Crown of Cinders

Hikaru Nakamura – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
10th London Chess Classic; tie-break game 4 (5+3); London, December 17, 2018
English Opening A34

Hikaru Nakamura won the 10th London Chess Classic and the 4th Grand Chess Tour Final as well by winning the last blitz game of the tie-breaker against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. 1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e3 Nxc3 6. bxc3 g6 7. Bb5+ Bd7 8. Be2 Bg7 9. 0-0 0-0 10. d4 Bc6 11. Ba3 cxd4!? Theory for tie-breakers is by now a genre in itself: 11. ... b6 12. dxc5 Bxc3 13. Rc1 Bf6 14. Qb3 Qd7 15. Bb2 Bd5 16. Qa3 Nc6 17. Rfd1 Qe6 18. Bxf6 exf6 19. Qc3 Rac8 20. Ba6 Rb8 21. Bc4 Bxc4 22. Qxc4 Qxc4 23. Rxc4 Rfd8 24. Rxd8+ Rxd8 25. Kf1 b5 26. Rc2 Kf8 27. Ke2 Ke7 28. Rd2 Rc8 ½ : ½ Fressinet – Nepomniachtchi, 6th Chess World Cup, Baku 2015, tie-break game 6 (5+3). 12. cxd4 Re8 13. Rc1 Qa5 14. Qb3 Nd7? 14. ... e6(!) was almost called for. 15. Bb4 Qf5? Perhaps Vachier-Lagrave thought the République could be saved only if the Queen put herself in the forefront of a cul de sac. 15. ... Qa4 16. Qb1! Rac8 17. Bd2 e6 was obviously a little better than the text. 16. Bd3 Qh5 17. e4 e6 18. h3 Rad8 19. Rfe1 a5 20. Bd2 a4 21. Qb1 Rc8 22. Be2 Bf6. Black’s Queen appears doomed. If else, 22. ... Bh6 23. Ng5 Qh4 24. g3 gives up Her Majesty for something in exchange, though not enough to hope for miracles. 23. Rcd1 Red8 24. Ng5 Qh4 25. g3 Qh6 26. Nxf7 Qxh3

27. Bf1. It’s really a mystery why Nakamura didn’t play 27. Bg4! at once, so maybe let’s say he repeated moves to gain time on the clock. 27. ... Qh5 28. Be2 Qh3 29. Bg4! 1 : 0. “Apparently the key to securing a victory is to move the King’s Bishop 7 times! Pretty finish for the title”, 13th World Chess Champion Garry Kimovich Kasparov tweeted on congratulating Nakamura. And probably it was an euphemism to say that the only way to give sense to such a “Magical Mystery Tour” was to move the Black Queen 8 times.

The Jobless Economy

Hikaru Nakamura – Fabiano Caruana
10th London Chess Classic; London, December 12, 2018
Russian Defence C42

The return game between Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura made the parody of the recent World Chess Championship match between Magnus Carlsen and Caruana himself. Nothing happened under the classical time control, so that, for the sake of gamblers and sharpers, the verdict is delivered to the tie-break games, rapid, blitz, and so on till Armageddon. Of course, only time will tell what consequences this will have on the “royal game”’s governance, but it’s hard to think that chess may keep maintaining its deepmind’s status by simply and constantly shortening its horizons and times. A “cult” mind game is a much more complex concept than a sport, and it should not be lowered in a betting market. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. dxc3 Be7 7. Be3 0-0 8. Qd2 Nd7 9. 0-0-0 c6 10. h4 d5 11. Kb1 Re8 12. Bd3 Bc5 13. Bd4 Bxd4 14. cxd4 Nf6 15. Rde1 Ne4 16. Qf4

