Some random grandmasters

To say the Chess.com Isle of Man International started with a bang would be a massive understatement. The biggest news came from the last minute registration by none other than Magnus Carlsen. The registration for the Masters section had closed months ago, but who could possibly refuse the World Champion in the lineup? Aside from not being a regular Open player, in spite of his one-off (at the time) participation in the Qatar Masters a couple of years ago, there was the practical issue of overlap: should Carlsen make it to the final of the World Cup currently underway, he would be unable to play in Isle of Man (IoM).

Magnus Carlsen did not want to wait until December to play, so entered the Isle of Man Open at the very last minute, ten days before the start | Photo: John Saunders

We now know that things did not go as planned for the Norwegian, as he got knocked out unexpectedly in the third round of the World Cup, and it had to come as quite a shock to the organizers to learn that Carlsen wanted to play in it. As reported in Aftenposten, those close to him saw this as a good sign, since it suggested he still felt quite confident in his play and was jonesing to cross swords with the world’s best.

With names such as Vladimir Kramnik, Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, and Vishy Anand, all in that unique atmosphere of a large open, there would be no lack of good chess to be had, should he wish. This actually led to a rather unexpectedly jocular episode on the day of registration, one day before the first round. John Saunders who is on the spot, reported this exchange he was privy to:

A player (we'll call him Mr X) approached the arbiter's desk...
Arbiter (seeing Mr X): "Have you come to register?"
Mr X: "Yes."
Arbiter: "Where are you from?"
Mr X: "Norway."

No, this was not a joke. As Saunders explains, arbiters know the names of the players of course, but may not follow reports closely like fans, so that changes in appearance such as hair, glasses, or other, might easily throw them off.

All that said, this was hardly the end of the surprises the opening held for players and fans. Also innovating with the regular format, the first round of the event would hold completely random pairings, after which the normal pairing method would take over. For the players, as we will see, this was a veritable Pandora’s Box, since a top player might face an even weaker than usual first round, or a fellow elite. For fans and reporters this was a boon though. This idea stemmed from John Saunders, a highly respected veteran in chess reporting, who complained to the organizer that the first round or two of such Opens were usually completely devoid of interest, forcing reporters to try to find something, anything, to spice up what is usually a list of David vs Goliath matchups across the boards, with Goliath doing the usual beating up. Why not randomize the pairings for the first round, and after the results, the next rounds would follow traditional pairing methods? To his utter shock, the idea was not only developed, and finetuned, but was adopted as an experiment.

In an astonishing turn of events, the first round pairing was as dramatic as could be, with the Candidates and potentially World Championship match on the line | Photo: John Saunders

In a public drawing of lots, the top players went on stage to draw a random name from a tombola, just like a raffle. Magnus Carlsen went first and drew Bardur orn Birkisson, rated 2167. In a normal Swiss, Magnus would certainly expect an easy first round against a player probably rated some 400 Elo less, but here he was looking at a player rated 660 Elo less. Next went Vladimir Kramnik, the official second seed, and in went his hand into the tombola. Smiling he drew out a paper with his first round opponent’s name. He unfolded it with not a little surprise as he read it out wide-eyed: Caruana, Fabiano! Second seed meets third seed right off the bat. Wow.

First round of IoM against Kramnik! Well ya can't accuse the pairings of being dull.

— Fabiano Caruana (@FabianoCaruana) September 22, 2017

Even Fabiano could not hold back his astonishment

However, this was not the only surprise in pairings as one might expect. While many names enjoyed more usual easy opponents, other tough-as-nail pairings included Baskaran Adhiban against Boris Gelfand, and more notably the top two female seeds drew themselves: Hou Yifan against Alexandra Kosteniuk! Of all the opponents she could draw, what were the odds she would not only choose a female colleague, but here nearest rival for the Women's Prize? 

No less surprising was Hou Yifan facing Alexandra Kosteniuk. They drew in the end. | Photo: John Saunders

Alexandra Kosteniuk vs Hou Yifan (annotated by Tiger Hillarp-Persson)

The Sicilian Tajmanov-Scheveningen

The Sicilian has been known for decades as the most reliable way for Black to obtain an unbalanced but good position. Among the most popular Sicilians at the top level the two that certainly stand out are the Najdorf and the Paulsen.

