A Short Interview With Peter Heine Nielsen

Regular readers of this blog will be familiar with Jaideep Unudurti, who not only offers comments here on a regular basis, but is sometimes a featured part of the blog posts themselves. (You might remember his recent adventure playing blitz with Viswanathan Anand, for example.) This is true of this post as well, as we have here an interview with Peter Heine Nielsen, to appear in the May issue of Man's Magazine. Nielsen is a strong Danish grandmaster who worked for many years as one of Anand's seconds, but who recently helped Magnus Carlsen in the Candidates' tournament. Here, with thanks to Jaideep, is the interview (or at least parts of it - I'm not sure if there will be more when it's officially released):

This is the first WC you'll be sitting out after a long time, will you miss the excitement?

I would expect so! but the main difference will more be social actually. We are used to spending really a lot of time together in the team, and thats somehow a more drastic change.

You've seen Carlsen from his formative years, in broad terms how would you characterize him as a chess player?

He is an extremely strong practical player. in London he used all the chances he got, and that was the main difference to his competitors.  He is 22, and still not fully developed, so hard to attribute him a specific style yet.

Where do you see the battleground, what type of positions would Magnus like to see on the board, and vice versa, for Anand?

I actually think both players are so all-round, that what they really care about is the quality of their position. Maybe Magnus prefers longer technical games, and Vishy more dynamic positions, but they would both happily take a position in their opponents so-called terrain, if their position is objectively better.

Magnus has his own distinctive low-on-theory approach, is this the wave of the future?

It seems indeed that the days of big novelties are over, and that fits Magnus style well. If this is the future? Well maybe this match will tell!

Kasparov has stated his interest in assisting Carlsen. Will this be a key factor or has too much water flowed under the bridge? 

I really think the main battlefield by far will be the actual play, and that preparations, advisers etc. is secondary. Kasparov and Carlsen has worked together on several occasions, with both ups and downs. Kasparov's match experience might actually only be matched by Vishy's, and of course Magnus could greatly benefit from such advice. On the other hand one often has to find ones own individual approach to such a challenge as a WC-match. I think the chess-world can look forward to a very interesting match indeed!

Anand Loses Another Second

Two of the mainstays of world champion Viswanathan Anand's team of seconds are Peter Heine Nielsen and Rustam Kasimdzhanov. Kasimdzhanov in particular has been a huge help with Anand's work in the Semi-Slav, some of the fruit of which was seen in Anand's great win over Aronian from Wijk aan Zee earlier this year and in his two wins with the black pieces in his 2008 match with Vladimir Kramnik.

Nielsen went over to the Magnus Carlsen camp for the Candidates, however, and has agreed to not represent either player in their forthcoming title tilt, scheduled for this November. And now in a post-game press conference at Zug, Kasimdzhanov has decided to bow out as well. (HT: Jaideep)

I'm sure Anand will find some outstanding analysts to work with in preparation for the match, but there are also the issues of team chemistry and synergy, and it will be a challenge for the champion to overcome the loss of such close and effective long-term seconds. Presumably Surya Ganguly is still on the team, and I think he has worked with Radoslaw Wojtaszek before - maybe he'll join on again. It will be an interesting challenge for him, that's for sure.

Guess Who's Helping Carlsen (Again)...

Big Bad Garry (Kasparov) has already offered to help Magnus Carlsen in his preparations for the latter's forthcoming world championship match with Viswanathan Anand. (HT: Brian Gaines.) It's probably good news for Carlsen, and a bit of shrewd legacy building on Kasparov's part - both positively and negatively. Positively, he gets to take a bit more credit for helping build Carlsen into the monster he is; negatively, he helps to ensure that Anand's growing legacy doesn't eat into his own. Anand isn't likely in any case to maintain the champion's title for 15 years, as Kasparov did, nor is he likely to threaten Kasparov's peak rating record of 2851. On the other hand, Anand has won the title in three different formats, beat Vladimir Kramnik (which Kasparov of course failed to do), and has held off not only his elders and contemporaries but, with a hypothetical win over Carlsen, the next generation as well.

