Ba3 Re8 16.Bd6 Re6 17.c5 Ne8 18.Bc4 Nxd6 19.cxd6 Bxa1 20.Qxa1 Rxd6 21.Qe5 Re6 22.Bxe6 dxe6 23.d4 b6 24.h4 Ba6 25.Qf4 Qd7 26.Ng4 Rd8 27.Ne5 Qc7 28.Qg4 c5 29.Rc1 Qd6 30.Qh5 Qc7 31.Qg4 h6 32.b4 Rd5 33.Rc3 Qe7 34.bxc5 bxc5 35.Rg3 f5 36.Qh5 cxd4 37.Nc6 Qf7 38.Qxh6 d3 39.Qd2 Qf6 40.Nb4 Rd6 41.Nxa6 Rxa6 42.Qxd3 Rxa2 43.Qc4 Rd2 44.h5 Rd1+ 45.Kh2 Rd4 46.Qc8+ Kh7 47.Qc1 Rg4 48.Rxg4 fxg4 49.Qc5 Qf5 50.Qxa7 Qe5+ 51.g3 Qxh5+ 52.Kg1 Qf5 0-1

It got down to the final seconds, but Magnus Carlsen beats Fabiano Caruana in Armageddon! Fabi flagged.

Round 7, Oct. 12
Firouzja, Alireza – Aronian, Levon
D78 Neo-Grunfeld

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 g6 4.O-O Bg7 5.d4 O-O 6.c4 c6 7.Ne5 Ng4 8.cxd5 cxd5 9.Bf4 Nxe5 10.Bxe5 Nc6 11.Bxg7 Kxg7 12.Nc3 e6 13.Qd2 b6 14.Rad1 Bb7 15.e4 dxe4 16.Bxe4 Re8 17.d5 exd5 18.Bxd5 Rc8 19.f4 Ba6 20.Rf2 Qe7 21.f5 f6 22.Be6 Rcd8 23.Nd5 Qf8 24.Qc3 Ne5 25.Rd4 Qc5 26.Qxc5 bxc5 27.Ra4 Rd6 28.Rxa6 Rxa6 29.Nc7 Raxe6 30.Nxe6+ Kh6 31.Nxc5 Ng4 32.Rf4 Re1+ 33.Kg2 Rc1 34.Rxg4 Rxc5 35.Rh4+ Kg5 36.Rxh7 Rc2+ 37.Kf3 Rxb2 38.h4+ Kxf5 39.Rxa7 Ke6 40.g4 Rc2 41.Ra6+ Ke5 42.Ra5+ Ke6 43.g5 Rc3+ 44.Ke2 Rh3 45.Ra6+ Ke7 46.Rxf6 Rxh4 47.Ra6 Rf4 48.Ra5 Kd6 49.Ke3 Rg4 50.a4 Rh4 51.Kd3 Rg4 52.Ke3 Rh4 53.Kf3 Ke6 54.Ke3 Kd6 55.Kd3 Rg4 56.Ra6+ Ke7 57.Ra5 Kd6 58.Ke2 Ke6 59.Kf3 Rb4 1/2-1/2

The game between Alireza Firouzja and Levon Aronian ended in a draw and their Armageddon game will start in 15 minutes, at 9.25pm CEST.

Firouzja has won 5/6 mini-matches so far. Can he make it 6/7?

Armageddon, Oct. 12
Firouzja, Alireza – Aronian, Levon
C47 Four Knights game

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.h3 Be7 5.Bb5 d6 6.d4 exd4 7.Nxd4 Bd7 8.Nde2 O-O 9.O-O a6 10.Bd3 b5 11.a3 Ne5 12.Ng3 Nxd3 13.cxd3 c5 14.Qf3 Be6 15.Nf5 Bxf5 16.Qxf5 Qd7 17.Qf3 Rfe8 18.Ne2 Rac8 19.Ng3 g6 20.Re1 Qe6 21.Bd2 Nd7 22.Bc3 Bf6 23.Ne2 Bxc3 24.bxc3 Qf6 25.Qg3 c4 26.dxc4 Rxc4 27.f3 Qe5 28.Qf2 Qc5 29.Red1 Qxf2+ 30.Kxf2 Nc5 31.Rd4 Rxd4 32.cxd4 Nd3+ 33.Ke3 Nb2 34.Ra2 Nc4+ 35.Kd3 Nb6 36.Nc3 Rc8 37.f4 f5 38.e5 Kf7 39.g4 Ke6 40.gxf5+ gxf5 41.Rg2 Nd5 42.Ne2 Rc2 43.Rg7 Ra2 44.Rxh7 Rxa3+ 45.Kd2 Ra2+ 46.Ke1 dxe5 47.Rh6+ Ke7 48.dxe5 Ra4 49.Kd2 Nxf4 50.Ng3 Ra2+ 51.Ke3 Nd5+ 52.Kd4 Rd2+ 53.Kc5 Ne3 54.Rxa6 Rd5+ 55.Kc6 Rxe5 56.Ra7+ Kf6 57.Ne2 Nc2 58.Nf4 Nb4+ 59.Kd6 Re4 60.Nh5+ Kg5 61.Ng7 1-0