16. ... Qf6 17. Qxf6 Nxf6 18. Kc1. There is at least a certainty about the fact that both in London and Leuven a draw is a draw: 18. Ne5 g6 19. a4 Ng4 20. Nxg4 Bxg4 21. a5 Kf8 22. f3 Bd7 23. Kc1 Rxe1+ 24. Rxe1 Re8 25. Rh1 h6 26. Kd2 Ke7 27. Ke3 Kf6+ 28. Kf4 Bf5 29. Bxf5 gxf5 30. g3 Re2 31. Rc1 Rd2 32. Ke3 Rg2 33. Kf4 Rd2 34. Ke3 Rg2 ½ : ½ Karjakin – Giri, 4th Grand Chess Tour, Rapid YourNextMove, Leuven 2018. 18. ... Rxe1+ 19. Rxe1 Kf8 20. Kd2 h6 21. Ne5 Ng4 22. Nxg4 Bxg4 23. c3 Re8 24. Rxe8+ Kxe8 25. Ke3 g5 26. hxg5 hxg5 27. f3 Be6 28. f4 f6 29. g3 Ke7 30. a3 Bd7 31. Bc2 Be6 32. Bd3 Bd7 33. Bc2 Be6 ½ : ½. “It’s not my job to create excitement as Black, is it?”, Caruana eventually wondered. And yet it should be his job.

The Guy I Left Behind

Fabiano Caruana – Hikaru Nakamura
10th London Chess Classic; London, December 11, 2018
Queen’s Gambit Declined D37

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4. Caruana just can’t forget Carlsen! 5. ... 0-0 6. e3 b6 7. Qc2 Bb7 8. Rd1 Bd6 9. Bg3!? A game from one of Caruana’s helpers continued: 9. Bg5 Nbd7 10. Be2 a6 11. 0-0 Qb8 12. cxd5 exd5 13. Bh4 Re8 14. Bg3 c5 15. dxc5 bxc5 16. b3 Bxg3 17. hxg3 Qd6 featuring a typical hanging Pawn position in which Black seems to be fine, Chirila – Orosz, PRO League Group Stage, Chess.com 2017. 9. ... Nbd7 10. cxd5 Nxd5 11. e4 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Bxg3!? Very bold, as Black exposes himself to the fire of White’s Rook on the h-file. 13. hxg3 e5 14. Bb5! White seizes the initiative with both hands! 14... c6 15. Be2 Qc7 16. g4! The key to the door. 16. ... Rfe8 17. g5 Rad8 18. Kf1! b5 19. Rh4! a6 20. a4 Qa5 21. g6! Too strong a temptation. 21. ... hxg6 22. Ng5. With the basic threat of Qc2-b3 eventually followed by Rd1-d3-f3-h3. 22. ... Nf8? This scholastic defence might well be worse than 22. ... c5!∞ (Δ ... c5-c4), which would have lead to an unclear and double-edged game. Now Caruana launches his powerful offensive: 23. Rd3! Bc8 24. Qb3 Qc7 25. axb5! axb5

26. Rf3? Yet Caruana seems oblivious to the fact that no other key than the g-Pawn, of course, could open that door! Let’s consider, for example: 26. g4! (simply threatening Rd3-h3) 26. ... Ne6 (26. ... Be6?? 27. Rdh3!! illustrates even better the virulence of White’s threats) 27. Rdh3 still leaving White with a very formidable attack. 26. ... Be6 27. d5 cxd5 28. exd5 Rxd5 29. Nxe6. Now after 29. g4 Nd7! Black’s King manages to escape just in time. 29. ... fxe6 30. Rfh3 e4! 31. Rxe4 Ra8 32. g3 Qc5 33. Re3 Ra3. Now White must be content with a draw. 34. Qb2 Qd6 35. Rh4 Ra4 36. Rhe4 Qa3 37. Qxa3 Rxa3 38. Bg4 Rc5 39. Bxe6+ Nxe6 40. Rxe6 Raxc3 41. Rxc3 Rxc3 42. Rxg6 b4 43. Rb6 b3 44. Kg2 Kf7 45. f4 g5 46. fxg5 Rc2+ 47. Kf3 b2 48. Kg4 Kg7 49. Rb7+ Kg6 50. Rb6+ Kg7 51. Rb7+ Kg6 ½ : ½.

