Bishop takes Pawn with Check!

Two positions were presented to my elementary students at the after school chess club yesterday. The first occurred in my shortest game in a weekend Swiss. The second position did not occur in Nepomniachtchi,I. -- Carlsen,M., Halkidiki 2003. Cyrus Lakdawala explains in Nepomniachtchi: Move by Move (2021), which was just published, that Carlsen, "even as a newborn infant, wouldn't fall for 8...dxe3??" I explained to the students that Carlsen was not born knowing this tactic, but learned it, just as they can.

My short loss:

Rodriguez,Luis (2211) -- Stripes,James (1472) [B21]

Collyer Memorial Spokane (1), 21.02.1998

1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 d6

Remembering the game incorrectly, I presented my move as 4...Nc6, which is probably a more accurate move order.

5.Bc4 a6?

A waste of time. 5...Nc6 should be played. After 5...Nc6, it is still possible to fail the way I did in the game. For instance, 6.Nf3 Nf6 7.e5 Nxe5?? 8.Nxe5 dxe5. This was the position shown to the students because I was presenting the tactic from a faulty memory.

6.Nf3 Bg4??

Utter foolishness.

7.Ne5+- dxe5

White to move

8.Bxf7+ 1-0

I resigned because I had far better things to do than watching how easily a master would checkmate me from such a horrid position.

Ian Nepomniachtchi (2447) -- Magnus Carlsen (2450) [B06]
Wch U14 Halkidiki GRE, 2003

1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 g6 5.Nf3 Bg7 6.Na3 cxd4 7.Bc4 Qe4+ 8.Be3

The game continued 8...Nh6. 

For the children, however, the error that Magnus Carlsen could see through is worth examining.

After dxe3??

White to move

9.Bxf7+ wins the queen.

9...Kxf7 allows 10.Ng5+ forking king and queen.

9...Kf8 delays the fork one move. 10.Qd8+ Kxf7.

The World Chess Championship between Champion Magnus Carlsen and Challenger Ian Nepomniatchchi begins at 16:30 Friday afternoon in Dubai. That's 3:30 am in my time zone. I may not watch the beginning of the game live, needing some sleep. But, I will check on the progress as soon as I awake.

Beat Magnus

Chess Informant 136/166 has a diagram and analysis showing an opportunity that Georg Meier let slip past him.

White to move

From Meier,G. -- Carlsen,M., Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden 2018

Creating the 300

In GM-RAM: Essential Grandmaster Knowledge (2000), Rashid Ziyatdinov offers his version of the legendary 300 positions that a player must know to become a strong chess player. I have written about this book on several prior occasions, especially "Hitting the Books" (March 2015); "The Training Standard" (January 2015); "To Know a Position" (December 2014); "Morphy's Fingerprints" (December 2014); "Fingerprints" (April 2010); and my initial review of the book, "GM-RAM: Essential Knowledge" (February 2010).

Ziyatdinov leaves 47 of the 300 to the reader. I am tentatively and slowly adding critical positions from my study in search of 47 that matter to me. I have so far added:

Alekhine -- Levenfish 1912

White to move

After 14...Qxb2

Carlsen -- Tomashevsky 2016

White to move

After 12...Ng6

Byrne -- Fischer 1956

Black to move

After 11.Bg5

The Best Chess Game Ever Played

What is the best chess game ever played? What criteria determines this choice? Do we favor players whom we like?

At Inland Chess Academy's Spring Break Camp today, I am presenting a class called the "best chess game ever played." But, I do not have an answer to my questions.

My students will receive a list with ten candidates. The list is incomplete. It has no games by the best player who ever lived, Magnus Carlsen. The class lasts fifty minutes. If we go through two of these games, we will need to rush through them. Every game on this list deserves several hours of study. Over the next few weeks, I plan to annotate these ten games and post them on Chess Skills.

Black to move

Vishy Anand lost this game and annotated it for Chess Informant. It received more first place votes than just about any other game published. However, the game that won two Informant Reader's Contests received more. It, too, is on this list.

The Greatest Chess Game Ever Played
My Candidates in Chronological Order (links are to my annotations)

(1) Bogoljubow,Efim -- Alekhine,Alexander [A90]
Hastings Six Masters Hastings, 1922

1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 e6 4.Bg2 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Bxd2+ 6.Nxd2 Nc6 7.Ngf3 0–0 8.0–0 d6 9.Qb3 Kh8 10.Qc3 e5 11.e3 a5 12.b3 Qe8 13.a3 Qh5 14.h4 Ng4 15.Ng5 Bd7 16.f3 Nf6 17.f4 e4 18.Rfd1 h6 19.Nh3 d5 20.Nf1 Ne7 21.a4 Nc6 22.Rd2 Nb4 23.Bh1 Qe8 24.Rg2 dxc4 25.bxc4 Bxa4 26.Nf2 Bd7 27.Nd2 b5 28.Nd1 Nd3 29.Rxa5 b4 30.Rxa8 bxc3 31.Rxe8 c2 32.Rxf8+ Kh7 33.Nf2 c1Q+ 34.Nf1 Ne1 35.Rh2 Qxc4 36.Rb8 Bb5 37.Rxb5 Qxb5 38.g4 Nf3+ 39.Bxf3 exf3 40.gxf5 Qe2 41.d5 Kg8 42.h5 Kh7 43.e4 Nxe4 44.Nxe4 Qxe4 45.d6 cxd6 46.f6 gxf6 47.Rd2 Qe2 48.Rxe2 fxe2 49.Kf2 exf1Q+ 50.Kxf1 Kg7 51.Kf2 Kf7 52.Ke3 Ke6 53.Ke4 d5+ 0–1


(2) Botvinnik,Mikhail -- Capablanca,Jose Raul [E49]
AVRO Holland (11), 22.11.1938

