Stealing First

Joh • June 12, 2023

To win a tournament, you first have to win the tournament! Sage words indeed for Fabiano Caruana who looked to be on the verge of back-to-back classical tournament victories at the 11th Norway Chess Tournament in Stavanger, only on the last day to see Hikaru Nakamura winning the all-American final round showdown to steal first place.


It all proved to be a self-inflicted wound for front-runner Caruana who mostly led throughout after beating Magnus Carlsen on the opening day. He badly miscued in the opening in his classical clash with long-time rival Nakamura, who went on to easily convert his big material advantage to claim the maximum classical bonus points that not only gave him the title and $70,000 first prize but also reclaim the World #2 spot on the live ratings!

It’s indeed quite the haul for "semipro" Nakamura now: An almost flawless performance to capture the Norway Chess Tournament title (with three classical wins and no losses), the #1 streamer (with his YouTube channel recently breaking a landmark 2,000,000 subscribers on the back of his Stavanger victory), and now installed as the new World #2 as his rating spikes 12-points to 2787, less than 50-points behind a crashing Carlsen.


So what helped Nakamura to the title and his recent run of good form? He’s certainly more relaxed than he’s ever been during his long career, and he explained his financial security through his popular online streaming to be a big part of the reason during his post-victory presser: “I think the bottom line is the fact that there’s no pressure on me versus all the other players, where there’s a massive amount of pressure.” 


And as one chess influencer rises, another falls. For ex-world champion Magnus Carlsen, there was no epoch-making five-in-a-row at Norway Chess, with his lacklustre bottom-half performance leaving Norwegian journalist Tarjei J. Svensen (the official keeper-of-all-stats-Magnus) to tweet: “For the first time in 16 years, and after 72 tournaments straight (my unofficial count), Carlsen goes through a classical tournament without a single win.” 

Final Standings:

1. H. Nakamura (USA) 16.5/27; 2. F. Caruana (USA) 16; 3. Gukesh D. (India) 14.5; 4. A. Giri (Netherlands) 13; 5. W. So (USA) 12.5; 6. M. Carlsen (Norway) 11.5; 7. S. Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan) 11; 8. A. Firouzja (France) 10.5; 9. N. Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan) 9; 10. A. Tari (Norway) 6.


It ain't over till the big chess influencer smiles! | © Norway Chess

GM Hikaru Nakamura - GM Fabiano Caruana

11th Norway Chess, (9)


C58: Two Knights Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5  It's amazing in today's game how many erroneously still described this line of the Two Knights to be the "Fried Liver Attack" - this only comes about after 4…d5 5.exd5 and the "dodgy" 5...Nxd5?! with enormous complications with 6.Nxf7! Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Ke6 8.Nc3 Nb4 9.O-O c6 10.d4 and it is a very brave player indeed that's willing to defend this position. 4…d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Bd3!? There is a great American pedigree attached to this slightly unnatural move impeding the d-pawn, having first been played - I believe - by Paul Morphy, then suggested by Bobby Fischer, and also going on to become a favourite of Nakamura since he was a kid, where he’d bash all-comers with it on the ICC. But when I first started playing, in 1972, Yakov Estrin's blue-clothed bible was the gospel in the Two Knights Defence, and the more orthodox preaching was 8.Qf3 (or even 8.Be2) exploiting the pin on the a8 rook. But lately, 8.Bd3 has become the fashionable punt. 8...Nd5 9.Nf3 Bd6 10.O-O Nf4 11.Nc3 Nxd3 12.cxd3 O-O 13.b3 Re8 14.Re1 c5 15.Ba3 Nc6 16.Ne4 Bf8 17.Rc1 f5? Played after two minutes of thought, and already this "novelty" is a game-losing blunder for Caruana, who seems to have missed a crucial tactic for White. What he should have played was the obvious 17...Nb4! 18.Bxb4 cxb4 19.Nc5