Fabiano Caruana (left) vs. Hikaru Nakamura (right). Photo: Daniel John King (@DanielKingChess).

Replay

Levon Grigori Aronian – Magnus Carlsen
9th London Chess Classic; London, December 11, 2017
Queen’s Pawn Game A40

1. d4 e6 2. Nf3 c5 3. g3 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Qb6 5. Bg2 Bc5 6. e3 d5 7. Qg4 Bf8 8. 0-0 Nf6 9. Qe2 e5!? Why not? For 9. ... Bd7 10. b3 Nc6 see Salo – Lehtinen, Finnish Team Chess Championship 2012-2013, Tampere 2013. 10. Qb5+ Bd7 11. Qxb6 axb6 12. Nb3 Nc6 13. Bd2 Bd6 14. Nc3 Ne7 15. a4 0-0 16. Nb5 Bxb5 17. axb5 Rac8 18. Bc3 h5 19. Rfd1 Rfd8 20. Nd2 h4 21. Nf3 hxg3 22. hxg3 e4 23. Ng5 Ng6 24. Ra7 Rb8 25. Bd4 Bc5 26. Bxc5 bxc5 27. c4 Ne7. Not 27. ... dxc4? because of 28. Rxd8+ Rxd8 29. Rxb7 and Black’s Queenside falls apart. 28. cxd5

28. ... Nc8! Black’s position was quite uncomfortable, so Carlsen rightly sets up a dynamic defence, which may even imply the sacrifice of two Pawns. 29. Ra4 Nb6 30. Ra3 Nc4 31. Rc3 Nd6. And Black even sacrifices his second Pawn. After 31. ... Nxb2 32. Rd2 Nxd5 33. Rxc5 Nd3 34. Rc4 f5 35. g4 g6 36. gxf5 gxf5 37. Bf1 the game, although materially equal (at least for the moment), was better for White. 32. Rxc5 Ra8 33. Bh3 Re8 34. Rc7 Kf8! A due precaution, as 34. ... Re5?? would be met by 35. Nxf7! Nxf7 36. Be6 winning immediately. 35. b6? Best was 35. Bf1! (freeing the h3 square for the Knight) and if 35. ... Rac8 then 36. b6 keeping an edge. 35. ... Re5 36. Ne6+!? fxe6 37. dxe6 Nfe8 38. Rd7 Raa5 39. b4? Aronian’s decisive mistake. 39. R1xd6! Nxd6 40. Rxd6 Rad5 41. Rxd5 Rxd5 42. e7+! Kxe7 43. Bc8 Rb5 44. Bxb7 Rxb6 45. Bxe4 Rxb2 would have led to a draw. 39. ... Rad5! 40. Ra1 Rb5 41. Ra8 Rxb6. Now it’s just a technical win. 42. Bg4 Rd5 43. Kg2 Rxb4 44. Ra1 Rbb5 45. Be2 Rb2 46. Bg4 Rdd2 47. Kh3 Rxf2 48. Kh4 Rh2+ 49. Bh3 g5+ 50. Kh5 Rxh3+ 51. Kg6 Rf2 52. e7+ Kg8 53. Rxd6 Rh7 0 : 1.

Rainmaking

• Leonard Barden, Magnus Carlsen under the weather and out of sorts at London Classic, The Guardian, December 15, 2017

Next up for the GM elite are the world rapid and blitz championships, to be played in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, starting 26 December. The venue is controversial, even though it is claimed that Israeli entrants will be granted visas. A record prize fund, $1.5m for the two men’s competitions and $500,000 for the women, has attracted a strong field led by Carlsen. [Read more].

The Scarlet Letter

At tonight’s gala dinner at Simpson’s in the Strand 16th World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen (standing left) long entertained himself by chatting with Lawrence Trent (standing right), Fabiano Caruana’s manager and mentor. But Magnus’s eyes stared far away, and he looked like he was yawning while listening to Garry reading an unsigned love letter to Sophia. Photo: Lennart Ootes (@LennartOotes).