At the end, Aronian had the better position but Firouzja moved just a bit faster with seconds for each and Aronian flagged. Firo leading the tournament with three rounds to go.

Standings after Round Seven

1 Firouzja 14.5
2 Carlsen 13.5
3 Aronian 12
4 Caruana 11
5 Duda 7
6 Tari 1.5

[Hans Jung]

We even had a form of the Noah's Ark trap as entertainment! and Firoujza continues to win and lead!

[Wayne Komer]

Altibox Norway Chess 2020

October 13, 2020

Round Eight

Fabiano Caruana plays leader Firouzja today!
FC: "He’s playing great. He is in general a great player and he’s also having a good event. It’s one of my important chances to try and fight for first place, so I’ll try to put pressure on him"

Round 8, Oct. 13
Aronian, Levon – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
B36 Sicilian, Accelerated Fianchetto, Gurgenidze variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.c4 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nf6 6.Nc3 Nxd4 7.Qxd4 d6 8.Be3 Bg7 9.f3 O-O 10.Qd2 Be6 11.Rc1 Qa5 12.b3 Rfc8 13.Be2 a6 14.Na4 Qxd2+ 15.Kxd2 Nd7 16.g4 Rcb8 17.Nc3 b5 18.Nd5 Bxd5 19.cxd5 Nc5 20.g5 Bb2 21.Rc2 Ba3 22.Rb1 a5 23.Kd1 Na6 24.Bf1 Nb4 25.Rd2 Rb7 26.f4 Na6 27.Rc2 Nb4 28.Rd2 Na6 29.Rc2 Nb4 30.Rd2 1/2-1/2

Aronian-Duda is a draw, so we'll have at least one Armageddon game today!

Armageddon, Oct. 13
Aronian, Levon – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
C10 French, Fort Knox variation

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bd7 5.Nf3 Bc6 6.Bd3 Nd7 7.O-O Ngf6 8.Ng3 g6 9.b3 Bg7 10.Ba3 Bf8 11.Bxf8 Kxf8 12.Re1 Bxf3 13.Qxf3 c6 14.c3 Kg7 15.Rad1 a5 16.Nf1 Qc7 17.Ne3 Rhe8 18.g4 Nd5 19.c4 Qf4 20.Qg3 Qxg3+ 21.hxg3 Nxe3 22.Rxe3 h6 23.Be2 Nf6 24.f4 Red8 25.Kf2 Rd6 26.Bf3 Rad8 27.Red3 b6 28.Ke3 c5 29.a3 Kf8 30.b4 axb4 31.axb4 cxd4+ 32.Rxd4 Rxd4 33.Rxd4 Ke7 34.Rxd8 Kxd8 35.Kd4 g5 36.Ke5 Ke7 37.f5 Nd7+ 38.Kd4 Kd6 39.fxe6 fxe6 40.Bd1 e5+ 41.Ke4 Ke6 42.Bc2 Nf6+ 43.Kf3 Kd6 44.Be4 Nd7 45.Bf5 Nf6 46.Ke3 Kc6 47.Kd3 Kd6 48.Ke3 Kc6 49.Be4+ Kd6 50.Bf3 Nd7 51.Ke4 Ke6 52.Kd3 Kd6 53.Bb7 Nf6 54.Bc8 Kc7 55.Bf5 Kd6 56.Kc3 Kc6 57.Kc2 h5 58.gxh5 Nxh5 59.g4 Nf6 60.Kb3 Kd6 61.Ka4 Kc6 62.Kb3 Kd6 63.Ka3 Kc6 64.Ka4 Kc7 65.Kb5 e4 66.Ka6 e3 67.Bd3 Nxg4 68.Be2 Ne5 69.c5 bxc5 70.b5 Nd7 71.Bg4 Nb6 0-1

4 Armageddons played, 4 losses for Levon Aronian now, as Jan-Krzysztof Duda gets some revenge for his painful Round 3 loss to Levon!

