Norway Chess 2021, Final Round: Carlsen First, Firouzja Second

The champ is the champ for a reason. Magnus Carlsen won the 2021 Norway Chess tournament, and while his play in the second half of the event was very good it wasn't an easy win. Richard Rapport played very well through the first seven rounds, and Alireza Firouzja came on like a freight train in the end. But overall, Carlsen played the best chess and enjoyed the most consistent results. He won four classical games in a row in rounds 6-9, and in five of the six remaining rounds drew the classical game and triumphed in Armageddon. He only lost one game in the entire event, a classical game against Sergey Karjakin in round 5.

Entering today's round a classical win would clinch tournament victory, but with Black against Ian Nepomniachtchi he only managed a draw. A win in the Armageddon game gave him 19.5 points, which meant that a win by Rapport in his classical game against Firouzja would let him catch Carlsen and force a playoff.

It didn't happen. Firouzja came up with a fascinating exchange sac in a Rossolimo sideline that gave him a huge lead in development and a dangerous initiative. Rapport had a way to bail out early that he may have considered and rejected as too drawish, and in the complications that followed soon went astray and lost. It was a nice one-off idea by Firouzja, and it gave him a fourth win in a row. He leapfrogged Rapport and finished in clear second, a point and a half behind Carlsen. Both he and Carlsen finished with 6.5/10 in their classical games (on traditional scoring), but Carlsen had more success in his Armageddon games than Firouzja did. One never knows how the later rounds of a tournament would have gone, given changes in the earlier rounds, but if Firouzja had drawn his classical game with Carlsen in round 6 (which could very easily have happened) and subsequent rounds went the same way, the youngster would have finished ahead of the champ - even if he had lost their subsequent Armageddon game. (On the other hand, Carlsen would have had to play for a win against Nepo in the last round, and who knows - maybe he'd have achieved it.)

Anyway, "if" doesn't put food on the table (unless one is Rudyard Kipling), so Firouzja will have to content himself with an excellent, well-deserved second. His win against Rapport, with my notes, is here. And these are the final standings. (Remember, it's 3 points for a win in the classical game and 0 for a loss, while a draw is worth one point to each player with an additional half-point available to the winner of the Armageddon game [or to Black, in case it's a draw].)

1. Carlsen 19.5 (of a possible 30)
2. Firouzja 18
3. Rapport 16.5
4. Nepomniachtchi 12
5. Karjakin 10
6. Tari 7

Norway Chess 2021, Round 9: Carlsen Wins Again, Leads

Remember, folks: when a streaky player is down, you've got to keep him down. In the first half of this year's edition of the Norway Chess tournament, Magnus Carlsen wasn't playing particularly well, with four draws and a loss in the classical games. Then, with a win in round 6, it was as if a light switch was flipped on, and now he has won four in a row and has finally vaulted into the lead.

Today's victim was the player who conquered him in round 5, Sergey Karjakin. In fact, Carlsen didn't start this game very well, and was much worse if not lost in the early middlegame. But he defended well, and Karjakin couldn't figure things out. Things went from bad to worse for Carlsen's 2016 challenger, and the champ brought home the full point - or rather, the full three points, bringing his tournament total to 18 points of a possible 27.

Richard Rapport could have kept a half point lead with a win over Ian Nepomniachtchi, but he got nothing with the white pieces and the players repeated moves while still in the opening. Rapport had better chances in the Armageddon game, but a complicated, up-and-down battle finished in Nepo's favor. Rapport got one point for the draw, Nepomniachtchi a point and a half for the draw and the Armageddon win.

Rapport is thus a point and a half behind Carlsen going into the last round, which means that there are several ways that he could catch or even pass Carlsen. If Carlsen loses his classical game against Nepo, then if Rapport defeats Alireza Firouzja in their classical game, Rapport wins the tournament, full stop. If Carlsen loses his classical game and Rapport draws his classical game and wins the Armageddon game, they finish in a tie and go to a playoff. If Carlsen draws his classical game, Rapport has to win his classical game. Assuming the latter, then Carlsen would have to win his Armageddon game to force a playoff; otherwise, he'd finish half a point behind Rapport.