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 d5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 c5 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Bd3 0–0 9.Ne2 b6 10.0–0 Ba6 11.Bxa6 Nxa6 12.Bb2 Qd7 13.a4 Rfe8 14.Qd3 c4 15.Qc2 Nb8 16.Rae1 Nc6 17.Ng3 Na5 18.f3 Nb3 19.e4 Qxa4 20.e5 Nd7 21.Qf2 g6 22.f4 f5 23.exf6 Nxf6 24.f5 Rxe1 25.Rxe1 Re8 26.Re6 Rxe6 27.fxe6 Kg7 28.Qf4 Qe8 29.Qe5 Qe7 30.Ba3 Qxa3 31.Nh5+ gxh5 32.Qg5+ Kf8 33.Qxf6+ Kg8 34.e7 Qc1+ 35.Kf2 Qc2+ 36.Kg3 Qd3+ 37.Kh4 Qe4+ 38.Kxh5 Qe2+ 39.Kh4 Qe4+ 40.g4 Qe1+ 41.Kh5 1–0

(3) Byrne,Donald -- Fischer,Robert James [D97]
New York Rosenwald New York, 1956

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.d4 0–0 5.Bf4 d5 6.Qb3 dxc4 7.Qxc4 c6 8.e4 Nbd7 9.Rd1 Nb6 10.Qc5 Bg4 11.Bg5 Na4 12.Qa3 Nxc3 13.bxc3 Nxe4 14.Bxe7 Qb6 15.Bc4 Nxc3 16.Bc5 Rfe8+ 17.Kf1 Be6 18.Bxb6 Bxc4+ 19.Kg1 Ne2+ 20.Kf1 Nxd4+ 21.Kg1 Ne2+ 22.Kf1 Nc3+ 23.Kg1 axb6 24.Qb4 Ra4 25.Qxb6 Nxd1 26.h3 Rxa2 27.Kh2 Nxf2 28.Re1 Rxe1 29.Qd8+ Bf8 30.Nxe1 Bd5 31.Nf3 Ne4 32.Qb8 b5 33.h4 h5 34.Ne5 Kg7 35.Kg1 Bc5+ 36.Kf1 Ng3+ 37.Ke1 Bb4+ 38.Kd1 Bb3+ 39.Kc1 Ne2+ 40.Kb1 Nc3+ 41.Kc1 Rc2# 0–1

(4) Polugaevsky,Lev -- Nezhmetdinov,Rashid [A53]
Sochi, 1958

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 e5 4.e4 exd4 5.Qxd4 Nc6 6.Qd2 g6 7.b3 Bg7 8.Bb2 0–0 9.Bd3 Ng4 10.Nge2 Qh4 11.Ng3 Nge5 12.0–0 f5 13.f3 Bh6 14.Qd1 f4 15.Nge2 g5 16.Nd5 g4 17.g3 fxg3 18.hxg3 Qh3 19.f4 Be6 20.Bc2 Rf7 21.Kf2 Qh2+ 22.Ke3 Bxd5 23.cxd5 Nb4 24.Rh1 Rxf4 25.Rxh2 Rf3+ 26.Kd4 Bg7 27.a4 c5+ 28.dxc6 bxc6 29.Bd3 Nexd3+ 30.Kc4 d5+ 31.exd5 cxd5+ 32.Kb5 Rb8+ 33.Ka5 Nc6+ 0–1

(5) Fischer,Robert James -- Stein,Leonid [C92]
Sousse (izt) 4/336, 1967

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0–0 9.h3 Bb7 10.d4 Na5 11.Bc2 Nc4 12.b3 Nb6 13.Nbd2 Nbd7 14.b4 exd4 15.cxd4 a5 16.bxa5 c5 17.e5 dxe5 18.dxe5 Nd5 19.Ne4 Nb4 20.Bb1 Rxa5 21.Qe2 Nb6 22.Nfg5 Bxe4 23.Qxe4 g6 24.Qh4 h5 25.Qg3 Nc4 26.Nf3 Kg7 27.Qf4 Rh8 28.e6 f5 29.Bxf5 Qf8 30.Be4 Qxf4 31.Bxf4 Re8 32.Rad1 Ra6 33.Rd7 Rxe6 34.Ng5 Rf6 35.Bf3 Rxf4 36.Ne6+ Kf6 37.Nxf4 Ne5 38.Rb7 Bd6 39.Kf1 Nc2 40.Re4 Nd4 41.Rb6 Rd8 42.Nd5+ Kf5 43.Ne3+ Ke6 44.Be2 Kd7 45.Bxb5+ Nxb5 46.Rxb5 Kc6 47.a4 Bc7 48.Ke2 g5 49.g3 Ra8 50.Rb2 Rf8 51.f4 gxf4 52.gxf4 Nf7 53.Re6+ Nd6 54.f5 Ra8 55.Rd2 Rxa4 56.f6 1–0

(6) Fischer,Robert James -- Spassky,Boris V [D59]
Reykjavik (m/6) 14/547, 1972

1.c4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 0–0 6.e3 h6 7.Bh4 b6 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Bxe7 Qxe7 10.Nxd5 exd5 11.Rc1 Be6 12.Qa4 c5 13.Qa3 Rc8 14.Bb5 a6 15.dxc5 bxc5 16.0–0 Ra7 17.Be2 Nd7 18.Nd4 Qf8 19.Nxe6 fxe6 20.e4 d4 21.f4 Qe7 22.e5 Rb8 23.Bc4 Kh8 24.Qh3 Nf8 25.b3 a5 26.f5 exf5 27.Rxf5 Nh7 28.Rcf1 Qd8 29.Qg3 Re7 30.h4 Rbb7 31.e6 Rbc7 32.Qe5 Qe8 33.a4 Qd8 34.R1f2 Qe8 35.R2f3 Qd8 36.Bd3 Qe8 37.Qe4 Nf6 38.Rxf6 gxf6 39.Rxf6 Kg8 40.Bc4 Kh8 41.Qf4 1–0