So, even today, Magnus did not manage to get rid of his glass flower pot (idem to say his Grand Chess Tour trophy). Yet, it would need just a flower to make it worth a kiss. Photo: Lennart Ootes (Flickr).

Put flowers in your pot

Quod erat demonstrandum: 16th World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen won the Grand Chess Tour trophy for the year 2017! Perhaps he was not in his best mood during most of the tournament – and who can say he was wrong? – but he succeeded in finding enough inspiration for his last-round game against Levon Grigori Aronian, thus grabbing the coveted glass flower pot. The hardest challenge now comes in trying to get rid of it. Which girl will ever accept such a gift in exchange for a kiss? Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour.

A French Kiss in London

Magnus Carlsen – Ian Aleksandrovich Nepomniachtchi
9th London Chess Classic; London, December 10, 2017
Nimzo-Indian Defence E54

1. Nf3 c5 2. c3 d5 3. d4 cxd4 4. cxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. Bf4 Nh5 7. Bd2 Nf6 8. e3 e6 9. Bd3 Bd6 10. e4 dxe4 11. Nxe4 Be7 12. 0-0 0-0. After 12. ... Nxd4 13. Nxd4 Qxd4 14. Bc3 Qd8 15. Qf3 White would have powerful compensation for the Pawn, Mellado Triviño – Rowson, 3rd International Open, Palma de Mallorca 2008. 13. Qc2 h6 14. Rad1 Bd7 15. a3 Rc8 16. Nc3!? Carlsen tries something new. The old “score” was 15. Qb1 Qb6 16. b4 Nxe4 17. Bxe4 Bf6 18. Be3 Qc7 19. Qc1 Rfd8 20. d5 exd5 21. Bxd5 Bf5 22. b5 Nd4 23. Qxc7 Rxc7 24. Bxd4 Rxd5 25. Bxf6 Rxd1 26. Rxd1 gxf6 with dull equality, Safarli – Mammadov, International Chess Festival “Baku Open”, Baku 2012. 16. ... a6 17. Qc1 Re8 18. Rfe1 Bf8 19. Bf4 b5 20. Qd2 b4 21. axb4 Nxb4 22. Ne5. Very energetic. 22. Bb1 Nbd5 would have led nowhere. 22. ... Nxd3 23. Qxd3 a5 24. Qf3 Bb4. Actually, it could even be a mistake, but, curiously, it serves the purpose of distracting White from playing g2-g4 (before or after h2-h4).

25. Re3. There’s nothing wrong with this, of course, except for the fact that almost all players from the nineteenth century would have played 25. Bxh6! without thinking twice. I ask the oracle: 25. Bxh6! Bxc3 26. bxc3 gxh6 27. Qg3+ Kh7 (if 27. ... Kf8 then 28. Rd3! followed by Qg3-f4 and/or Rd3-f3) 28. Nxf7 Qe7 29. Qd3+ Kg8 30. Qg6+ Kf8 31. Nd6 Qg7 32. Qd3 Bc6 33. f3 with great play for White (Stockfish’s analysis). 25. ... Bxc3 26. bxc3 Ba4 27. Ra1 Bc2 28. h3 Bf5 29. g4! Oh, no! Yes, it’s an excellent move, but... 29. ... Bh7 30. c4 Nd7 31. Nc6? 31. c5! Nxe5 (otherwise Ne5-c4 would follow) 32. Bxe5 followed by Re3-a3 (or also Re3-b3) would have given White a safe and definite advantage, but, strangely, now Carlsen seems in a mood to complicate. 31. ... Qf6 32. Nxa5 Nb6 33. c5!? Spectacularly complacent, but White had to give back the Pawn anyway; for instance: 33. Rea3 Nxc4 34. Nxc4 Rxc4 35. Ra8 Rcc8 36. Qc6 Qd8 37. Rxc8 Qxc8 38. Bc7 Rd8 39. Ra7 Bg6 with rough equality (Stockfish’s analysis). 33. ... Rxc5! 34. dxc5!? Qxa1+ 35. Kh2 Qxa5 36. Qc6? Another mysterious blind spot. After 36. cxb6 I guess it would not have been too hard for Carlsen to achieve a draw. 36. ... Qa4! 37. Qxa4 Nxa4 38. c6 Nb6 39. c7 f6 40. Rb3 Nc8 0 : 1. Don’t think it’s all nonfiction. Tomorrow Magnus Carlsen will be awarded the Grand Chess Tour trophy. He can always give it away in exchange for a kiss.

