Missing Chess? Fear Not...

For those who have found the past week unbearable in the absence of some super-GM event, I have two bits of good news for you. First, there is (and has been) an event with a fair number of super-grandmasters: the European Club Cup. Players like Alexander Grischuk, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Andrey Esipenko, Sam Shankland, Peter Svidler and others are participating - including one Magnus Carlsen, though just a little. He has only played in three of the six games so far, with wins over an FM and an IM and a draw against Mamedyarov. He was lost at several stages in that game, but escaped.

Speaking of Carlsen, he'll be in action against only fellow members of the elite starting Saturday when the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour Finals get underway. Ten players are participating; in order of their tour rankings going into the event they are Carlsen, Wesley So, Levon Aronian, Teimour Radjabov, Anish Giri, Hikaru Nakamura, Vladislav Artemiev, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Mamedyarov, and Jan-Krzysztof Duda. (Chess24 gives short profiles of the players you might find interesting.) I don't recall all the details of the scoring system, but do recall that the differences in the players' total tour points going into this event gives them a headstart over their rivals if they have more tour points. Thus Carlsen, who comes into the event leading the overall tour with 339 points, gets a (nearly?) four point advantage over So, who is in second with 261. (Every 20 point advantage is good for an extra point.) The tournament isn't using 1-.5-0 scoring, if I recall correctly, so it's not quite as bad as it sounds. But it's still significant, and it is therefore hard to see Carlsen failing to win, or to see So failing to take second, as he is 91 points ahead of the third-placed Aronian. But who cares? The pleasure is in seeing them play.

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 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.

Aimchess Finals: Carlsen Defeats Artemiev to Win the Tournament

Magnus Carlsen was challenged at times by Vladislav Artemiev over the course of their two-day match, but overall he dominated on the way to victory in the 2021 Aimchess U.S. Rapid tournament. Artemiev finished in a very creditable second place, while Levon Aronian defeated Alireza Firouzja to take third.

On day 1, Carlsen got off to a 2-0 lead. In the first game, Carlsen enjoyed a long-lasting initiative with Black, and in time trouble and under heavy pressure Artemiev blundered and lost. In game 2, it was Artemiev who had the pressure most of the way, but Carlsen crawled his way out of danger. Almost out of nowhere, Artemiev had some minor technical difficulties, and his attempt to solve them resulted in a blunder that lost on the spot.

Artemiev had some time trouble issues in that game as well - and this may have been due in part to connection problems, too. If so, for once luck evened out for a player, and he was the happy recipient of a huge gift in game 3. In an equal position that seemed overwhelmingly likely to end in a draw, Carlsen started to make a move, then changed his mind and put the piece back where it started, so he could reevaluate the move and maybe choose a different one. What he didn't realize for quite some time was that he hadn't succeeded in putting the piece back to its initial square, but had moved it. This unintentional move gave up an important pawn for nothing, and Artemiev converted his advantage. He was not able to save the mini-match, however, as the fourth game finished in a well-played draw.

Artemiev therefore needed to win the second day's mini-match, but it didn't happen. In game 1, Carlsen had Artemiev under pressure for a long time, and - once again - in time trouble Artemiev made the decisive error and lost. In game 2 Carlsen made a serious misjudgment and was in trouble for a long time, and even admitted after the match that he expected to lose the game. But Carlsen was resilient and - you guessed it - Artemiev got into time trouble, and the game finished in a draw. Finally, Artemiev had to take serious risks with Black in game 3, as a single draw in the remaining two games would suffice to end the overall match in Carlsen's favor. Artemiev tried the Dragadorf, but it didn't go well. He admitting to missing Carlsen's defensive idea with 18.Bd4 (enabling him to meet ...a3 with b3 and to bring his king to a1), after which Black's attack was essentially over (and with it the game, mini-match, match, and tournament). Artemiev put up a good fight, but even if he had succeeded it would only have been enough for a draw. It didn't succeed, however, and Carlsen won day 2 with a 2.5-.5 score, winning both mini-matches.

Congrats to the world champion, who seems to be rounding into form as the world championship approaches. It will be more important to see how he does in the Norway Chess tournament starting in a couple of days. That's a classical event, and Ian Nepomniachtchi will be playing as well.

In the meantime, here are the Carlsen-Artemiev games, with my comments.

Aimchess Semis, Day 2: Carlsen, Artemiev Advance to the Finals

Two excellent semifinal matches were contested, with both taking the full four games of the second mini-match and one going to Armageddon. For world champion Magnus Carlsen, things went comparatively smoothly. He won the very first game of the day, with Black, in excellent style. He was very close to winning game 2 as well, and may have been winning at one point. Aronian found an excellent defense, however, and saved a difficult ending by the skin of his teeth. Perhaps buoyed by his narrow escape, he took the upper hand in the third game, and was probably winning that one. Unfortunately for him, his 25th move was inaccurate (25.Ne4 was better) and his 27th a mistake (the multipurpose 27.Qd3 was better, blocking the d-pawn and helping protect the kingside pawns). After that, Carlsen was fine, and the game drifted to a draw. Finally, game 4 was a nervy affair. First Carlsen was better, but then he lost control in a wildly complicated middlegame. Had Aronian played 35...Rxa8 he would have had a winning advantage (the key point was that after 35...Rxa8 36.Rxa8+ Kh7 37.Ra7 Black has 37...Qd4, maintaining what should be a decisive material plus). The game remained complicated for a few more moves - though never standing in Aronian's favor - until serious errors on moves 41 and especially 42 gave Carlsen a winning advantage he soon converted.