(7) Karpov,Anatoly -- Kasparov,Garry [B44]
Moscow (m/16) 40/202, 1985

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nb5 d6 6.c4 Nf6 7.N1c3 a6 8.Na3 d5 9.cxd5 exd5 10.exd5 Nb4 11.Be2 Bc5 12.0–0 0–0 13.Bf3 Bf5 14.Bg5 Re8 15.Qd2 b5 16.Rad1 Nd3 17.Nab1 h6 18.Bh4 b4 19.Na4 Bd6 20.Bg3 Rc8 21.b3 g5 22.Bxd6 Qxd6 23.g3 Nd7 24.Bg2 Qf6 25.a3 a5 26.axb4 axb4 27.Qa2 Bg6 28.d6 g4 29.Qd2 Kg7 30.f3 Qxd6 31.fxg4 Qd4+ 32.Kh1 Nf6 33.Rf4 Ne4 34.Qxd3 Nf2+ 35.Rxf2 Bxd3 36.Rfd2 Qe3 37.Rxd3 Rc1 38.Nb2 Qf2 39.Nd2 Rxd1+ 40.Nxd1 Re1+ 0–1

(8) Ivanchuk,Vassily (2735) -- Jussupow,Artur (2625) [E67]
Brussels (m/9) 52/592, 1991

1.c4 e5 2.g3 d6 3.Bg2 g6 4.d4 Nd7 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Nf3 Ngf6 7.0–0 0–0 8.Qc2 Re8 9.Rd1 c6 10.b3 Qe7 11.Ba3 e4 12.Ng5 e3 13.f4 Nf8 14.b4 Bf5 15.Qb3 h6 16.Nf3 Ng4 17.b5 g5 18.bxc6 bxc6 19.Ne5 gxf4 20.Nxc6 Qg5 21.Bxd6 Ng6 22.Nd5 Qh5 23.h4 Nxh4 24.gxh4 Qxh4 25.Nde7+ Kh8 26.Nxf5 Qh2+ 27.Kf1 Re6 28.Qb7 Rg6 29.Qxa8+ Kh7 30.Qg8+ Kxg8 31.Nce7+ Kh7 32.Nxg6 fxg6 33.Nxg7 Nf2 34.Bxf4 Qxf4 35.Ne6 Qh2 36.Rdb1 Nh3 37.Rb7+ Kg8 38.Rb8+ Qxb8 39.Bxh3 Qg3 0–1

(9) Kasparov,Garry (2812) -- Topalov,Veselin (2700) [B07]
Wijk aan Zee 74/110, 1999

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Be3 Bg7 5.Qd2 c6 6.f3 b5 7.Nge2 Nbd7 8.Bh6 Bxh6 9.Qxh6 Bb7 10.a3 e5 11.0–0–0 Qe7 12.Kb1 a6 13.Nc1 0–0–0 14.Nb3 exd4 15.Rxd4 c5 16.Rd1 Nb6 17.g3 Kb8 18.Na5 Ba8 19.Bh3 d5 20.Qf4+ Ka7 21.Rhe1 d4 22.Nd5 Nbxd5 23.exd5 Qd6 24.Rxd4 cxd4 25.Re7+ Kb6 26.Qxd4+ Kxa5 27.b4+ Ka4 28.Qc3 Qxd5 29.Ra7 Bb7 30.Rxb7 Qc4 31.Qxf6 Kxa3 32.Qxa6+ Kxb4 33.c3+ Kxc3 34.Qa1+ Kd2 35.Qb2+ Kd1 36.Bf1 Rd2 37.Rd7 Rxd7 38.Bxc4 bxc4 39.Qxh8 Rd3 40.Qa8 c3 41.Qa4+ Ke1 42.f4 f5 43.Kc1 Rd2 44.Qa7 1–0

(10) Topalov,Veselin (2778) -- Anand,Viswanathan (2785) [E15]
Sofia 93/439, 2005

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.b3 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Be7 7.Nc3 c6 8.e4 d5 9.Qc2 dxe4 10.Nxe4 Bb7 11.Neg5 c5 12.d5 exd5 13.cxd5 h6 14.Nxf7 Kxf7 15.0–0–0 Bd6 16.Nh4 Bc8 17.Re1 Na6 18.Re6 Nb4 19.Bxb4 cxb4 20.Bc4 b5 21.Bxb5 Be7 22.Ng6 Nxd5 23.Rxe7+ Nxe7 24.Bc4+ Kf6 25.Nxh8 Qd4 26.Rd1 Qa1+ 27.Kd2 Qd4+ 28.Ke1 Qe5+ 29.Qe2 Qxe2+ 30.Kxe2 Nf5 31.Nf7 a5 32.g4 Nh4 33.h3 Ra7 34.Rd6+ Ke7 35.Rb6 Rc7 36.Ne5 Ng2 37.Ng6+ Kd8 38.Kf1 Bb7 39.Rxb7 Rxb7 40.Kxg2 Rd7 41.Nf8 Rd2 42.Ne6+ Ke7 43.Nxg7 Rxa2 44.Nf5+ Kf6 45.Nxh6 Rc2 46.Bf7 Rc3 47.f4 a4 48.bxa4 b3 49.g5+ Kg7 50.f5 b2 51.f6+ Kh7 52.Nf5 1–0

I expect to show the students games four and ten from the list after describing each of the ten briefly, but the students might want to see one of the others. I will be flexible.

Missed Chance

Baskaran Adhiban won the challengers group in the 2016 Tata Steel Chess Tournament, earning a position in the top section this year. He stood one place above last after four rounds, having lost two games and drawn two. The commentators were beginning to discuss how the winner of the challengers group often gets clobbered when they move up to the top group.

In round five, Adhiban put an end to this conversation. He beat Sergey Karjakin! He did not lose another game through the rest of the tournament and finished tied for third place with Wei Yi and Levon Aronian.

He might have finished even stronger. In round eleven, he reached this position against Magnus Carlsen, who finished the tournament in second place.

Black to move

The game ended in a draw. Can you find the combination that Adhiban missed?

Hat tip to Daniel King's PowerPlayChess video on this game.

Carlsen's Queen Sacrifice

I practice tactics with the computer and so on, in order to keep learning.
Magnus Carlsen*

A few weeks ago, the director of Inland Chess Academy inquired whether the classes for this year's Holiday Chess Camp could be based upon the recent World Championship Match won by Magnus Carlsen over Sergey Karjakin. I embraced the idea, offering two classes on imbalances from games of the championship, a class on the Berlin variation of the Spanish, and one called "Carlsen's Queen Sacrifice."

