2/11/2018 – Magnus Carlsen is the first to score in the "unofficial Fischer Random Chess World Championship" match. After a draw in game three, Carlsen came back with the white pieces, and pulled a rabbit out of a hat, winning a queen and pawn ending that looked to be headed for a near certain draw. Game 5 starts Sunday at 17:00 CET (11:00 AM EST). | Photo: Maria Emelianova / Chess.com
new: ChessBase 16 - Mega package Edition 2021
Your key to fresh ideas, precise analyses and targeted training!
Everyone uses ChessBase, from the World Champion to the amateur next door. It is the program of choice for anyone who loves the game and wants to know more about it. Start your personal success story with ChessBase and enjoy the game even more.
Your key to fresh ideas, precise analyses and targeted training! Everyone uses ChessBase, from the World Champion to the amateur next door. It is the program of choice for anyone who loves the game and wants to know more about it. Start your personal success story with ChessBase and enjoy the game even more.
The Sniper is a universal opening framework which can be played against all main first white moves - 1.e4, 1.d4, 1.c4, 1.f4 and 1.Nf3. Black plays 1…g6, 2…Bg7 and 3…c5 against practically anything!
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The pulse quickens
The intensity of the match ramped up a notch on day two, as the first game of the day saw a back and forth nail-biter that nevertheless ended drawn. Game four meanwhile looked like an illustration of Hikaru Nakamura's adept defensive skills, and the queen and pawn ending that arose after time control was dead equal. But in rapid chess anything can happen, and as the clock ticked down, and Carlsen kept applying pressure, Nakamura cracked.
The players watch as the starting position for games three and four is revealed | Photo: Maria Emelianova / Chess.com
Position 412 in the Chess960 lexicon
Game 3
Neither side castled in game three, but the most noteable ramification of the particular handling of the starting position was Carlsen's development of his darksquared bishop to a7 (from the b8 starting square), where it stayed for nearly the entire game, exerting annoying pressure and holding Nakamura's king and rook at bay. The eventual extracation of white's h1 rook was an achievement, which ultimately allowed Nakamura to get active and make a draw.
Live commentary by GM Yasser Seirawan and IM Anna Rudolf
There have been some technical difficulties with the heart monitors, so it's not clear just how closely they should be trusted, but the concept is certainly paying off and gives another data point to follow for insight into the ebb and flow of each game. The most obvious factor (if one assumes they are more or less working properly) is that Nakamura's heart rate has been consistantly and considerably higher than Carlsen's. In game four it was hovering around 130 beats per minute for much of the time, which is actually in the lower end of a range that would be expected during "vigorous exercise" by a thirty year old.
Live commentary by GM Yasser Seirawan and IM Anna Rudolf
A very definite blow for the Chess960 world champion | Photo: Maria Emelianova / Chess.com
Daniel King analyses Game 3 and 4
Carlsen leads 5 : 3
The game four win represents a two points swing using the scoring system in place which values the rapid games double the eight blitz games that will be played on Tuesday.
Still two more days of rapid chess to go, however, and games five and six will see the third fresh starting position, chosen at random, shortly before the 17:00 CET (11:00 am) start time.
Macauley PetersonMacauley served as the Editor in Chief of ChessBase News from July 2017 to March 2020. He is the producer of The Full English Breakfast chess podcast, and was an Associate Producer of the 2016 feature documentary, Magnus.
The French Defence Powerbase 2021 is a database and contains 9839 games from the Mega 2021 and the Correspondence Database 2020, 644 of which are annotated.
The main part of the material on which the French Powerbook 2021 is based comes from the playchess.com engine room: 637,000 games. An impressive number to which 80,000 games from correspondence chess and the Mega were added.
Looking for a surprise weapon against 1.e4? Try the Stafford Gambit! After the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5, rather than following the solid lines of the Petroff after 3...d6, Black prefers to sacrifice a pawn with 3...Nc6 4.Nxc6 dxc6.
Brand new opening videos by Jan Werle (Rossolimo variant) and Mihail Marin (Italian duels Carslen vs. So). "Lucky bag" with analyses by Giri, Edouard, Abdusattorov, Kuljasevic et al. Over 47,000 new games for your database
Naturally, a universal approach using ...Nf6, ...g7-g6 and ...d7-d5 as the base would be very useful for players of all classes, saving time and energy and promising a fluid, dynamic position.
Anniversary issue with several extras! "My favourite young Carlsen game": 22 authors annotate. Pearls from Wijk: Jorden van Foreest and Anish Giri comment on their best games. Plus 11 opening articles, 3 opening videos, "Carlen's strategy" and much more!
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