Chess

My two previous articles dwelt on Richard Réti’s introduction of the so-called hypermodern systems. Characterised by the double fianchetto of White’s bishops, Réti swept to victory with his invention against both Bogolyubov and Capablanca, as detailed in my columns. A fortuitous coincidence with the publication of Réti: Move by Move by Thomas Engqvist (Everyman Chess) was the victory by the young Hungarian Richard Rapport against world champion Magnus Carlsen at the recent Tata Steel tournament at Wijk aan Zee in Holland.   The tournament was won by the resurgent former Philippine, now USA grandmaster, Wesley So, who appears to have become invincible in his latest competitions.

The new book by Thomas Engqvist, Réti: Move by Move (Everyman Chess), about the hypermodern leader Richard Réti, is so significant that it deserves further examination.   Perhaps Réti’s most celebrated victory came against Capablanca, who had come through his 1921 world title contest and the subsequent great tournament of London 1922 without losing a single game. When Réti defeated Capablanca with his new opening system at New York 1924, it was the first game lost by Capa in eight years. It created a sensation.

Richard Réti is one of the most fascinating figures in the history of chess thought. The author of two seminal books, Modern Ideas in Chess and Masters of the Chessboard, Réti was an expert in simultaneous blindfold chess, successfully taking on many opponents at one and the same time. In terms of his theories and games, his assertion that the centre need not be occupied by pawns must have seemed the chess equivalent of Dada to the classically minded grandmasters of his day, such as Tarrasch, Teichmann and Rubinstein. At the time it was dubbed ‘Hypermodern’ by Savielly Tartakower.

The London Classic is over with the final scores being as follows: Wesley So 6/9; Fabiano Caruana 5½; Viswanathan Anand, Vladimir Kramnik and Hikaru Nakamura 5; Anish Giri 4½; Lev Aronian, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Michael Adams 4; Veselin Topalov 2.   This result means that Wesley So not only wins the London leg of the Grand Tour, but also takes first prize in the overall contest. The Grand Tour organisers have now announced the full lineup for 2017, with the nine permanent competitors being as follows: Wesley So, Fabiano Caruana, Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Vladimir Kramnik, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Sergei Karjakin, Viswanathan Anand and Ian Nepomniachtchi.

Magnus Carlsen has retained the World Championship but only after Sergei Karjakin, the challenger, missed some glorious opportunities. In game 9 Karjakin, already a point ahead in the match, built up a formidable attacking position, only to miss the coup juste at the critical moment.   Karjakin-Carlsen, New York (Game 9) 2016 (see diagram 1)   In the diagram position, Karjakin played 39 Bxf7+ which fizzled out to a draw after 39 ... Kxf7 40 Qc4+ Kg7 41 d5 Nf5 42 Bc3+ Kf8 43 Bxa1 Nxh4+ 44 Qxh4 Qxd5 45 Qf6+ Qf7. What Karjakin missed was 39 Qb3 when all the variations work in his favour, e.g. 39 ... Nf5 40 Bxf7+ Kg7 41 Rh3 (forced) 41 ... Qe7 (threatening ...Nh4+) 42 Bg8 Nh4+ 43 Rxh4 Qxh4 44 Qf7+ Kh8 45 Qxc7 Kxg8 46 d5 which should win.

Probably the most spectacular game played in the past year was the brilliant win by Gawain Jones in the Olympiad. Gawain, a devotee of the King’s Indian Defence, succeeded in fashioning a masterpiece very much in the style of those King’s Indian heroes David Bronstein, Mikhail Tal and Leonid Stein.   Nguyen (Vietnam)-Jones (England): Baku Chess Olympiad 2016; King’s Indian Defence   1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3 Bg7 4 e4 0-0 5 Nf3 d6 6 h3 e5 7 d5 Na6 8 Be3 Nc5 9 Nd2 Nh5 This is highly unusual. In previous play, Black almost invariably secured the position of his queen’s knight with 9 ... a5.

The annual London Classic is now underway at Olympia. Understandably Magnus Carlsen, after his exertions in New York, is not competing. Nevertheless, the line-up is extremely powerful, consisting of Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Fabiano Caruana, Vladimir Kramnik, Lev Aronian, Hikaru Nakamura, Wesley So, Anish Giri, Viswanathan Anand, Veselin Topalov and our own Michael Adams. This week, a game and puzzle from previous encounters between the contestants. I have published this game before, but fresh computer analysis has revealed some exciting new possibilities.