A Chess.com video inspired me. Sam Copeland's "Magnus Carlsen's World Championship Winning Move" speculated where Carlsen might have seen a sacrifice similar to the one that he played in the final tie-break game to end the match. Copeland identified and walked his viewers through several similar combinations, and then offered the challenge to find more examples. They are easy to find, but Copeland's examples have more elements in common with Carlsen's winning combination than those that I selected for my class.

For my students, I created a worksheet with six positions. My instructions on the worksheet read:

Each of the positions below might appear in a set of chess problems on a computer, in a book, or as part of a worksheet. Train with these to play like Magnus. White to move in 1-4; Black to move in 5-6.

1. White to move

From Fischer -- Kelley, Houston 1964.

2. White to move

From Spassky -- Ciric, Amsterdam 1970

3. White to move

From Hesse -- N.N., Bethlehem 1803

4. White to move

From Fairhurst -- Menchik, Margate 1935

5. Black to move

From Neumann -- Anderssen, Breslau 1864

6. Black to move

From Schulten -- Kieseritzky, Paris 1844

At the start of the class, I had the position below on the demo board. The students tried to find the best moves for both sides, and we ended up following the moves actually played in the game. In this case, the thematic sacrifice did not work and White had a better move.

White to move

The game is Arnous de Riviere -- Morphy, Paris 1858.

The purpose of the class was to suggest in agreement with Sam Copeland that Carlsen was able to play his sacrifice quickly due, in part, to pattern recognition. Seeing the pattern is one thing. Calculation is necessary as well, which was the point of the Morphy game. Practicing calculation skills was a primary focus through this class.

In my concluding remarks, I mentioned several resources for practicing tactics, including Laszlo Polgar, Chess Training in 5334 Positions (1994). This book contains a selection of 600 miniatures in the back of the book organized by sacrifices on six pair of squares, f2/f7, g2/g7, etc. Sacrifices on h3/h6 are one of the six.


*Colin McGourty, "Carlsen and Aronian: A Tandem Interview" Chess24 (27 June 2014), https://chess24.com/en/read/news/carlsen-and-aronian-a-tandem-interview.

Lessons from the Championship

My advanced students this week saw several positions from the tie-break games of the World Chess Championship.

White to move

The first position is from the final game. I wanted my students to first understand Black's checkmate threats.

The game concluded 48.Rc8+ Kh7 49.Qh6+ 1-0.

We also looked at 48.Qg3, which wins more slowly and the checkmate sequence that follows had Black played 48...Bf8.

If your opponent threatens checkmate in one move, making certain that all of your moves are check is the only way to conduct a counterattack.

The second position also concerns understanding threats. It is from the third tie-break game.

White to move

The game finished 38.Rxc7 Ra1 0-1.

We looked at Black's several checkmate threats in the final position and also how White could have kept the game alive by playing 38.Rb1. Failure to find this move was a rare defensive oversight by Sergey Karjakin.

Most complex was a series of positions from the second game.

Black to move

The key ideas here require understanding the checkmate patterns that White needs to win and Black's drawing resources. For example, if Black can get rid of White's g-pawn and the dark-squared bishop, he would happily trade everything.

The game continued 61...Re2 62.Bg4

White had better chances to win after 62.Kf7. I mentioned this to the students, but we did not explore it in detail as it is quite complex. It's no surprise that World Champion Magnus Carlsen missed it in a rapid game.

62...Re8 63.Bf5 Kg8 64.Bc2 Re3 65.Bb1 Kh8 66.Kf7 Rb3 67.Be4 Re3 68.Bf5 Rc3 69.g4

An important move shielding the king from harassment from the rear.

69...Rc6 70.Bf8 Rc7+ 71.Kg6 Kg8 72.Bb4 Rb7 73.Bd6 Kh8 74.Bf8 Kg8 75.Ba3 Kh8 76.Be6 Rb6 77.Kf7 Rb7+ 78.Be7

We went through these moves quickly, observing Black's plan of constant harrassment and White's efforts to create checkmate threats.

Black to move

Finally, from this position, Karjakin seized his chance to exchange into an ending where White's bishop operates on the wrong color squares.

78...h5! 79.gxh5 f5 80.Bxf5 Rxe7 81.Kxe7 Kg8 82.Bd3 Kh8 83.Kf8 g5

White to move

White has two ways to capture Black's pawn, both of which lead to stalemate. Leaving the pawn on the board also draws.

Carlsen captured en passant.

84.hxg6 1/2-1/2.

Karjakin -- Carlsen 2016: Critical Positions

The World Chess Championship is tied 5-5 after ten games. Today is a rest day. Before the match, many were predicting a victory for the reigning champion, Magnus Carlsen. Some even thought that Carlsen would retain his title in fewer than twelve games, regarding Sergey Karjakin as clearly the inferior player. Karjakin had not been a favorite to win the Candidates tournament either. Nonetheless, Karjakin defended well in difficult positions early in the match. Perhaps Carlsen had a stronger move in a few cases. Karjakin also missed a few better moves. Some of those positions are presented below.

The first game was not particularly eventful. Although Carlsen managed to create weaknesses in Karjakin's pawn structure, the challenger managed to hold the position without too much pain. Looking at the final moves from my position as a class player, however, I did not know at a glance whether swapping the last pair of minor pieces could give either player an advantage in the pawn ending.

Black to move

After 40.Nd4+

The game concluded 40...Kd6 41.Nb5+ Kd7 42.Nd4 Kd6 and a draw was agreed due to repetition assured.

Had Karjakin played 40...Bxd4, would the game be drawn as well? Grandmasters probably understand the resulting pawn position at a glance, but many other chess players could do well to play it out against a friend or computer.

Carlsen's play with Black in game two deprived Karjakin of any real chance for an advantage.

Ruslan Ponomariov, who wrote the annotations to the first two games for ChessBase, thought that Carlsen could have presented Karjakin with a tactical problem to solve with a different move 26, but Karjakin probably would have seen the trick clearly.

