(1) Short,N (2707) - Carlsen,M (2801) [B76]
Chess Classic London ENG (7), 15.12.2009
[John Saunders]



1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 Magnus goes for the Sicilian Dragon, virtually guaranteeing the spectators an entertaining game. One imagines that his coach, Garry Kasparov, would have had some say in this opening choice.

6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 0-0 9.0-0-0 d5 10.Kb1 Nxd4 11.e5 Nf5 12.exf6 exf6 13.Bc5 Nigel can recapture the pawn more or less when he wants and the priority is to preserve the e3 bishop.

13...d4 Looks very daring but the players are still following established theory.

14.Bxf8 Qxf8 15.Nb5 Ne3 16.Rc1 [16.Re1 has been played before in an obscure game and should have continued 16...f5 17.Nxd4 f4 when Black's powerful knight on e3 and potential pressure against the c2 pawn would have given him some compensation for the exchange sacrifice.]

16...Bh6 17.Qxd4 Giving back the exchange is not quite forced but probably best.

17...Nf5 18.Qc3 Bxc1 19.Kxc1 Bd7 20.Bd3 Rc8 21.Qd2 [21.Qxf6 Qh6+ 22.Kb1 Bxb5 23.Bxb5 Qd2 is probably about equal.]

21...Bxb5 22.Bxb5 Qc5 23.Bd3 Ne3 24.Re1 Re8










25.Qf2 After the game, Nigel berated himself for this move, though computers seem to think better of it. The position is fairly balanced.

25...f5 26.f4?! [Maybe this is some kind of concession. Fritz advocates 26.Be4!? fxe4 27.Qxe3 Qxe3+ 28.Rxe3 f5 29.fxe4 fxe4 30.Kd2 as being a little better for White.]

26...Qd4 27.g3 Re6 28.Qd2 Ng4 29.h3?! [White's position becomes difficult after this. One neat path to a draw found by Fritz is 29.Rxe6 fxe6 30.h3 Nf2 (after 30...Nf6 White has 31.Be2!? Qg1+ 32.Qd1 Qxg3 33.Qd8+ , also with perpetual check.) 31.Bc4!? Qxc4 32.Qd8+ and it is drawn by perpetual check.]

29...Rxe1+ 30.Qxe1 Nf2 31.Bf1 Ne4 32.Bg2 b6 White is now forced on the defensive.

33.c3 Qd3 34.g4 Ng3 35.b3 [Not 35.Qe8+?? which loses after 35...Kg7 36.Qe5+ Kh6 37.g5+ Kh5 38.b4 Ne2+ 39.Kb2 Qd2+ 40.Ka3 Nxf4 , etc.]

35...Ne2+ 36.Kb2 Kf8 37.Bc6 fxg4 [Around here, the commentators looked at 37...g5!? with a view to forcing a passed f-pawn. They were working without benefit of a computer engine. Fritz gives 38.fxg5 f4 39.a4 a6 40.Bd5!? b5 41.axb5 axb5 42.Bg2 f3 43.Bf1 Kg7 and Black certainly looks to have some chances]

38.hxg4 h5 39.gxh5 gxh5 40.a4 a6








Black cannot allow the killing Bb5.

41.f5! This maintains the balance. Though he stays tied to the defence of his c3 pawn, White will have a few threats of his own once this pawn comes to f6.

41...h4 [41...f6 has some merit but White can play 42.Bb7 and it is not entirely clear if White can make progress.]

42.Bg2 Ng3 43.f6 Qd6 [43...Qe2+!? 44.Qxe2 Nxe2 looks quite promising for Black, but White may be able to hold.]

44.Qf2 Kg8 45.b4 a5 46.bxa5 bxa5 47.Kc2 Kh7 48.c4 Qa3! At this stage Black is in the ascendant and White has a difficult defensive task.

49.Be4+ Kg8 [49...Nxe4? would be very bad: 50.Qxh4+ Kg6 51.Qxe4+ Kxf6 and only White could win.]

50.Qf4 Qxa4+ 51.Kd2 Nxe4+ 52.Qxe4 Qa2+ 53.Kc3 Qa1+ 54.Kb3










54...Qd1+? [What is wrong with 54...Qxf6 , you ask? The answer is "nothing". Nigel was amazed that Magnus didn't play this move, after which Black could well be winning.]

55.Kb2 Qh5?! [Magnus is suffering a momentary wobble. 55...Qd2+ is the safe way to bale out for a draw (which by now was all Magnus needed to secure a tournament victory).]

56.c5! Suddenly things are not so clear. Nigel only has two pawns to Magnus' three, but the English duo are a couple of stops nearer their destination than the Norwegian trio, and the f6 pawn provides the white queen with some mating possibilities.

56...h3 57.c6 a4 58.Ka2! Nigel was rightly pleased with this quiet little move, which sets Magnus a horribly difficult puzzle to solve with only a few seconds left on his clock. Black to play and find the only move to draw, secure a famous tournament victory and go to number one in the world rankings. Imagine the pressure - would Magnus do it?










58...Qd1!! Online commentator Daniel King was one of the many who were staggered by the young man's ability to find this crucial move as his time ebbed away.

59.Qe8+ Kh7 60.Qxf7+ Kh6








The time control. Now the players had 15 minutes each, with 30-second increments. Perhaps I am too fanciful for my own good, but it struck me that the pawn race was a sort of chessboard re-enactment of the 1911 race to the South Pole between the great English hero Captain Scott and the legendary Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen.

61.c7 At the moment the English horses seem to have the better of the Norwegian husky on h3.

61...Qc2+ 62.Ka3 h2! 63.Qg7+ Kh5 64.Qh8+ Kg6 65.Qg8+ Kxf6 66.c8Q Qxc8 67.Qxc8 h1Q 68.Qa6+ Ke5 69.Qb5+ Qd5 70.Kxa4 Qxb5+ 71.Kxb5








"Scott-Amundsen: The Rematch" ends in a draw. A goodly share of the credit for some fighting chess goes to "Short of the Antarctic" but Carlsen wins the tournament and claims the right to plant the Norwegian flag. A fitting conclusion to an historic tournament in London. 1/2-1/2