Climb the Wind

Magnus Carlsen – Michael Adams
9th London Chess Classic; London, December 9, 2017
5R2/1k5p/8/2rN1p2/2B1pP2/7r/1P6/4K3 w - - 7 51

Position after 50. ... Kc7-b7

And finally 16th World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen won a game in one of his most uninspired Grand Chess Tour’s shows. Even today he risked to lose, but, thank to his supernatural skill as an endgame player, he somehow managed to wake up from his nightmare just in time. In the position of the diagram White cannot aim for more than a draw, but... never say never: 51. Rf7+ Kb8? His Majesty should have obviously gone to c6. 52. b3!+− Rh2 53. Nb4 Kc8 54. Na6 Rc6. After 54. ... Ra5 55. Be6+ Kd8 56. Rd7+ Kc8 (idem to say 56. ... Ke8 57. Nc7+ Kf8 58. Rf7+ Kg8 59. Rxf5+) 57. Rxh7+ (or 57. Rd5+) White wins a Rook. 55. Rf8+ Kb7 56. Bd5 Kxa6 57. Bxc6 Kb6 58. Bd7 1 : 0.

Harry and the Magic Wallet

Fabiano Caruana – Viswanathan Anand
9th London Chess Classic; London, December 6, 2017
Spanish Game C65

As it was guessable, Caruana also defeated Anand, and remains the only one who challenged the “draw syndrome” that permeated the screenplay of the Grand Chess Tour’s terminal. You don’t need to ask Yeltsin: that’s only means that the big hunt to Rex Sinquifeld’s wallet has just started, and if it should fail, it will be a trouble to Agon Limited, which will have to actually fund the purse of the next World Chess Championship match. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Nc3 0-0 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. h3 Nd7 8. Be3 Bd6 9. Ne2. After 9. Qd2 c5 10. 0-0 Nb8 11. Nh2 Nc6 12. Ne2 Nd4 13. Rae1 Be6 14. b3 a5 Black has no problems at all, M. Adams – Caruana, 2nd Gashimov Memorial, Şəmkir 2015. If, instead, 9. 0-0 there might follow 9. ... Re8 10. a4 a5 11. Nd2 b6 12. Nc4 Ba6 13. Nxd6 cxd6 14. f4 f6 15. Qg4 Nf8 16. Qg3 Ra7 17. Rf3 Rf7 18. Raf1 Ne6 with satisfactory play for Black, Caruana – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), Speed Chess Championship, Chess.com 2017, match game 8 (5’+2” per move). 9. ... Re8. Or 9. ... c5 10. Ng3 Re8 11. Nf5 Nf8 12. Nd2 Qf6 13. Qf3 Bxf5 14. exf5 e4 with wild complications, Karjakin – Malakhov, 67th Moscow Blitz Championship, Moscow 2013. 10. g4!? Nc5 11. Ng3 Ne6 12. Nf5 c5 13. h4 a5 14. h5 Ra6 15. Qd2 Nd4 16. Rh3 Bf8 17. 0-0-0 Be6 18. Kb1 f6 19. c3 Nxf3 20. Rxf3 c4. Black played wonderfully so far, but now there were sound arguments for preferring 20. ... h6! (Stockfish) neutralising any possible attacking challenge. 21. Qc2 cxd3 22. Rxd3 Qc8 23. g5! fxg5 24. Bxg5 Bf7