Black to move

After 26.b4

Carlsen played 26...Re6 and the game was drawn on move 33. Ponomariov thought that 26...c5 27.Nxb5 cxb4 28.Nd6 Re6 29.Nxc8 Rxa6 might lead to complexities.

In the third game, Carlsen secured an advantage and then pressed hard for a win. The ending generated a lot of interest around the world. Yasser Seirawan was at a dinner in Saint Louis, where he joined Viswanathan Anand, Hikaru Nakamura, Veselin Topalov, and Fabiano Caruana following the game on Caruana's smartphone. Seirawan's annotations for ChessBase presented a drawing opportunity missed by Karjakin from this position.

Black to move

After 70.Nc6

The game was drawn after 70...Kxf5 71.Na5 Rh1 72.Rb7? (72.Rf7+ seems to be winning) 72...Ra1! 73.Rb5+ Kf4! 74.Rxb4+ Kg3 75.Rg4+ Kf2 76.Nc4 h3 77.Rh4 Kg3 78.Rg4+ Kf2.

Seirawan's analysis, presenting the ideas of four other Grandmasters who "out-rated" him, after 70...Rc3!! is worth checking out at the link. Credit Anand for convincing the others that Karjakin could hold.

Chess fans following the game with the aid of engine analysis quickly spotted Carlsen's decisive error as he was pressing for a win in game four. However, Carlsen thought the line he played was winning. It took many more moves before Carlsen's winning ideas had been proven illusions.

Black to move

After 45.Nd1

How many humans could have found 45...Be6 and then had the ability to convert against Karjakin's defensive efforts? Carlsen played 45...f4, gaining a secure passed pawn on the kingside that left him plenty of time to penetrate with his king on the queenside. Many times during the next fifty moves, Karjakin had only one piece that could move without his position collapsing. Sometimes his king had to move. Other times his knight could move, and often only the bishop could. He was very close to zugzwang, but not quite.

Karjakin was slightly better in game five and spent a lot of time in this position, which my advanced students were watching on the demo board at chess club while it was taking place.

Black to move

After 42.hxg4

Karjakin's pawn sacrifice, 42...d4!, brought pressure against the White king. Carlsen returned the sacrifice two moves later and managed a draw.

Gmae six was the least interesting game, except to those who seek to understand the Marshall Gambit and its variants when Black needs a draw against the Spanish. In the annotations for ChessBase, Tiger Hillarp Persson points out Karjakin's method and the computer's method of securing a clear draw from this position as White.

White to move

After 20...Rfe8

For game seven, Karjakin switched to 1.d4 but made no progress. Already at move 15, he needed to secure equality.

White to move

After 15...O-O

16.Ba3 forces material off the board. Karjakin ended up with an ending in which he was a pawn up, but had no chance to fight for a win.

After failing to get an advantage in the two shortest games of the match, and his two consecutive Whites, Karjakin explained, "it is better to play well than to play with White." In game eight, he broke the historic run of draws (the longest in a world championship match sine 1995), winning with the Black pieces.

Both players made errors in the time scramble just before move 40. Carlsen made a bad move in a bad position and then Karjakin missed the strongest continuation. Play went on into another hour.

White to move

After 48.Nd3

It is easy for a computer, and for a human looking at computer evaluations, to understand where White needs to place his queen in such a position. Perhaps the queen is where she belongs and something else should move. For human players, however, it is very difficult to find the right move. World Champion Magnus Carlsen played 49.Qa5? and Karjakin found a way to bring home the full point.

In the ninth game, Sergey Karjakin might have had a chance to put Carlsen away and gain the upper hand in the match.

White to move

After 38...Ne7

Karjakin thought for a long time, finally choosing 39.Bxf7+. Commentators favor 39.Qb3. Neither move has consequences that are clear to human players.

In the tenth game, Karjakin missed a forced draw early in the game and then suffered a long time.

Black to move

After 20.Nd2

How many players can find a draw here without engine assistance?

Karjakin finally cracked after defending a difficult endgame for many hours, allowing Carlsen to even the score.

Karjakin -- Carlsen Match

Judit Polgar's commentary during the World Chess Championship, currently taking place in New York City, has been terrific! During game three, she assured her viewers that the game was likely to end in a draw, then later was quite certain that Magnus Carlsen would win, and then again that Sergey Karjakin could hold the draw. She seemed a little skeptical of her own predictive skill during game four. Through it all, her commentary offers clear explanations of general principles and stellar concrete analysis of the position on the board. It is also entertaining.

All four games so far have been draws, but they have been hard fought. In game three, it seemed that Carlsen had a clear advantage, but Karjakin defended well.

White to move

Carlsen played 72.Rb7, which Yasser Seirawan asserts in his annotations for ChessBase was the blunder that let Karjakin save the game. Ironically, most beginners would play the correct move without thinking, but Carlsen's move looks very good to experienced players. When White's b-pawn starts rolling, Black has difficulties. However, Black's rook is able to threaten the knight and pawn on the queenside, while also threatening to assist the h-pawn's run to promotion. As Seirawan points out, there is also a checkmate threat if the White king becomes greedy.

The manner in which Carlsen let Karjakin off the hook in game four is even more instructive.

Black to move

Carlsen played 45...f4. Karjakin was quite clear in the post-game interview in the hallway after the game that this move produced the draw. However, a supported passed pawn on one side of the board and serious pawn weaknesses for the opponent on the other are two factors that are nearly always decisive. Carlsen thought they would be, but after the game described his thinking as "sloppy".

45...Be6 increases the pressure on White's position. The defender wants simplifications. When attacking, it is often best to present as many problems to your opponent as possible. Of course, most players would make Carlsen's move in a heartbeat. How many would be able to defend as accuirately as Karjakin from the White side?

Dorian Rogozenco's annotations for ChessBase are worth a look.

This game was drawn on move 94, well short of the record for longest WCC game, Korchnoi -- Karpov 1978, game 5 (124 moves).

During the game three commentary, Polgar informed viewers that Cartlsen explained his match strategy to her: he will punch Karjakin until he finds the blow that knocks him down. If Karjakin keeps making the errors that give Carlsen a clear advantage, this decisive punch will come soon.

