AbFab-i!

John B. Henderson • May 10, 2023

It’s real wheels-on-fire stuff going on at the Superbet Chess Classic Romania in Bucharest, as reigning US champion Fabiano Caruana burns up the field with a brace of breathtaking back-to-back victories to take the sole lead in the opening leg of the St Louis-organised $1.4m 2023 Grand Chess Tour. 


Caruana is definitely the one making all the early running in the tournament, first in round 3, with an outrageous takedown of Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, as he rattled his opponent to such an extent with the early caveman move of a 3.h4 Anti-Grunfeld that witnessed the Frenchman succumbing to a stunning 23-move miniature.

And pumped up by his fabulous win, Caruana then went on to also make the most of his back-to-back Whites in the pairing order by outplaying Ian Nepomniachtchi in the big round 4 marquee match-up, in a game that looked at one stage destined to be ending in a draw, before the Russian (playing under the neutral FIDE flag following his country’s invasion of Ukraine) unwisely let his position drift with disastrous consequences.


“This is a very, very important game,” readily admitted Caruana during his post-game presser. “It’s really satisfying also because Ian just played a World Championship match and I didn’t achieve anything in the opening, but still I was outplaying him.” And remarkably, despite their longevity in the game, this was also Caruana’s first classical career-win over Nepo.  


And coming hard now on the heels of yet another world championship defeat, this is the sort of eye-off-the-ball loss that could well compound Nepo's misery, with a faltering game that could well see him go on to be remembered as only a footnote in the annals by joining a very select club of four previous players - Mikhail Chigorin, Efim Bogoljubow, Viktor Korchnoi, and Veselin Topalov - twice defeated in a title match without ever winning the world crown.


Standings:

1. F. Caruana (USA) 3/4; 2-3. W. So (USA), R. Rapport (Romania) 2½; 4-7. Ding Liren (China), I. Nepomniachtchi (FIDE), A. Firouzja (France) 2; 8-9. M. Vachier-Lagrave (France), J. Duda (Poland) 1½; 10. B. Deac (Romania) 1.

GM Fabiano Caruana - GM Ian Nepomniachtchi

Superbet Chess Classic Romania, (4)