25. h6! gxh6 26. Bc1 Qe6 27. b3 a4! 28. c4 axb3 29. axb3 Qc6 30. Rg3+ Kh8 31. Rd1 b5 32. c5 b4? Anand’s first serious misstep. Black ought to play 32. ... Qxc5 33. Qxc5 Bxc5 34. Rd7 Bg6 (34. ... Be6 is also possible) 35. Bxh6 Bf8 with rough equality. 33. Bb2. Now the threat of Rd1-d8 may become incumbent on Black; for instance: 33. ... Bxc5?? 34. Rd8! Bd4 35. Rxd4! winning at once. 33. ... Bg6? The last and fatal mistake as it allows White’s next move. 33. ... Qxc5 34. Qxc5 Bxc5 35. Rd7 Bg6 36. f4 was obviously unpleasant for Black, but not that dramatic. 34. Rd5! Qb5 35. Rg1 c6 36. Rxe5 Rxe5 37. Bxe5+ Kg8 38. Bd4 Kf7 39. Nh4 1 : 0.

Barden’s Counter-Attack

Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin – Fabiano Caruana
9th London Chess Classic; London, December 5, 2017
Sicilian Defence B48

Finally something happened in London. 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 a6 7. Qf3 Ne5 8. Qg3 b5. Just an excerpt from Karjakin’s “book”: 8. ... h5 9. f3 b5 10. 0-0-0 d6 11. f4 Ng4 12. e5 dxe5 13. fxe5 Nxe3 14. Qxe3 Bd7 15. Be2 g6 16. Qf3 Rc8 17. Rhf1 Rh7 18. Kb1 Bb4 19. Ne4 Qxe5 20. h4 f5 21. Ng5 Re7 22. Qb7 Bc5 23. Ngf3 Qc7 24. Qxa6 Bxd4 25. Nxd4 Kf8 26. c3 Nf6 27. Bxb5 Bxb5 28. Qxb5 e5 29. Qa6 Kg7 30. Ne6+ Rxe6 31. Qxe6 Re8 32. Qd6 Qb7 33. Rfe1 Re7 34. g3 Ne4 35. Qb4 Qxb4 36. cxb4 Nxg3 37. b5 f4 38. b6 f3 39. Rg1 Ne2 40. Rgf1 e4 41. a4 Ng3 42. Rf2 1 : 0 Karjakin – Giri, Grand Prix 2014-2015, 2nd stage, Tashkent 2014. 9. 0-0-0 Nf6 10. f4 Neg4 11. Bg1 h5 12. e5 b4 13. Na4 Nd5 14. Nb3. The alternative was 14. h3 Nh6 15. Bd3 g6 16. Be4 Bb7 17. Qf3 Nf5? (17. ... Rc8! seems okay for Black) 18. Nxf5 gxf5 19. Bxd5 Bxd5 20. Rxd5! exd5 21. Nb6 and Black is about to disintegrate, Fier – Leenhouts, 9th Batavia Chess Tournament, Amsterdam 2017. 14. ... Bb7 15. Nac5 Bc6! Caruana’s cooked menu new item. For 15. ... Rc8 16. Bd3 a5 see Nepomniachtchi – 王玥 (Wáng Yuè), 4th SportAccord World Mind Games, Blitz Event, 北京 (Běijīng) 2014. 16. Ne4. 16. Kb1 a5 also seems comfortable for Black. 16. ... f5 17. h3 h4 18. Qe1 fxe4 19. hxg4 Nxf4 20. Rxh4 Rxh4 21. Qxh4 Qxe5 22. Bd4 Ng6 23. Qh3 Qg5+ 24. Kb1 Bd5 25. Bg1? In spite of his minus Pawn, perhaps White could still have hope to hold his own, but not longer after the text, a mistake that allows Black to develop his dark-squared Bishop. 25. ... Be7 26. g3 Ne5 27. Be2 Nf3 28. Bxf3 exf3 29. Bd4 Kf7 30. Nc1 d6. “That’s how you cyberbully someone out of his opening repertoire straight into a win!”, Grandmaster Anish Giri tweeted. 31. Nd3 e5 32. Bf2 Be6 33. Nxb4 e4 34. Qh1 Rc8 35. Nxa6. Desperation. 35. ... Qa5 36. Qh5+ Qxh5 37. gxh5 Bg5. White is a Pawn up, but only to go a very short way. 38. Re1 Bc4 39. Nb4 Re8 40. Re3 Bxe3 41. Bxe3 Re5 42. g4