Good Blitz, Bad Blitz

Blitz chess is popular and fun. It also can be useful as a training tool. On the other hand, blitz can reinforce bad habits by cultivating sloppy thinking and rewarding reckless play. Blitz chess is characterized by blunders.

Today, while watching game three of the World Championship between challenger Sergey Karjakin and reigning World Champion Magnus Carlsen, I played a few blitz games on Chess.com. Two of my wins featured successful mating attacks. These were successful because my opponents' errors matched my own.

Internet Opponent (1853) -- Stripes,J (1883) [A22]
Live Chess Chess.com, 14.11.2016

Black to move

11...Bf5+ 12.Kb3 Na5+ 13.Ka4?

13.Kb4 minimalizes Black's advantage

13...b6–+ 14.b4 Nb7

14...Bc2#

If I cannot find checkmate in one, maybe I should find a new hobby.

15.Ba6?

15.Kb3 and White's king is safe.

Black to move

15...Kb8?

15...Bc2+ 16.Kb5 Rd5+ 17.Kc6 Ba4+ 18.Bb5 Bxb5#.

16.Bb2?

16.Kb3 again leaves Black with a minimal advantage.

16...Bc2+

Finally, I find my way.

17.Kb5 Nd6+ 18.Kc6 Be4# 0–1

This flawed miniature could be useful instruction for beginners learning checkmate patterns, but it is nothing to brag about for the winner. Both players seem overrated.

Stripes,J (1899) -- Internet Opponent (1946) [B32]
Live Chess Chess.com, 14.11.2016

White to move

17.Rxf7!

This beautiful strike suggests that I see the checkmate in six, or at least that I recognize a familiar pattern. I have certainly seen many chess problems with sacrifices of a rook on f7 in similar positions.

17...Kxf7 18.Qxh7+ Ke6 19.Qxg6+ Kd7

19...Kxe5 20.Re1+ Qe3 21.Rxe3+ Kf4 22.Qg3#.

20.Bf5+

My move is clearly winning, but why not deliver checkmate immediately: 20.Qd6#. I had about two minutes left in a three minute game. There was no reason not to slow down and find the checkmate. Instead, I'm playing by instinct, making moves that might be good in similar positions. That is the sort of poor thinking that blitz cultivates.

20...Kd8 21.Qf6+??

21.Qd6+ finishes things 21...Bd7 22.Qxd7#.

Black to move

21...Re7??

21...Kc7 22.Qf7+ Kd8 23.Qf6+ and a draw by repetition is White's best option.

22.Qf8+ Kc7 23.Qxe7+ Kb8 24.Qd6+

Black to move

24...Qc7

24...Kb7 25.e6 Rb8 26.Re1+-.

25.Rb1+ Bb7 26.Qf8+ 1–0

White delivers checkmate next move, so Black resigned.

Beat Carlsen

This position arose in Aronian -- Carlsen, Stavanger 2016. Carlsen has just played 26...Qxe5, an uncharacteristic error. Aronian found the necessary continuation. The game was published as Chess Informant 128/1, the first in the Games section (see "Determination" for more on this issue).

White to move

Mamedyarov -- Caruana, Tata Steel 2016

Can Fabiano Caruana catch Carlsen?

With three rounds to play, Fabiano Caruana stands one-half point behind Magnus Carlsen in the Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zee. In today's games, Carlsen has White against Hou Yifan. She opted for a Petroff Defense, which often functions well as a drawing weapon. Caruana has the Black pieces against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and played the Sicilian Defense. Mamedyarov opted for the Alapin variation.

When I awoke this morning, the games had been going for nearly two hours. My morning begins with making coffee, feeding dogs, and creating the beginning of this blog post. Once I am caught up with the action in the Netherlands, I will attempt to follow the games live and record my observations here through frequent updates.

Mamedyarov,Shakhriyar (2747) -- Caruana,Fabiano (2787) [B22]
78th Tata Steel GpA Wijk aan Zee (11), 29.01.2016

1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.Nf3 e6 5.d4 cxd4 6.cxd4 d6

White to move

7.Bd3

The fourth most popular move with just over 300 games in my database. Mamedyarov asks Caruana, "just how deep is your preparation in this line that is new to both of us?"

7.Bc4 leads in popularity.

7...dxe5

A few dozen reference games. Only one with a player above 2600.

8.dxe5 Nb4

Sam Shankland has played this move.

9.Be4 Qxd1+ 10.Kxd1 Nd7

Reference Game:
Fruebing,Thomas (2187) -- Shankland,Samuel L (2539) [B22]
Dresden ZMD op 20th Dresden (1), 06.08.2011
10...N8a6 11.a3 Nc5 12.Nc3 Nxe4 13.Nxe4 Nd5 14.Nd4 Bd7 15.Bg5 h6 16.Bh4 Rc8 17.Rc1 Rxc1+ 18.Kxc1 Nf4 19.Bg3 Nd3+ 20.Kc2 Nc5 21.Nc3 Be7 22.b4 Na4 23.Ne4 0–0 24.Rc1 Nb6 25.Nc5 Bxc5 26.bxc5 Rc8 27.Kb3 Nd5 28.Kb2 Bc6 29.Kb3 Kf8 30.a4 a6 31.h4 Ke7 32.Bh2 h5 33.g3 Kd7 34.Bg1 Kc7 35.f4 Ne7 36.Rc3 Rd8 37.Bf2 Be4 38.Rc1 Nc6 39.Kc3 Rd5 40.Nxc6 Rd3+ 41.Kc4 Kxc6 42.Rb1 Ra3 43.Rb6+ Kc7 44.Rd6 Rxa4+ 45.Kb3 Ra1 46.Bd4 Rb1+ 47.Bb2 Bd5+ 48.Kc2 Be4+ 49.Kb3 a5 50.Ka2 a4 51.Rd4 Re1 52.Bc3 Re2+ 53.Rd2 Bd5+ 54.Kb2 Re3 55.f5 a3+ 56.Kc2 Be4+ 57.Kb3 a2 0–1

White to move

There are still four games in my database with this position.

