Raymond Keene

White to play. This position is from King-Howell, Staunton Memorial, London 2003. Can you spot White’s fine finish to the attack?   Because of the Christmas printing schedule, we regret that this is not a prize puzzle.   Last week’s solution 1 ...

This year’s London Classic tournament, organised by the indefatigable Malcolm Pein, who also heads up the charity Chess in Schools and Communities, is composed of several sections. The main group is graced by the presence of numerous elite international and British grandmasters, notably Viswanathan Anand, fresh from his title defence against Magnus Carlsen. All the action can be followed on www.londonchessclassic.com.   This week I pay tribute to historical chess events in the capital, starting with a victory from the London tournament of 1851, the first ever major international chess tournament, by the celebrated historian Henry Buckle.

Magnus Carlsen has become the 16th world chess champion, taking the title with three wins, seven draws and no losses, the most convincing win in a title match since Capablanca defeated Lasker in 1921. Norway’s Prime Minister, Erna Solberg, congratulated the new champion on live TV, Scandinavian Airlines decorated a plane in chessboard livery in Carlsen’s honour, while Norway in general erupted in wild jubilation. I left the match last week before games seven and eight, which resulted in steady draws, then in game 9, on the precipice of defeat, Anand went for the jugular.   Anand-Carlsen; Chennai (Game 9) 2013   (diagram 1) In the above position, with chances on a knife edge, Anand risked all with 27 Rf4. After 27 ...

As predicted last week, the samurai standoff between Anand and Carlsen was swiftly shattered. After quiet draws in games one and two, Anand missed a golden opportunity in game three, while Carlsen returned the compliment in game four. Then Carlsen struck, cutting Anand down in two consecutive endgames which the young Norwegian handled with awesome clinical precision.   Carlsen-Anand: World Championship (Game 3), Chennai 2013   Here Anand continued 29 ... Bd4 30 Re2 c4 31 Nxe6+ fxe6 32 Be4 cxd3 33 Rd2 Qb4 34 Rad1 Bxb2 35 Qf3 Bf6 36 Rxd3 Rxd3 37 Rxd3 and the game was soon drawn. If Anand wanted to play to win he had to try 29 ... Bxb2 30 Rae1 Rb6 31 Bd5 and now 31 ... Bd4 when it is not clear how White can continue in order to justify the pawn deficit.

In Kurosawa’s samurai warrior classic Sanjuro, the hero, a wandering Ronin played by Toshiro Mifune, ends the film in a face-off with his mortal enemy Hanbei Muroto. For a long moment the two martial swordsmen face each other in total immobility. Then, in a flash, a movement known by Samurai as Debana-Waza, Mifune slices his opponent in two, creating a violent fountain of blood.   There is an analogy to be made with the world chess championship, currently in progress in Chennai. After two quiet draws, the players are in a Debana-Waza state of immobile preparation, while awaiting the sudden stroke that will break the deadlock and propel one of the two into the lead.

Magnus Carlsen’s world title challenge to Vishy Anand commences on Saturday 9 November and continues to the end of this month. The age gap between the young challenger and the veteran champion is 21 years; such an age disparity has not been seen since the 1981 clash between Karpov and Korchnoi (a 20-year age gap) and Tal v. Botvinnik in 1961 (a 25-year gap). Curiously, reversing the customary narrative of the rising fresh talent, in both of those instances the older man was the challenger.   This week, the game which clinched the title for 50-year-old challenger Mikhail Botvinnik in 1961, and a puzzle showing 50-year-old Korchnoi succumbing to 30-year-old Karpov.

Magnus Carlsen has risen to achieve the highest ever chess rating. He ascended to 2872 on the rankings, which compares with 2851 for Kasparov, 2785 for Bobby Fischer and 2817 for Viswanathan Anand, the reigning champion. Carlsen commences his multi-million-dollar challenge for the world chess title against Anand in Chennai on 9 November. Carlsen is the firm favourite, with the betting odds clearly in his favour — he is being offered at 1/3 with Anand at 2/1. But for all the impressive statistics, he does have one Achilles heel, namely a certain vulnerability when facing White’s most aggressive first move, 1 e4.

Magnus Carlsen is seeking to become the 16th world chess champion in a line that includes such giants as Bobby Fischer, Boris Spassky and Garry Kasparov. The $5 million World Chess Championship will be a clash between the reigning Indian world champion Viswanathan Anand (defending champion from the World Chess Championship 2012 and twice winner of the coveted Sportsman of the Year title in India) and the young Norwegian challenger. It will be held under the auspices of Fidé, the World Chess Federation, from 9 to 28 November in Chennai. There will be 12 games — one per day, with days off for rest — plus a 13th and final shoot-out day on 28 November if the championship is tied after 12 games.

Andrew Paulson, an American who lives in London, has been responsible for a remarkable chess revolution over the past year. He commissioned a YouGov study which showed that more than 600 million people worldwide regularly play chess. Paulson proceeded to raise sponsorship funds to stage two of the best chess tournaments ever held in London — and all within a matter of months. These were the London Grand Prix and the Candidates qualifier, to determine the challenger for the world title match which starts in a few weeks. Almost every grandmaster from the current elite — Carlsen, Kramnik, Svidler, Ivanchuk, Gelfand — was present in one or both of these two extraordinary competitions.

Former world champion Garry Kasparov has announced that he will stand for president of Fidé, the World Chess Federation, next year. He is challenging the incumbent, the colourful Kirsan Ilumzinov, former president of Kalmykia. The adjective ‘colourful’ is very much an understatement. An openly declared friend of Saddam Hussein and Colonel Gaddafi, it looked like the death knell for President Assad, when Kirsan popped up in Damascus to discuss the future of schools chess in Syria. So far, though, Assad has escaped the curse of Kirsan. The incumbent also makes no secret of the fact that he is an alien abductee, who could have graced an episode of The X Files.

Grandmasters Pal Benko and Viktor Korchnoi have worn dark glasses to counter perceived hypnotic influence during games. In the recent Sinquefield tournament in St Louis, Hikaru Nakamura resorted to the same measure against Magnus Carlsen. In the past Naka has fared badly against Carlsen, but this time he held the draw. Maybe there is something in it... St Louis, by the way, is Carlsen’s last public preparation before his world title challenge to Anand next month.   Carlsen-Nakamura: Sinquefield Cup, St Louis 2013   Although Black has a slight material advantage, chances are balanced and neither side can make progress.