If that match could have gone either way, the same could be said, in spades, for the war between Vladislav Artemiev and Alireza Firouzja. Game 1 finished in a draw, but Firouzja was winning until the mistaken 42.f4, allowing Black to swap off a couple of pawns and to activate his king to draw a pawn down ending. There was no escape for Artemiev in the second game. Despite having the white pieces, he was soon in trouble, and Firouzja never gave him a chance to survive. For the first time in the overall match, Firouzja had the lead, and having gone undefeated since his loss in the first game of the first mini-match he had completely taken over the initiative. So between that, and his possession of the white pieces in game 3, you'd think this would be his chance to bring the match to a close. An understandable thought, but a mistaken one. Artemiev was better from the jump, and although his technique lapsed at a certain point he dominated most of the game and was a deserved winner. Now he had the momentum, and had a winning position in game 4...but it finished in a draw: on to the blitz tiebreaks.

Both of those games finished in draws. Firouzja had the more comfortable play in both games, but no wins were missed and the results were well-earned by both players. On to Armageddon. Artemiev chose to have White, which is, I think, the correct decision since the Meltwater Tour does not award the players a time bonus in the Armageddon once they reach move 60. If flagging is in play, then one should take the extra time. The game was decided on the board, however. Black was close to equalizing, but Artemiev always kept at least a little initiative, just enough to keep causing Black fresh problems. Starting to run short of time, Firouzja tried to open the game for complications, but his 23...e5 was a blunder: after 24.fxe5 Qe6(?) 25.g4 White won a piece for nothing, and Firouzja resigned a few moves later, after his last tactical tricks were thwarted.

And so it is a Carlsen-Artemiev final we have to look forward to. Carlsen is the favorite, obviously, but Artemiev seems to match up well enough to at least have a non-trivial chance. Let's hope so--it's always better to watch a contest that has some drama.

Aimchess Quarterfinals Finish; Semis Set

The quarterfinals are over, and we're down to the final four of Vladislav Artemiev vs. Alireza Firouzja in the battle of the youngsters, and Magnus Carlsen vs. Levon Aronian in the battle of the 30-somethings.

Firouzja had the most difficult time in the quarters, though it certainly didn't seem like it through the first five games. On day one he won the first two games against Wesley So and then clinched the first mini-match with a draw, and on day two he drew the first game and won the second, after which a single draw in the remaining two games would suffice to clinch overall match victory. It didn't happen. So crushed Firouzja in game 3 of the second mini-match and with Black in round 4 ground out a win in a rook ending to win that mini-match and force a two-game blitz playoff. In the first of those games, So enjoyed a winning advantage, but could not figure out how to put opponent away. That game finished in a draw, and in the second Firouzja bounced back to win and advance to the next round.

Artemiev had some trouble as well. After drawing with Leinier Dominguez in the first game, he lost game 2 and only drew the third game with the white pieces. No matter: he won on demand in the fourth game to split the first mini-match. On day two, the first two games were drawn, but then Artemiev won - again with Black - to take the lead. Now Dominguez would have to win on demand, with Black, to split the second mini-match and force a blitz playoff - and he came close. He revved up a dangerous attack with the sequence 21...Rc6, 22...Rh6, and 23...Rxh3, and at the end of a wonderfully complicated line found himself with a serious advantage. Unfortunately for Dominguez, his 36...Bc7 allowed Artemiev to equalize, though the position was still challenging for both sides, and then a couple of moves later 38...Qe6?? was an outright blunder. Having no competitive choice but to keep playing, Dominguez struggled all the way to move 83, but the outcome was never in doubt, and it would have required "miracles" for him to save half a point, never mind get the win he needed.

The world champion faced Jan-Krzysztof Duda, a strong and very tricky opponent for most players. For Magnus Carlsen, well, not so much. On day 1 he won games 1 and 3 with White and drew game 2 with Black to clinch the first mini-match, and on day 2 he did exactly the same thing, except that his wins in games 1 & 3 came with Black.

As for Aronian, day 1 saw four decisive battles, with Aronian winning games 1 and 3 with White, Mamedyarov winning game 2 with White, but Aronian winning game 4 with Black to take the first mini-match. On day Aronian started with a win, and clinched match victory with two draws.

So, again, it's Artemiev-Firouzja and Carlsen-Aronian, starting later today (Thursday).

Event website here.