10/9/2012 – Whereas the first half of the Grand Slam Masters marked a disappointing start for the world number one, and a comet-like run by Fabiano Caruana, the start of the second half has been just the opposite. The Italian seems to have slowed down a little, but Magnus Carlsen scored his second straight win, beating Vallejo Pons in a strong kingside attack. Full report and commentary.
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While the players all made due efforts to play out their games, not all were
of equal excitement. Levon Aronian was quickly neutralized by Vishy Anand's
Queen's Gambit Declined and after fifteen moves, there was little doubt as to
the result. They played it out until move 33 before agreeing to the draw.
When the Berlin comes up, one can never be sure whether the player is trying
to play something sneaky to outplay his opponent, or whether it is simply an
attempt to draw with little risk. Either way, neither Caruana nor Karjakin were
able to create any real momentum in their game, despite mild efforts, and they
too drew.
The game between Magnus Carlsen and Francisco Vallejo Pons was quite another
story. When Carlsen opted for the Exchange variation against 3...Bb4 in a French,
it was not a declaration of peace as might be assumed, it was simply his way
of sidestepping the reams of theory dedicated to the opening.
[Event "5th Final Masters"] [Site "Sao Paulo/Bilbao BRA/ESP"] [Date "2012.10.09"]
[Round "7"] [White "Carlsen, M."] [Black "Vallejo Pons, F."] [Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C15"] [WhiteElo "2843"] [BlackElo "2697"] [PlyCount "84"] [EventDate "2012.09.24"]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. exd5 exd5 5. Bd3 Nf6 6. Nge2 Bg4 7. O-O O-O
8. f3 Bh5 {0.45/0} 9. Nf4 {0.43/0} Bg6 {0.37/0} 10. Nxg6 {0.33/0} hxg6 {0.23/0}
11. Ne2 {0.19/0} Re8 {0.14/0} 12. Bg5 {0.15/0} Be7 {0.13/0} 13. Ng3 {0.00/0}
Nbd7 {0.11/0} 14. f4 {0.11/0} Nh7 {0.10/0} 15. Qf3 {-0.18/0} c6 {-0.10/0} 16.
h4 {-0.64/0} Ndf8 {0.44/0} (16... f6 $2 {might seem to capture the piece at
first view, but it loses very quickly in fact.} 17. Bxg6 $1 fxg5 18. fxg5 {and
now if} Rf8 {Black gets mated with} ({or} 18... Ndf8 19. Qf7+ Kh8 20. Nh5 {and
Black's position collapses.}) 19. Qh5 Rxf1+ 20. Rxf1 Ndf6 21. gxf6 Nxf6 22.
Bf7+ Kf8 23. Be6) ({Curiously, the engines recommend the pawn-grabbing} 16...
Qb6 {and are optimistic about Black's chances, but one must really wonder whether
this is not some horizon effect remniscent of the old days when they did this
until a mate suddenly appeared in their calculations.}) 17. Rae1 {0. 51/0} Qc7
{0.49/0} 18. Bxe7 {0.49/0} Rxe7 {0.44/0} 19. Re5 {0.35/0} f6 $6 {1. 91/0 This
on the other hand is a clear mistake, as it deprives the h7-knight of its natural
square, and allows White to have a party on Black's light squares around his
king.} (19... Rae8 {was better.}) 20. Rxe7 $18 {2.00/0} Qxe7 {1.69/0} 21. h5
{1.76/0} gxh5 {1.66/0} 22. Qxh5 {1.35/0} Qf7 {1.35/0} 23. Qg4 { 1.42/0} g6 {1.79/0}
24. Nf5 {1.68/0 Threatening Nh6+.} Kh8 {1.60/0} 25. Nh4 { 0.82/0} f5 {1.49/0}
26. Qh3 {0.72/0} Qe6 {1.29/0} 27. Kf2 {1.04/0} ({In a rather instructive yet
far from obvious move, found by brute calculation, the strongest continuation
is} 27. g4 $1 fxg4 {and the point is now} 28. Qg3 {with the idea of} Qf6 29.
f5 $1 $16) 27... Re8 {0.79/0} 28. Nf3 {0.79/0} Re7 {1.09/0 } 29. Ne5 {0.99/0}
Nd7 {1.74/0} 30. Rh1 {1.33/0} Nxe5 {1.85/0} 31. dxe5 {1.75/0 } c5 {1.84/0} 32.
b3 {1.28/0} ({Once again the idea of} 32. g4 $1 {appears, again with the idea
of not taking back, but this time it is to pressure g6 with deadly effect.}
fxg4 33. Qh4 Rd7 (33... c4 $2 34. Bxg6 $1 {The knight cannot be protected.}
Qxg6 35. Qxe7) 34. Qg5 Rg7 35. Rh6 Kg8 36. Qxg6 $3 Rxg6 37. Rxg6+ {and Black
is lost.}) 32... c4 {1.11/0} 33. bxc4 {1.00/0} dxc4 {1.08/ 0} 34. Be2 {0.79/0}
g5 {0.76/0} 35. g3 {0.81/0} Qb6+ {0.86/0} 36. Kg2 {0.88/0} Qe3 $2 {3.11/0} (36...