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This opening round pairing for Vladimir Kramnik and Fabiano Caruana was problematic for more than one reason. From a pure tournament point of view, it means they are less likely to get off to the flying start they could expect as they built up momentum and speed. A top player expects a couple of easy opening rounds in a Swiss. Now, some will have easy starts, and some will be forced to concede a draw or loss, playing catchup for the rest of the event.

There is a second and more serious consideration though: the Candidates tournament. Although the Isle of Man Open does not seed a player into the Candidates like the World Cup, three players are in a neck-and-neck struggle for the two spots reserved for the top average Elos of 2017: Wesley So, Caruana, and Kramnik. So and Caruana are in a dead heat for that rating, while Kramnik trails behind by an average 3.5 Elo. However, there are few if any events scheduled after the Isle of Man before December [Kramnik is on the roster for Siberia in the European Club Cup in November -Ed.], thus the ratings after it will likely be the ratings that are repeated for the next three ratings lists. So lost points and is therefore quite vulnerable to a surge by Kramnik, and the Russian needs to earn 8 Elo by the end of the event to snatch that coveted spot. Of course, if Kramnik surged and Caruana faltered, Caruana could be the one left outside. As you can see, a lot more is riding on this event for them than prize money or standings on the podium.

It was more than just a game between giants, but one that could have deep repercussions | Photo: John Saunders

So how did that game between the two giants go? A quick draw? No indeed! Here is the dramatic game with detailed notes by GM Tiger Hillarp-Persson.

Fabiano Caruana vs Vladimir Kramnik (annotated by Tiger Hillarp-Persson)

A huge win for the American, not only making a big statement on his ambitions, but also securing his Elo that much more against any ninja moves his Russian rival might try to make.

Other top players did not suffer such dramatic opening games, in spite of the numerous big pairings. Hikaru Nakamura had a fairly balanced game against the Indian GM Das Neeloptal, 350 Elo his junior, for some 60 moves, but finally the Indian cracked, and let Black in with a powerful maneuver that won the day.

Das Neeloptal vs Hikaru Nakamura

Magnus Carlsen, lest one forget, played a game against a player who gave up more than 650 Elo to him, and just outclassed his opponent. He did not crush him as quickly as fans might have wished, but one expects it was hard for him to be motivated enough to put his all into it.

Magnus Carlsen was a bit distracted by some of the other games, understandably | Photo: John Saunders

Magnus Carlsen vs Bardur orn Birkisson (annotated by Tiger Hillarp-Persson)

Does this mean there were no surprises at all? Hardly. The Israeli GM Maxim Rodshtein, rated 2695, faced the English amateur Zaki Harari, rated only 2027. Although he did draw in the end, Rodshtein was dead in the water after 64 moves, facing heavy material loss, a mating attack, or an enemy pawn promotion. All the while, the engines were singing songs of +12 (really). So how did he escape? A fancy tactic, or a brilliant shot? No, they shook hands on move 74, in a winning position for White, the weaker player. We don’t know who offered the draw, but presume it was White, oblivious to his win, and just happy to draw.

Usually the chess cliché "I was winning" is a case of sour grapes when all went wrong, but in this case, White was indeed completely winning when he agreed to a draw. Let us not be hard on him, in spite of the missed chance at even greater glory. Nerves when facing such moments can strike even the best blind.

Maxim Rodshtein survives a scare against an opponent rated nearly 700 Elo less | Photo: John Saunders

Indian prodigy IM Praggnanandhaa is still hoping to break Sergey Karjakin's record as the youngest GM in history. In round one he beat a German IM, and in round two will face top Brit Michael Adams

IM Praggnanandhaa is one to watch in IoM | Photo: John Saunders

Results for round one (top 30)

Top pairings for round two

Links

• Official tournament site
• ChessBase Live Broadcast (with many games analyzed)
• Complete standings (Chess-Results)
• All games in PGN

You can use ChessBase 14 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs to replay the games in PGN. You can also download our free Playchess client, which will in addition give you immediate access to the chess server Playchess.com.