11.Bd2N a5 12.a3 Nc5 13.axb4 Nxe4

Black has created a minor piece imbalance.

14.Be1 b6 15.Nc3 Nxc3+ 16.Bxc3

White could undouble his pawns, but that would give Black a passed pawn and White's c-pawn would be backwards. The doubled b-pawns have strength.

16...a4 17.Nd2 Bb7 18.f3 Bd5 19.Kc1

Black to move

19...b5 20.b3 a3

Caruana has a passed pawn, but any hopes it cherishes of promotion are in the distant future.

21.Kb1 Be7 22.Ka2

The king blockades the passer, freeing White's rook for action.

22...O-O 23.Rac1

Black to move

Caruana has a achieved a middlegame with dynamic prospects to create winning chances.

I was looking at 23...Ra4 to pile on the b4 pawn, but 24...Bxb4 25.Bxb4 Rxb4 drops the a-pawn. Bad ideas are the curse of the class player. On the other hand, keeping the a-pawn on the board ties down one of Black's rooks. What else can he do?

23...Rfc8 24.Nb1 Bg5

Attack the rook. That's what Black can do.

25.Bd2 Rxc1!

Mamedyarov was ahead a few minutes on the clock until the amount of time that he spent on this position. While he thought, I looked at some tactical threats that Black might have in mind. Once I concluded that they did not work, they were played rapidly on the board.

26.Rxc1

Black to move

26...Bxb3+

That's the move I was looking at!

27.Kxb3 a2 28.Na3

When I found this move, I concluded that Black's combination failed. Somehow I overlooked that White's bishop on d2 was now undefended and that losing the a-pawn did not eliminate all of Black's winning chances. There are other vulnerable pawns in White's position. On the other hand, Black must watch his back rank.

28...Bxd2 29.Ra1 Bf4 30.h3 Bxe5 31.Rxa2 Rb8

White to move

32.Rc2

Nxb5 is threatened.

32...Bd6

Black can block a check, so the pawn is safe for now. With most of White's pawns on light squares, the bishop has few targets. But the crucial pawn is on a dark square. The pawns for both players on the kingside are mobile. In this position, the bishop is still a better piece that the knight.

Black is one pawn ahead.

33.Rc6 Be7 34.Rc7 Bf8

34...Bd6 might lead to a repetition, but one repetition gets closer to the time control.

35.Ra7 g6

Black's king gets some air.

36.Ra5

Black to move

Black cannot keep the b-pawn.

36...Rd8

But, an active rook is essential in this endgame and White has other pawns that can be threatened. Will Black be forced to give up the bishop to stop White's b-pawn?

Hou and Carlsen are still playing, but the commentators think that it is headed to a draw.

37.Rxb5 Rd2 38.Rb8

Black to move

38...Kg7

This move may have been necessary. If 38...Rxg2 39.Rxf8 Kxf8 40.b5 and White's pawn will promote.

39.Nc4 Rxg2 40.b5 Rg1 41.Rxf8! Kxf8 42.b6

Black to move

Uh-oh. Caruana is in trouble. How will he stop that pawn? Caruana will be fighting for a draw. Meanwhile, Carlsen continues to force Hou to play chess. That game is not drawn yet.

The commentators are convinced that Black must play 42...Rd1. It seems to me that 42...Rg5 might be worth considering. In any case, Caruana is using a lot of time to think. His tournament hangs in the balance. If he cannot draw this game, Carlsen will be out of reach.

After a little more than 30 minutes:

42...Rg5

White's king and knight will work together to try and prevent the rook's exchange for the pawn.

43.Kb4 Rg1

Now Mamedyarov is thinking. Watching the live video feed, I see Wei Yi stop by to look at the game, Then Carlsen came by. This game is drawing some interest. It is a significant game for the final standings, and it is also an interesting ending.

44.Nd2

White keeps the rook off b1. Now what can Black do?

44...Rd1 45.b7 Rxd2 46.b8Q+

Black to move

White must win this ending. Or, can Black construct a fortress?

46...Kg7 47.Qe5+ Kg8 48.Qb8+ Kg7 49.Qe5+ Kg8 50.Qb8+ 1/2-1/2

I am surprised at this draw. But perhaps Black could have created a fortress with his king on g7 and the rook shuffling among d5, f5, and h5. On the other hand, in such a position White would checkmate with king on e7 and queen on f8. The fortress might not be possible.

Carlsen won his game. Caruana falls a full point behind the leader.

Navara -- Caruana, Tata Steel 2016

At the Tata Steel Masters Tournament in Wijk aan Zee, David Navara assisted Magnus Carlsen today. After an opening novelty, Navara maintained pressure against Fabiano Caruana throughout the game. Caruana had several opportunities to maintain equality, but his position proved difficult to play and Navara won a nice ending.

Vasily Smyslov has been credited with the assertion, "I will make 40 good moves and if you are able to do the same, the game will end in a draw." After winning the World Championship, Magnus Carlsen stated that his plan had been to make "40 to 50 good moves in every game" ("Magnus Carlsen: My goal was to play 40 to 50 good moves in every game").

Emanuel Lasker made a strong impression upon me with his annotations to his loss against Harry Nelson Pillsbury in Nuremburg, 1896. He was honest about his own mistakes. Also, in the critical middlegame position, he noted that he had presented a problem to Pillsbury.

Black wants to set White a task. The situation merits attention. Black has a pawn plus, an immediate danger is not apparent. If White does not threaten, Black fortifies his position.
Lasker's Manual of Chess (1947), 247.

Mulling over this statement, I developed the understanding that a chess player's job was to set problems for the opponent. If all of these problems are solved well, the game should be equal and the result may end in a draw. Navara managed to set problems for Caruana. The first problem resulted from an error, but Caruana missed his chance for an advantage. Then, Navara's pressure led to further inaccuracies and a difficult position. Even the, perhaps Caruana could have held until a critical error in a difficult position. Once he had a clear adantage, Navara demonstrated precise technique.