All of these scenarios rely upon Rapport having some degree of success against Firouzja, but he too has his hopes, slim though they are. Critically, he had to beat Aryan Tari today, and with his third classical win in a row he did so, reaching 15 points. So if he can beat Rapport with the white pieces in the classical game, and Carlsen loses to Nepo, then there would be a Carlsen-Firouzja playoff. Given how poorly Nepomniachtchi has played the last few rounds, this seems unlikely, but if there's any game he'll be motivated for it's this one - and he'll have White. Stay tuned.

Last round pairings:

• Nepomniachtchi (11) - Carlsen (18)
• Firouzja (15) - Rapport (16.5)
• Karjakin (8.5) - Tari (6)

Norway Chess, Round 8: Carlsen Defeats Rapport

That Magnus Carlsen guy is pretty good. Three rounds ago, he was tied for next-to-last place, and now he's only half a point out of first in the Norway Chess tournament. He won his third classical game in a row, this time against tournament leader Richard Rapport; he's looking like a boss. Rapport has played very well all tournament, and even in this game he only made one real error, and this after suffering under pressure for hours and hours. So we shouldn't assume that Rapport will be passed by the world champion, but he will have to play great chess to keep the lead.

Meanwhile, Carlsen's challenger seems to be wearing cement shoes. Despite having the white pieces against the tournament's (by far) bottom seed and (by far) tailender, Aryan Tari, Ian Nepomniachtchi was utterly outplayed. He played a stunningly bad game for a player of his super-elite caliber.

Finally, Alireza Firouzja made it three decisive classical games in the round, as he defeated Sergey Karjakin with the black pieces. Karjakin essayed a fascinating anti-Najdorf idea, but quickly went wrong - badly wrong. 10.Nh4 was a misstep, and 16.Ned5 was a blunder. It was a good game by Firouzja, who leapfrogged Nepo into third place. As for Karjakin, he, like Nepo, was almost unrecognizable.

Today's games, with my comments, are here. I won't rehearse the scoring system - you can see my previous entries on the event for the details - but will give the round 9 pairings, with player scores in parentheses:

• Carlsen (15) - Karjakin (8.5)
• Rapport (15.5) - Nepomniachtchi (9.5)
• Tari (6) - Firouzja (12)

Norway Chess, Rounds 6 & 7: Carlsen Awakens, but Rapport Keeps Winning

Good news for Magnus Carlsen fans: after a listless first half of the Norway Chess tournament (four draws and a loss in classical chess), he has won his first two games in the second cycle (against Alireza Firouzja and Aryan Tari) and has jumped from a tie for fourth into clear second. And Carlsen fans with a touch of schadenfreude may also take a little perverse pleasure in his rival's difficulties: Ian Nepomniachtchi was in clear second at the halfway point, but after a draw and an Armageddon loss to Sergey Karjakin in round 6 and a loss to Firouzja in round 7, he finds himself in third, barely ahead of Firouzja and Karjakin.

So from the standpoint of Carlsen's form and confidence heading into the world championship match in November, things are looking up for the champ. As far as tournament victory is concerned, however, he's still on the outside looking in, as he remains three and a half points behind Richard Rapport. Rapport has also won his first two games in the second cycle - over Tari and Karjakin - and has been screaming up the rating list to #6 in the world. It's odd that a player of his caliber has flown under the radar the way he has, but if he finishes with a victory in the tournament, that will likely change.

Tomorrow's (Wednesday's) game could decide matters. He will have the black pieces against Carlsen, and a win would clinch at least a tie for first - only Nepomniachtchi could tie him in that cases, and only if he won his last three games while Rapport lost his last two. Granted, a win against Carlsen is a tall order, much more so with Black, but even a draw, regardless of the Armageddon result, would leave him a big favorite to win the event.

We'll see; here are tomorrow's pairings. (A reminder: a player gets 3 points for a win in the classical game, 1 for a draw, and 0 for a loss; if the game is drawn, the players have an Armageddon game with the same colors, with the winner (or Black, in case of a draw) receiving an additional half a point.)

• Carlsen (12) - Rapport (15.5)
• Nepomniachtchi (9.5) - Tari (3)
• Karjakin (8.5) - Firouzja (9)

Norway Chess, Round 5: Karjakin Beats Carlsen in Classical

Coming into round 5 (of 10) of this year's Norway Chess tournament, Magnus Carlsen wasn't leading, but he had at least won every round. All his classical games were drawn, and he won both Armageddon games with White and drew both Armageddons with Black. Perhaps he would have drawn another Armageddon game with Black today, against Sergey Karjakin, but his erstwhile world championship match opponent "forgot" the script and won the classical game.