Game eight of the World Championship in New York broke the deadlock of hard-fought draws in the first seven games. Carlsen employed a closed variation of the queen’s pawn opening which had, in the past, been popularised both by Johannes Zukertort and Akiba Rubinstein. The opening merged into a level but still fertile middlegame. At this point Carlsen overreached and after a sequence of sub-optimal moves on both sides, doubtless occasioned by time trouble, the black defence emerged victorious. Carlsen-Karjakin: World Championship, New York (Game 8) 2016; Zukertort/Rubinstein 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 d5 3 e3 e6 4 Bd3 c5 5 b3 Be7 6 0-0 0-0 7 Bb2 b6 8 dxc5 A strange choice, relinquishing his full control of e5, which is normally a key plank in the white attack. 8 ...

But yet afraid to strike, as Alexander Pope would doubtless have described the first seven games of the World Championship currently in progress in New York. It is not that there has been a dearth of opportunity, just a frustrating lack of realisation. Like Marshall Grouchy at the Battle of Waterloo, no sooner are the players presented with an opportunity for advantage than they march briskly away from the sound of the cannons. Take game five, for example.   Carlsen-Karjakin: World Championship, New York (Game 5) 2016 (see diagram 1)   Here Black has an excellent chance to exploit the windy position of White’s king with 43 ... Rh8, when the following variation is forced: 43 ... Rh8 44 Qe4 Qh6 45 Kf1 Qh1+ 46 Ke2 Bd5 47 Qf5+ Kb8 48 Qd3 Qa1.

The early games of the World Championship in New York between Magnus Carlsen and Sergei Karjakin did little to contribute to the gaiety of nations. In the first two games both contestants seemed more anxious to display their ability to avoid loss than to strive heroically for a win. If the two were ‘willing to wound, but yet afraid to strike’, their willingness was of a most muted variety.   Fortunately, there was no lack of entertainment from the parallel Champions Showdown in St Louis, which pits Veselin Topalov, Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana and Viswanathan Anand against each other in multifarious formats. Meanwhile, the European Club Cup, from which this week’s extraordinary game is taken, also showed a plethora of exciting clashes.

The World Championship in New York begins this week. In the run-up, the defending champion, Magnus Carlsen of Norway, has been the heavy favourite to retain his title against Sergei Karjakin, formerly representing the Ukraine but now playing for Russia. Their lifetime score at classical time limits, under which the New York contest will be conducted, is notably loaded in favour of the incumbent.   As a final preview, here is a win by Carlsen against the former champion Vladimir Kramnik. The notes are based on Cyrus Lakdawala’s in Carlsen: Move by Move (Everyman Chess), a useful compendium for those considering Christmas gifts for chess enthusiasts.

Last week I previewed the respective chances of world champion Magnus Carlsen and his challenger Sergey Karjakin for their forthcoming championship bout in New York. Now I take a look at what drives Magnus and what primarily distinguishes his approach to chess from that of his rival. Karjakin has a powerful, conventional style. Well versed in aggressive modern opening theory, he has a forceful, direct and elegant mode of play that owes much to Bobby Fischer. Carlsen, on the other hand, is the spiritual heir of the great Emanuel Lasker, world champion from 1894 to 1921. Lasker was no connoisseur of opening theory, but where he excelled was in juggling options to avoid any kind of clear equality. Faced with such intense psychological pressure, his opponents tended to crack.

The polls are in for next month’s big event in the USA and Magnus Carlsen has emerged the clear favourite in his world title defence against Sergey Karjakin. Indeed, the Norwegian world champion leads by five wins to one in the classical format used in New York. The match is organised by Agon and the prize fund is ‘at least one million euros’. See worldchess.com/nyc2016 for details of new technology to follow the games online, as well as New York travel packages. This week, extracts of play from previous bouts between the pair.   Karjakin-Carlsen; Norway Chess, Stavanger 2013 (see diagram 1)   White had stood well but Carlsen coordinated his forces impressively and now tears into Karjakin’s kingside. 33 ...