QGD, Tarrasch Defence

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 c5 The Tarrasch Defence often leads to wildly complex and dynamic play, with the battleground normally concentrating around Black's Isolated Queen's Pawn - but will it be a strength or will it be a weakness? 5.e3 An old-fashioned method of sidestepping the big mainline of the Tarrasch that we normally see after 5.cxd5 exd5 6.g3 Nc6 7.Bg2 Be7 8.O-O O-O 9.Bg5 and seen in two World Championship matches: Petrosian-Spassky 1966 and Karpov-Kasparov 1984. 5...Nc6 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Bb5 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bd7 9.O-O Bd6 10.Nf3 Be6 Also an option is 10...Bg4 played in the past by Nepo. 11.b3 a6 12.Bd3 Ne5 13.Nxe5 Bxe5 14.Bb2 Rc8 15.Rc1 O-O 16.f4 Bc7 17.Ne2?! Caruana said he regretted this move almost as soon as he played it, and the commentary team concurred, as stronger was 17.Na4! denying the b6-square for the bishop and leaving White with a pleasant position. 17…Bb6 Perhaps better first was 17...Bg4!? the idea being that if 18.h3 now 18...Bb6! is more potent, and one where White has to accept that a draw is forced with 19.hxg4 Nxg4 20.Bd4 Qh4! 21.Rf3 Qh2+ 22.Kf1 Qh1+ 23.Ng1 Nh2+ 24.Kf2 (Anything else loses. After 24.Ke2?? Rxc1 25.Qxc1 Bxd4 26.Bxh7+ Kxh7 27.Rh3+ Kg8 28.exd4 Qxg2+ 29.Kd3 Qe4+ 30.Kd2 Qxf4+ 31.Kd1 Qf1+ 32.Kd2 Qf2+ 33.Kd3 Qf5+ 34.Kd2 Nf1+ 35.Kd1 Re8 and Black will soon snare the White king.) 24...Ng4+ 25.Kf1 Nh2+ and a threefold repetition. 18.Bd4 Bxd4 19.Nxd4 Qa5 20.Qe2 Rfe8 21.h3 Bd7 22.Rxc8 Rxc8 23.Qb2 Qc5 Seeking the trade of queens with 23...Qc3 24.Qxc3 Rxc3 may well be equal and looks easy, but after 25.Rd1 White has the simple plan of Kf2-f3 followed by Rd2 and long-term pressure on Black's IQP. 24.a4 a5 25.Qd2 b6 26.Rb1 Qa3 27.Kh2 h6 28.Rb2 Qe7 29.Rc2 Rc5 30.Nf3 Rxc2 31.Bxc2 Qc5 32.Bd3 Kf8 33.Nd4 The blocking of the IQP by commanding the square in front of it is always the correct plan in such scenarios. White has slightly the better of it, but this is total equality - but somehow Nepo goes astray with some strange decisions that will allow Caruana to take full advantage. 33...Kg8 34.Kg1 Kf8 35.Kf2 Ke7 36.Qb2 Kf8 37.Nc2 Ne4+?! In essence, it all starts to slide from here for Nepo, as trading off bishop for knight - despite the fact it solves the IQP issue - only allows Caruana's knight to dominate from the central d4 outpost. A better try was 37...Qd6 just looking to 'hold the tension' in the position - and difficult to see how White can possibly make any constructive progress from here. 38.Bxe4 dxe4 39.Nd4 Bc6 40.Qe2 Qc3 41.Qa6 Qd2+ 42.Ne2 Qb4 43.Qc8+ Be8 44.Qc2 Bd7?! The little series of miscues from Nepo soon build up. Better was 44...f5 45.Nd4 g6 which looks easier to hold.

45.Nd4 f5 There's a subtle difference between this move now and the previous note. 46.Qc7! With the knight able to retreat to e2 to fend off the checks, Caruana's queen bosses Black's loose position. 46...Qd2+ 47.Ne2 The knight both dominates the bishop and defends supremely! Now Nepo is left in a quandary trying to hold his position together with so many loose pawns. 47...Be6 There are no easy answers to defending everything, as 47...b5? 48.axb5 Bxb5 49.Qc5+! picks off the bishop. 48.Qxb6 Kf7 49.Qd4 Qa2 50.Qa7+ Kg8 (see diagram) 51.Qa8+! This little finesse is stronger than the immediate capture on a5, as now with ...Kh7 the f5-pawn is left hanging with a crucial check. 51...Kh7 52.Qxa5 Kh8 There's no salvation whatsoever. If 52...Qxb3 53.Nd4! Qa2+ 54.Kg3 g6 55.Nxe6 Qxe6 56.Qc7+ Kg8 57.Qb8+ Kf7 58.a5 and, with careful play, the a-pawn runs home. 53.Qd8+ Kh7 54.Qa5 Kh8 55.b4! Caruana has it all worked out now, as his pawns start motoring. 55...Bc4 56.Qd8+ Kh7 57.Qd1 Bb3 58.Qd7 Be6 Capturing the a-pawn only leads to an easy endgame win for White after 58...Bxa4 59.Qxf5+ Kg8 60.Qa5! Qb3 61.Nd4 Qb2+ 62.Kg3 Qc3 63.Qd5+ Kf8 64.Qc5+ and the queens coming off. 59.Qb5 Kh8 60.Qc5 g6 61.Ke1 Kg8 The spite check solves nothing after 61...Qa1+ 62.Nc1 Kg8 63.a5. And also if 61...Bc4 62.Qd4+ Kg8 63.Nc1 Qc2 64.Qd2 Qxa4 65.Qd8+ Kf7 66.Qc7+ the bishop is picked-off. 62.Qd6 Kf7 63.Qd2 Qxa4 Nepo may have recaptured a pawn, but in doing so, Caruana now has all his ducks in a row with all the checks covered and the knight swinging back into the game by taking up the d4 outpost once again. 64.Nd4 Bc4 65.Kf2 h5 66.Kg3 Now allowing the queen to move into the c3 square to force home the win. 66...Qa3 The only way to stop Qc3, but alas.... 67.b5! Qd3 68.Qc1! Bxb5 It was either this or seeing b6-b7 etc. 69.Qc7+ Kf8 70.Qc5+1-0 Nepo resigns, the point being that 70...Kf7 71.Nxb5! and the queen defends e3.