So it makes sense for Carlsen, whose openings are often reasonably effective from a practical standpoint but rarely an existential threat to players like Kramnik and Anand, to spend some time working with a legend of special preparation. Further, Kasparov's immense experience of pressure-packed matches will help Carlsen as well - clearly he didn't cope with that aspect of the battle as well as he could have in London. And it makes sense for Kasparov too, for reasons mentioned in the previous paragraph. (There's also what's bound to be some hefty remuneration, but as Kasparov is by all accounts a very wealthy man that can't be more than icing on the cake.)

But what about poor Anand? Should Kasparov be a polite elder statesman and leave these battles to those fighters still in the ring? And what can Anand do about this? I'm thinking there could be several silver linings for him. First, the clash of egos and approaches between Carlsen and Kasparov might prevent the young challenger from playing his best "Carlsenian" chess against the champion. Second, given the well-known and enduring enmity between Kasparov and Anand, this could motivate Anand like almost nothing else to really rise to the occasion and bring back his very best chess. Third, anti-Kasparov sentiment might turn up some surprising new volunteers for the Anand camp. I for one would love to discover that Kramnik went on to offer Anand some serious help as well. Heck, if I were strong enough I'd volunteer to help Anand prep in any way I could, gratis if possible.

Just some musings from a player motivated in part (but not only) by the wish for his generation to maintain its place at the top of the pile; the young will overthrow us soon enough! (And in turn be overthrown as well, world without end, amen.) Your thoughts?

Candidates Tournament, Final Round: Carlsen & Kramnik Both Lose; Carlsen Qualifies

It was a final round suitable for April Fool's Day. Magnus Carlsen and Vladimir Kramnik entered the final round tied for first, but with Carlsen having "tie odds". If they finished the day on the same score, Carlsen would be declared the tournament winner and qualify for a title match with Viswanathan Anand (at this point scheduled to take place this November). With Carlsen having White against Peter Svidler, it was incumbent on Kramnik to take some risks with Black to try to defeat Vassily Ivanchuk.

Of course, not all risks are created equal. Both the casino and the sucker who walks in with a system for picking "lucky numbers" are gambling, it's true. It would not violate any physical or mathematical laws if Mr. Lucky Numbers won every single game he played and eventually won the property; the odds against it, however, are so far beyond those used even for astronomical values that we can discount the possibility for all practical purposes. In reality, while Mr. LN could win some money with a little luck and the self-discipline to leave forever in that happy eventuality, the casino will always win in the long run. They are gambling on a hand-by-hand basis, but in the long run there's no gamble at all - they are essentially guaranteed to take the sucker's money.

Why the digression? Well, in addition to wishing to offer the foregoing PSA, I thought it would be an entertaining way of expressing my feelings when I Kramnik uncorked 1...d6 in response to Chuky's 1.e4. Kramnik has been trying this on occasion the past few years, in blitz games, in desperate must-win situations and occasionally against comparatively weak players in classical games, but without much success. To my mind, the Pirc fits with neither his style nor his general repertoire over the past 20 years, and its employment struck me as a desperate and negatively foreboding sign.

Sure enough, he came out of the opening in poor shape, while Carlsen, on the white side of a Ruy, didn't have a whole lot but didn't have anything to worry about, either. But then things started getting squirrely on both boards. Ivanchuk allowed Kramnik to coordinate somewhat, and then sacrificed a pawn, and then as a result Carlsen shifted from safe to risky mode against Svidler. He (Carlsen) criticized his decision to play Ng4 without first swapping on e5; had he made the preliminary exchange he felt that it would be a position he couldn't (normally) lose. Without the trade, however, the position turned extremely complicated, and Svidler did a better job of navigating those complications. By the end of the first time control - which Carlsen made with just three seconds to spare - Svidler's position was winning.

So three cheers for Kramnik and his "miraculous" comeback? Not so fast. Perhaps getting a little optimistic about the favorable trend in his game, and a little nervous about what was going on in Carlsen's battle, he decided not to be satisfied with keeping his finally decent position, but somehow got confused and mixed bad activity (the pawn sac with ...h4 in particular) and passive play on the queenside. The result? Once they too made the time control, he (Kramnik) was just as lost as Carlsen.