Navara,David (2730) -- Caruana,Fabiano (2787) [E39]
Tata Steel Masters Wijk aan Zee (7), 24.01.2016

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0–0 5.Nf3 c5 6.dxc5 Na6 7.g3 Nxc5 8.Bg2 Nce4 9.0–0 Nxc3 10.bxc3 Be7 11.e4 d6 12.e5 dxe5 13.Nxe5 Qc7 14.Qe2 Nd7 15.Bf4 Nxe5 16.Bxe5 Bd6 17.Rfe1 Rb8 18.Rad1 Bxe5 19.Qxe5 Qxe5 20.Rxe5 b6 21.c5 f6 22.cxb6 axb6

White to move

23.Re2N

23.Re4 e5 24.Rb4 Be6 25.Rd6 Kf7 26.Ra4 Ke7 27.Rc6 Bd7 28.Ra7 Ra8 29.Rcc7 Rxa7 30.Rxa7 Kd6 31.Rb7 b5 32.Bf1 Rc8 33.Bxb5 Bxb5 34.Rxb5 Rxc3 35.Rb7 g5 36.Rb6+ Ke7 37.Ra6 f5 38.h4 ½–½ Ankit,R (2494) -- Khademalsharieh,S (2378), Doha QAT 2014.

23...Kf7 24.f4

"I miscalculated." Navara

I found Navara's postgame commentary interesting. It is available on Livestream for those who missed the broadcast. He describes his feelings during the game (annoyed with Caruana's inaccuracies), lines that he calculated for both players, and several fantasy positions that could be included in instructional collections for beginners. Yasser Seirawan conducted the interview.

24...e5 25.fxe5?

25.Bd5+ is still equal 25...Kg6 26.Be4+ f5 27.Bc6 e4 28.Rd6+ Kf7 (28...Kh5 29.Bb5).

25...Bg4 26.e6+ Kg6

26...Bxe6 27.Rde1 Rfe8?

Analysis diagram

After 27...Rfe8?

28.Rxe6 Rxe6 29.Bd5+- a line for the tactics books for beginners, according to Navara.

27.Be4+

Black to move

27...f5?!

"Maybe that was too ambitious?" Seirawan
"Yes." Navara

27...Kh6 28.Rde1 Bxe2 29.Rxe2 Rbc8 30.Bd5 Rc7 (30...Rxc3? is not possible (Navara) 31.e7 Re8 32.Bf7) 31.c4 and perhaps White has compensation for the exchange. Black at least would be the one pressing for advantage.

28.e7

28.Rd6? Rf6 Navara and Black is better.

28...Bxe2 29.Rd6+ Kg5

29...Rf6 30.Rd8 Bb5 31.Bd5 "Black is completely dominated." Navara

Stockfish 7 thinks the position is equal after 31...Rb7 32.Bxb7 Kf7 33.Rd5 Bc6 34.Bxc6 Rxc6 35.Rxf5+ Kxe7.

30.exf8R Rxf8 31.Bd5 Rf6 32.Rd7 Kh6 33.Kf2

This position should be equal

33...Bb5 34.Rc7

Black to move

34...Rd6

34...f4 "looked logical to me." Navara 35.g4 Bd3 (35...g5 36.Be4).

35.c4 Be8 36.Rc8 Bd7

36...Ba4 "still fine" Navara 37.Ke3 Kg5 38.Rc7 (38.Kd4 Rh6 "My pawns become weak." Navara) 38...Rd7 39.Rxd7 Bxd7 should be a draw. Black can exchange bishop for queenside pawns and f-pawn for White's g-pawn and White's bishop is on the wrong color squares.

37.Rd8

Navara had been happy to make a draw up until this point, but now felt that had some chances. Objectively, the position may be equal, but Black's position is unpleasant. Neither player's errors so far have been fatal

Black to move

37...Kg6 38.Ke3 Kf6 39.Kd4 

39.Rf8+ Ke5 40.Rf7 Be6= Navara.

39...Ke7

White's pieces seem a little more active

40.Rg8 Rg6 41.Ke5

"I hoped to put Black into zugzwang. It's not so easy for him to make a useful move."

Black to move

41...Rg5

Caruana played correctly, according to Navara.

41...h5 initiates another line that Navara offered for the beginner's books. 42.Rh8 Rg5 43.Bf3 Be8?? (43...f4+)

Analysis diagram

After 43...Be8??

44.Rxe8+ Kxe8 45.Kf4+-

42.Rb8

Navara considered 42.Rh8 Rh5 43.h4 Rh6 44.Rg8 Rg6 45.h5 Offering Black a chance to go wrong. Rg5 (45...Rxg3?? 46.h6 Re3+ 47.Kf4 Rh3 48.Rxg7+ Kd6 49.Rxh7+-).

42...Rg6

42...h5? 43.Bf3 Be8 44.Rxe8+ Kxe8 45.Kf4 Rg4+ (45...Rg6 46.Bxh5) 46.Bxg4 fxg4 47.Kg5+-.

43.Rh8 Rh6 44.h4 Be6 45.Ra8 Bd7 46.Rh8 Be6 47.a4

Black to move

47...Bd7

47...Bxd5 48.cxd5 Rh5 49.Kf4 Rh6 50.Kxf5 and White has a promising rook ending.

48.Ra8 Rg6 49.Ra7

Black to move

49...Rxg3?

Finally, Caruana makes a significant error.

49...Kd8 50.h5 Rh6 51.Bf3 g5 seems equal.

50.a5!

50.Bc6 Rd3 "should be fine for Black." Navara.

50...bxa5 51.c5 Kd8

51...Rg6 52.c6 Rd6 53.cxd7 Rxd7 54.Rxa5+- (54.Rxd7+= wrong bishop).

52.h5

Preventing the rook's return to g6.

52...f4 53.Kd6 Bc8 

53...Rd3 54.Rxd7++-

54.c6

Black to move

54...Rg5

54...Rd3 55.Rxg7 (55.c7+ Ke8 56.Ra8 Rxd5+ 57.Kxd5 Kd7) 55...Rxd5+ 56.Kxd5+-.

55.Bf7 1–0

Checkmate is coming.

Chess is a game. Even a top player forced to play for several hours in an unpleasant position may eventually crack and give the game to the other player.