The 42 Paradox

By John B. Henderson • October 2, 2023
Well, well, well. After rampaging his way through many of the finals and opponents throughout the 2023 Champions Chess Tour, Magnus Carlsen’s “final boss” reign came to a screeching halt in what proved to be an enthralling AI Cup Grand Final on Friday, as the favourite was beaten not once but in three games, and over two matches, by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who sensationally grabbed the last remaining spot in the Champions Tour Final in December. Earlier, Carlsen had defeated MVL in the final of the winners’ bracket, before the Frenchman gained the right to a rematch in the double-elimination contest by beating Ian Nepomniachtchi in the final of the losers’ bracket. In the Grand Final, buoyed up and firing on all cylinders, MVL beat Carlsen by a 2½-1½ score.

We'll Meet Again

By John B. Henderson • September 29, 2023
The self-proclaimed “final boss of chess” does what the final boss of chess does best of all: Magnus Carlsen beat Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the final of the AI Cup winners’ bracket, the sixth and final leg of the 2023 Champions Chess Tour regular season, to reach yet another Grand Final in the novel double-elimination contest. But it wasn’t without an epic bare-knuckle street fight from both players, as MVL proved to be a worthy opponent for what looked to be an unstoppable Carlsen, who narrowly prevailed in the Armageddon to take the match 3-2. "This is the sort of thing that happens when you play Sicilians in every game," said a magnanimous Carlsen in victory after four fighting Sicilians left the match tied at 2-2.

Tiers For Fears

By John B. Henderson • September 27, 2023
Fans were treated to arguably the greatest online rivalry in chess history recently, with the Chess.com Speed Chess Championship Grand Final showdown between Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura seeing the Norwegian narrowly snatch victory by a solitary win to end the American speed maven’s hopes of a sixth successive victory. But Carlsen’s narrow win left the salivating fans feeling they’d been denied seeing this epic gladiatorial speed contest going into overtime - but they didn’t have to wait long for the rivalry redux, as a couple of days later, both Carlsen and Nakamura went head-to-head yet again in the opening day of the AI Cup, the sixth and final leg of the 2023 Champions Chess Tour regular season.

Bossing It

By John B. Henderson • September 25, 2023
Magnus Carlsen more than lived up to his self-proclamation of being “The Final Boss of Chess” with a revenge-is-sweet narrow victory over fellow chess influencer Hikaru Nakamura, as he denied his long-time arch-rival a sixth successive Chess.com Speed Chess Championship title last Friday. Last year, it was Nakamura who narrowly squeaked home by one point - this time, in yet another thrilling match consisting of three different speed limits - 5+1, 3+1 and 1+1 (more commonly known as ‘bullet’) - between the two speed titans, it again ended with the same scoreline, though this time seeing Carlsen triumph by a solitary win after two pulsating hours of thrilling play, as he took the $150,000 2023 Speed Chess Championship presented by Coinbase, 13.5-12.5.

Death, Taxes, Magnus & Hikaru

By John B. Henderson • September 22, 2023
With a smorgasbord of online chess events out there now, the granddaddy of them all is surely the Chess.com Speed Chess Championship , with a $150,000 prize fund that determines just who is the best blitz and bullet players. It has become the perennial fan-favourite with arguably the best viewing experience - and the fans are set for yet another spectacular finale later today, as the two rivals who dominate the roll of honour, Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, get set for another explosive showdown in the 2023 final. Friday’s final and commentary, free to view, starts at 14:00 ET (11:00 PT; 20:00 CEST; 23:30 IST) on Chess.com. Carlsen and Nakamura have won each edition since the inaugural Speed Chess Championship event in 2016 - Carlsen won the first two speed titles before taking a hiatus, only for Nakamura to rule the roost, winning four more times.