Both Svidler and Ivanchuk finished their mighty opponents off, leaving Carlsen victorious on tiebreaks, based on his having won more games than Kramnik. Svidler, and Levon Aronian too, thanks to a nice finish against Teimour Radjabov, finished just half a point behind the "winners", and may join in Kramnik in thoughts of what might have been, had a break here or there gone otherwise. Further off the pace, Boris Gelfand and Alexander Grischuk drew their game, and finished tied for fifth and sixth.

Final Standings:

1. Carlsen 8.5
2. Kramnik 8.5
3-4. Svidler, Aronian 8 (I believe Svidler took third on tiebreaks, for whatever that's worth)
5-6. Grischuk, Gelfand 6.5
7. Ivanchuk 6
8. Radjabov 4

Anand on the Candidates

Regular reader of this blog and intrepid reporter Jaideep Unudurti has interviewed world champion Viswanathan Anand yet again (lucky him!), this time on the subject of the upcoming Candidates. Anand doesn't pick a winners, but has some nice things to say about some of the players. Even more than that, I appreciate some of the comments he makes about the event from a fan's perspective. Some chess professionals seem to have lost that, but Anand clearly has not, and that's a good thing for him and for the game.

While you're there, you may want to look at his (Jaideep's) brief preview on the event itself.

Zurich Chess Challenge, Round 1: Two Draws

Round 1 of the Zurich Chess Challenge is history, and not the sort of history that will be studied years later. As expected, Vladimir Kramnik played something a little offbeat with White (1.Nf3 c5 2.b3), undoubtedly saving his real preparation for when it counts - next month's Candidates' tournament. Boris Gelfand didn't have much trouble with this, and were it not for the tournament rule that if players agree to a draw in fewer than 40 moves they must play an exhibition rapid game immediately afterward, they probably would have called it a day much sooner than they did. To be fair, Kramnik did try a bit, but there was little to be had.

The game between Fabiano Caruana and Viswanathan Anand was more interesting. Anand has had some trouble over the years against the 6.Be3 e5 7.Nf3 anti-Najdorf line - most recently earlier this month against Caruana in the Grenke tournament. Today he came out of the opening in good shape, and after 22...d5! he had equalized. Caruana managed to keep causing problems though, and after 31.g4! Qc8 32.Rb1! Anand had some difficulties with his semi-stranded rook on c2. Fortunately for Anand, Caruana was very short of time, and by the end of the first time control (completed after each side's 40th move) Anand wound up with an extra pawn. Caruana eventually held the draw, but it's clear that the world champion failed to make the most of his chances.

You can replay the games here (with my annotations to Caruana - Anand). Tomorrow's (Sunday's) pairings are Kramnik - Anand and Gelfand - Caruana.

Zurich Chess Challenge Underway

Only four players are involved in the Zurich Chess Challenge, but it's a very impressive field! There's world champion Viswanathan Anand, fresh from his come from behind win at the Grenke Chess Classic; there's world #2 and former world champion Vladimir Kramnik, who has been playing very well lately and will participate in the Candidates tournament next month in London; there's Boris Gelfand, who came very close to defeating Anand for the title last year and will also be in the Candidates; and finally, there's Fabiano Caruana, who nearly won Grenke and will likely be a contender for the title in the near future.

The first round started a little while ago, with the pairings Caruana-Anand and Kramnik-Gelfand. The tournament is a double round robin, so color allocation isn't really an issue, but nevertheless a blitz preliminary was held yesterday to determine pairing numbers. In the first cycle, Caruana and Kramnik both beat Anand and Gelfand and then drew with each other, and in the second cycle they both beat Anand and drew Gelfand. (Anand beat Gelfand in the first cycle and drew in the second, and thus finished tied for last.) Finally, Caruana beat Kramnik with Black in the last round to win and get pairing #1.

The tournament website is very good, with a live stream and commentary (for the classical games, at least; the blitz is still available but without commentary).

Predictions? I'm finding it hard to prognosticate: Kramnik and Gelfand will surely hide their real prep, while I still don't think Anand is really playing anywhere near his peak - a good percentage of his recent wins (e.g. vs. Aronian and Fridman) were primarily based on strong preparation. That leaves Caruana, who is young, hungry, played well in the Grenke tournament and does well against Kramnik. He probably plays too much, but when one is 20 there is energy to burn. I'll pick him to win the tournament.