Round 8, Oct. 13
Carlsen, Magnus – Tari, Aryan
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.a4 Bd7 9.c3 Na5 10.Ba2 c5 11.Bg5 O-O 12.Nbd2 Rb8 13.axb5 axb5 14.Re1 b4 15.Nc4 Nxc4 16.Bxc4 bxc3 17.bxc3 Qc7 18.Qc2 Bb5 19.Bxb5 Rxb5 20.Bxf6 Bxf6 21.Nd2 Qc6 22.Qa4 Rfb8 23.Nc4 Be7 24.g3 Qc8 25.Qd1 g6 26.Kg2 Bf8 27.Qf3 Rb3 28.Rec1 Qe6 29.Ra7 R8b7 30.Rxb7 Rxb7 31.Ra1 h5 32.Ra8 Kg7 33.Ne3 Rc7 34.Nd5 Rc8 35.Ra7 Rb8 36.h3 Rd8 37.g4 hxg4 38.hxg4 Rd7 39.Ra8 f6 40.g5 f5 41.Qh3 Rf7 42.Re8 Qxe8 43.Qh6+ Kg8 44.Qxg6+ Kh8 45.Nf6 1-0

Position after White’s 21.Nd2



Magnus was sure he was winning after 21.Nd2: "The strategical battle is over at that point"
"It's very nice when you can just follow a plan and you don't need to calculate"

42.Re8! is a nice tactical finish, though by this point it was a question of style! The zugzwang after 42.c4 is also pretty appealing

Magnus Carlsen wraps up victory against Aryan Tari and will lead #NorwayChess going into the final rest day unless Firouzja can pull off an unlikely win against Caruana

Round 8, Oct. 13
Caruana, Fabiano – Firouzja, Alireza
B12 Caro-Kann, Tartakower (fantasy) variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.f3 dxe4 4.fxe4 e5 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.c3 Nd7 7.Bd3 Ngf6 8.O-O Bd6 9.Na3 b5 10.Nc2 Bh5 11.Ne3 O-O 12.Nf5 Qc7 13.Qc2 Bg6 14.Nxd6 Qxd6 15.Bg5 c5 16.dxe5 Nxe5 17.Nxe5 Qxe5 18.Bxf6 gxf6 19.Bxb5 Bxe4 20.Qf2 Rab8 21.Bd7 Rfd8 22.Rad1 Rb6 23.Rfe1 f5 24.Qh4 Qf6 25.Qxf6 Rxf6 26.Ba4 Rxd1 27.Rxd1 Rg6 28.Rd2 f4 29.Bd1 Kg7 30.Kf1 Rh6 31.Kg1 Rg6 32.Rf2 f5 33.Kf1 Kf6 34.Bf3 Ke5 35.Rd2 Rh6 36.Kg1 a5 37.b3 Rb6 38.Kf2 Ra6 39.Rd8 a4 40.Re8+ Kd5 41.Be2 Rg6 42.g3 axb3 43.axb3 fxg3+ 44.hxg3 Kd6 45.Bc4 Bc6 46.Rf8 Be4 47.Rb8 Kc7 48.Re8 Kd6 49.Rb8 Kc7 50.Rh8 Rh6 51.Ke3 Rh2 52.g4 Kd6 53.Re8 Rh3+ 54.Kf4 Rf3+ 55.Kg5 Bb1 56.Re6+ Kc7 57.Re5 fxg4 58.Rxc5+ Kb6 59.Rb5+ Kc6 60.Kxg4 Rxc3 1/2-1/2