Carlsen had no problems in the opening, as he was well-prepared against the 7.Nd5 anti-Sveshnikov line Fabiano Caruana played against Carlsen in their 2018 world championship match. If anything, he had the advantage, and starting to feel frustrated by his lack of activity Karjakin uncorked the nice exchange sac with 23.Rac1 followed by 24.Rc6. Black should have said "Thanks, but no thanks", and kept the advantage. Once Carlsen grabbed the material Karjakin's position came to life, and soon he was much better. (One critical question, however, is what Karjakin would have played after 26...Rxa4. In the postgame interview with Judit Polgar, he gave a bizarre line: 27.Nc3 Rc4 28.Qxb5?? While watching this I wondered what was wrong with 28...Rxc3 - 29.bxc3 Bxf2+ followed by 30...Qxb5 is game over - and the answer is, of course, nothing; it's an elementary tactic. But I doubt that Karjakin really intended to do that; he was probably having a hard time remembering what he thought about the particular position, and may have mixed up his real plans with something he intended in some similar situation. Whatever the story, 26...Rxa4 would have been better than Carlsen's 26...Nd4.)

As noted before the long parenthetical, Karjakin was soon better, and while his subsequent play wasn't flawless, it was good enough and certainly better than his opponent's. There was one very nice finesse at the end, spotlighted by Karjakin after the game. After Carlsen's 47...Rxd3 the obvious move is 48.c7, but after 48...Rxb3! 49.c8Q Rxb5 Black has a fortress, and will draw by shuttling his rook back and forth from f5 to h5 and back again. Therefore, White played 48.b6! Rxb3 49.b7 Rb6 and now 50.h5! gxh5 51.Kh3 Rxc6 52.b8Q. Black is a pawn up, relative to the 48.c7 line, but what matters is that there's no fortress. The ...Rf5-h5-f5-h5 idea has been taken away, and Black won't have a ...Rg6-e6-g6-e6 fortress either, as White will take it away with f4-f5 at some point. Carlsen could have survived a while longer before his h- and f-pawns would have dropped, but as the technical degree of difficult for White was very low he gave up just two moves later.

Carlsen therefore not only failed to gain ground on Richard Rapport and Ian Nepomniachtchi, but fell behind Sergey Karjakin as well. He was even caught by Alireza Firouzja, who won one-sidedly after Aryan Tari met Firouzja's blunder with a bigger one of his own. Firouzja, with White, came out of the opening with an advantage, but by the time of 24...Qb6 the position was equal. Firouzja's 25.Kh1 was a serious error, giving Black a big, possibly winning advantage after 25...Bc4. Instead, Tari's 25...Ng6?? not only missed his chance, but left him with a nearly-lost position after 26.Qxe8+. Soon it was clearly lost, and Firouzja converted his plus with energetic play.

In the battle of the players in the top two spots, Rapport remained in first, but Nepo gained ground. Nepo as White obtained a small edge out of the opening, but wasn't able to convert it into something tangible and the game quickly petered out to a draw. The Armageddon game was another story. If the classical game featured solid, frankly dry play, the Armageddon game was anything but. Nepomniachtchi played 1.e4, Rapport played 1...d5 (why?), and more or less following theory was enough to give Nepo a big advantage, which was soon decisive. Rapport tried giving up the queen for a rook and a bishop and hopes of a fortress, but White had enough resources to break through and win.

At the halfway point, then, these are the standings. Remember, the scoring system is 3 wins for a classical win, no points for a classical loss, 1 point for a classical draw with an extra half point for winning the Armageddon game or drawing that game with Black. Thus Karjakin and Firouzja gained 3 points today, Tari and Carlsen got no points, Nepomniachtchi picked up a point and a half and Rapport a single point.