I first encountered the Triskelion, the traditional coat of arms of the Isle of Man, when I saw Laurence Oliver’s film of Shakepeare’s Richard III. At the crucial Battle of Bosworth, Lord Stanley, the Earl of Derby and feudal lord of the Isle of Man switches sides and betrays Richard. His three-legged triskelion banners are seen hurtling down on King Richard’s forces just before the immortal lines, ‘A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!’   The only knights in action on the Isle of Man in the past weeks have been those on the chessboard. Congratulations are due to the organisers and sponsors for attracting a hugely powerful field which included the reigning US and British champions and the better part of the gold-medal-winning US Olympiad team.

As I write, the Mikhail Tal Memorial tournament in Moscow is still underway. The Dutch grandmaster Anish Giri stormed into an early lead, winning three games out of his first five. But he was toppled when coming to grief in the following dramatic situation.   Aronian-Giri: Tal Memorial Moscow 2016 (see diagram 1)   White has sacrificed a rook but can regain material with 31 Nc6 Qb6 32 Nxb8 Qxb7 with an extra pawn. Nevertheless, the Armenian triple olympiad gold medal winner came up with something far more dashing. 31 Qxb8 Rxb8 32 Rc8+ Qd8 Obviously forced. 33 Rxd8+ Rxd8 34 Nc6 Black resigns If 34 ... Re8 35 Ne7+ Kf8 36 Nc8 sheltering the promotion square for White’s passed pawn. Or 34 ...

Mikhail Tal, the Wizard from Riga, was one of the most devastating tacticians in the history of chess. His rise to become world champion was meteoric and included an equally devastating first prize in the 1959 Candidates tournament as well as demolition of the incumbent champion Mikhail Botvinnik in their 1960 title contest.   Tal’s forte was the creation of inexhaustible attacking potential that was almost impossible to refute. Harry Golombek, then the Times chess correspondent, related an anecdote about this week’s game in his book Fourth Candidates Tournament (Hardinge Simpole): ‘Tal sacrificed a piece for an attack that certainly should not have been sufficient.

The 42nd Chess Olympiad in Baku, Azerbaijan, ended in a narrow victory for the USA. Having tied with Ukraine, the American team qualified for the gold medals by virtue of a superior tie-break. The critical factor in the American success, their first gold medals in the Olympiad since 1976, was the acquisition for the team of two superstars, namely Fabiano Caruana, formerly of Italy, and Wesley So, who had represented the Philippines. So, in particular, distinguished himself by winning a second gold medal for best performance on board three.   The top five teams were: 1.USA 2.Ukraine 3.Russia 4.India 5.Norway (England finished a respectable ninth.)   In the parallel Women’s Olympiad the top five teams were: 1.China 2.Poland 3.Ukraine 4.Russia 5.

As I write, the final results of the Baku Olympiad are still not in. England are fighting for a possible medal position. The highlight so far was our 3-1 victory against the defending gold medallists, China. The most spectacular game was Nigel Short’s complicated victory, which I analyse this week.   Li Chao-Short: Baku Olympiad 2016; Nimzo-Indian Defence   1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 Nf3 b6 5 e3 Bb7 6 Bd3 0-0 Viable alternatives are 6 ... Ne4 and 6 ... c5. 7 Bd2 d5 8 cxd5 exd5 9 0-0 Nbd7 10 Rc1 a6 11 Ne5 Re8 I have some experience of this variation. In the game Keene-Seuss, Ybbs 1968 Black continued with the less useful 11 ... Bd6 12 f4 Ne4 13 Nxe4 dxe4 14 Bc4 Nf6 15 Qb3. Short avoids playing 11 ...

The 42nd Chess Olympiad is now underway in Baku, Azerbaijan, and English grandmasters are making their best efforts to recapture the glory days of world team chess when England regularly finished in silver medal position to the mighty Soviets. After the early rounds Russia leads, with Kramnik as top board. The incumbent Chinese gold medallists are of course in contention, while the USA, already with Nakamura but strengthened by Caruana and So, is definitely among the favourites. Here are some choice positions from the opening rounds, where weaker teams face the giants.

One of the most reliable methods of frustrating chess computers is to play 1 d4 but then avoid the well-trodden paths of the Queen’s Gambit, in favour of delaying central occupation with c4. Instead white aims for an early e3, possibly supported by the queenside bishop fianchetto, or Bf4. The former is known as the Colle Attack, while the latter is called The London System. Such great masters as Zukertort, Capablanca, Alekhine and even our reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen, have used these less explored ways of entering the middlegame.