Armageddon, Oct. 13
Caruana, Fabiano – Firouzja, Alireza
B12 Caro-Kann, Tartakower (fantasy) variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.f3 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.e5 c5 6.f4 cxd4 7.Qxd4 Be6 8.Nf3 Nc6 9.Bb5 Nh6 10.Bxc6+ bxc6 11.Qc5 Bd7 12.Be3 e6 13.Na4 Nf5 14.Bf2 h5 15.Qc3 c5 16.Nxc5 O-O 17.O-O Bb5 18.Rfe1 Qe7 19.a4 Bc6 20.b4 Rfc8 21.Qd2 Be8 22.c3 a5 23.h3 Bf8 24.Kh2 Qc7 25.g4 Ng7 26.Rg1 axb4 27.cxb4 d4 28.Bxd4 Rd8 29.Ne4 Bc6 30.Rac1 Qb7 31.Nf6+ Kh8 32.f5 Ne8 33.fxg6 Bxf3 34.gxh5 fxg6 35.hxg6 Bg7 36.Qf4 Rxd4 37.Qxd4 Bh6 38.Qh4 Qg7 39.Rcf1 Be2 40.Rf2 Bd3 41.Ng4 Bxg6 42.Nxh6 Qxe5+ 43.Rg3 Qh5 44.Qxh5 Bxh5 45.Rf8+ Kh7 46.Nf7 Bxf7 47.Rxf7+ Kh6 48.Rf8 Kh7 49.Rgg8 1-0

Fabiano Caruana avoids any tricks to win in Armageddon

Firouzja now trails Carlsen by a point with two rounds to go, but Alireza has White when they play on Thursday after tomorrow's rest day

Standings after Round Eight

1 Carlsen 16.5
2 Firouzja 15.5
3 Aronian 13
4 Caruana 12.5
5 Duda 8.5
6 Tari 1.5

[Hans Jung]

Magnus' 42.Re8! takes a bit of visualizing! Very nice!

[Hans Jung]

Rd 9 Finally we have king triangulation in the endgame in one of he top tournaments, but maybe Firoujza needs to study it more.

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

Hmm, where is Wayne's yesterday's round report? Are you ok?

[Wayne Komer]

Altibox Norway Chess 2020

October 15, 2020

Round Nine

(Had to go for some overnight bloodwork and missed the games) WK

From chess24.com

World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen has won his first tournament back at what he called “the wooden screen” after beating Alireza Firouzja in Round 9 of Altibox Norway Chess. Nerves got the better of the 17-year-old prodigy, who blundered with two seconds left on his clock in what should have been an easily drawn pawn ending. Levon Aronian and Fabiano Caruana picked up wins in Armageddon and go into the final round with a chance of second place, but Alireza knows he’ll clinch the runners-up spot if he wins his classical game against Jan-Krzysztof Duda.

Round 9, October 15 –
Tari, Aryan – Aronian, Levon
B13 Caro-Kann, Exchange variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Bd3 Nf6 5.h3 g6 6.Nf3 Bf5 7.Be2 Nbd7 8.O-O e6 9.Bf4 Qb6 10.b3 g5 11.Bxg5 Ne4 12.Bh4 Rg8 13.Kh1 e5 14.dxe5 Qg6 15.Rg1 Bc5 16.Qe1 Rc8 17.Nbd2 Qb6 18.Nxe4 dxe4 19.Nh2 Nxe5 20.Rd1 Qh6 21.Bg3 Rxg3 22.fxg3 Bxg1 23.Qxg1 Qb6 24.Qf1 Bg6 25.Qf4 f6 26.Ng4 Nxg4 27.Bxg4 Rd8 28.Rf1 Qd6 29.Qh6 Qe5 30.Qg7 Qe7 31.Qg8+ Qf8 32.Qc4 Qe7 33.Qg8+ Qf8 34.Qc4 Qe7 35.Bf5 Kf8 36.Qc3 Kg7 37.Qe3 Rd5 38.g4 b5 39.Rf4 Re5 40.c4 bxc4 41.bxc4 a5 42.h4 Bxf5 43.gxf5 h5 44.Rf1 Kh7 45.Qe2 Qe8 46.Qe3 Qe7 47.Rf2 Qc5 48.Qxc5 Rxc5 49.Rc2 e3 50.Kg1 1/2-1/2

Armageddon, October 15
Tari, Aryan – Aronian, Levon
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 Qe6 9.g3 Bc5 10.c4 Nb6 11.Nd2 O-O 12.Bh3 Qe7 13.O-O Ba6 14.Re1 Rae8 15.Ne4 Bd4 16.Nf6+ gxf6 17.Qg4+ Kh8 18.Qxd4 fxe5 19.Qc3 Bxc4 20.b3 Bd5 21.a4 f6 22.a5 Nc8 23.Be3 Nd6 24.Bc5 Qf7 25.b4 Rg8 26.a6 Nb5 27.Qd2 d6 28.Be3 f5 29.Bg5 f4 30.Kh2 Qg7 31.gxf4 h6 32.Rg1 hxg5 33.Rxg5 Qh7 34.Rag1 Nd4 0-1

After losing his first 4 Armageddons, Levon Aronian beats Aryan Tari - tomorrow Levon plays Magnus!