Wijk aan Zee, Round 7: Anand Catches Up Again

It's great to see that this year's Tata Steel Chess Tournament is very competitive, with the top four players separated by just half a point.

Magnus Carlsen entered the round in clear first, but with Black against Peter Leko his first task was to draw, and he managed it after a long defense - 83 moves. This allowed Viswanathan Anand to catch him with a win, and he accomplished this at Loek van Wely's expense. The latter erred early on with 11...Nxb3 (11...Qa6 was better, according to Anand), and ten moves later he lost a pawn. After that the win was a matter of time and technique, and Anand was more then up to the task.

Sergey Karjakin could have joined the lead as well, had he defeated Levon Aronian, but he was extremely fortunate not to lose. Karjakin had White but was completely busted, a move away from resigning by his own admission, but shortly before the time control Aronian spoiled his advantage, and had to agree to a draw early in the second time control. Karjakin thus remains half a point behind the leaders, and is tied with Hikaru Nakamura after the latter defeated Wang Hao.

The other three games were drawn, making for a quiet day after three especially violent rounds. (Games can be replayed here; alas, without notes today.) Round 8 is the last one before the second rest day, and these are the pairings (with player scores in parentheses):

• van Wely (3) - Nakamura (4.5)
• Giri (2.5) - Wang Hao (3)
• Caruana (3) - L'Ami (2.5)
• Aronian (4) - Hou Yifan (2.5)
• Carlsen (5) - Karjakin (4.5)
• Harikrishna (4) - Leko (3.5)
• Anand (5) - Sokolov (2)

In Group B, Richard Rapport leads with 5.5 points, half a point ahead of Arkadij Naiditsch and Sergey Movsesian (notably, Jan Timman is just another half a point back); in Group C, Fernando Peralta leads with 6 points, with Sabino Brunello half a point behind.

Wijk aan Zee, Round 4: Five Wins, Including An Instant Classic By Anand

It's true that part of Viswanathan Anand's magnificent win over his bete noire, Levon Aronian, was home preparation, work he had done for his match with Boris Gelfand. But a good part of it he found on his own, including the sequence from 16...Nde5 through 19...f5, which sealed the win. With this spectacular game, which I've analyzed for you (see the link below), Anand joined Sergey Karjakin (who drew with difficulty against Hikaru Nakamura) and Magnus Carlsen (who defeated Pentala Harikrishna in a generally good but not perfectly smooth game) in first place. All three players are at +2 with 3-1 scores going into the rest day. Anand, who is working his way back up the rating list, will face Carlsen (new high: 2864.5!) on Thursday.

In other games, Loek van Wely was better early against Erwin L'Ami, and although that was the last game to finish it was the first to be decided. Anish Giri and Peter Leko drew a fairly placid-looking game - the only one of the round. Wang Hao outplayed his countrywoman Hou Yifan with White in a Nimzo-Indian, thanks largely to Hou losing the threat near the time control. Finally, Fabiano Caruana bounced back from yesterday's loss by defeating Ivan Sokolov on the white side of an Archangelsk.

The games (with fairly deep notes to Aronian-Anand) are here, and the tournament website is here. And here are the pairings for round 5, on Thursday (player scores are given in parentheses):

• Harikrishna (2) - van Wely (2)
• Anand (3) - Carlsen (3)
• Sokolov (1.5) - Aronian (1.5)
• Leko (2) - Caruana (2)
• Karjakin (3) - Giri (1.5)
• Hou Yifan (1) - Nakamura (2)
• L'Ami (1.5) - Wang Hao (2)

Anand vs. Jaideep!

Longtime readers of this blog will be quite familiar with freelance writer Jaideep Unudurti, who often contributes not only opinions but also news and interview information in his comments. This time around, I had the privilege of assisting him in an auxiliary role as he prepared for an informal two-game blitz match with world chess champion Viswanathan Anand. Jaideep may not have succeeded against the champion, but his five-page article about the encounter is a success, interesting to chess players and non-chess players alike. Have a look.

[HT: Ross Hytnen. I knew that this article was coming, but Ross managed to tell me before Jaideep did!]