A Messi Kid

By John B. Henderson • September 19, 2023
India today is a land of amazing young talents and prospects in chess, with the country seemingly having a never-ending production line of prodigies rolling off the factory conveyor belt. But for some countries, such as Argentina, prodigies only seem to come around with all the regularity of Halley’s Comet . One of the first notable post-war chess prodigies was Oscar Panno from Buenos Aires, who became the first world-class player born in South America. In 1953, at the age of 17, he became only the second World Junior Champion , having won the coveted youth title ahead of a strong cadre of future elite-level Grandmasters such as Boris Ivkov (who in 1951 was crowned the first World Junior Ch), Bent Larsen, and Fredrik Olafsson.

The Great Rook 'n' Roll Swindle

By John B. Henderson • September 14, 2023
“Chess is a cruel game. We all know that feeling when your position has gone awry and everything seems hopeless. You feel like resigning. But don’t give up! This is precisely the moment to switch to swindle mode. Master the art of provoking errors and you will be able to turn the tables and escape with a draw or sometimes even steal the full point!” So wrote David Smerdon, an Australian chess grandmaster and one of his country’s leading behavioural economists, on the back cover of his witty and wickedly entertaining, not to mention the much-lauded and deserving 2020 ECF Book of the Year winner, The Complete Chess Swindler (New in Chess).

No Country For Young Men

By John B. Henderson • September 11, 2023
With the top teenage talents being overshadowed in the Tata Steel Chess India Rapid in Kolkata by a dominant performance from seasoned veteran Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, there were hopes of a homeland comeback in the follow-on Blitz tournament - and one looked to be on the cards, only for another “old guy”, this time Alexander Grischuk, crashing the teenage party by capturing the second, even faster speed title. Early doors, all eyes were firmly on Rameshbabu “Pragg” Praggnanandhaa, with his flying start of a perfect 5/5 on the opening day of the two-day double-round contest. But that was as good as it got for the 18-year-old Candidate-qualifier, who could only finish the day on 6.5/9, and despite being the sole leader, he held what looked a very slender half-point lead over nearest rivals Santosh Vidit and Grischuk, ominously the only unbeaten player.

My Indian Summer

By John B. Henderson • September 8, 2023
The past couple of years have proved to be a major one for India - not only a global player with world leaders descending this week in New Delhi for the G20 Summit and recently successfully landing a spacecraft on the moon but now also a fully-fledged chess superpower, with many exciting young talents set to make the country a dominant force for the foreseeable future. Many would even speculate that Indian Chess could well turn into a hegemony, in much the same way as the Soviets dominated the chess scene in the 1945 post-war period until its collapse and ultimate dissolution in 1991. The latest big chess tournament to be held in India coincides with the G20, with the fifth Tata Steel Chess India Rapid & Blitz - a spinoff from the larger Dutch super-tournament, the Tata Steel Chess Masters in Wijk aan Zee - taking place 5-9 September in Kolkata.

Me & The Kids

By John B. Henderson • September 4, 2023
The fifth and latest leg of the Champions Chess Tour , the Julius Baer Generations Cup more than lived up to its name with the world No.1, Magnus Carlsen, after overpowering Alireza Firouzja in the winners’ final, to effortlessly cruise his way into the Grand Final, declaring: “It’s just me against the kids now!” After three clean kills that included a brace of back-to-back 2½-½ victories over Iranian Amin Tabatabaei and his old title foe Caruana, Carlsen proceeded to sweep Firouzja 3-0 to reach the Grand Final of the contest - but it wasn’t lost on the “old man” that non of his old rivals were left in the competition, and that meant that Denis Lazavik (16), Nodirbek Abdusattorov (18), and Firouzja (20) were the only three left standing to see who would go forward to meet him in the Grand Final.
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