Round 9, Oct. 15
Duda, Jan-Krzysztof – Caruana, Fabiano
B48 Sicilian, Taimanov variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be3 a6 7.Qd2 Nf6 8.f3 b5 9.Nxc6 dxc6 10.Qf2 Be7 11.a4 O-O 12.Be2 Rb8 13.O-O e5 14.Rfd1 Be6 15.axb5 axb5 16.Ra7 Rb7 17.Ra6 Nd7 18.Bf1 Rc8 19.g3 Qd8 20.h4 Qf8 21.Kh2 h6 22.Rda1 Nc5 23.Ra7 Rcb8 24.Nd1 Rd8 25.Rxb7 Nxb7 26.Qe1 Nd6 27.Bc5 Nc4 28.Bxe7 Qxe7 29.Bxc4 bxc4 30.Ne3 Qc5 31.Kg2 Kh7 32.Qc3 Rd4 33.Kf2 Qb6 34.Ke2 c5 35.Ra8 Bd7 36.Qa3 Qg6 37.c3 Rxe4 38.fxe4 Qxe4 39.Qxc5 Qxa8 40.Qxc4 Be6 41.Qd3+ Kg8 42.Qd6 Qa1 43.Qxe5 Qxb2+ 44.Kd3 Ba2 45.Qe8+ Kh7 46.Qe4+ g6 47.Qe5 h5 48.Kd4 Be6 49.Kc5 Qb7 50.c4 Qa7+ 51.Kb4 Qb6+ 52.Kc3 Qb1 53.Qf4 Qa1+ 54.Kb4 Qb2+ 55.Kc5 Qa3+ 56.Kd4 Qa7+ 57.Kd3 Qc5 58.Kc3 Qa3+ 59.Kd4 Qa7+ 60.Kd3 Qa5 61.Kd4 Qd2+ 62.Kc5 Qa5+ 63.Kd4 Qd2+ 1/2-1/2

Armageddon, Oct. 15
Duda, Jan-Krzysztof – Caruana, Fabiano
A09 Reti, Advance variation

1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 d4 3.b4 c5 4.bxc5 Nc6 5.Ba3 e5 6.d3 Nf6 7.g3 e4 8.dxe4 Nxe4 9.Bg2 Bxc5 10.Bxc5 Nxc5 11.O-O O-O 12.Nbd2 Re8 13.Re1 Bf5 14.Qc1 Qd6 15.Qa3 Rad8 16.h3 h6 17.Nh4 Bh7 18.Rac1 b6 19.Bd5 Re7 20.Ndf3 Qf6 21.Rcd1 Be4 22.Bxe4 Nxe4 23.Ng2 g5 24.Rd3 Nc5 25.Rd2 Ne4 26.Rc2 d3 27.Rb2 Nd4 28.Ne3 dxe2 29.Ng4 Nxf3+ 30.Kh1 Nxf2+ 0-1



Mate in six

Round 9, Oct. 15
Firouzja, Alireza – Carlsen, Magnus
A05 Reti Opening

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 c5 3.Bg2 Nc6 4.O-O e5 5.e4 d6 6.c3 g6 7.d4 cxd4 8.cxd4 Bg4 9.dxe5 dxe5 10.Nc3 Bg7 11.h3 Bxf3 12.Qxd8+ Rxd8 13.Bxf3 O-O 14.Kg2 Nd4 15.Bg5 h6 16.Bxf6 Bxf6 17.Nd5 Rd6 18.Rac1 Bd8 19.Rfd1 Kg7 20.Ne3 Ra6 21.a3 h5 22.Nc4 Bf6 23.h4 Rc8 24.Ne3 Rac6 25.Rxc6 Rxc6 26.Rd3 Bd8 27.Bd1 Rc1 28.Bb3 b5 29.Rd1 Rc8 30.Ba2 a5 31.Rd3 a4 32.Kf1 Bb6 33.Rc3 Rxc3 34.bxc3 Nb3 35.Ke1 Bc5 36.Nc2 Nc1 37.Bd5 Nd3+ 38.Ke2 Nxf2 39.Bc6 f6 40.Ne3 Nh1 41.Nf1 Bxa3 42.Bxb5 Bb2 43.Bxa4 Bxc3 44.Kf3 Bd4 45.g4 hxg4+ 46.Kxg4 Nf2+ 47.Kf3 Kh6 48.Ng3 Nd3 49.Be8 Nf4 50.Ne2 Ne6 51.Bf7 Nc5 52.Ng3 Bc3 53.h5 Be1 54.Bxg6 Bxg3 55.Kxg3 Kg5 56.Kf3 Nb3 57.Bf7 Nd4+ 58.Kg3 Ne2+ 59.Kf3 Nf4 60.Kg3 Nxh5+ 61.Bxh5 Kxh5 62.Kh3 Kh6 63.Kh4 Kg7 64.Kg3 Kf8 65.Kf2 Ke7 66.Ke2 Ke8 67.Ke3 Kd7 68.Kd3 Kd6 69.Kc3 Kc5 0-1

