London R2: Thirty love – Carlsen beats McShane

Round two report

From Magnus Carlsen's Arctic Securities blog

My opponent today was 25-year-old Luke McShane, the British number three. Having studied at Oxford followed by a career in the City, he is now a full time professional chess player, and clearly stronger than his current rating of 2615. My current official (November 1) rating is 2801, and depending on the opposition I may win 2-5 or lose up to 5-8 points in each game. Today victory would yield 2.6 points, and draw or loss a 2.4 / 7.4 rating loss respectively.

I played white and he chose the King's Indian Defence against my 1.d4. I got a pleasant position in the early middlegame, but probably overestimated my possibilities. Despite his time trouble he continued to pose difficulties throughout most of the game. Well after the first time control I won a pawn and in the difficult endgame he went astray and resigned after six hours hard fight. It was a really tough game and I’m nearly as satisfied with today’s victory as the one yesterday against Kramnik.

Kramnik beat Ni Hua and after two rounds I have a 6 points (3-1-0 scoring) followed by Kramnik and McShane at 3 points each. 19-year old David Howell is my opponent tomorrow, and I’ll play black for the first time in this tournament. Magnus Carlsen, London, December 9th 2009.

Courtesy of the Arctic Securities web site

Before the start of round two:Nigel Short and Michael Adams share a jest

The two are joined by Vladimir Kramnik, who is quite at home with British humour

The three wait in the front row of the theatre for the round to start

Things get serious for Nigel as the play begins

The hero of round one, Magnus Carlsen, prepares for an encore in round two

Facing the Norwegian 2800 Super-GM: Luke McShane of England

Vladimir Kramnik, who lost to Carlsen in round one, determined to win today

Chinese GM Ni Hua, who felt the brunt of Kramnik's determination in round two

I need to win this one really really badly. So how do I go about it? – Kramnik vs Ni

The American "h-bomb" Hikaru Nakamura playing Michael Adams

The director of the London Chess Classic, IM Malcolm Pein, commenting in the VIP room

All photos above by GM Dr John Nunn

Another exciting game reaches its critical climax: McShane vs Carlsen at move 59

Magnus makes his final move of the game, Luke watches in despair

The English GM considers his options, while deputy arbiter David Sedgwick watches

The only logical decision for Luke McShane: to resign the game

It was the last game, and the two take some time analysing on the stage

After this session both players proceeded to the commentary room...

...and discussed the game for spectators in London and on the Playchess server

Standings

Traditional cross table (for rating purposes)

Schedule and results

Tournament Schedule

Links Official tournament site Full details in our previous report All games in PGN The games will be broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download the free PGN reader ChessBase Light, which gives you immediate access. You can also use the program to read, replay and analyse PGN games. New and enhanced: CB Light 2009!