42. ... Rg5! 0 : 1. “Yesterday I could have been clear first. Now I am clear last”, Karjakin then said.

Magnus, why don’t you ask the staff to put together a robot in order to keep Garry busy quoting the first three chapters of “A for Andromeda” during your playing time?

chess24.com (@chess24com)

Magnus, you really must ask yourself whether it is a good idea to invite him at your wedding day

Garry Kimovich Kasparov (@Kasparov63)

How Do Dinosaurs Say Happy Birthday?

It’s the price of success. While in London to take part in the 9th London Chess Classic, 16th World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen had to celebrate his 27th birthday in a way consistent with the values and aims his mentor Garry Kimovich Kasparov actually follows. So, he was cajoled into playing the 5th Pro-Biz Cup and losing a blitz game with Kasparov. Who knows what else will come out when the birthday party begins. A can of red balls? The famous last words by Sophia? C’mon, everything passes by, after each winter comes spring again.

Diving Queen 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá) celebrating both her birthday and her first month of marriage on November 10, 2017. Photo: weibo.com/wuminxia.

Caligula’s Horse

Chess International Master and Woman Grandmaster Tania Sachdev (pictured above with her Knight) will be the commentator and interviewer at the forthcoming 9th London Chess Classic, the 2017 Grand Chess Tour’s last dance that will kick off at the DeepMind Google HQ on December 1, 2017 and will continue at the Olympia Conference Centre from 3 to 11 December 2017. Well, just tell Magnus to drink only mineral water! Photo credit: Kate Peters/The Telegraph.

既視感 (Déjà vu)

Hurricane Othello

In the meantime, 13th World Chess Champion Garry Kimovich Kasparov decided to give a sign, announcing his participation in the 9th London Chess Classic Pro-Biz Cup 2017. It’s quite clear that he has all intentions to spoil the happiness of 16th World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen and his girlfriend. Hurricane Ophelia just passed, but winter is coming.

Spider Dance

Michael Adams – Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov
8th London Chess Classic; London, December 12, 2016
Spanish Game C65