Position after Black’s 68…Kd6



Here Firouzja played 69.Kc3?? with two seconds left on his clock.

That was met by 69…Kc5, seizing the opposition, and it’s a simple win for Black. Alireza resigned and Magnus had won the tournament.

While 69.Kc3?? was clearly a terrible move, it was less immediately obvious that all other moves but one for White were losing. As Magnus explained, however, finding 69.Kd2! shouldn’t have been too difficult.
Basically you just need to keep the distant opposition, that’s kind of child’s play, but he was shaking his head, he was so nervous that I felt at some point where he was going to put his king was probably going to be a bit random, because he was shaking so much, so in that sense I had some hopes, but obviously that was lucky.
It was certainly a tough lesson, with Magnus himself commenting:

It’s a difficult situation, he’s 17 years old and he’s playing in such a game for the first time. It’s not easy… Certainly I had many experiences like this. I lost two rook endings against Levon for absolutely no reason, for instance. It’s part of the growing process, but he’s so strong he’s going to be around for a long time. It’s nice to be the wise old man!

Carlsen is the tournament winner with a round to spare.

Standings after Round Nine

1 Carlsen 19.5
2 Firouzja 15.5
3 Aronian 14.5
4 Caruana 14
5 Duda 9.5
6 Tari 2.5

[Wayne Komer]

Altibox Norway Chess 2020

October 16, 2020

Roundup of the Tournament

The 8^th edition of Altibox Norway Chess was the first super tournament to return to over-the-board chess since the Candidates Tournament was suspended in the end of March, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Originally scheduled for June and as a 10-player round-robin, the tournament was held from 5-16 October as a 6-player double round-robin, because of travel restrictions.
With World Champion Magnus Carlsen, World number two Fabiano Caruana and Levon Aronian, the top three seeds were all world-class players and former tournament winners – Carlsen in 2019 and 2016, Caruana in 2018 and Aronian in 2017. The field was completed by two of the world’s most promising young players, Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Alireza Firouzja, as well as by the Norwegian number two and 2017 Junior World Champion, Aryan Tari.

The coronavirus pandemic of course had a serious impact on the tournament. Players and staff from outside Norway had to quarantine for 10 days prior to the tournament (the Norwegian quarantine rules allowing for outside activities, the nice weather, as well as the organisers providing bikes and goody bags made this period not too unpleasant). Chess pieces and boards were disinfected before every game, visitors wore masks in the playing hall and Antibac disinfectant and hand sanitizers was widely used by the players, staff and volunteers. However, since everyone had undergone quarantine (the two Norwegians had self-isolated at home) and been tested twice, the players were able to play their games without having to wear masks, and without a Plexiglas above the board. This was very much welcomed by the players, who were all visibly very happy to be back at the board after such a long hiatus. While Caruana and Aronian had both played a few games in the Bundesliga shortly before flying out to Norway, Carlsen’s last classical event had been Tata Steel Chess, all the way back in January.

As for the tournament itself, chess fans all over the world could hardly have hoped for a more exciting event. While the format of draws in classical games being decided by an Armageddon game remained the same as last year (when Norway Chess became the first super tournament to try out this new format), the point system was slightly adapted this year. A win in a classical game was worth 3 points (with 0 for a loss), while a draw in the classical game followed by a win in the Armageddon was worth 1.5 points, and a loss in the Armageddon 1 point.

This system, combined with an incredibly fighting field of players, led to a very competitive event, as out of the 30 classical games, only 11 (plus those today) ended in draws. Fabiano Caruana had taken the early lead after beating Tari and Duda in their classical encounters in the first two rounds, but round 4 was a huge turning point in the tournament as Magnus Carlsen beat Caruana for the first time in a classical game after over 2 years, and 19 consecutive draws.