1. Rapport 9.5
2. Nepomniachtchi 8.5
3. Karjakin 7
4-5. Carlsen, Firouzja 6
6. Tari 3

Round 6 Pairings:

Carlsen (6) - Firouzja (6)
Karjakin (7) - Nepomniachtchi (8.5)
Rapport (9.5) - Tari (3)

Norway Chess 2021: Carlsen Wins Every Round, but Rapport Leads the Tournament at the Rest Day

Thanks to the funny scoring system used in the Norway Chess tournament, one can "win" every round but not win the tournament. The tournament is a classical round-robin, with a twist. If someone wins the classical game, they get three points while the loser gets zero. If, however, the classical game is drawn, the players each get a full point, and then play an Armageddon game with the same colors for an additional half a point. In other words, if A beats B in the classical game while C and D draw, with C winning the Armageddon game, the scores will look like this:

A 3
C 1.5
D 1
E 0

In this event, Carlsen has been C in every round. All four of his classical games have been drawn, and he has "won" all the Armageddon games, drawing those in which he had Black and winning those in which he played White. Carlsen thus has six points out of a maximum possible of 12.

Richard Rapport, meanwhile, has drawn two Armageddon games, once with White - against Carlsen - and once with Black (against Sergey Karjakin), receiving a total of 2.5 points from those two rounds. But he has two classical wins - against Aryan Tari in round one and Alireza Firouzja in round four - and those six additional points have him in clear first with 8.5 points.

Also ahead of Carlsen is his pending challenger, Ian Nepomniachtchi, who has seven points. In rounds 2 and 3 he defeated Firouzja and Tari in Armageddon to pick up 3 points, and after losing to Carlsen in the round 4 Armageddon game yesterday (1 more point) he made up his postponed round 1 game with Karjakin today with a convincing win in classical chess (3 points) to get to 7 points overall.

It's a double round-robin (six players, ten rounds), so there's a ways to go yet. Other scores: Karjakin has 4 points, and Firouzja and Tari are tied at the bottom with 3 points apiece.

Norway Chess 2021 & Champions Showdown: Chess 9LX

Only minimal coverage today, but the events deserve mention. The more serious event is Norway Chess, which continues with its odd format. At the start of each day it seems like a normal classical tournament, but there's a twist: if the game finishes in a draw the players start over, with the same colors, and play an Armageddon game with a much shorter time control. If a player wins the classical game, he wins the round 3-0. If the game goes to Armageddon, then the players get a point each for the draw while the winner of the Armageddon (that is, the winner of the game, or the player with Black in case it ends in a draw) gets an additional half a point.

So: In round 1 Richard Rapport defeated Aryan Tari in the slow game, winning the round 3-0, while Alireza Firouzja and Magnus Carlsen drew both their classical and Armageddon games. Carlsen had Black (and was extremely fortunate to save the Armageddon game) and won that contest 1.5-1. The third game, between Ian Nepomniachtchi (due for White) and Sergey Karjakin was postponed until this weekend.

In round 2, all three classical games - Carlsen-Tari, Nepo-Firouzja, and Karjakin-Rapport were drawn. Rapport held the Armageddon game with Black, but White - Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi - won the other two games. (No luck in Carlsen's success in this round - he pounded Tari in the quick game.)

After two rounds, then, Rapport leads with 4.5 points, Carlsen is second with 3, Firouzja is in third with 2, and Tari has 1 point. Nepomniachtchi and Karjakin have only played one round, and have 1.5 and 1 point, respectively.

On to the Chess960 in St. Louis, or as they are weirdly labeling it, Chess 9LX. (Maybe they intend to use this brand name for a car at some point?) Fabiano Caruana is the leader after the three rounds of day 1, with wins over Leinier Dominguez and Peter Svidler (with more than a little luck) after a first round draw with Levon Aronian. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, and Sam Shankland are tied for second, half a point back. Garry Kasparov is participating and played well the first two rounds, starting with a solid draw with Dominguez and dominating against Wesley So before letting the latter slip out at the very end. In round 3 he was soundly beaten by Mamedyarov; hopefully he'll have more games like the first two than like the third.

The Chess960 runs through the 10th, while Norway Chess lasts much longer, until the 18th. The chess never even pauses, it seems; in fact, Carlsen's next event...starts on the 17th, one day before Norway Chess ends. Fortunately it's a team event, the European Club Cup, so his mates can hold the fort for a few days before he shows up. And then what we're all eagerly awaiting: the world championship match between Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi, starting November 24. I plan to do subscriber videos for the event, if there is an interest in my doing so. Stay tuned.