(Or even 19.Ng3 Bb7! 20.Nxe5 Qd6 21.Nc4 Qd5 22.Re4 Qxd3 23.Rxe8 Rxe8 where the bishop-pair and active play offer excellent compensation for the pawn) 19...Qd5 20.d4 Bg4 21.h3 Bxf3 22.Qxf3 Qxf3 23.gxf3 exd4 24.Rxe8 Rxe8 25.Nd3 g6 and White can claim nothing with a slew of crippled and weak pawns, as seen in Sindarov,J-Matlakov,M Tashkent 2021. 18.Nxc5 Qd5 (see diagram) The quizzical look on Nakamura's face, after Caruana had badly erred with 17...f5? painted quite the picture. And as Nakamura himself explained in his post-game presser, "I think Fabiano missed 18...Qa5 19.Ng5!! and White is completely winning" - it certainly has the "Ooft!" factor, especially when you see lines such as 19...Qxa3 (No better is 19...g6 20.Qf3! Ne7 21.Qxa8 Qxa3 22.Qb8 Nd5 23.Qb5 and Black is on the verge of resignation) 20.Qh5 h6 21.Qxe8 hxg5 22.Qxc6 etc. 19.Qc2! Cool play indeed from Nakamura, both stopping ...e4 and with the threat of Qc4 exchanging queens that is going to leave Caruana in dire straits - and not in any good way either with Mark Knopfler licking the riffs on lead guitar! 19...Rd8 20.Qc4 Qxc4 21.Rxc4 Rd5 22.Rec1As the wonderfully placed Nc5 seriously hinders Caruana from being able to develop his light-squared bishop, Nakamura just gets on with the job of building up his forces to take full advantage of his extra couple of pawns. 22...Bd6 23.Bb2 With the Nc5 suitable protected, Nakamura switches his bishop to prepare the groundwork for a possible d4 advance to free his game. I can only imagine the agony Caruana had to be in here, as he's basically just waiting for Nakamura to get his ducks in order before he makes a decisive breakthrough. 23...Ne7 24.R4c2 Rb8 25.d4! And as the game opens up, it is clear that, despite having the bishop-pair, Caruana has nothing to hope for apart from praying for a miracle or a sudden earthquake hitting Stavanger. 25...exd4 26.Nxd4 a5 27.Nf3 h6 28.Na4 Ba6 29.Nc3 Also good and strong was 29.d4!, but Nakamura just goes for the simplicity of trading pieces to take full advantage of his extra couple of pawns heading into the endgame. 29...Rc5 30.Ba3 Rc6 31.Bxd6 Rxd6 32.Na4 Nd5 33.Rc6! Nakamura continues with his simple strategy of just trading pieces and taking the big endgame plus. 33...Rxc6 34.Rxc6 Nb4 35.Rd6 Bb7 36.Nc3 Re8 37.h4 f4 Well, you could try the "better" 37...Bxf3 but after 38.gxf3 Kf7 39.h5 it is just a matter of time before White wins this endgame. Rather than that, I think Caruana just wanted the game to end as soon as possible to stop the hurt. 38.Rd4 Rf8 39.Ne5 Re8 40.Nc4 f3 41.gxf3 Bxf3 42.Kh2! The end is nigh, as the placard-carrying street doom-mongers would say, as now Nakamura gets his king off the back-rank to play an active part of the endgame via h2-g3-f4. 42...Nc2 43.Rd3 Ba8 44.Kg3

It doesn't take long for Nakamura to unravel to realise his big endgame material advantage. 44...Kh7 45.Ne3 Nb4 46.Rd6 Nc6 47.Ncd5 Rf8 48.Nc7 Bb7 49.Ne6 Rf7 50.f4! In all honesty, Nakamura has very skilfully unravelled and Caruana could well have resigned at this point. 50...Ba8 51.h5 Ra7 52.a3 Looking to meet ...a4 with b4. 52...Kg8 53.f5 Re7 54.Kf4 Ra7 55.d4 1-0

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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