There followed a first rest day, during which Levon Aronian won a cake decorating competition in the showroom of our sponsors HTH, and then the tournament once again made global headline news as Magnus Carlsen’s 125-game unbeaten streak was broken by Jan-Krzysztof Duda after a wild game. This profited Aronian who took the lead at the halfway mark, but the very next he lost his game against Caruana, while Firouzja took out Tari and thus became the new leader. Round 7 was another highly fighting day, with both top games ending in draws, and Firouzja emerging out of the day one point clear of Carlsen. With three rounds to go, Aronian and Caruana were also both still within striking distance. Round 8 was another turning point, as Carlsen was the only player who managed to win his classical game, and thus he was now the one with a 1-point lead over Firouzja going into the second rest day. In a perfectly timed turn of events, the players were set to meet in a possibly decisive clash in round 9, as a win would guarantee Carlsen tournament victory with a round to spare. What started out as a quiet and equal game soon became the tournament decider, as after having been put under huge pressure by Carlsen throughout the game, Firouzja blundered in a drawn pawn endgame and had to resign on the spot. Magnus Carlsen thus defended his Altibox Norway Chess title and was crowned winner with one round to spare.

In the last round, all that was left to play for were the remaining two podium spots, as well as the money of course, with a total prize fund of NOK 1.810.000 at stake. But what a round it was! Levon Aronian beat Magnus Carlsen with the black pieces, but that was only good enough for third place as Alireza Firouzja also won his game against Duda and clinched second.
Congratulations to Magnus Carlsen on winning Altibox Norway Chess 2020 and see you all next year!

‘This tournament is not only the first in a long period of time, but also maybe the most exciting since years, because it’s really very interesting to follow. We have a big festival of chess here, in all senses. It’s a fantastic tournament and I guess we all wish it will never end.’ -Vladimir Kramnik

“It’s been a very fun couple of weeks chess wise. We’ve received a lot of positive feedback on the tournament format, which wasn’t too different from the format we introduced last year. It’s always great to have the best chess players, their team members as well as the rest of the crew gathered in Stavanger. I believe we’ve managed to create a nice atmosphere at the venue, despite the social distancing! The challenge of organizing such a high profile event during covid-19 certainly was an added challenge and a learning experience. However, we are very pleased we managed to go through with the event and now we look forward to celebrating the players and thanking them for staying in Stavanger for three and a half weeks!”

Benedicte Westre Skog
https://norwaychess.no/en/2020/10/16...mes-to-an-end/

Round Ten

Round 10, Oct. 16
Carlsen, Magnus – Aronian, Levon
D35 QGD, Exchange (by tempo transposition)

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bf4 c6 7.Qc2 g6 8.e3 Bf5 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 Nbd7 11.h4 a5 12.Kf1 a4 13.a3 Qb6 14.Qc2 h5 15.Bg5 O-O 16.Ne5 Rfe8 17.Bxf6 Nxf6 18.Rh3 Qb3 19.Qb1 Ne4 20.Nxe4 dxe4 21.Qxe4 Bd6 22.Rg3 Bxe5 23.dxe5 Qb5+ 24.Kg1 Rxe5 25.Qd4 Rd5 26.Qf6 Rf5 27.Qd4 Qe2 28.e4 Rb5 29.Rb1 Qc2 30.Qd3 Rc5 31.Qxc2 Rxc2 32.b3 b5 33.Rd3 axb3 34.Rbxb3 Ra4 35.Rdc3 Rc4 36.Rxc2 Rxc2 37.f3 Kf8 38.Kh2 Ke7 39.Kh3 Ke6 40.Rd3 Rc4 41.Kg3 Ke5 42.Rd7 Rc3 43.Ra7 f6 44.Ra8 Kd6 45.Kf4 Kc7 46.g4 Kb7 47.Rg8 hxg4 48.fxg4 Rxa3 49.Rxg6 b4 50.Rxf6 b3 51.Rf7+ Kb6 52.Rf8 Ra7 53.Rb8+ Rb7 54.Rd8 c5 55.Ke3 c4 56.Rd1 c3 57.Rb1 Kc5 58.Kd3 0-1

"I think I was missing many things. At some point, I thought I had a big advantage, but somehow he got everything together," - Aronian.
When a draw seemed near, Carlsen made a crucial mistake, Rxf6, after which black pawns were running quicker
A year ago Magnus Carlsen won #NorwayChess then lost to Caruana in the final round, this time he won the event yesterday but lost to Levon Aronian today!