Qc6+ {was best, though White still has a very strong, possibly winning initiative.}
37. Kf1 gxf4 38. gxf4 Qe4 39. Qf3 Qxc2 40. Kf2 Qd2 41. Rd1 Qa5 42. Qe3 $16 (42.
Bxc4 Qc5+)) 37. Kf1 $18 {2.86/0} Rf7 {4.00/0} 38. Qh5 {4.42/0} Qxg3 $6 {299.92/0}
39. Qxf7 $18 {299.93/0} Qxf4+ {299.93/0} 40. Kg2 {299.94/0} Qe4+ {299.94/0}
41. Bf3 {299.95/0} Qxc2+ 42. Kg3 f4+ (42... f4+ 43. Kg4 {Black cannot prevent
both Qf8 mate and Rxh7.}) 1-0
With this second consecutive win, Carlsen joins Caruana in the lead in both
traditional and Bilbao scoring. Bearing in mind that Aronian is also right behind,
and the top prize is once again wide open. Don't miss the final rounds!
Daniel
King's Play of the Day: Magnus Carlsen - Paco Vallejo Pons
Player portraits
Viswanathan Anand – the five-time champion wants more
There are already irrefutable arguments which confirm that Viswanathan Anand
is one of the best chess players of all time: five-time world champion in all
possible formats (knockout, tournament and long duels), and his career is not
over yet. At the age of 42 (and after becoming a first-time dad in 2011) he
has just recaptured the throne and is looking for more victories. One of the
few that elude him is a win at the Masters Final.
Anand works very hard on his technique, between six and nine hours a day. He
probably lacks that ‘killer instinct’ that distinguishes Fisher,
Karpov and Kasparov, but he looks after his physique as much as or even more
than they do. “Yes, years ago I realized that it was important. I am convinced
that my two hours a day at the gym when I am at home are essential in order
to withstand the wear and tear of the tournaments”, he explains, in perfect
Spanish. As for psychological balance, apart from his family and chess he is
also passionate about astronomy and economy.
The amazing speed of his reflexes, which allows for a display of brilliant
moves in tenths of a second, frustrated his opponents since his first appearance
at Linares in 1991, where an entire game took him scarcely half an hour. “The
thing is, if I think, I don’t play well,” was his peculiar explanation.
Today Anand maintains the same humility he had back then and is highly regarded
in India, where in 2000 he was named Sportsman of the Millennium by popular
vote and paraded in a horse-drawn carriage, with Chennai’s (formerly Madras)
traffic cut off by a crowd which enthusiastically mobbed him. He once underwent
a test to show that the right side of his brain, the side that controls intuition,
is that of a genius, to which he replied, “I couldn’t care less
about my mindpower”.
After his great victories, he always first thanks his wife Aruna, who he says
“always takes perfect care of a thousand details”, and next he thanks
his main trainer, Peter Heine Nielsen from Denmark. “I owe many of my
World Championship victories largely to his magnificent work”. Karpov
and Kasparov were never that generous to the people who aided them.
After toppling Topalov at the Sofia championship in 2010, Anand made it clear
that he was still hungry for success saying, “The day you get used to
victory is the end. I am as happy now as the first time, especially because
this has been my most difficult victory, in which I suffered until the end.
I remain with the ambition and especially the will to keep enjoying chess. Logically,
winning is a big part of that, and I suppose that one day it will end. Nevertheless,
age 40 is not a special number for me; it is simply the one that comes after
39. My professional attitude for the next two years is the same one that I had
before my duel with Topalov”.
Subsequent events have been consistent with these words, although not without
suffering. For Anand it had to come down to quick games (after the 6-6 of the
twelve assaults at normal speed) to defend his title against the very tough
Israeli Boris Guelfand at Moscow’s Tretiákov Museum this spring.
He is already 42 years old but his opinion has not changed. “I see no
reason to retire now,” he says.
Anand will continue to stir up excitement in a country with 1.1 billion inhabitants.
“There are already more than 700,000 Indians receiving chess classes;
of those, 200,000 are enrolled in my World Champion’s Academy. I hope
to contribute to increasing that number”.
The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the
chess server Playchess.com.
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