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. Nbd2 Be6 7. 0-0 Bd6 8. d4 Nd7 9. Nxe5 Nxe5 10. dxe5 Bxe5 11. f4 Bd4+. 11. ... Qd4+ looks somewhat risky: 12. Kh1 Bd6 13. Qe2 0-0-0 14. f5 Bd7 15. Nf3 Qa4 16. b3 Qa5 17. Bd2 Bb4 18. Bxb4 Qxb4 19. Qf2 b6 20. Ng5 Qe7 21. f6 gxf6 22. Qxf6 Qxf6 23. Rxf6 Be8 24. Nxf7 Bxf7 25. Rxf7 Rd2 26. Rc1 Rg8 27. Rg1 Rxc2 28. Rxh7 Rxa2 29. g4 Ra5 30. h4 Re5 31. g5 Rxe4 32. g6 Ree8 33. h5 a5 34. g7 Kb7 35. Rh6 Re5 36. Rh8 Rxg7 37. Rxg7 b5 38. Rg3 c5 39. h6 Rh5+ 40. Kg2 c4 41. bxc4 b4 42. Rh3 Rg5+ 43. Kf3 b3 44. Kf4 a4 45. Kxg5 1 : 0 Nakamura – Aronian, 5th Zürich Chess Challenge, Zürich 2016. 12. Kh1 f6. Another try is 12. ... f5 13. Qh5+ g6 14. Qe2 0-0 15. Nf3 Bf6 16. e5 Be7 17. Rd1 Qe8 18. Nd4 Qf7 19. Nxe6 Qxe6 20. Be3 Rfd8 21. c4 a6 22. b3 Kf7 23. a4 Ke8 24. h3 Rxd1+ 25. Rxd1 Rd8 26. Rxd8+ Bxd8 27. Bc5 Kf7 28. Qd2 Bh4 29. Kh2 h5 30. a5 Qe8 31. Ba3 Qd8 32. Qb4 b6 33. Qc3 c5 34. Bb2 Qd1 35. e6+ Kxe6 36. Qe5+ Kd7 37. Qg7+ Be7 38. Qxg6 Qc2 39. Be5 h4 40. axb6 cxb6 41. Qxb6 Qd3 42. Qb7+ Ke8 43. Qa8+ Kd7 44. Qb7+ Ke8 45. Qc6+ Kf8 46. Qa8+ Bd8 47. Bc3 Qg3+ 48. Kh1 Qd3 49. Qb8 Kf7 50. Qb7+ Be7 51. Be5 a5 52. Bb8 Qb1+ 53. Kh2 a4 54. Qd5+ Kf8 55. Bd6 axb3 56. Qa8+ Kf7 57. Qd5+ Kf8 58. Qa8+ Kf7 ½ : ½ Caruana – Grischuk, 7th London Chess Classic, London 2015. 13. c3. The Spider’s novelty. On the other hand, 13. f5 Bf7 14. Qg4 Qe7 15. c3 h5 16. Qe2 Be5 17. Nf3 0-0-0 18. Nxe5 Qxe5 19. Bf4 Qc5 gives Black no worries, Brkić – Hovhannisyan, 18th European Team Chess Championship, Porto Carras 2011. 13. ... Bb6 14. f5 Bf7 15. e5!? White plays very sharply in search of the initiative. 15. ... fxe5 16. Qg4 Qd3!? It’s not clear whether Topalov had better options. I can only say that the text is a bit risky; maybe he couldn’t resist echoing Morphy’s exegi monumentum... 17. Qxg7 Rg8 18. Qxe5+ Kd7 19. Qe4 Qa6? Comparatively best was 19. ... Qd5!? 20. c4! Qd4! 21. Rd1 Kc8 22. a4!? and although White stands clearly better, Black retains some vague hope of finding compensation for the minus Pawn. 20. f6! Rae8. Some commentators suggested 20. ... Rad8 as a stronger option here, but 21. Qe7+ Kc8 22. Qxf7 Qe2 23. g3 appears to win easily. 21. Qf5+ Kd8. Not 21. ... Be6? on account of 22. Qxh7+ Kc8 23. f7 and wins.

22. c4!! The coup de grâce. Just as easy as like human-problem-solving. 22. ... Qa5 23. Qh3! Qb4 24. Qxh7 Qf8 25. b3 Bd4 26. Qd3 Qd6 27. Ne4 Qd7. More tenacious was 27. ... Rxe4 28. Qxe4 Bxa1, although after 29. Bf4 Rg4 30. Bxd6 Rxe4 31. Be7+ Ke8 32. Rxa1 White should win, if nothing else because Adams is the magician of the Bishops of opposite colour endgames. 28. Rd1 Kc8 29. Qxd4 Qg4. 29. ... Qxd4 30. Rxd4 c5 31. Rd2 Rxe4 32. h3! was a little better but not so much. 30. Bg5! Rxe4? Also after 30. ... Qxe4 31. Qxe4 Rxe4 32. h4 White wins, if more prosaically. 31. Qxa7 Bd5 32. Qa8+ Kd7 33. Rxd5+ 1 : 0.

Michael Adams
Photo: Grand Chess Tour (@GrandChessTour)

Spider-Man: Back in Time

Lennart Ootes (@LennartOotes)

In Good Hands

Ray Morris-Hill (@RayMorrisHill)