Round 10, Oct. 16
Caruana, Fabiano – Tari, Aryan
C88 Ruy Lopez, Closed, anti-Marshall

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.a4 b4 9.a5 d6 10.c3 Rb8 11.Bc4 d5 12.exd5 Nxd5 13.h3 h6 14.d4 bxc3 15.Nxc3 Be6 16.Nxe5 Nxe5 17.Bxd5 Bxd5 18.Rxe5 Bb3 19.Qg4 Be6 20.Rxe6 fxe6 21.Bxh6 Rf7 22.Be3 Rxb2 23.Qxe6 Bg5 24.Bxg5 Qxg5 25.Ne4 Qf5 26.d5 Qxe6 27.dxe6 Rf5 28.Rd1 Rb8 29.h4 Re8 30.Ng5 Rxa5 31.Rd7 c6 32.f4 Rd5 33.Ra7 Rd4 34.f5 Rxh4 35.Rxa6 Rh5 36.Ne4 Rxf5 37.Nd6 Rff8 38.Nxe8 Rxe8 39.Rxc6 Kh7 40.Kf2 Kg6 41.Kf3 Kf6 42.Kf4 Rxe6 43.Rxe6+ Kxe6 44.Kg5 Kf7 45.g3 Kf8 46.Kg6 Kg8 47.g4 Kh8 48.Kf7 Kh7 49.g5 Kh8 50.g6 1/2-1/2

Armageddon, Oct. 16
Caruana, Fabiano – Tari, Aryan
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.Bd2 O-O 9.h3 Rb8 10.Re1 h6 11.a3 Re8 12.Nc3 Bf8 13.Ne2 Be6 14.Ng3 d5 15.Qe2 dxe4 16.dxe4 Bxb3 17.cxb3 Nd4 18.Nxd4 exd4 19.b4 Nd7 20.Bf4 Rc8 21.Rad1 c5 22.bxc5 Nxc5 23.Qg4 Kh8 24.e5 Ne6 25.Nf5 Rc2 26.Nd6 Bxd6 27.exd6 Qf6 28.Bg3 Rd8 29.Bh4 g5 30.Bg3 Kh7 31.Qe4+ Qg6 32.Qb7 Rxb2 33.Qe7 Rg8 34.d7 Qh5 35.Rxe6 Qxd1+ 36.Kh2 Rb1 37.Qxf7+ Rg7 38.Qf5+ 1-0

Round 10, Oct. 16
Firouzja, Alireza – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
D78 Neo-Grunfeld

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.d4 Nf6 5.O-O O-O 6.c4 c6 7.b3 dxc4 8.bxc4 c5 9.Bb2 cxd4 10.Nxd4 Qb6 11.Qc1 Bd7 12.Nd2 Nc6 13.Nc2 Rac8 14.Bc3 Qa6 15.Qb2 Nh5 16.Bxg7 Nxg7 17.Ne3 Be6 18.Nd5 Rfe8 19.Rfc1 Na5 20.e3 Nf5 21.e4 Ng7 22.Qa3 Nc6 23.Qxa6 bxa6 24.f4 Kf8 25.Kf2 Red8 26.Rab1 Ne8 27.Ke3 f6 28.a3 Bf7 29.Bh3 e6 30.Nb4 a5 31.Nxc6 Rxc6 32.c5 Nc7 33.Bf1 e5 34.fxe5 fxe5 35.Nf3 Be8 36.Rb7 Ne6 37.Rxa7 Nxc5 38.Nxe5 Rf6 39.Ng4 1-0

17-year-old Alireza Firouzja bounced straight back to win a 3rd classical game in a row against Duda and clinch 2nd place in the tournament.

Final Standings

1 Carlsen 19.5
2 Firouzja 18.5
3 Aronian 17.5
4 Caruana 15.5
5 Duda 9.5
6 Tari 3.5

Prize Money

-
Place	-	Prize NOK	-	Prize USD
-
1		700000		74648
2		370000		39456
3		230000		24527
4		180000		19195
5		170000		18128
6		160000		17062
-

[Hans Jung]

Great tournament. I really enjoyed following the games and your reports Wayne! Congrats to Firoujza and the consolation for finishing a close second $40,000 US dollars. Not a bad pay cheque for a teenager!